20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About Marvel
17. Gambit Was Meant To Be A Clone Of Cyclops
Chris Claremont is undisputedly one of the most influential writers in X-Men history. But even the greats don’t always have flawless ideas. One of those less-than-great concepts was his original intended origin for Gambit.
Long before he became a fan favourite, it was Claremont’s intention that the Cajun come from a cloned body of Mr. Sinister which had been mixed with portions of Cyclops’s DNA. Though it was never official, Claremont played this story out in the alternate future adventure X-Men: The End. The story goes that Sinister seeks to destroy Apocalypse, but needs a body that hasn’t been corrupted by his influence in order to fight him. He uses his own, pre-mutated DNA for the body, but adds that of Cyclops so as to still give the clone mutant powers. Apocalypse would later steal the child and place it with the Thieves Guild and the rest is history.
Beyond this being the most stereotypically ridiculous comic book origin story ever, it would explain Gambit’s red eyes and the inexplicable way he always got along with Cyclops. And speaking of Cyclops...