The ‘90s would not have been the same without the introduction of Marvel's Cajun heartthrob. The character of Gambit is known for his strong accent, fingerless gloves, explosive playing cards, and love for fellow mutant, Rogue. While not typically shown as the poster child of the X-Men, or powerhouse that can turn the tide in any fight, he is loved by fans, and it isn’t hard to see why.

It has been years since his introduction and this is plenty of time for character development in terms of his past and his future potential. For a character who has the ability to manipulate potential energy, it is fitting we take a look at his true potential. The true power of Gambit is greater than fans may know, so let’s see what cards are on the table for Remy Etienne LeBeau.

Gambit is a mutant with the ability to change the potential energy of an object into kinetic energy, thereby charging it up with explosive results. He has most commonly been seen favouring his Bo staff and playing cards, as objects close at hand and easy to charge and throw. The character has such exceptional aim, he is rarely shown to miss a target, and his energy manipulation grants him a level of body enhancement, boosting his strength, durability, and reflexes with bullet deflective or dodging moves. He also has a degree of healing, recovering from injuries such as mending his own sight after an explosion to his face, seen in X-Men vol 2 #165.

Remy also has a hypnotic charm, which works as a low-level mental suggestion that wears off once the person is aware of it, and makes life difficult for telepaths with his kinetic static which Professor X compared to holding snakes. His greatest ability might be his self-control, his almost perfect aim that avoids hurting people, and only charging inanimate objects. It can be argued that this limitation is strictly due to his young self who sought out Mr. Sinister who removed part of his brain to reduce his powers

The arrival of an alternate version of Gambit to Earth-616 showed fans what could have happened to our Cajun without restrictions. This version called New Sun could control kinetic energy to its molecular core, without the need for physical touch, and included charging living beings. New Sun’s abilities gave him a pure energy form that could travel space and dimensions, pause objects in motion, or dissolve them instead of exploding. He claimed to have destroyed his own Earth-9921, and defeated the Dark Phoenix, an extraordinary feat.

New Sun explained how he tried to manipulate the kinetic flow of time as well as space, and how Remy was naturally tuned to such abilities. Which is how Gambit returned to the present after traveling to the past to get Mr. Sinister to restore his brain and remove his restrictions. This resulted in a battle which shook the cosmos, ending in our Gambit winning but depleting his energy and returning to a closer-to-normal level. While our Gambit has not been seen tapping into the flow of time yet, he has the potential to achieve all the feats of his alternate version, and more. Our Gambit’s moral compass could just mean the difference between destroying or saving the Earth-616 one day. That is one nice trump card to pull out the deck for the X-Men.