X-Men: Shadowcat

This X-Men article will take a detailed look at Kitty Pryde, a.k.a Shadowcat. Kitty was the youngest of the X-Men, but she may have had the biggest heart of them all. Her power is fairly simple, as she can "phase" through any object allowing her easy entrance into anywhere. This gift isn't especially effective in battle, but with her imagination as to how to use it, she makes due. Her character is either well liked or hated by fans, it's rare to come across someone who is in between on them. She was portrayed by Ellen Page in X-Men The Last Stand, and to no fault of Page, it wasn't well done.

At the young age of thirteen, Kitty Pryde was able to attend college level course due to her genius intellect. For the most part she led a normal life with no signs of being a mutant until she began to experience horrible headaches that indeed were the first sign of her emerging mutant power. Kitty did not know of the mutation that she possessed until her parents were one day visited by Emma Frost of the Hellfire Club. Frost spoke to her parents about enrolling Kitty in an academy that she runs in Massachusetts and as she spoke to Kitty's parents, Kitty herself was alone in her bedroom when her headache became worse then ever before. When the painful headache dispersed, Kitty found herself on the ground floor of her house and realized that she can phase shift through solid objects. After Frost left the Pryde household, Charles Xavier and three of his X-Men showed up in hopes of recruiting young Kitty. Which, in fact, she did join Xavier's Institute where she learned to control her mutation. She became the youngest member of the X-Men. At first she took the nickname of Sprite, and then went to Ariel before eventually landing on Shadowcat. Xavier enrolled her in classes at the institution to give her stability.

Kitty quickly became an integral part of the X-Men team. She formed a strong friendship with Storm and Illyana Rasputin. Illyana and Kitty became so close that their bond allowed Kitty to wield the Soulsword, which was the ultimate expression of of Illyana's magical prowess. While forming these friendships, she also formed a strong relationship with Piotr Rasputin (Colossus). The two of them remained together for a long period of time, and when apart their love for each other was still strong. Kitty also gained a constant companion on an adventure into space when they came across a small dragon looking creature named Lockheed. Lockheed came from an alien race called the Flock and was engaged in battle with the Brood when the X-Men showed up. Kitty named the creature Lockheed after a fairy tale. Kitty experienced some issues of her own with her powers and they came about in a horrible way. The mutant group known as the Marauders massacred the underground dwelling Morlocks to which the X-Men tried to intervene on but the Marauder by the name of Harpoon sent a energy spear through Kitty. Past the pain it inflicted, it affected her powers and made it difficult for her to regain solidity. This was later fixed by the Fantastic Four.

After a few months passed, Kitty learned that Piotr's sister Illyana was affected and dying by the Legacy Virus. A virus that was a killer to only mutants, and targeted only mutants. Kitty was present when Illyana finally passed away from the deadly disease, and in turn, her death bonded the Soulsword to Kitty. Over time the power of the mystical weapon began to corrupt Kitty until it was eventually surrendered to another fellow mutant named Daytripper who then gave it to her gypsy mother Margali Szardos. Eventually, to be rid of the Legacy Virus, Piotr Rasputin sacrificed himself to release the cure for the disease into the atmosphere. His body was supposedly cremated, but Kitty spread his ashes across his Russian farmland home. Kitty attempted to live a normal life following these events and left the X-Men. She went to a prestigious school after getting a full scholarship to go there and worked as a bartender near the campus. She quickly found herself under scrutiny from anti-human protestors throughout the school and eventually was put on probation while also being forced to attend mandatory counseling. During this time, Kitty faced her most difficult loss when she learned of her father's demise during the attack on Genosha.