Remy LeBeau, a.k.a. Gambit, or Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops? The Ragin' Cajun or the longtime leader of the X-Men? Both characters can dish out major damage thanks to their mutant power and both can hold their own in close range combat, too. However, there's plenty that makes them quite different.
Scott has a sharp tactical mind and his hand-to-hand abilities focus on countering and throws. His power also means he can use it at point blank range or bounce the projectiles off various surfaces. Gambit's impressively swift, sporting agility and reflexes that are above human capabilities. While he may not be brilliant like Scott, he's willing to fight dirty and use his powers to set traps. Additionally, his melee combat relies on savate and stick fighting. So, what would happen if these two popular characters got into a fight? The conditions were simple: they begin 25 feet apart in a city at night. Well, after chatting about it all week, the community has selected a winner! Apologies, Gambit fans, but Cyclops is taking the victory!
Cyclops didn't walk all over his fellow X-Man and get an easy win, though. The man with the optic blasts received 50% of the votes and Remy wasn't very far behind, taking in 44%. 6% believe this fight is just too close to call and both combatants have a roughly equal chance of winning.
This really is a fight where one proper hit could end it. One direct hit with an optic blast could make Remy see stars or smash him into a wall, and if Cyclops' isn't careful, he just may wind up with a glowing card sitting right next to his feet. Scott's known for his accuracy, but Remy certainly isn't an easy dude to tag. He's deflected multiple projectiles with his bo staff and one of Iron Man's armors couldn't get a lock on him. Needless to say, the dude's nimble. Throw in the fact he's tossing multiple explosives and he's a character that really shouldn't be underestimated. Still, it's clear many of the voters value Cyclops' raw power output and his gifted mind. While Scott stays cool and calculated, any potential signs of arrogance from Remy could give Cyclops the window he needs to land a direct hit or dish out one of his signature ricochet blasts. No matter who walks away from this one, it shouldn't be an easy experience for them.
The voters discussed this battle for 4 pages, so let's see what some of them had to say about this fight. Don't forget to chime in with your own thoughts on the results once you're done reading the article! Now, let's see some key arguments that were made for both characters.
Agent_Murdoch
"In my opinion this is an extremely close fight. One that under normal circumstances would be too close to call, but there is a single factor that really makes the difference.
Both Remy and Scott are masters of ranged attacks and hand to hand fighting. Although I don't have scans, I'm sure there would be very few people who disagree with that statement. If these two guys were to have these exact same skills and powers and never have known each other before this fight would come down to a single lucky factor. The thing is, they do know each other, and for Remy it is still a huge advantage, it's really Scott who could, and would use his knowledge of Gambit to his advantage.
Gambit is oftentimes at his best when you just allow him to do his own thing and not really worry about the rest of his teammates, but Cyclops is always analyzing, therorizing and testing his team's limits so that he can work more efficiently with them or if he has to, take them down. Which, in this case, he does have to do.
Cyclops should be able to pull out a tight win here due to not much other than he knows Gambit's fighting styles better than Gambit knows his. If Scott plays this right, he could shoot down everything Remy throws at him and be able to take him out without this fight ever having to come down to fisticuffs, where Remy should have a slight edge.
Long story short, Scott should take this roughly 65% of the time if he isn't messing around; and if this is the Cyclops we've been seeing since Schism, he wont be."
browell3
"I have to go Gambit on this one. I think we can all agree that Gambit is faster (bullet time), more agile, and a better hand to hand fighter. I think their physical strength is pretty similar but if it comes down to it, Gambit would win in fisticuffs.
This battle is going to come down to powers though. Cyclops has the edge in brute force and does well against durable non-evasive opponents (Sentinels, Hulk, Juggernaut) but I don't think he performs as well against agile dodgers. He nailed Nightcrawler but he knew where he would appear and the blast was waiting for NC as soon as he did re-appear so evasion was not an option.
Gambit can and would dodge optic blasts unless they were point blank. Cyclops is not evasive. He would be reliant on shooting down the projectiles for defense. I think Cyclops would have to take his attention of Gambit allowing the thief to get the advantage.
I see them both unleashing their powers at the start, and I would go as far as to say Cyclops could/would blast Gambits cards while in mid-flight.This is where Gambit would take the advantage though. The dust and confusion from unleashing such powers benefits Gambit and his elusiveness. I think once Cyclops loses sight (heh) of his opponent, he would have a hard time relocating him. Time delayed charged objects, attacking from the shadows, and we can't overlook the potency of a fully charged deck of cards (I'm looking at you Gladiator) lets Gambit edge out a victory.
Cyclops is the better leader and strategist, but in a RANDOM encounter in a SOLO battle in a downtown setting at NIGHT all favors Gambit."
Omnicrono
"Cyclops' strategic mind and optic blasts make an extremely formidable one-two punch on this type of battlefield, as we've already seen from his previous battles this month. Under these conditions, he was able to best Wolverine (which I happen to agree with), and Ninjak too (which I happen to disagree with), and both of the those characters are immensely formidable warriors in their own right with unique abilities that Gambit only wishes he had.
However...
I'm going with Gambit for this one, primarily because of his versatility. He has the speed and skill of Wolverine, with the cunning and resourcefulness of Ninjak... just as a basic analogy/comparison, because obviously there are differences (e.g. Logan is more skilled at h2h, Remy more so with a staff, etc). But what puts Gambit over the edge in my mind is that he has his own dangerously unique set of weapons afforded him by his distinctive mutant power - the power to kinetically charge objects, including his own body. Even though he's not as precise a marksman, he can match Cyclops in long range shenanigans by hurling explosive cards, rocks, windshield wipers, or whatever else he is able to pick up on the battlefield, which could certainly throw Cyke off his game, with quick enough speed and reaction time to dodge the lion's share of Cyke's blasts if necessary. Gambit is equally as explosive in the short range and can use his power to turn just about any object on the battlefield into a ticking time bomb (including organic objects), setting up major diversions and/or using them to cripple Cyke outright, and even if Cyke knows of this ability, it is still going to be extremely difficult (if not impossible) for him to determine which objects Gambit has turned into time bombs. In close-quarters-combat, Gambit unquestionably trumps Cyke with superior kinetically enhanced speed, reflexes, and martial ability, having gone toe-to-toe and held his own against the likes of Blade and Daredevil in cqc (thank you @joker13csc for posting some scans). And even though Cyclops knows Gambit well, the reverse is also true... in other words, I do not see Gambit testing the waters much here, as he might normally do against a relatively unknown opponent, because he knows Scott and his battle mentality too well for that.
That all goes to say, this is an extremely close match simply because there is still the real possibility that Cyke might out think Gambit and lure him into the receiving end of a well timed ricochet blast that KOs him outright, but I've a harder time picturing that scenario for a majority.
Gambit wins 6/10."
TheTrueRedKid
"Gotta go with Cyclops on this one.
The fact that they're teammates almost completely puts this battle on Scott's side. He simply knows his X-Men too well.
Aside from that, he'll stop Gambit from the opening. If Remy charges cards and throws them, Scott is going to blast them out of the air, and likely blast Remy right along with them. Let's say Gambit predicts Scott is going to go with the straightforward optic blast opener and decides to immediately dodge and charge some part of the environment as a trap. With that move Gambit will give away his position, because objects change appearance when Remy charges them, and lead Scott to destroy that part of the terrain, and least give Cyclops an idea of where Remy is or in what direction he's moving.
And all this is at a distance. I'm a firm believer that Cyclops becomes more dangerous the closer one gets to him. If Remy has to get closer, then it's game over. Cyclops' beams move at the speed of light, so there is virtually zero chance of dodging them at close-range (or any range, for that matter). If Remy gets close, he doesn't have the durability to withstand one of those blasts, so it's going to be a wrap.
Gambit has a lot of advantages. I think he's best in hand-to-hand or mid-range fights, and against people who don't have energy blasts. Anyone who can hold Gambit at a distance and also use that same power if he happens to close the distance is going to have the advantage. The fact that Cyclops knows Remy's strengths, weaknesses, tactics, habits, etc. only tips the scale more against Gambit.
Cyclops takes this one 7/10."
That's it for this week, readers. If you still have something to say about this match, feel free to keep the debate going in the comments below.
Cyclops' time as our Character of the Month might be over but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy more battles with the dude! Head to the Battles section and come up with some creative and fun matches for the X-Man!