I'm going to try to have faith... I feel like the editors at Marvel opted to make Gambit become Death and join Sinister for the crossover in an attempt to "fix" the character. I mean, if they wanted to just get rid of him they could have killed him off at any given time.
I'm less optimistic. I get the feeling that they simply didn't care and let Milligan do whatever he wanted which was apparently to try his best to destroy the character. Then again, Marts was also the one who ordered Gambit to be blinded, so there may have been malice rather than indifference that lead to the treatment he got in BoA.
Either way, marvel is clearly a place that doesn't have the character's welfare in mind. UraniaChang said a little while ago that Gambit is just a tool for Marvel: a mere commodity to be carelessly used from time to time, to squeeze money out of whoever is still a fan of him, then discarded instead of a character to be given due consideration and effort. I can't really argue with that analysis.
Here's to hoping they've got some kind of plan for Gambit. Honestly, I'm hoping that after the crossover (assuming he eventually returns to the X-Team) he gets placed in Uncanny or something, where he can stay away from Rogue and the same old stories for awhile.
Well, Carey made a cryptic comment on his blog after the January X-summit. Something like "it would be accurate, in a sense, to say he's returning to his roots". That and the comment Schmidt made in a recent on-line interview about him liking the character the most in the claremont/lee years has me hoping they want to try and recapture that spark he had early on. Of course that would actually be a *good* thing for the character so it's unlikely to happen.
I wouldn't choose Uncanny for him to be in though. For one thing, Bru hates the character and bragged about it in interviews (he was also included in the discussions they had about what to do with the character. Yikes.). For another thing, Gambit is going to need some serious character development when he gets back from the darkside and Bru has already shown that he can't seem to do that with the X-men. With Bru writing the absolute best we could hope for is a one-dimensional take on the character.
Adjectiveless has plenty of pitfalls, but Carey seems like the writer best suited and most willing to write the character. Dunno if I'd want him there or not; there's pros and cons.
Pros:
-He doesn't hate the character. Even likes him a bit. Thats more than we'll get anywhere else.
-He's studied Cajun culture and could write Gambit as an actual Cajun instead of what the average person *thinks* Cajuns are like.
-He recognizes that Gambit is supposed to have guile and be unpredictable. He didn't go into a lot of detail when I spoke with him, but he recognized some of the elements that tend to get ignored.
-He's got some experience writing characters similar to Gambit; Lucifer and Constantine being the most famous.
Cons:
-He's a shameless Rogue fan. Any grievances Gambit has with Rogue aren't going to get treated very well.
-He loves the sexual frustration of Rogue as he admitted in an interview. If Gambit is around it's practically guaranteed he's going to get roped into it somehow.
-Rogue is undoubtedly the centerpiece of his book. Gambit's relationship with her will become his major contribution to the book.
-He's building Rogue up for some serious angst. Throw Gambit in the mix and we all know what happens.
Astonishing might be a good place depending on who they get to replace Whedon. If it's someone good, people will be able to take it on it's own merits instead of comparing it Whedon. But then again, if they're that good they're going to get to pick and choose who they want on their roster. I don't even need to mention that gambit wouldn't make the cut in such a case.
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