Chris Claremont heads into the X-Men’s past for Gambit: Wanted

Back for more classic-set X-Men tales is Chris Claremont. This time the famed writer is set to tell an untold Gambit story.

De name’s Gambit

Back in the early 90s, and really all throughout the decade, the X-Men were as hot as it got in the world of comics. Pretty much any character that got added to the roster was a smash hit with fans, and that included one Remy LeBeau.

A man out of New Orleans, Remy was cloaked in mystery. His thieving past was kept shadowy too, with only drips and drabs of it leaking out. But now his time before becoming an X-Men mainstay is set to get a bit more of an exploration from Marvel. That’ll come by way of Chris Claremont, one of the most popular X-writers of all time.

Claremont will be joined by artist Robert Gill this summer, for Gambit: Wanted. The five-issue history-filling story will be set just before the cajun joined the X-Men. Be that as it may though, it also will come just after his intro in the classic comics. And yes, that’s to mean that he’s already met the team, but isn’t one of them yet.

Turns out that Gambit needed a little more of a push to get him out of his old life, one that will come in the form of a killer for hire named Bullseye. Yes, that Bullseye.

TARGET: REMY LEBEAU! 

Get ready, mes amis, as Gambit, the mutant-thief-hero, travels back to his hometown for an explosive showdown! Set in the timeframe when Gambit returned Storm to what was left of the X-Men, discover how Gambit came to join the team for the first time – and the deadly trial that made it so! Someone’s got mutants in their crosshairs down in New Orleans… and when they hire Bullseye to target Gambit, hang on for the most kinetic showdown of the month!

Marvel press release

Look for Gambit: Wanted #1 (of 5) to hit the stands on July 22nd, 2026.

A history of… history

Gambit: Wanted is an intriguing prospect, especially for X-fans who remember the heyday of the line. Not only does it figure into a classic era, it also stars one of the more popular team members of all time, and a villain who’s undergoing a bit of a renaissance. And of course, it all comes from one of the best-loved X-Men writers of all time with Chris Claremont.

The iconic scribe’s newest will be Marvel’s latest retro-series, but not Claremont’s first go-around with a solo Gambit tale. That came in 2022, though from the sound of it, the upcoming mini-series is one that both he and artist Gil are pumped to tell.

“I enjoy returning to Gambit because when I first created him, I never had much of a chance to build his backstory. I gave him the dichotomy of being both a hero and a thief, a conflict that creates a fertile patch for stories. GAMBIT: WANTED is set when he first meets the X-Men, and gives me a chance to explore why he decided to give up his unfettered life doing as he wished in New Orleans, becoming bound to this group of heroes, dramatically changing his life’s course.”

“Getting the chance to work on a Gambit book with Chris was a complete surprise, and it continues to be a surreal experience,” Gill said. “Chris’s name is iconic and one that surrounded my early days of reading comics. I’ve always thought Gambit was one of the coolest and mysterious X-Men characters, and despite more than eight years drawing comics for Marvel, I’ve almost never drawn him… until now!”

Marvel press release