Review – X-Men Origins Gambit

“Unlike other X-Men, Remy LeBeau, alias Gambit, walks on both sides of the law. Coming from the Cajun culture of New Orleans, Gambit takes pride in his talents as a thief. He is also a mutant with the ability to charge objects with kinetic energy generated by his body. Gambit’s trademark weapons are the playing cards he throws: imbued with energy, they explode on hitting their targets.”
— from X-Men: The Ultimate Guide

After the continued success of the X-Men movies and comics, I doubt that any of us were surprised when a new movie was announced. What surprises me, though, is the number of Marvel characters that they’re bringing into this “origin” film. Deadpool? Sabertooth? Again? Really? Gambit?

I don’t have high hopes for the movie (the only one out of the trilogy that I enjoyed was the second movie, but once new action figures hit the shelves I had to take a look at them, with Gambit the first (and so far, only) figure in the series to come home with me.

What is Hasbro Thinking?

Okay, if I was in Hasbro’s position — sitting on two successful (G.I. Joe and Star Wars) 3.75-inch action figure lines — I’d try to take advantage of that experience and position and build off of success with any new 3.75-inch series. Instead, with both this X-Men Origins series and the Marvel Universe series, they chose to reinvent the wheel. For reasons I’ll never understand, Hasbro created new joints and parts rather than build off of existing designs. And, in my opinion, with the X-Men Origins line they took a step backwards, actually dropping quality and articulation.

Why did they do it? I have no idea.

What’s So Bad?

Well, Gambit is missing wrist and ankle joints which immediately makes it more difficult to pose him in fun positions. Also, no matter how I twist his legs his feet don’t look natural but, instead, look like he’s contorting his legs and ankles into unusual positions that have gotta hurt, even for a superhero. And the lack of ankle articulation, combined with the odd position his legs are in, makes it difficult to stand the figure. Not impossible, mind you, but difficult . . . and the slightest jar sends him tumbling. As with the Marvel Universe figures, Gambit could really use a stand (and for $8-$9/each Hasbro should have included a stand with each figure in the series).

Gambit Can’t be All Bad, Can He?

No, there is some good to Gambit. The sculptors who worked on Gambit did an excellent job with his design, pretty much nailing the classic Gambit costume and appearance, from his boots to his coat to his hair. Hell, even the paint job is pretty good and quite clean, without any sploshing over; all of the paint is where it needs to be and there’s enough here to help carry across the look. As a sculpture/statue, Gambit is pretty good (once you get him standing). It’s only as a toy that he’s a poor quality piece.

And it’s not just his articulation that’s a problem. Gambit’s added accessories — three total — range from amazing (his coat) to pure garbage (his cards), with the second piece (his staff) just a smidge up from trash. The coat’s everything you can ask from a soft plastic accessory: easily removable, cleanly sculpted with fine details, and a signature item that really makes the figure look like the source material. The other two items, while important to the character, are barely worth mentioning. Gambit’s playing cards are presented as a solid chunk of ugly plastic while his staff is a rubbery, bendy piece that droops in his hands. Come on, Hasbro. Stop churning out crap to cash-in on a movie and give us the same level of quality that we see in your G.I. Joe and Star Wars lines.

Closing Thoughts

After such a poor showing, it’s very unlikely that I pick up any more releases in this series (well, at least until they go on clearance, at which point there are a few that may interest me). If Gambit’s representational of the X-Men Origins action figure series then I don’t expect this line to have much of a shelf life or much future value as a collectible. I may be wrong, but I like to think that most of us picking up toys these days at least one pieces that can stand upright in a display.

You can see more photos of Gambit at www.loyalkng.com, where Generous King writes:

“Gambit is such a Bad-ace, and he is part of the First wave of X-Men Origins: Wolverine action figures by Hasbro. Check him out in his raincoat and cards. Dang. I can’t help but be jealous.”

I’m not at all jealous. I can at least stand for more than thirty seconds at a time. I also disagree with the articulation photo at the site. It shows Gambit’s mid-torso articulation as a ball joint but, to me, it acts more like a basic swivel joint. I haven’t popped him apart, though, so maybe he’s got more than a swivel joint in there and it’s just the sculpt that’s limiting his movement. Based on the lack of quality exhibited in the rest of the articulation, I wouldn’t be surprised if a useless ball joint was hiding inside his body.

Philip Reed wonders if he went too far in calling this a bad toy. Worse yet, he wonders if he didn’t go far enough. Maybe a flashing sign that says “this toy sucks” would make his opinion clear.