When you place it in context -- who's going on the rescue mission to a space station (as in, Gambit gets to go, the other three don't) -- the categorisation seems even weirder.

And they open with what must be the world's dumbest "we're heroes, but we fight upon meeting" brawl. Surely they're a bit more mature than that. ALL of them.

But I was under the impression he imbued objects with energy, since he talks about "charging" things so it does seem weird.

I was under that impression as well. That he 'converted' an objects potential or actual kinetic energy into explosive energy (?).

Huh. And what was their reasoning why energy-creating supers couldn't go ?

Because there might have been structural damage to the space station.

NO SENSE AT ALL. Maybe there's a concern about sparking leaking oxygen for an explosion, but that hardly accounts for letting Gambit go up, and leaving Cyclops.

That doesn't make any sense. Especially since Gambit's powers are all about making things explode, potentially including turning pieces of the space station into explosives.

I can understand not wanting Johnny Storm in a place where having a big open flame is a really bad idea both in regards to keeping neccessary oxygen levels in the atmosphere and actual oxygen tanks but why Sue would be excluded is extremely strange. And I agree that if Cyclops's powers are a no-no, so should Gambit's.

Not Sue, Kalshane -- Ororo. I got tangled in Storms.

I'm the last person in the world to pipe up for Cyclops, but he can't make things blow up! Concussive force! Pfft.

Ah. But Ororo can do plenty of low impact things with her powers. Weird.

True. But Cyclops could accidently punch a hole through a bulkhead with his power.

Let me see if I can remember exactly who went up -- 6 people -- Emma, Sue, Wolverine, Gambit, Thing -- maybe Reed? Wolverine can slice open a hull, Thing can put a fist through it -- it just smacks of the most arbitrary selection. And it's not like all the X-people haven't spent a fair amount of time in space without killing all and sundry (well, Phoenix excepted) before. Even in rescue/damaged scenarios.

I guess the thinking is a stray blast is more likely than a stray appendage.

Still, I agree it's rather arbitrary. I made similar head scratches over Xavier's team selection in Ultimate Nightmare consisting entirely of one psychic and two brawlers, both of whom have a problem when magnets get involved.

I'd argue that Gambit is a bit more capable in a fight than Storm if they don't use their energy/explosive/environment compromising powers. And vastly moreso than Cyclops or Johnny Storm. Also handy with the lockpicking, stealth, and charming the pants off any villainesses.