Rémy LeBeau (Gambit)

A couple of months ago, Gambit got his own comic book series. There are only three issues out so far. I have only read the first one. It rocks.

The first page has Rémy LeBeau getting out of the shower and discussing his costume. "I like to think it says a lot about me that I can pull of a pink costume. Hm. Funny to catch myself thinkin' a' my clothes as a 'costume.' Once was a time it just happened to be what I wore. But I guess after a few years a' runnin' round with 'super heroes' your perspective gets changed.

Whole lot has changed lately. Love, life, and livelihood all hit the rocks in short order. And now, the pickin' up the pieces--feels like I'm gettin' someone else's life by mistake. A teacher? Security guard for mutant teenagers? Sympathetic ex-boyfriend? Gotten to the point where I can't tell what part a' me's the costume.

Figure I just need to step away from all that. Clear my head.

There's plenty a' things keepin' me from goin' home... but that don't mean I can't get back to my roots another way... and have a little fun."

Then, the title page hits. "Gambit 'Once a Thief...'" The reader realizes that although Rémy might have changed a little bit, given his new responsibilities from the page before, at the end of the day, he's still who he always was... a thief.

Through-out the rest of the book, Rémy waltzes in and out of a ritzy party, stealing something from one of the world's securest vaults along the way.

It is fair to say that Rémy LeBeau lives up to his name's reputation.

He is a Gambit.

Gam·bit [gam-bit] noun

1. Chess . an opening in which a player seeks to obtain some advantage by sacrificing a pawn or piece.
2. any maneuver by which one seeks to gain an advantage.
3. a remark made to open or redirect a conversation.

Word Origin & History
"Chess opening in which a pawn is risked for advantage later,"1656, gambett, from It. gambetto, lit. "a tripping up" (as a trick in wrestling), from gamba "leg..."

Dictionary.com

Gambit's character consistently makes a move to gain an advantage. He's often in it for himself. Although he is now a teacher and leads a clean life, he still steals for the thrill of it. He steals for himself. His stealth method of stealing often makes remarks redirecting conversation he attempts to fool those around him. He wants to trip them up.

In the end though, he often turns out as the pawn. In his ruse, he tends to lose a bit of himself or at least something valuable. For proof, just check out the last page of the book:

The metallic object that Gambit had stolen turned out to be a catalyst to some sort of parasitic creature which in-turn digs itself a new home within Gambit's chest setting up the next issue. "To be concluded!"

It's really neat to realize how much experience changes someone. Rémy isn't the same kid thief that he was when he started. "Your perspective gets changed." Now, instead of just clothes, he has a "costume." His whole way of thinking has changed, let alone his public face and how he acts. LeBeau has ended up in vocations that he had never dreamed possible. "A teacher? Security guard... ex-boyfriend?" 

We have changed too. Romans 12:2 proclaims that God transforms us through the Holy Spirit. We are to be different both inside and out. And he keeps changing us. But, it's easy to pull a gambit.

We want to continue to do things for ourselves, to gain our own advantage. We get back into the habit of being the thief we had always been in the first place, giving our worship and affections to idols other than to God. We steal God's glorification and prostitute it away to video games, movies, addictions, cussing, etc...

Like Jonah, we go astray. We give in to the Old Adam. Even if we do not want to, we end up ignoring and running away from God. We climb into a boat of bad ideals and philosophies and set out. We don't particularly care about the storms we may cause or the people that may get hurt because of our reluctance. We just want to get away from our responsibility and give in to the same old sin we've always been plagued with before. We deserve to be thrown into the thrashing seas of our own creation.

Like Gambit, we become the pawn of our own schemes. Turmoil and death is all we sow. Sin, like a parasite decides to take up a power within us, attempting to control us.

In trying to trip up God's plan for our lives, we end up falling flat on our own faces.

But, for us, the story is not "To be continued!" We know the ending. God saves.

In Jonah's case, the Lord sends a giant fish to swallow him up and spit him back out on the proper path.

In our case, God has sent his Son to redeem the world. He has carried us on his back and suffered for our disobedience. He died. But, he also rose. He fell deeper than we could ever fall. Then, he rose so that we could rise again with him.

Now, when we fall we may be forgiven. As we continue to flee from God, we can continue to be forgiven. But, we should not give in to the temptations of the Old Adam as often as we do. We should try to stay on the right path. We should try to hear God, to know Him, Listen to Him, and Love Him. But, we know that we have been plagued by sin. It is only by His Grace that He allows us to come back to him.