Is there gonna be a Magneto movie?

[Heck Tate]

I think Wolverine is a very interesting character, but it's often hard to emphasize with someone who occasionally goes crazy and kills everyone he doesn't like. While I think Gambit's power has the potential for far more destruction, (seriously how cool would it be to make things explode whenever you want?) he is far more subtle than Wolverine. I think there are a lot of comparisons you could draw between the two characters, the most obvious of which is that both seem far more interested in their own affairs than those of the X-Men, but not so much that they are entirely self-motivated and considered villains.

Fun fact: Gambit and Wolverine were originally smokers until Marvel decided to frown upon characters with bad habits (you know, other than killing) and made them both quit.

[Mouse]

That's all very true. I did know that about Gambit, didn't know Wolverine was a smoker too. But I suppose most of them smoked!

[Perpetual Man]

I'm going to side with Wolverine as my favourite of the two, but only just - simply because I can remember the character who first joined the X-Men, and how he has changed and grown. In many ways he's taken a step back from what he was becoming about 15 years ago, and think he has not be written correctly for far too long. (And yes he did used to smoke, huge great cigars. There was a big argument about having him quit,even to the point of him having long speeches about how bad smoking is for other people - but his healing factor kept him healthy)

Gambit however is an impressive character, one of my favourites, when he first appeared he was like a breath of fresh air, it was hinted for quite a long time that he had a secondary power, but it was soon brushed under the carpet and was forgotten. It was also hinted that he might have been the third Summers brother, but again that was dropped and never mentioned again.

(Incidently neither character is my favourite X-man!)

[Mouse]

Ah, goldfish memory strikes again! I did know Wolverine smoked cigars.

I thought Gambit could control time as well? (Though I don't read the comics, so not certain on that one!)

And who's your fave, PM?

[Heck Tate]

Indeed, tons of Marvel characters used to smoke including Professor X from time to time (he's a classy guy, he smoked a pipe). Marvel launched a huge anti-smoking campaign in 2001 I believe (don't quote me on the date) which many readers were disappointed in. The rules of the smoking ban were often very unclear, for instance, characters that writers thought children wouldn't emphasize with were allowed to keep smoking. The Punisher was one of these because Marvel thought that no kid would ever look up to him as a hero. There was also Marvel MAX comics, which were aimed at adult audiences rather than kids and featured many of the same heroes and villains, but they were all allowed to smoke, drink, be promiscuous, and be morally ambiguous because kids weren't supposed to be reading those.

Personally, I can understand why Marvel no longer wanted to portray heroes smoking, after all I wanted to be just like the X-Men when I was a kid. I think Wolverine should have been able to continue smoking though. Since his body constantly regenerates itself, he really doesn't have to worry about any negative health effects from smoking.

[Heck Tate]

I thought Gambit's secondary power is a kind of hypnosis? I know he can't control time, though there were some X-Men from the future who seemed to be able to do this and kept appearing in the past (present?) to keep the X-Men from screwing up.

[Perpetual Man]

When Gambit first appeared he was working with Storm, going up against a Xavier level telepath called the Shadow King. Gambit spoke really fast, huge bubbles of dialogue - when he did this people just seemed to be swayed by him, even to the extent that the Shadow King commented on it - something along the line, that he almost did what Gambit was asking without even considering it, a level of persuasion the like of which he had never seen.

For better or worse I've read comics (of various types) for all my life, in fact over the last three months I've not read a single one, which is probably the longest period I've ever gone without reading one. Sad but true

My favourite X-Man? Cyclops.

[Mouse]

I'm sure I read the time thing somewhere...

And Cyclops?! Gah!

[Heck Tate]

Cyclops? I never understood why Marvel villains didn't just build a shield of red glass to avoid Cyclops's lasers. If his sunglasses hold back the lasers, it stands to reason that any red lens can do the same. I always thought Havoc was the cooler of the Summers brothers. He had a cool power and was a nice realistic character, unlike Scott who always seemed too perfectly good to me. I did like the comment about Gambit possibly being the third brother, though. I never knew that.

[Perpetual Man]

I think it was more a character thing, rather than the power. Seeing him grow from a skinny kid, through to the leader of the team, to someone who, until recently at least, was said to have leadership skills on a level with Captain America. Cyclops also had a talent (one that seems to have vanished recently) for spacial geometrics, tied in with his powers - with just a glance he could take in the layout of a room, filled with enemies and with one blast hit everything in the room, all the angles for rebounds etc, worked out. (Wolverine saw him do it in the Danger Room once and said, "Remind me never to face you over the pool table, bub.")

Yeah, the glasses are a handicap, but it's not just red glass, but has to be ruby ground quartz. And in an old. old storyline, the idea of the Twelve was a major story line, the 12 most powerful mutants, and yup Cyclops was one of them.

As to Gambit, I think the theory was that he was an orphan, his powers were energy based - the same type of energy as Havok and Cyclops, his appearance was similar to both the Summers boys, the cavalier attitude of Corsair and and they eyes....

[Heck Tate]

Ahhh the ruby thing is actually a really nice explanation for my problem. After you mentioned the third Summers brother I took the time to look it up and it turns out that Vulcan is the lost brother. Adam X, Gambit, and even Apocalypse were rumored to be the brother before Vulcan's origin was revealed. The Apocalypse one was the most ridiculous, the way it was supposed to work out would have had Corsair knocking up some random (possibly mutant) girl and a time traveler bringing the child (Apocalypse) back in time to ancient Egypt. I'm glad it didn't turn out that way.

BTW it's refreshing to be able to have an X-Men (or any superhero for that matter) discussion without a single "NERD!" being thrown out there, haha.

[Perpetual Man]

Yeah, Vulcan was specifically created for the role of third Summers brother.

I think here on the Chrons, it'd be very unusual for the word Nerd to be used... I hope.

[sloweye]

I think we need to see more Gambit in the next few movies before they give him his own, it's just such a shame he hasn't been included more. he was always top of my list from the comics and cartoons.

[Heck Tate]

I'm in my last year of being an English communications major right now, and in certain literature classes I've taken discussions of comic books / graphic novels have popped up. Strange though it may seem, most of the other book worms (and i use the term endearingly) frown upon comics as a form of literature.

[sloweye]

Originally Posted by Perpetual Man

I think here on the Chrons, it'd be very unusual for the word Nerd to be used... I hope.

You know that only because we all are so we just take it as read