Rick Smith, Jr.! Haven't heard that name in a while... Damn, I remember watching him in a 60 Minutes (or whatever news magazine) feature many many years ago. I never knew that was possible until I saw him flinging cards out into the audience at however mph after an interview. I remember wishing that I could be on the receiving end of the cards until they mentioned how it was lethal. Uh, point is, I then had a new found respect for Gambit seeing how a skill like that could be ultra deadly and kickass. (-;

and they could make it super cool looking with CGI. Camera following the cards, slow motion, the cool finger flicks. Would look pretty cool if you ask me.

Pyro could've easily been replaced by a young Gambit. Both are broody, on-the-edge, unpredictable, with similar powers... not sure how that would've gone over though.

Didn't Firestar first appear in the "Spider-man and his Amazing Friends" cartoon, some years later?
(the rest of your listings seem pretty accuate though)