Type: Divergent Earth
Environment: Earth-like
Usual means of access: Presumably vibrational attunement
Dominant Life Form: Mutants
Significant Inhabitants: Gambit, Mister Sinister, the Morlocks, Professor X, Rogue, S.H.I.E.L.D., the X-Men
Significant Locations: The Baxter Building and the Daily Bugle, both in New York City; the Xavier Institute in Westchester, New York;
First Appearance: What If? II#100 (September, 1997)
History: (What If? II#100) - After quitting the X-Men due to his past connection with their enemy, Mister Sinister, Gambit decided to pay a visit to his old love, Rogue, at the Xavier Institute. Rogue angrily announced that she could not believe that Gambit had the nerve to show his face after he stole the files from Cerebro and gave them to outsiders. Rogue continued to threaten Gambit until he presented her with a ring and proposed to her. She told Gambit to leave, and he returned to Mister Sinister, who had told Gambit what would happen. Gambit told Sinister that if Sinister knew as much as he claimed, he would not have needed the Cerebro files. Gambit then said that he wanted his payment so that he could leave, and Sinister replied that, as Gambit's wished, one element of the cure of the Legacy Virus would be downloaded onto S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers, as well as Cerebro. Sinister also mentioned to Gambit that he had a cure for Rogue's mutant powers that would allow Rogue to have skin contact with anyone she chose. Sinister showed Gambit tithe boxes containing vast amounts of knowledge and explained that he wanted Gambit to retrieve the final tithe box in exchange for Rogue's cure.
Gambit did as he was told and followed Sinister's directions to an underground city housing humanoids. The humanoids attacked Gambit, but he dodged their attacks and managed to retrieve the final tithe box. On his way out of the underground city, Gambit was stopped by Rogue, who had followed him since he had left the X-Mansion and discovered his connection to Mister Sinister. Gambit explained that his deal with Sinister was none of her business and threw a group of cards at part of the ceiling, causing a cave-in. Rogue quickly reacted, holding the caving ceiling up as Gambit made his exit. Gambit then returned to Sinister to gave him the tithe box in exchange for a vial containing the cure for Rogue's powers. As Gambit left Sinister's hideout, Rogue came up through the ground and demanded to know what was in the vial he had received in payment. Gambit explained that the vial contained the cure to her powers. Attempting to prove to Gambit that he could not trust Sinister, Rogue drunk the contents of the vial and then kissed Gambit, draining his life and powers.
Back in Sinister's Lair, Mister Sinister aligned the five tithe boxes into the shape of a pentagram but was attacked by Rogue, wielding Gambit's mutant powers. Sinister tried to explain to Rogue that he only toyed with Rogue because that was how "they" wanted him to be. Rogue then told Sinister that he would never use the boxes and slammed into a wall, causing it to collapse atop Sinister. As Sinister died, he warned that the boxes' secret was one that she would wish had died with him, but she replied that she didn't care as long as he died. She then made her way to the boxes and opened one, revealing piles of Marvel comic books.
Comments: Created by Ivan Velez Jr. and Klaus Janson.
This story was difficult to determine a divergent point. It would definitely have to be before Gambit's actual connection with Mister Sinister was revealed in Uncanny X-Men#350, so I chose to make the divergent point the most recent issue to date of Uncanny X-Men, which places the divergent point somewhere around Uncanny X-Men#347 (September, 1997). -Proto-Man
This reality's designation was revealed in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol.2
Clarifications:
No known connection to
GAMBIT
Remy LeBeau betrayed his X-Men teammates by stealing information from Cerebro and giving it to Mister Sinister in exchange for a piece of the cure to the Legacy Virus. Mister Sinister also informed him that he had a cure to Rogue's powers and Gambit traversed under New York City to retrieve a tithe box for Sinister. When Rogue downed the vial containing the "cure" that Sinister had given Gambit, she kissed him and drained the life from his body, killing him.
--What If? II#100 (#100d,
MISTER
SINISTER
Mister Sinister was essentially the same as his Earth-616 counterpart up until he sent Gambit to retrieve the final tithe box in a series that he was acquiring. In exchange for Gambit's services, Sinister gave him a false cure to Rogue's mutant powers. When Rogue downed the "cure" and accidentally killed Gambit, she came back to Sinister for revenge. She then knocked Sinister into a wall, causing it to collapse on him, killing him.
--What If? II#100 (#100d,
ROGUE
Rogue was, for the most part, the same as her Earth-616 counterpart until Gambit betrayed the X-Men. When Gambit returned to propose to Rogue, she told him to leave but followed him back to Mister Sinister's hideout. She then followed Gambit as he searched for a tithe box for Sinister and tried to stop him, but Gambit left her holding up a collapsing ceiling in the underground caves he had ventured into. By the time she had made her way back to the surface, Gambit explained that he now had a "cure" for her mutant powers that would allow her touch anyone without draining their powers. To prove Gambit wrong, Rogue downed the serum and kissed him, but accidentally killed him when she absorbed too much of his lifeforce and mutant powers. She then made her back to Sinister's hideout, where she killed him and opened one of the tithe boxes. Inside the box were a group of Marvel comics, revealing her and everything she held dear to just exist within the pages of a book.
--What If? II#100
images: (not counting ads)
What If? II#100, front cover (Sinister holding Gambit & Rogue, main pic)
p5, pan1 (Mister Sinister)
p11, pan5 (Gambit)
p26, splash page (Rogue)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Last Updated: 07/23/05
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