As he enters his fourth decade in comic book history, it’s time to contend with the fact that Gambit has never been particularly well written when it comes to his Cajun roots. Remy Lebeau’s origin has historically been associated with New Orleans’ French Quarter since his introduction in Uncanny X-Men in 1990. Tie that in with his sporadic use of French words and the fact Wolverine nicknamed him “gumbo” in the 90’s animated series and you’ve got all the ingredients you need for an ill-defined caricature. Just like every other comic book character, he’s been written inconsistently by dozens of different writers over the past 30 years, all of whom had little to no knowledge of Cajun culture outside of a few well-known phrases and the existence of Mardi Gras. While there is no doubt any person born in New Orleans would have been exposed to all the history and culture has to offer, that absolutely does not mean that he is part of the specific Cajun ethnic group.



Remy’s last name is Lebeau.…