Type: Divergent Earth
Environment: Earth-like
Usual means of access: Presumably vibrational attunement
Dominant Life Form: Humans, mutants
Significant Inhabitants: Gambit, Jean-Luc LeBeau, the Marauders (Arclight, Harpoon, Malice, Sabretooth, Scalphunter, Scrambler, Vertigo), Mister Sinister, Professor X, the Thieves Guild, the X-Men (Angel, the Beast, Bishop, Cannonball, Iceman, Joseph, Maggott, Marrow, Psylocke, Cecilia Reyes, Rogue, Storm, Wolverine)
Significant Locations: Papa Joe's Club in New Orleans, Louisiana; Paris, France
First Appearance: What If? II#106 (March, 1998)
History: (What If? II#106) - After the X-Man Gambit was revealed to have had a past connection with their enemy, Mister Sinister, involving the creation of the Marauders, and their slaughter of the mutant Morlocks, Angel and Psylocke visited Papa Joe's Club to interrogate Gambit's adopted father, Jean-Luc LeBeau. Jean-Luc explained that he had no idea where Gambit had been, especially since the X-Men had dropped him in the Antarctic. The Angel and Psylocke then realized that Jean-Luc could only have known about the Antarctic had he spoken to Gambit. Jean-Luc begged for the X-Men to leave Gambit, as he could have died in the Antarctic, but the Angel and Psylocke claimed that it wasn't enough suffering for he had done to them.
Soon after they left the club, Angel and Psylocke were confronted by Wolverine, who reminded them that X-Men don't kill. Angel replied that it was funny coming from Wolverine and the X-Men also don't freelance to Mister Sinister. Wolverine agreed that Gambit screwed up big time, but Angel and Psylocke were not helping by going off on their own. He then warned that if the entire team didn't have a say in Gambit's judgment then he could not see the X-Men staying together as a team. Later, as Gambit awoke in Paris, Jean-Luc called Gambit and warned him that he had just been visited by some of the X-Men.
Back in New York, Joseph informed Rogue that the X-Men were about to have a meeting concerning the fate of Gambit. He noticed that Rogue was looking up the Antarctic in an atlas and reminded that she couldn't punish herself because of the crimes Gambit had committed. Their conversation was soon interrupted by the Beast, who wanted to know what was keeping them.
At the meeting, Storm informed the others that Wolverine, Angel, and Psylocke were towards Paris, where they believed Gambit was hiding. While the others discussed Gambit's fate, Maggott, Marrow, and Dr. Cecilia Reyes stood outside the door trying to listen in on the conversation. While Marrow argued with Maggott, Maggott's maggots ate their way through the door, revealing their presence outside. Storm invited the three newest X-Men into the room, where she announced that the X-Men had decided to send a team to Paris to pass final sentence on Gambit. In Paris, Gambit walked the streets, where he was attacked by Psylocke. As he tried to battle her, Angel arrived as well. The duo soon cornered Gambit, who explained that he had been cornered before and lived to tell about it. At that time, Storm and the other X-Men arrived on the scene to battle Gambit. Before Marrow could kill Gambit, Rogue knocked her away and Storm put a vote on the fate of Gambit. Bishop voted imprisonment, Marrow voted death, Iceman voted exile, but Wolverine explained to them that it was the Morlocks who suffered most from Gambit's actions. He suggested that Gambit's fate be decided by a trial by combat, as the Morlocks would have done. Marrow was the first to want to battle Wolverine, but the Angel announced that his hostility was more personal. Marrow then agreed to allow the Angel to battle Gambit. The two battled furiously until the Angel managed to pin Gambit to the ground, but he then let Gambit go free instead of killing him. The other X-Men prepared to let Gambit go, but Marrow killed Gambit anyway, unable to just let what she saw as a killer go free.
As Gambit died, he begged Rogue not to kiss him as that would allow her to absorb Gambit's feelings of guilt and cause her more emotional pain. With his last words, he asked the X-Men to regroup together and stop letting his crimes tear the team apart.
Comments: Created by Tom DeFalco, Leo Fernandez, and Robert Jones.
This Earth diverged from the events seen in Uncanny X-Men#350 (December, 1997).
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
After Remy LeBeau's past connections with Mister Sinister were revealed, he was dumped in the Antarctic by the X-Men. He eventually made his way to Paris, where the X-Men found him and argued over what his fate should be. Wolverine suggested that he and Angel battle for his life, but the Angel spared Gambit death in favor of shunning him from the X-Men forever. Marrow, on the other hand, wanted death for Gambit and throw a bone projectile that impaled Gambit.
--What If? II#106 (#106d,
images: (not counting ads)
What If? II#106, p13, pan1 (Gambit)
p17, pan4 (The X-Men surrounding Gambit, main pic)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
First Posted: 07/17/2005
Last Updated: 07/11/2005
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