‘X-Men ’97’ Voice Actors React to Episode 5 “Remember It”
Warning: X-Men ’97 Spoilers Ahead
Episode 5 of X-Men ’97 delivered perhaps the greatest thirty minutes of Marvel animation ever created.
In “Remember It,” Magneto, Gambit, and Rogue take a trip to the mutant island of Genosha as the nation is set to join the United Nations.
While the country initially appeared to be a mutant paradise, Magneto’s dreams of seeing his people live in prosperity and peace were shattered when his coronation as Genosha’s leader was attacked by the Wild Sentinel.
The massive machine quickly killed many of Genosha’s residents, including popular characters such as Moira McTaggart, Banshee, and Callisto.
The Master of Magnetism himself met his end in the face of the Sentinel, as Magneto sacrificed himself to try and save a group of Morlocks.
Gambit’s Death
While that was devastating enough, moments later, the fan-favorite Gambit was killed when he charged the robot after preventing Rogue from being blasted.
As the wiley cajun unleashed his frontal attack, the Sentinel fatally impaled Gambit with one of its cables. Before the longtime X-Men perished, however, he used his mutant power to explode the Sentinel. His final words were simply: “The name’s Gambit, mon ami. Remember it.”
Why X-Men fans from around the world took to social media to declare their awe and horror at how the episode concluded, the show’s voice actors revealed that they too mourned the fate of Gambit and Rogue.
A.J. LoCascio Weighs In
Gambit actor A.J. LoCascio, who assumed the role of Remy LeBeau from Chris Potter and Tony Daniels in the original series, admitted that Gambit’s death was initially hard for him to stomach.
“I was sad, I was pretty devastated, especially since this is a character I’ve loved for so, so long, and then to get to play the character and then to find out they’re dying halfway through the season. I was devastated. Yeah, I had to go through my own mourning process in the same way you would with a friend or a loved one in a weird way. I mean, obviously not to the same degree, but there was this feeling of, ‘Welcome to the world of X-Men!’ And then it’s like, ‘And then you die!’ And I as like, ‘You couldn’t even wait a couple more episodes!’” he recalled.
“It’s very strange and bittersweet. I’m thrilled to voice Gambit in any capacity, so to do it in these pivotal moments was an honor. But yeah, I definitely felt heartsick and sad. Jake [Castorena] and Beau [DeMayo] had to call me and placate me. To tell me, ‘It’s ok, this is a good story.’ I was like, ‘Ok…’ So I felt very sad.'”
Lenore Mann Agrees
For Lenore Mann, who has provided the voice of Rogue since the inception of the original series, Gambit’s death was especially meaningful.
“Well, I was devastated too. I really feel that Rogue loves Remy deeply, and in this episode, we also find out how deeply… The fact that she says to Magneto, ‘Some things are deeper than skin.’ That’s so important because this is what Gambit said, and she repeats that. Anybody who knows Rogue knows that not being able to anyone skin to skin has been part of her trauma her whole life. She wants to touch people skin to skin. But she realizes, ‘No, some things are deeper than skin.’ That, for me, just speaks galaxies and universe of deep, deep love.”
While it remains to be seen if Gambit’s death is permanent (as any Marvel fan knows, death usually is not), the emotional impact of “Remember It” landed hard with longtime X-Men fans. It’s good to hear that the voice cast cared enough to be affected, too.