3 out of 5

The second issue of this brief fill-in run from Chuck Austen has no creator credits on any page. That’s weird, right? There’s a ‘previously’ page, but nothing else. I only bring this up because the second issue feels a bit rushed after a really fantastic setup, and there’s maybe a different inker, and and and… just makes me wonder if there was a three issue version of this that ran a bit stronger to the end.

Chuck and Esad Ribić give us Ultimate Gambit – Remy – working the streets as a magician / all-around hustler before finding his way to the X-Mansion. Remy uses his skills to make do day-to-day, but he’s not above using them to flirt as well, picking up a number and a date… though interrupted by a young girl asking Gambit to use his “magic” to revive her recently deceased mom. Yeah, soap opera heart strings, pulled by Chuck, but he writes a particularly brutal intro setting this up – mom had gotten wrapped up in some criminal endeavors – which elevates the books tone into “ultimate” territory effectively, and going full bore on the Cajun “yat” dialogue gives the issue real flavor: you’re easily wrapped up in this interaction between Gambit and this little girl, and his pledge to help her out, in some way.

As mentioned, issue #14 feels kind of rushed. It’s essentially just a fight issue, with Remy tracking down various gangsters (and Hammerhead) as the culprits. Ribić’s action is pretty wild – lots of explosions – but also lacks quite a bit of precision. Like, it’s very detailed, but it feels like we lose exactly how things are happening and just go on vibes. The vibes are cool, at least. Chuck maintains the street-level tone of the book: things again get pretty brutal. And the ending finds a tone that’s as maudlin as the setup, but also quite sweet – an effective balance. I just think the ‘between’ parts of the story could’ve done with some padding.