Topic: Gambit's Cats Watch 2023

[Icefanatic]

https://aiptcomics.com/2023/11/27/x-men-monday-jason-loo-howard-the-duck/

And in Infinity Paws, you can expect appearances by three feline friends that belong to a certain prominent X-couple.

AIPT: Anytime X-Men Monday spotlights Rogue and Gambit, I get cat questions. So this news is purrfect (sorry). Now, speaking of Infinity Paws… favorite X-pet?

Jason LOO: I’m going to be biased and give a shout-out to Ross and Rachel, the two mutant teapoles from my X-Friends adventures, haha. I hope they survived what’s been going on in Krakoa. Oh! I also forgot, Lockheed will be in Infinity Paws!
No eXclusive looks at Rogue and Gambit’s cats in Infinity Paws, unfortunately. But look for that event on Marvel Unlimited later in 2024.

[DonPriceTag]

I've gotten used to these fleebags... but in all, they represent an ongoing issue that's not just plaguing the character, but also all of X-Men and probably everywhere else. Gambit has cats. Wonderful. What's my issue? How they are used in reference to the Gambit. They aren't seen as just his pets. No. They don't even make them useful. It's a @#@$@ action comic and they are just there like a useless slice of life. He's world-class thief - put a camera on them, make them do something. The cats are supposed to be a small part of his overall characterization and connection to other characters. For whatever reason many writers seriously obsess over them and make Gambit in turn do the same to the point his own wife is written as teasing him over it (mind you it happened in Excalibur by one of the writers most guilty).


I still find it weird that so many writers focus on them, yet we haven't seen Gambit interact with the person who gave them to him since he married that person's daughter. It's ridiculous. I digress, writers aren't writing characters based on the subjects' interactions and past experiences - a lot of people are writing characters to mirror themselves, their interests, their moralities, and their political standings (like, what the heck?). This becomes a problem when everyone is hired not based on their merits but because they are friends or friends of friends. It fosters a hive mind mentality - an echo chamber at best. Bad ideas don't get challenged, and poor plot points are carried out and doubled down on.


I'm not blaming the death spiral of the X-Men franchise and comic book industry as a whole on the cats - I just see how they are utilized as a sign of what's been going wrong with Gambit's character development: "I don't know much about Gambit - but I really want to get one of my ideas into the MCU one day! I also LOVE cats and Rogue!"


Sorry about that 

[Nekobaghira]

I don't have a full response. I need AM and my bev of choice (tea).

 Ice – thanks. Funny topic. Don't feel sorry, its fun.

 
Don - hilarity for me – flea-bags.


I can take a 'paw story' anytime over the stuff that is printed.

 

[Icefanatic]

I've gotten used to these fleebags... but in all, they represent an ongoing issue that's not just plaguing the character, but also all of X-Men and probably everywhere else. Gambit has cats. Wonderful. What's my issue? How they are used in reference to the Gambit. They aren't seen as just his pets. No. They don't even make them useful. It's a @#@$@ action comic and they are just there like a useless slice of life. He's world-class thief - put a camera on them, make them do something. The cats are supposed to be a small part of his overall characterization and connection to other characters. For whatever reason many writers seriously obsess over them and make Gambit in turn do the same to the point his own wife is written as teasing him over it (mind you it happened in Excalibur by one of the writers most guilty).


I still find it weird that so many writers focus on them, yet we haven't seen Gambit interact with the person who gave them to him since he married that person's daughter. It's ridiculous. I digress, writers aren't writing characters based on the subjects' interactions and past experiences - a lot of people are writing characters to mirror themselves, their interests, their moralities, and their political standings (like, what the heck?). This becomes a problem when everyone is hired not based on their merits but because they are friends or friends of friends. It fosters a hive mind mentality - an echo chamber at best. Bad ideas don't get challenged, and poor plot points are carried out and doubled down on.


I'm not blaming the death spiral of the X-Men franchise and comic book industry as a whole on the cats - I just see how they are utilized as a sign of what's been going wrong with Gambit's character development: "I don't know much about Gambit - but I really want to get one of my ideas into the MCU one day! I also LOVE cats and Rogue!"


Sorry about that 

I'd cosign that. The stuff that use to be consigned to bad fanfics sees print every month in large droves.
I once, many years ago, had a debate with someone online about Iceman's sexuality, only to eventually find out they had never read a comic with him in it, their entire knowledge of the character was gleaned from reading fanfics. It feels like the whole industry is overrun with people like that now.
They are not really a fan of the source materiel, but some arcane derivative of it. And when tasked to create something canonical, they create something heretical instead.
I barely, with a few exceptions, even read comics anymore. They've largely turned a medium I loved into a parody.

[Nekobaghira]

In general for some reason cats, dogs or any other pet (Lockheed Martin - Kitty Pryde's dragon for example) has seemed to capture an audience. I remember when it was only Lockheed. Almost nobody had a pet, at least Lockheed helped to a degree.

Hawkeye got a dog, which was a part of his solo book. Why? I don't know.

Ms/Captain or whatever Carol Danvers is these days had the alien cat and still does as far as I know.

Black Widow had a stray cat that she never took into her house but took care of, though eventually she didn't. Disappointment there for me but again the book is suppose to be about her, not the cat. But the draw for me was the cat because after her killing whomever, she would go home and not be an assassin for half hour or so. Be normal and taking care of something that she didn't need to kill but actually care about, it gave her some humanity.

Re: Fanfic, it's amazing how many people get so much wrong or incorrect information from not reading source material. And how much is copied/replicated based on fanfic instead of the source material. Let's not forget wish fulfillment - (the most inspired thing for fanfic writers.)

Re: Spiral death of the comic book industry: to me is just poor writing in general (KT and TH really ruined it for me, JW did nothing to make it better). Letting good writers leave, hiring ones that are mediocre and editors that don't do their job. It's corporate now, whatever gimmick works to sell a book. Don't get me wrong, I love the flea-bags and how they became part of Gambit's background but on the other hand if the company stayed true to his character he would have taken them to a shelter for adoption knowing he couldn't take care of them due to his life style. (IMO) - Rogue makes it worse, Lorna was a better choice.


But going back to my Black Widow example, maybe it was grounding in some way, showing the character actually cared about something other than thieving (Rogue aside). FYI - all of the cats are named after Disney character cats. Corporate influence too much? I think so, but they are trying to sell their books and doing whatever takes to do so.


Know, I'll edit my post a bazillion times. LOL.

[anya]

There have been few comics on Marvel Unlimited that feature the various super pets that seem to be aimed more at kids (including not really a pet, alligator Loki) So there are useful that way, I guess.

I like the cats, but I can see how that can be used be writers as basically I don’t care for this character, but I like cats! Though your idea don about the cats thieving’ is brilliant! They should have little hidden cameras in their collars and tiny microphones! Why did that text turn small?

Edit: Corrected some stray coding-DPT

[DonPriceTag]

There have been few comics on Marvel Unlimited that feature the various super pets that seem to be aimed more at kids (including not really a pet, alligator Loki) So there are useful that way, I guess.

I like the cats, but I can see how that can be used be writers as basically I don’t care for this character, but I like cats! Though your idea don about the cats thieving’ is brilliant! They should have little hidden cameras in their collars and tiny microphones! Why did that text turn small?

Yes! Make the cats useful. My need was never with the mongrels. I like cats. I'd have one if my wife wasn't so scared of everything. My problem is with how they are utilized and how some writers seem to focus on them in terms of Gambit's characterization. I keep going back to the Mystique thing because it drives me nuts. X-Men Comics are a bunch of connective tissue that comes together to tell a story. Been that way since the 80s. At the height of the franchise it's what breed stories like X-Cutioner's Song, The Phalanx Covenant, and Age of Apocalypse. Not blaming this on those creatures, it's just symptomatic of the issue plaguing these books.