HENRI LEBEAU

Real Name: Henri LeBeau

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Thief

Group Membership: Thieves Guild

Affiliations: Genevieve Darceneaux, the Thieves Guild, the X-Men (Gambit/Remy LeBeau, Rogue/Anna Marie, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Wolverine/James Howlett)

Enemies: The Assassins Guild, Sabretooth (Victor Creed)

Known Relatives: Mercy LeBeau (wife), Jean-Luc LeBeau (father, deceased), Remy LeBeau (Gambit, adopted brother), Jacques LeBeau (grandfather, deceased), Rochelle LeBeau (grandmother, deceased), Theoren Marceaux (cousin), Etienne Marceaux (cousin, deceased), Bella Donna Boudreaux (ex-sister-in-law)

Aliases: "Brother," "Henry" (misspelling of name), "M'friend," "Mon Frere"

Base of Operations: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA;
    formerly Paris, France

First Appearance: Gambit I#1 (December, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Henri LeBeau was a talented thief with extensive knowledge of security systems and how to bypass them undetected.

He was also an especially impressive acrobat for his age, able to dodge the sophisticated security laser beams of the Xavier's School without setting them off.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'9")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Bald (his mustache is brown)

History:
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men 2004 - Gambit entry - BTS) - Henri LeBeau was the son of Thieves Guild patriarch Jean-Luc LeBeau and grandson of Jacques LeBeau.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC Vol. 4 - Gambit entry - BTS) - Henri was the grandson of Rochelle LeBeau and cousins to Theoren and Etienne Marceaux.

(Gambit I#1 (fb) - BTS/X-Men II#33 (fb) - BTS) - Later joining the New Orleans Thieves Guild himself, Henri LeBeau befriended his younger adopted brother Remy LeBeau.

(Gambit III#6 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Henri acted as registrar on the thirteen-year-old Remy LeBeau's tilling harvest mission to ensure Remy's membership into the Thieves Guild. When Remy was fifteen, he was tasked with acting as registrar for Etienne Marceaux's tilling harvest mission in much the same way Henri had once done for him.

(X-Men II#33 (fb) - BTS) - In order to help his adopted brother Remy earn his place among the Thieves Guild's elite, Henri became Remy's ongoing sponsor within the Guild, monitoring him on Thieves Guild missions. Henri acted as sponsor on a mission in which the seventeen-year-old Remy was ordered to acquire the pendant l'Etroile du Tricherie from Genevieve Darceneaux, who had stolen the pendant from Canadian financier Martin Herzog, and the two got an apartment in Paris, France together to better accomplish the mission.

(X-Men II#33 (fb)) - After making contact with Darceneaux, Remy met up with Henri, who was drinking a cappuccino in a fancy restaurant. Henri asked if Remy had made contact with the girl as ordered and Remy replied in the affirmative, announcing that he not only made contact but also saved Genevieve from distress and earned a date with her as well. Henri quickly reminded Remy that his mission was not a game and that Remy was a member of the Thieves Guild by adoption who had to earn his place within the clan's elite. Remy insisted he knew what he was doing but Henri reminded Remy that if he failed himself, he also failed Henri and their father. Henri then recapped Remy's mission to acquire the pendant from Darceneaux and reminded Remy that if he succeeded in his mission, he would earn his place among the Thieves Guild's elite. Henri then asked Remy if he had learned if Genevieve has the pendant on her, to which Remy replied that he had not yet been invited into Genevieve's boudoir to check.

Calling Remy foolish, Henri then asked if Remy planned to get Genevieve to fall in love with him in order to get the pendant, to which Remy replied that the idea sounded fun. Henri then stood up and reminded Remy that while they were brothers, they were not blood, and warned Remy against playing a game when he was supposed to be stealing. Remy responded by claiming the steal was the game and asked Henri to put himself in his shoes, about to turn eighteen and be forced into an arranged marriage to broker peace between two guilds. Henri then departed the restaurant, unaware he was being watched by the mercenary Sabretooth, who was tracking Remy. After Remy stole the pendant from Genevieve, Sabretooth, who had been hired to retrieve the pendant from Genevieve himself by Martin Herzog, soon confronted and captured both Genevieve and Henri and held them hostage to lure Remy to him. Soon returning to the apartment he shared with Henri, Remy found a note from Sabretooth luring him to Notre Dame.

(X-Men II#33 (fb)/Mr. & Mrs. X I#12 (fb)) - When Remy arrived at Notre Dame, Sabretooth dangled the bound Genevieve and Henri from the cathedral, ordering Remy to toss him the pendant.

(X-Men II#33 (fb)) - Sabretooth warned that he would have to drop his captives to catch the pendant, forcing Remy to choose which to save. Remy did as ordered and tossed Sabretooth the pendant and when Sabretooth dropped the two captives, Remy barely managed to grab Henri's rope, saving his adoptive brother at the cost of Genevieve Darceneaux's life. Henri then followed Remy as he rushed to check on Genevieve, who died in Remy's arms muttering that she would have willingly given him the pendant.

(Gambit III#17 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Henri LeBeau married a woman named Mercy, who became the adopted Remy's sister-in-law.

(Gambit I#1) - Years later, Henri LeBeau sought to inform Remy LeBeau (now Gambit of the X-Men) of the Assassins Guild's interference in the upcoming guild tithing ceremony and he waited outside Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester, New York, preparing for the right moment to breach the mansion's security. Soon after, when clouds obscured the moon, Henri leaped into action, dodging his way through the mansion's first line of defense: security lasers. After briefly pausing to catch his breath and pray that future endeavors would be less strenuous, Henri continued into the mansion until Gambit discovered Henri snooping around. Putting a kinetically-charged playing card to Henri's throat, Gambit warned Henri against making any sudden moves but Henri suggested Gambit put the card, expressing that Gambit was still a thief and not an assassin. Realizing the trespasser was Henri, Gambit instead embraced Henri and proclaimed that it had been too long. Gambit's teammate Wolverine interrupted the reunion and asked how Henri was able to get past the mansion's security, to which Henri scoffed at what the X-Men considered "security." Gambit vouched for Henri and explained to his X-Men teammates how Henri was an old friend from New Orleans but Rogue questioned how Gambit knew Henri had infiltrated the mansion when some of the telepathic X-Men did not sense him.

Commenting that everyone had their secrets, Gambit then excused Henri and himself and went outside, at which point Gambit questioned why Henri was there. Henri quickly explained that it was time for the Thieves Guild's tithe and the entire guild had to be present, even the hotheaded Gambit. Gambit asked about the peace between the Thieves and Assassins Guilds but Henri admitted things had been getting ugly since the last time Gambit had been to New Orleans. Henri then revealed that Julien Boudreaux, the brother of Gambit's estranged wife Bella Donna, was stirring up trouble and Gambit was shocked, exclaiming that he had witnessed Julien's death. Henri then commented that not everything was as it seemed and asked Gambit to return home to New Orleans, as there was nothing more important than family. As Henri continued, a crossbow bolt flew through the air and hit Henri in the heart. The dying Henri muttered that his death was the work of the Assassins Guild, who wished to stop the tithe. Henri then asked Gambit not to let the Assassins Guild get the tithe and suggested Gambit use the knowledge he had and find out what he didn't know. Gambit tried to explain that everything he knew about the Assassins Guild seemingly died alongside Bella Donna, but Henri again repeated that not everything was as it seemed. Henri then bled out, asking Gambit to take his body home to their father as he died.

(Gambit III 2000 Annual - Guilds of New Orleans entry - BTS) - Upon Henri's death, Mercy LeBeau became a widow.

(Gambit I#1 - BTS) - The X-Men quickly arrived on the scene and Wolverine sensed two Assassins Guild members fleeing towards Salem Center but Gambit insisted he go after the Assassins alone since Henri was his brother. Gambit eventually caught up to the Assassins and when one of the Assassins proclaimed that Gambit would die, Gambit replied by first reminding the Assassins that they had killed his brother Henri and then announcing that he was not dying until he had answers as to why the Assassins Guild had broken a peace that Gambit had sacrificed much to maintain. Chasing the Assassins into a dark warehouse, Gambit was confronted by Julien Boudreaux, who wished to continue a duel they had begun weeks earlier in which Julien seemingly died, and Gambit attacked, exclaiming that his attack was for Henri. After Julien retreated, Gambit returned to the X-Men and explained the situation, prompting Rogue to ask if Henri's death and Julien's remarks about Bella Donna being alive were related to the Thieves and Assassins Guild's tithing. Gambit admitted that he didn't yet know and when he announced his plans to travel to New Orleans to investigate, Rogue insisted on accompanying him.

(Gambit III#17 (fb) - BTS) - Following Henri's death, his wife Mercy LeBeau took a sabbatical from the Thieves Guild.

(Gambit III#17 - BTS) - Months later, when the Assassins Guild attacked the Thieves Guild, Mercy LeBeau was captured and Bella Donna Boudreaux remarked that Mercy's sabbatical after Henri's death had not stilled Mercy's tongue any. Wondering if Mercy was still as cold-hearted as ever, Bella Donna asked Mercy if she was still mad at the Assassins Guild for killing Henri.

(Mr. & Mrs. X I#12 - BTS) - When the External Candra attempted to force Gambit to choose the sacrifice either Bella Donna Boudreaux or Rogue, Gambit recalled the time that Sabretooth had made him choose the life of Henri LeBeau or Genevieve Darceneaux, thinking how he didn't like being put into those type of situations.

Comments: Created by Howard Mackie, Lee Weeks and Klaus Janson.

    Thanks to David Zuckerman for providing a copy of the OHotMU: X-Men 2004 credits page for reference in this profile, as my copy of the issue was buried in boxes in my basement!

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Henri LeBeau should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
Gambit I#1, p6, pan2 (Henri LeBeau leaping through lasers)
Gambit I#1, p9, pan5 (Henri LeBeau, headshot)
X-Men II#33, p7, pan1 (younger Henri in brown suit)
Mr. & Mrs. X I#12, p4, pan2 (younger Henri, captured by Sabretooth)
Gambit I#1, p11, pan2 (Henri's death)

Appearances:
Gambit I#1 (December, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Lee Weeks (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
X-Men II#33 (June, 1994) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Matt Ryan (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Gambit III#6 (July, 1999) - Fabian Nicieza (script, co-plot), Steve Skroce (co-plot, pencils), Rob Hunter (inks), Mark Powers (editor)
Gambit III#17 (June, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Yanick Paquette (pencils), Sean Parsons, Rich Perotta (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Gambit III 2000 Annual (October, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Cam Smith (pencils, inks), Thomas Derencik (pencils), Eric Cannon (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men 2004 (2004) - Eric J. Moreels (writer), Salvador Larroca (Gambit entry pencils), Pond Scum (inks, art reconstruction), Mike Marts, Jeff Youngquist (editors)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC Vol. 4 (2008) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer, coordinator), Madison Carter, Stuart Vandal (coordination assistants, writers), Mike Fichera (coordination assistant, art refurbishment, writer), Chris Biggs, David Wiltfong (art refurbishment, writers), Sean McQuaid, Ronald Byrd, Chad Anderson, Jacob Rougemont, Mark O'English, Michael Hoskin, Eric J. Moreels, Gabriel Shechter, Al Sjoerdsma, Rich Green (writers), David Sexton, Bill Lentz, Barry Reese, Jonathan Couper-Smartt, Henrique Ferrara, Anthony Flamini (past writers), Chris Bachalo (Gambit entry art), Tony Marcotte, Abe Waranowitz (art refurbishment), Pond Scum (art reconstruction), Jeff Younquist, Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
Mr. & Mrs. X I#12 (August, 2019) - Kelly Thompson (writer), Javier Pina (art), Darren Shan (editor)

First posted: 10/19/2022
Last updated: 10/19/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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