The Uncanny X-Men #266

A thief in the rain

By mid-1990 Storm had been transformed into a child and stripped of her memories, and she was getting by on the streets as a thief. Uncanny X-Men #266, cover-dated August 1990, finds her in Cairo, Illinois, trying to steal back some stolen paintings and walking straight into a trap set by the Shadow King.

Storm fights off the Shadow King's Hounds, hurts him with her half-controlled weather powers and falls into a pool. She is pulled out by a charismatic young thief who calls himself Gambit and who turns out to be a mutant too. He nearly charms the Shadow King's aide, Lian Shen, before the villain attacks him directly. The two thieves trick their attackers and escape over the roof on Storm's parachute.

The story, titled "Gambit: Out of the Frying Pan," also follows the Shadow King's other schemes. In Washington, D.C., a possessed Val Cooper is sent to kill Mystique, who has already been warned by a letter from Destiny. Nanny and the Orphan-Maker are closing in on Storm at the same time. One of Gambit's lines to her set the tone for the character: "Hasn't been your night, eh, chère?"

Claremont, Lee, Collins and Kubert

Gambit is credited to writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee. Claremont, born in London on November 25, 1950, wrote Uncanny X-Men for 16 years, from 1975 to 1991, longer than any other writer, and is credited with turning a once underachieving title into one of Marvel's leading books. Lee, born in Seoul on August 11, 1964, started at Marvel in 1987 and became widely popular on Uncanny X-Men, where he and Claremont created Gambit.

The issue itself was not drawn by Lee. The pencils are by Mike Collins, a British artist whose brief spell at Marvel produced this issue, with inks by Joe Rubinstein. The cover is by Andy Kubert, son of the artist Joe Kubert, who drew the character's first cover appearance and later became the regular penciler on the second X-Men series after Lee left Marvel.

Brad Vancata colored the issue, Pat Brosseau and Tom Orzechowski lettered it, and Bob Harras and Suzanne Gaffney edited it. A year later came X-Men #1, the 1991 spinoff that Claremont co-wrote with Lee, is listed by Guinness World Records as the best-selling comic book of all time, and Claremont left that series after its first three-issue story.

Which comic came first?

Gambit's next appearance was meant to be in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14, cover-dated July 1990, written by Claremont and drawn by Art Adams. That annual was published by mistake about three weeks before issue #266. Readers met Gambit in his second story before they could read his first.

Because the annual's story is set after #266, collectors still argue over which book is his true first appearance. #266 was the intended introduction, and the grading company CGC describes it as "the first full appearance of Gambit." Some reference works list the annual as his first published appearance and #266 as his first appearance in story order.

The argument sharpened as Gambit grew popular, turned up in a movie and became the subject of talk about a spinoff film, which put new focus on his early comics. This page follows #266, the issue most collectors and the grading company treat as the key.

From fill-in issue to the movies

Gambit joined the X-Men and stayed. Beginning with X-Men #1 in 1991 he was part of the Blue Team alongside Cyclops, Wolverine, Beast, Rogue, Psylocke and Jubilee. In X-Men #4 (January 1992) he began pursuing Rogue, a romance that ran for decades; the two married in X-Men Gold #30 (August 2018).

The character was most popular in the 1990s. He was part of X-Men: The Animated Series (1992 to 1997) and returned in its 2024 revival, X-Men '97. He starred in miniseries in 1993 and 1997 and in an ongoing title that ran 25 issues from December 1998 to February 2001. In Uncanny X-Men #350 (December 1997) he was revealed to have been complicit in the Mutant Massacre and was expelled from the team.

On film, Taylor Kitsch played him in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). Channing Tatum was attached to a solo Gambit film that stayed in development for five years and was canceled after Disney acquired 21st Century Fox. Tatum finally played the role in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).

The grading census shows how many collectors followed. In December 2022, 3,345 copies sat at CGC 9.8 with 15 graded higher. By October 1, 2026, the universal-label census counted 4,447 copies at 9.8 and 16 at 9.9, with none at 10.0. Completed online sales of CGC 9.8 copies on August 21, September 29 and September 30, 2026, brought $480, $550 and $600.

How to identify it

The issue is Uncanny X-Men #266, cover-dated August 1990, with a $1.00 cover price and 36 pages. The Andy Kubert cover shows Gambit in a box in the upper left corner.

Several other editions exist. Collector databases list a newsstand edition alongside the standard direct-market copy, plus a modern facsimile edition and a 2024 facsimile second printing with retailer variant covers. A facsimile is a reprint, not the 1990 issue, and is graded and sold separately.

The CGC census on October 1, 2026, listed 24,961 universal-label copies, plus 4,021 in the Signature Series, 114 in the joint CGC and JSA signature category, 85 Qualified, 35 Restored and one Conserved, for 29,217 in all. Among universal copies the most common grade was 9.6, with 6,565 copies.

The numbers

Print run

No published print run figure found

CGC census, October 1, 2026

24,961 universal-label copies: none at 10.0, 16 at 9.9, 4,447 at 9.8, 6,565 at 9.6

CGC census, October 1, 2026, all labels

29,217 copies, including 4,021 Signature Series, 85 Qualified and 35 Restored

CGC census, December 2022

3,345 copies at 9.8; 15 graded higher

Cover price

$1.00

Timeline

1. 1975

   Chris Claremont begins his 16-year run writing Uncanny X-Men.

2. 1987

   Jim Lee starts at Marvel, drawing Alpha Flight and The Punisher War Journal.

3. 1990

   Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 is published about three weeks ahead of #266 by mistake, showing Gambit before his intended debut.

4. Jun 1990

   Uncanny X-Men #266 goes on sale, by one database's listing; it is cover-dated August 1990.

5. 1991

   Gambit joins the X-Men's Blue Team in X-Men #1; Claremont leaves the series after its first story.

6. Jan 1992

   In X-Men #4, Gambit begins pursuing Rogue.

7. 1992

   X-Men: The Animated Series begins, with Gambit in the cast; it runs to 1997.

8. 1993

   Gambit's first solo miniseries, written by Howard Mackie.

9. Dec 1997

   Uncanny X-Men #350 reveals Gambit's role in the Mutant Massacre; the X-Men expel him.

10. Dec 1998

    The ongoing X-Men: Gambit series begins; it runs 25 issues to February 2001.

11. 2009

    Taylor Kitsch plays Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

12. Aug 2018

    Gambit marries Rogue in X-Men Gold #30.

13. Dec 2022

    CGC census: 3,345 copies of #266 at 9.8 and 15 graded higher.

14. 2024

    Gambit returns in X-Men '97 and, played by Channing Tatum, in Deadpool & Wolverine.

15. Oct 1, 2026

    CGC census: 24,961 universal-label copies, 16 at 9.9, none at 10.0.

The world in 1990

• May 16, 1990

  Muppets creator Jim Henson dies at 53.

• May 22, 1990

  Microsoft releases Windows 3.0.

• Jun 1, 1990

  George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign the Chemical Weapons Accord; the Dow closes above 2,900 for the first time.

• Jun 7, 1990

  Universal Studios Florida opens to the public.

• Jun 1990

  Nelson Mandela tours North America, visiting eight U.S. cities.

• Jul 26, 1990

  President Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act.

• Aug 2, 1990

  Iraq invades Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War.

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, The Uncanny X-Men #266 is number 76 of 100 in the comics entries of the FLOAT 100. 92 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (48 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Gambit is credited to Chris Claremont and Jim Lee, but the issue that introduced him was penciled by Mike Collins, a British artist on a brief spell at Marvel.
• Readers met Gambit out of order: Uncanny X-Men Annual #14, set after #266, was published about three weeks earlier by mistake.
• The story is set in Cairo, Illinois, where a child Storm is living as a thief.
• X-Men #1, the 1991 spinoff that put Gambit on the Blue Team, is listed by Guinness World Records as the best-selling comic book of all time.
• Gambit married Rogue in 2018, more than 26 years after he started pursuing her in X-Men #4.
• Channing Tatum spent years attached to a solo Gambit film that was never made, then played the character in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).