Marvel Comics/Gambit

**Gambit** (Remy Etienne LeBeau) is a mutant from *Marvel Comics*.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

**Molecular Acceleration:** Gambit has the power to take the potential energy stored in an object and convert it to kinetic energy, thus "charging" that item with explosive results. He prefers to charge smaller objects, such as his ever-present playing cards, as the time required to charge them is greatly reduced and they are much easier for him to throw. The only real limitation to this ability is the time required to charge the object; the larger the object, the more time it takes to charge.

Most charging takes place through direct skin contact. The powers of his explosions are dependent on the mass of the object he is charging. For example, a charged playing card explodes with the force of a grenade. He typically cannot utilize his powers on living matter or organic molecules. These powers have been altered on various occasions; sometimes bolstered while other times weakened. They were most notably augmented by Sage to enable him to accelerate his own regeneration process and to better his control over his kinetic shifting.

* **Molecular Disintegration:** Gambit can also cause objects to pull themselves apart instead of exploding violently, making them harmlessly melt down to nothing. He has used this power to dissolve shrapnel in a person's stomach and to reduce falling debris to dust. His control over this power has increased to the point where he can shatter ice that he is encased in without blowing up.
* **Vibration Manipulation:** Gambit, through kinetic acceleration rather than conversion, can emit a shockwave accompanying a bright flashbang that leaves a sizable crater in the ground.
* **Neurological Disruption:** Gambit can tame his explosive accelerations to temporarily scramble the sensory awareness of a person, knocking them out cold.
* **Enhanced Strength:** His ability to tap energy also grants him increased strength as a side effect, bestowing him an added edge in battle with his unique acrobatic fighting style.
* **Enhanced Speed:** His ability to tap energy also grants him increased speed as a side effect, bestowing him an added edge in battle with his unique acrobatic fighting style. He can vastly increase his speed with his kinetic abilities. While augmented, his speed is sufficient to dodge bullets and lasers, catching a bullet and throw it back, dodge missiles, and spotting a magical bullet and knocking it out of the air before it struck him in the eye.
* **Enhanced Stamina:** His ability to tap energy also grants him increased stamina as a side effect.
* **Enhanced Reflexes:** His ability to tap energy also grants him increased reflexes as a side effect.
* **Enhanced Flexibility:** His ability to tap energy also grants him increased flexibility as a side effect, bestowing him an added edge in battle with his unique acrobatic fighting style.
* **Enhanced Dexterity:** His ability to tap energy also grants him increased dexterity as a side effect, bestowing him an added edge in battle with his unique acrobatic fighting style.
* **Enhanced Regeneration:** Gambit can enhance his own recovery rate by stimulating his cellular activity. Through this process, he once healed himself after removing a bone slag lodged in his chest. Another time, his eyes were damaged by a charged card exploding in his face, and Sage augmented his powers to enable him to restore his sight.
* **Psychic Resistance:** Gambit creatures natural static due to the charged potential energy always in his body. This static shields his mind from intrusion by telepaths. He can increase this static by holding a charged object near his head. Although reportedly uncomfortable for all parties involved, this does not completely prevent telepathic invasion.

**Persuasion:** Gambit possesses a subliminal psionic talent channeled through his voice that allows a subtle influence over any sentient mind. This power allows Gambit to compel others to believe what he says and agree with anything he suggests. More powerful minds have proven immune to Gambit's charm, and peopl ewho are consciously aware of what he is doing can shake off the effects.

**Death Seed Empowerment:** As the Horseman of Death, Gambit received many new abilities along with a new appearance. Mister Sinister allegedly removed Apocalypse's influence from Gambit, but the Death personality and look resurfaced intermittently for several months. It has been some time since Gambit's last reversion into Death, but the second powerset has never been explicitly removed again.

* **Matter Transmutation:** As Death, Gambit had the power to convert breathable air into poisonous gases. He could either create clouds out of the surrounding air or transmute the oxygen already inside someone's lungs.
* **Molecular Disintegration:** As Death, Gambit could charge objects in a manner differently than his regular kinetic charge. This death charge caused his cards to break down living matter on contact, totally disintegrating a victim.
* **Trajectory Manipulation:** Gambit's Death persona also seemed capable of guiding his charged cards to their target mentally.
* **Psychic Resistance:** As Death, Gambit was unaffected by psionic manipulations that normally would have affected him. When his Death personality surfaced, he was no longer fooled or distracted by Input's telepathic distortions.
* **Mind Manipulation:** When reverting to Death in Limbo, Gambit displayed the ability to corrupt other creatures and subvert them to his will. When used on Northstar and Dazzler, they began to resemble him, gaining pitch-black skin and white hair.

#### Former Powers

**Molecular Acceleration:** Gambit's classic powerset is a reduction of his true power levels. Unable to control his growing powers as a youth, Gambit turned to Mister Sinister for help. Sinister surgically extracted a portion of Gambit's brain, dampening and regulating his powers to a more manageable level. The surgically removed grey matter was preserved by Gambit and Sinister in case he ever wanted his powers restored. The occasion did arise, and Gambit's powers and brain were surgically restored to their original levels. Gambit eventually burned out these excess powers in conflict with the New Sun. During this period, Gambit's enhanced powers included:

* **Enhanced Stamina:** Normally operating at peak human levels, Gambit possesses genuinely superhuman levels of physical activity during this point, especially stamina. This was dependent on the active use of his abilities, however; Gambit would be full of energy and stamina so long as he continued employing his powers. If he stopped using his powers for a few minutes, though, he risked crashing as his excess endurance failed.

**Precognition:** Gambit was temporarily blinded due to a card exploding in his face. During this period, he was able to "see" images in his cards.

### Abilities

* **Multilingualism:** Gambit is fluent in English and Cajun French. He also knows some Japenese, although he is not fluent.
* **Marksmanship:** He is extremely skilled in throwing small objects such as cards, bolas, knives, and balls with great accuracy.
* **Hand-to-Hand Combat:** Gambit is a profound fighter who often employs martial arts, street fighting, and acrobatic techniques in fights. He is well adept in the martial arts of savate (French kickboxing) and bojutsu (the art of using a bo staff).
* **Armed Combat:** Gambit possesses extreme skills in fighting with a bo staff. This makes him dangerously skilled in use of his bo staff.
* **Strategics and Tactics:** Gambit is a natural-born strategist. Without studying, he managed to prove himself to be one of the greatest strategists of the X-Men. It is possible that he is as good a strategist as Wolverine or Beast. He also seems to have a resistance to deceit, for having a very good language and for having lived with villains like Mister Sinister and Sabretooth.
* **Thievery**