Channing Tatum's Gambit is going to be more than the butt of a few jokes in Avengers: Doomsday, at least according to promotional art for the highly anticipated movie. Marvel Studios always has fun marketing its projects, since it can approach its audience from many angles. Merchandise, such as toys and clothing, is always a big hit. But one secret weapon takes the company back to its roots: comic books.
To celebrate the release of Doomsday, Marvel Comics is releasing a variant cover for Avengers: Armageddon #5 that features Earth's Mightiest Heroes facing off against Doctor Doom and his resurrected Sentinels. The titular villain draws plenty of attention, mostly from Thor, who is using both Stormbreaker and Mjolnir against his foe, and the Fantastic Four, who have a history with the Latverian monarch.
Another hero looking to get their licks in on Doom is none other than Gambit, the card-throwing mutant who made his MCU debut in Deadpool & Wolverine. Of course, in the 2024 smash hit, Channing Tatum finally got an oppurtunity to bring the Ragin' Cajun to life after many failed attempts to get a solo project off the ground. His scenes were among the movie's best, as he showed off his formidable power against Cassandra Nova's cronies and dropped a few memorable lines.
Doom is in a different league than Nova, which is what makes Gambit's placement in the Doomsday art so interesting. Unlike most of his X-Men teammates, who are handling the Sentinels, Gambit has his eye on the prize, wanting to help destroy the evil at its source. The bravery he's displaying isn't all that surprising, given what one of his variants has been up to in the last couple of years.
Famously, in X-Men '97 Season 1, Gambit sacrificed himself on Genosha when the island nation found itself under attack by Sentinels. However, Marvel Studios may not be looking to the small screen for inspiration for Gambit's next big moment, instead opting to reignite a rivalry that kicked off nearly a decade ago in the comics.
Gambit & Doctor Doom Have History in Marvel Comics
There are very few realities where Victor von Doom is an upstanding citizen. On Earth-18366, the villain started what was called the "Doom World War," in which he tried to conquer the entire planet. The easiest path to victory was taking all of Earth's heroes off the board. Rather than killing all of them, Doom decided to lock them up in a prison in Latveria.
Gambit found himself in a cell during the conflict. It took a few years for help to arrive, but it did, and Doom was defeated. Now, the forces of good will be seeking a similar outcome in Avengers: Doomsday. They'll just have to get out of each other's way first.
The trailers for Doomsday confirm a battle between Gambit and Shang-Chi, the wielder of the Ten Rings. While it remains to be seen what drives them to come to blows, it's likely a misunderstanding, with both sides believing the other threatens the stability of the multiverse. Once all that mess between the Avengers and X-Men is cleared up, the heroes will look to their true foe, Doom.
And instead of the X-Men asking Cyclops or Professor X to be their champion, as they've done so many times in the past, they might look to Gambit. He's an unlikely choice, for sure, but there's also far more to him than meets the eye, especially when those he cares about are in danger. There will never be a better time for him to make a name for himself than when Doom comes knocking on the X-Mansion's door.
