Following the recent release of X-Men ‘97, the show is making headlines for its brilliance and finally doing justice to certain mutant characters like Cyclops. While previously Cyclops faced years of big screen mismanagement, X-Men ‘97 eventually gave the mutant all his dues. But simultaneously, the series continued the mistreatment of another character.
According to reports, while the show did justice to Cyclops, it consistently sidelined Gambit, the same way as he was treated in the live-action X-Men movies. Following Fox Studios’ films, it seems the character started facing a streak of bad luck, which is being continued by X-Men ‘97.
Fox Studios Sidelined Gambit in the X-Men Movies
While Wolverine is undoubtedly the fan-favorite mutant who is synonymous with X-Men, there are a few other characters who are hailed by audiences despite getting sidelined in the films. One among those mutants was Remy Etienne LeBeau aka Gambit, who was considered extremely popular by fans, due to his cool nature and his iconic storyline.
Following his rather cool appearance in X-Men: The Animated Series, Gambit made his live-action debut in 2009. Appearing only once, through Fox Studio’s longstanding history of X-Men, the mutant was played by Taylor Kitsch in the ill-received X-Men Origins: Wolverine. After his 2009 appearance, the character somehow got lost in oblivion and didn’t make it into Bryan Singer’s first live-action X-Men movie.
Despite his strong brand, great potential, and the undeniable cool factor, Gambit got cut out of the group of X-Men. Although according to the comics and even the animated series, Gambit was an integral part of the X-Men, Fox Studio’s decision to adapt Rogue in a very different way as per ScreenRant, ended up making the potential dynamic between the long-time lovers, problematic.
Gambit’s Mistreatment Continues With X-Men ‘97
Despite being a significant part of X-Men, Gambit simply got victimized in the live-action films. With X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s take on Gambit being misguided at its best, the character eventually got knocked out of the films. Now, it seems that even X-Men ‘97 is continuing this very trend of sidelining the mutant in the show.
According to reports from the outlet, X-Men ‘97 unfortunately disappointed long-term fans with their unnecessary take on the Rogue-Magneto storyline. While Rogue and Gambit’s complex relationship in X-Men: The Animated Series was hailed as a fan favorite element due to their chemistry and backstory, X-Men ‘97 seemingly changed it all.
Instead of focusing on Rogue and Gambit’s relationship, the new show changed Gambit’s character in favor of the Rogue-Magneto storyline. Although Rogue and Magneto have had a flirty history, fans believe it was absolutely unnecessary to put Rogue and Gambit’s relationship to test, once again.
Obviously, it would have been wrong to completely ignore the romantic past of Magneto and Rogue, but in the end, the duo was never truly meant to be. It was always Rogue and Gambit who were supposed to be the real endgame. But with X-Men ‘97 shifting the focus, fans felt Gambit was unnecessarily being put through hell. After Fox Studios treated Gambit with utmost harshness, fans believe X-Men ‘97 made things worse for the character, with low blows.
X-Men ‘97 is available on Disney+.
