1. 

   Ben Cohen on September 28, 2010 at 4:34 pm

   I am really suprised you don’t naturally like Kitty. Of course we had different entrance points into the X-Men. Although I started reading comics in ’79, I didn’t read the X-Men till ’84. So it was probably the Kitty Pryde and Wolverine series that made me take notice. But I had read some confident and back issues of Uncanny that highlighted her. She has always been a close second behind Longshot as my favorite X-Men. And since from 1985-1997 I was intending on being the penciled for that book…well you know how that goes and how you can care for a character.

   I think for both her and Longshot, they are accessible to kids. For him he started off funny, because he he was unfimilure and litteral with our culture. For her she was “THE kid.” and it didn’t hurt that she was Jewish for me. The two things that I have liked about her is her power has a wonderful quality too it that can be visually interesting and a wonderful balance between defense, and lethality, limitation and potential. There is a morality that plays there. Add to the mix some of the more subtle and unique aspects and there is a lot of story built in. The other is her growth as acharacter. Something not always allowed at Marvel.

   For me she really came into her own as part of Excalibure, but when you are created by Byrne, only an Alan Davis can kick it up a notch.

   Thanks for the image. I love it.

2. 

   1979semifinalist on September 29, 2010 at 1:26 am

   @Ben:

   Well you know, I didn’t come on until 1992/19932…so well past Kitty’s heyday. I did like her in Excalibur which I did discover pretty early on in that first year of reading (and I was huge Alan Davis fan right out of the gate) but Kitty always had a “too perfect” thing that bothered me. I’ve also always disliked (and still do) Rachael Summers…so the two of them being best friends wasn’t working in Kitty’s favor either (although having Lockheed certainly offset that a bit).

   But I’ve slowly grown to like her very much – first in Astonishing and then in other things I’ve read – most notably the Shadow and Flame miniseries/trade I reviewed on SHNH in which I really thought she was fantastic and very different than the glut of “badass chicks” we see these days which I’ve grown tired of.

   I can definitely see how entering at a different time and/or different age could have made Kitty the character I related to, but at 16 and the current comics landscape, it was Rogue. Rogue will probably always be my Kitty.

   Kitty does have great powers though…they’re kind of run of the mill these days I suppose considering the saturation of powers, but at the time…well, a really great unique power set. When she phased that bullet through the planet…I mean that is a great emotional comic book/true superhero moment to me…and I loved that the tiny strong willed stoic and good hearted Kitty Pryde was the one to do it. Very cool stuff.

3. 

   optionalplayer on September 30, 2010 at 2:22 pm

   It’s unfortunate that Kitty has been completely shadowed in comics both before and even now, after that Giant-Size Astonishing issue. Although I hadn’t really jumped into comics since the early 90’s, I knew of Kitty’s existence (through that terrible 1989 pilot “Pryde of the X-Men.”)

   The thing is, I’d read the comics and ask “where is she?” She, up until Astonishing, was a character put onto the back-burning by all writers. I’m glad Whedon gave her justice.

   What I do now, since I’m a bit older, is collect earlier issues of Uncanny X-Men. I have to say, Kitty was a huge factor of X-Men back in the 70’s and 80’s. It’s a shame they let her go.

   Rachel definitely has been pushed through as her replacement – and I don’t know why. I mean, when Rachel joined the X-Men in the 80’s, she wasn’t a big character, so I guess getting her spotlight recently was worth while. But still, writers seem to make her what they had Kitty do back then.

   The problem is that I don’t want to have two Kitty’s on the team. Then again, that would probably explain why when Rachel leaves, Kitty comes back, and so-on.
   Kitty has been utterly useless in the comics since her return in Uncanny #522. Now we’re at #528, and she’s finally getting some notice. That’s six months of Kitty’s return and no story for her.

   Sorry for the little rant. I just hate how they side-track characters for so long.

4. 

   optionalplayer on September 30, 2010 at 2:23 pm

   And that is a great picture of Kitty too, btw.

5. 

   Mitchell Craig on October 5, 2010 at 2:04 am

   That is a fantastic picture of Kitty.

   optionalplayer: Fraction made quite a lot of fuss about bringing Kitty back, only to stick her in that electromagnetic moonshine still. What he should do is pair her up with Generation Hope (as the requisite “Old Guy Who’s Been Around the Block” – Wolverine can’t be everywhere at once). Or make her part of Logan’s Uncanny X-Force (which would be interesting). And if Excalibur is going to be rebooted…guess who should lead the team?

   Thank you and good evening.

6. 

   Ben Cohen on October 7, 2010 at 9:01 pm

   It must be timming and Rogue is a character we share much appreciation for. I was introduced to Kitty, Rogue, Rachel and Storm during that period where they had awesome punk rock costumes and they were imersed in issues with Morlocks and the Hell Fire Club. This was my introduction to the X-Men. Perfection was not part of these characters plot at this point. There was ambiguity on how to deal with mutants with political power above ground and mutants resentful below ground. The X-Men where in a place I am identify with..an unsure middleground; drifters.

7. 

   optionalplayer on October 8, 2010 at 12:07 am

   @Mitchell Craig
   Kitty in X-Force would never work, unfortunately. She’s too caring to join such a ferocious team. Albeit, if she did join, yes, it WOULD be interesting.

   And as of issue 528, like I said, we’re finally getting a bit of story involving her. Damned if I know how it will turn out though.

   Fraction just cares about Cyclops, it seems.

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