#11 for Top 12 Picard Episodes of Star Trek TNG

Gambit (parts 1+2)

Picard dies from time to time, and that is how this 2-part story begins. Riker becomes obsessed with finding the people responsible and making them pay. Star Fleet command puts the Enterprise on detached duty, so Riker and company can investigate.

While looking at a location known for Romulan artifacts, Riker and company encounter a band of robbers. Riker is captured and taken aboard the enemy ship. There he discovers several things. First, he has been implanted with a pain device to ensure his cooperation. Second, the group is looking for artifacts in order to collect some kind of reward, paid when they have found three of a certain design. Third, Captain Picard is actually alive and posing as an archeologist named Galen.

We might talk about other parts of this episode when we do the list for the rest of the crew, but for now we will just mention that Data has to command the Enterprise, and that he has to give Worf a dressing down for not fulfilling the role of First Officer. We want to focus on Captain Jean Luc Picard.

Picard does a great job of thinking on his feet and creating a believable cover story when he is captured. He also puts together a plan once Riker is added to the equation. Picard creates a false role of Riker as a brash and impulsive officer who has been in trouble with Star Fleet many times. Picard also uses Riker to alienate himself from the ship's captain.

Life gets more complicated when Riker returns to the Enterprise through a little manipulation and has to stage a mutiny. He is able to convince the crew to stand with him, and formulates a plan to not only deal with the problem he is facing with the smugglers, but also with the bigger problem of the episode.

THIS LAST BIT IS ALL SPOILERS! DON'T READ UNTIL YOU'VE SEEN THE EPISODE!

So all of this smuggling has been to collect an ancient Vulcan artifact that was created right at the time when the Vulcans turned to logic and away from emotion. The device turns violent emotions against anyone attacking the bearer of the device-killing them. Picard using his understanding of the Vulcan artifacts to realize that purging himself of violent emotions will protect him from the device. This moment shows just how amazing of a man Jean Luc Picard is.

Top Twelve X-men-Number 8 Gambit



Gambit

Here is one of the first shots we have of Remy in his first apperance in the X-men. Not quite as handsome as they make him later.



I might get some flack for this one, but it's my list and I have my reasons for putting Remy LeBeau a little further down the list than some people might appreciate. Before we get into all the reasons, let's talk about the the man himself.

Gambit officially hit the pages of the X-men in the 90s during a period of great upheaval for the team. The Mutant Massacre had mixed things up and sent Shadowcat and Nightcrawler to England to be a part of Excalibur a book set in England and put together by the legendary team of Chris Claremont and Alan Davis. Then Storm and Wolverine had followed up on a plan to 'kill' the team and allow them to work behind the scenes without endangering their friends and family. Later on, the whole team either died (well it looked like Storm died) or walked into the Siege Perilous with some not-so-gentle persuasion from Psylocke. (The Siege Perilous was a fine McGuffin that sent the X-men off in different directions and placed them in different lives for a while.)

OK, sorry that took such a tangent, but it needed to be said in order to get to the next part. You see, Storm didn't actually die, she ended up being turned into a child again and she went back to the only life she knew from that time of her life-being a thief. That's how she met Gambit. They were both in the process of stealing paintings from the same not-so-nice guy and ended up having some adventures together. Eventually all of the X-family gets back together and the entire mutant community gets turned on its head. Gambit ends up becoming a part of it all even with his unclear back ground.



Remy's first cover shot.



Let's talk about powers and abilities now for a little bit. Gambit is a mutant who was born with the ability to transform potential energy into kinetic energy. Not sure what that means? Don't think about it too hard because the idea doesn't completely hold up to scrutiny, but let's just put it this way, Gambit can take an object and fill it with the potential to explode. He usually uses playing cards because the charge quickly, but with enough time, he can use his power on any object. He even blew up his motorcycle in an attempt to defeat a bad guy.



Like any worthwhile anti-hero, Remy has a dark past beyond his life as a thief. He was the man that led the Marauders to the Morlock tunnels for the Mutant Massacre. It turns out that he's also been closely connected to the history of Mr. Sinister (albeit through time travel) helping this menace to the X-men become the threat that he is. (I guess was is a better term since I think Mr. Sinister is dead at the moment. Maybe next week he'll be back.)

Remy also suffers from the typical comic book character syndrome- too many writers.  Everyone wants to work with this kind of character, and everyone seems to want to either add to his back story or just rewrite it. (Wolverine has the same problem.) Some of the changes have been for the better. I'm sure the original plan for Gambit was not for him to be responsible for the Mutant Massacre, but it definitely works for the character and the story. Hopefully no one will decide that Remy's blood can cure cancer or something ridiculous like that.