X-MEN #33: The Hearts of Thieves

 

Gambit squares off against Sabretooth -- in the past!

Originally Published June 1994 

The place: Paris

The time: Several years ago, whenever Gambit was 17 or so

The premise: A story Sabretooth is relating to Rogue.

Both Sabes and Gambs are after some trinket called L'Etoile du Trecherie -- the Cheating Star. Sabretooth, on behalf of Martin Herzog, a Canadian financier with European interests (I'll say) from whom the jewel  was stolen by his mistress Genevieve Darceneaux; Gambit on behalf of the T'ieves Guild, who are using this as his initiation.

Gambit had rescued Genevieve from Sabretooth so as to ingratiate himself to her -- right into her pants that is, as a way of having a bit of bachelor fun before his arrange marriage to Belladonna. He charms her with picnic dates complete with stolen wine and baguette, and parlor trick uses of his mutant power to kinetically charge objects into exploding.

Sabretooth is, of course, watching from a distance, sizing up his prey.

Anyway, you know how these things go. After Gambit seduces Genny and steals the jewel, Sabretooth kidnaps both Genevieve and Gambit's brother-in-arms Henri for good measure, to make an exchange, literarily dangling the bound and gagged victims from the Notre Dame Cathedral. 

Remy obliges, but Sabretooth -- who is very "down with love" -- drops them anyway. Gambit can only save one.

As Genevieve dies in his arms, she says she would have given him her love, and the jewel, freely.

Ah, but to young Remy, the stealing and the seducing was all just a game, and Rogue, who confesses that she loves him, doesn't know what to make of it all.

Can she trust him, has he changed? He says he was a different person then. He also mentions that was just the first of many times he and Sabretooth bumped heads -- hey, I'm sure all the other stories make Remy come off great.

The story ends with Beast visiting Sabretooth to enlist him in the fight against the Legacy Virus, intent on leveraging Victor's familiarity with Mr. Sinister, the mad scientist who is also interested in curing the legacy virus. Sabretooth seems a little reluctant -- if only Beast had a closer acquaintance who also had ties to Sinister, but oh well, you do the best you can with the info you've got.

Oh, and Victor Creed is Graydon Creed's father, in case you thought the name was just a coincidence, with some woman known only as "Leni Zauber."

Further Thoughts:

Not much to this one, but I admired it for its simplicity, straightforwardness, relative elegance and focus on the character of Gambit and his relationship with Rogue, through the prism of his mysterious past. Hey, they don't all have to be epics, you know?