The Birth: A homeless boy wandering the streets, Gambit was adopted by Jean-Luc LeBeau, head of the council of the Thieves Guild, a criminal organization based in New Orleans. As part of a peace pact between the Thieves Guild and their rivals, the Assassins Guild, a marriage was arranged between Gambit and Bella Donna Boudreaux, the granddaughter of the head of the Assassins. However, Bella Donna's brother Julien objected to the marriage and challenged Gambit to a duel. Severely wounding Julien, Gambit was forced to flee New Orleans to prevent war between the two guilds.
Gambit wandered the world as he plied his skills as a master thief, aided by his mutant power to charge objects with explosive energy. He employed playing cards he charged with kinetic energy as his trademark weapon.
Eventually, Gambit encountered the X-Man Storm, who had been transformed into an amnesiac child and who had turned to theft. He helped her escape her enemy, the Shadow King, and they became partners. Later, when Professor Charles Xavier returned from a long period of traveling in outer space, Storm, having regained her memory and true age, sponsored Gambit's admission into the X-Men.

The Alter Ego: No-one knows Gambit's real name. On adopting the kid, Jean-Luc LeBeau gave him the name Remy LeBeau. Thief. Charmer. Snake. Cunning. All these words and more have been used to discribe the "king o' t'ieves" , otherwise known as Gambit. In his youth, he first encountered Sabretooth in France, an encounter which cost him his prize theft and the life of the woman he "loved" - He wanted to use the girl for his gain but ended up falling in love with her. From that point on, Gambits life stopped being a game. He used his powers to win himself the title of King of the Thieves guild in Louisiana. After his near-bride Bella Donna, he joined the X-Men where he met Rogue. He fell in love with his fellow X-Man Rogue (see Rogue). Recently, however, Gambit and Rogue have grown apart. As for Bella Donna, she has become Gambit's enemy.

The Legend: Much before he joined the X-Men, Gambit agreed to assemble the team of assassins called the Marauders for Mister Sinister. Gambit did not realize that Sinister would employ the Marauders to massacre the underground mutant community called the Morlocks. Much later, the X-Men learned of Gambit's role in the massacre of the Morlocks. Guilt-ridden, Gambit left the team, temporarily.
Gambit is a mutant who possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise. He is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, utilizing streetfighting techniques and acrobatics. His special skills include knowledge of both English and French, ability to throw small objects, including knives, throwing spikes, and playing cards, with extraordinary accuracy. Gambit has the mutant ability to tap into the potential energy contained within an object and transform it into kinetic energy. When Gambit thus charges an object with kinetic energy and throws it at a target, the object releases this energy explosively on impact. His main form of weaponry includes throwing spikes and playing cards.