That X-Men '97 Funeral Scene Features A Few Surprise Marvel Characters
Two weeks ago, "X-Men '97" delivered quite a heartbreaking development with the death of Gambit during a shocking Sentinel attack on the peaceful mutant colony of Genosha. The Ragin' Cajun went out in a blaze of tragic glory but left Rogue and the rest of the X-Men team shattered.
This week, the episode "Bright Eyes" begins with Gambit's funeral. Nightcrawler gives a lovely eulogy with a combination of just the right amount of card-playing puns and a wonderful tribute to Gambit's character, both as a man and a superhero. Though Rogue isn't in attendance, dealing with her grief in a vengeful way across the country, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Beast, Jubilee, Sunspot, and more are all there to lay Gambit to rest.
Also among the crowd are a few faces that you're meant to notice, but you might not remember them if you haven't refreshed yourself on "X-Men: The Animated Series" in a while. However, these four are an integral part of Gambit's origin story, though they're not actually mutants. Instead, they're members of the Thieves Guild and the Assassins Guild, the criminal organizations that Gambit worked with in New Orleans before leaving to join the X-Men.
Remember it
The Thieves Guild appeared in just a single episode of "X-Men: The Animated Series." Entitled "X-Ternally" yours, the episode finds Gambit forced to confront his past when he learns that his brother Bobby LeBeau has disappeared after he was supposed to deliver a tithe to the entity known as the X-Ternal, which has guided the Thieves Guild and Assassin Guild of New Orleans for over 300 years by protecting them and even giving some of them powers. This is something Gambit has personal experience with, having also nearly missed delivering a tithe to X-Ternal when he was part of the Thieves Guild. The rest of the episode finds Gambit trying to save his brother, and he's nearly forced to marry Bella Donna of the Assassins Guild until the X-Men help save the day.
Marvel Animation
At Gambit's funeral, the man with long blonde hair is Bobby LeBeau, and standing alongside him in the shot above is Pierre, the Thieves Guild member who alerted Gambit that Bobby was missing in "X-Men: The Animated Series." The woman with the blonde hair standing with them is Bella Donna, apparently no longer having an axe to grind against Gambit.
Marvel Animation
However, there's another woman standing with the group in another shot, and her identity is somewhat of a mystery. She sports black and white hair and a black T-shirt. This character does not appear in the "X-Ternally Yours" episode, but our best guess is that this is the Marvel Comics character Singer, who is part of the Assassins Guild and can be seen with black and white hair in the comics. We're not sure why this character felt important enough to include in this scene, and we're not 100% sure that's who the character is, but it's the only thing that makes sense.
We're betting that this was merely meant as a touching Easter egg for fans of the original series, and we're not counting on these characters playing a key role in the story moving forward. But for now, it seems that Gambit's death is a permanent one. At the very least, it's not bound to be undone anytime soon.
New episodes of "X-Men '97" drop Wednesdays on Disney+.