We've all come to expect it in comic books, when a character "dies", or in this case, flies away on a space bullet into infinity, we're sad to see them go, but there's a certain level of comfort in knowing that all you need to do is wait, oh about 2 years these days, and that beloved character will find a way back into the pages of your favorite funnybook. A couple of years ago, my Joss Whedon, in that classic Whedon style of killing those you love the most, made Kitty Pryde the hero of Astonishing X-Men, with her sacrifice to save the Earth from destruction by phasing a giant space bullet to pass through the Earth with no harm, which then led to her being trapped on said space bullet, hurtling towards the vast emptiness of space.
There are a few rules in comics around deaths and a big one is, "if you don't see the body, they're not dead," and in this case, Kitty didn't actually die, rather just was just trapped and the assumption was that she would die, alone on a giant space bullet. It always bothered me about the ending of Astonishing X-Men, how everyone just accepted that fate. They kinda tried to save her, but then everyone just shrugged and moved on. As a Kitty Pryde fan, it always left me a little empty in that it wasn't how I'd want to see Kitty go.
But then a few months ago, in the pages of Kieron Gillen's S.W.O.R.D. #1, in the back up story drawn by Jamie McKelvie, there it was, the giant space bullet, and I knew. I knew they were laying the ground work to bring Kitty back! So you can imagine my excitement and glee when we recieved word from Marvel confirming my suspicions with the following video we present to you today. With out further ado:
The video description via Marvel:
Because You Demanded It! Kitty Pryde returns this March in Uncanny X-Men #522—but how? And what does this mean for the X-Men? Don’t miss a single issue of Uncanny X-Men!
So there you have it. Kitty Pryde returns to Uncanny X-Men #522! Rejoice! Now let's just hope they don't let Greg Land draw her. Say what you will about the current state of the X-Men comics, this whole Nation X/Utopia thing, but right now I'm pretty happy with the stories Matt Fraction has been weaving. I'm enjoying Uncanny X-Men and bringing back Kitty is enough to get me totally psyched for March when the issue ships.
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It really bums me out how Marvel and other companies feel the need to put out press releases about this stuff ahead of time. Can anything meaningful happen in comics without it being announce weeks or months in advance?
The way I look at it, the times are changing/evolving – for me, it’s become less about not knowing what’s coming and more about how they tell the story…
This is true. Same with most major-release movies. You can suss out the story ahead of time (hell, they practically give the whole thing away sometimes) – so it comes down to the execution.
I am just glad Kitty is coming back. I’m looking forward to seeing her interact with the current satus quo of the x-universe
I agree Ron. There are a lot of Kitty and Colossus stories left to tell, and until now, I felt like I had been cheated out of them. Thank you Ron, for breaking this news and distracting me from all the Spider-Man 4 news that I can’t seem to get away from!
just went back and found the solicit for this issue. no greg land
UNCANNY X-MEN #522
Written by MATT FRACTION
Pencils by WHILCE PORTACIO
Cover by TERRY DODSON
Variant Cover by TBA
She’s been gone for a long time, but she’s coming back. This isn’t a hoax. This isn’t a joke. CLASSIFIED is back in this over-sized special issue of UNCANNY X-MEN.
40 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
"She’s been gone for a long time, but she’s coming back. This isn’t a hoax. This isn’t a joke. CLASSIFIED is back in this over-sized special issue of UNCANNY X-MEN"
That solicit had me expecting Hope to be returning, what with Second Coming and all, so good on Marvel for hiding it so well, even if it was just for two weeks.
Bummer
"Pencils by WHILCE PORTACIO"
Haven’t seen him in a while. Whilce can be hit or miss – but when he’s on-target, I really like his work.
(Wonder if he’s replacing Greg Land opposite Terry Dodson.)
@ronxo Well, I agree to an extent, but I disagree alot. There are only so many ways to tell a story and if you know everything beforehand you can pretty much fill in 85% of the detaisl without ever buying the issue. Since there are only so many ways to write an issue… you need to use some level of surprise to keep a reader engrossed.
I agree that the quality of the story is more important than the surprise. And certainly there is no real element of surprise to the general fact that popular comic book characters who have died are likely to return. That will not ruin (or "spoil") this issue of Uncanny X-Men for me. But wouldn’t it just be more fun to read the same story without knowing that the end result is going to be Kitty’s return? I understand that I can avoid this if I don’t read comic news on the internet. And I guess that this serves the purposes of alerting people who would care about this but wouldn’t have known to pick up the issue without a press release. I can’t blame Marvel for what they do and it will not stop me from buying this issue. I’m just saying, wasn’t it nice back in the old days when we walked in 12 feet of snow, up-hill, both ways to our comic shop, and had no idea what adventures the X-Men and other comic characters would be getting up to this week? Oh well.
Portacio’s recent work has been pretty spot-on. This should be great!
@mrlogical i too miss those days. i think i’m going to stop reading solicits all together and this way i’ll only know what the cover tells me on monday when i make my pull list here
No Greg Land…Now all they have to do is get rid of Matt Fraction and we’re in business.
Why? What’s the point in bringing her back?
It will only be a letdown after what happened in Astonishing X-Men. That was probably the greatest Marvel comic of last decade.
I just don’t understand why. Or I’m depressed about the no Spider-Man 4 news!
I love how Iron Man fan’s worship the ground Fraction walks on, but X-Men fans curse the day he was born. Personally, I never liked his Iron Man run and this X-Men run is what’s making me an X-Men fan (in comics at least.) Sure, the dialogue and character moments he writes in Uncanny are absolutely horrendous, but the overall plot lines are interesting.
I am definitely really enjoying Uncanny right now, so I’m looking forward to how this happens. But yes, I agree with the guy from iFanboy up there, I hope Greg Land doesn’t pencil/trace this. Does anyone else notice that his mouths are all off-angle from his faces lately? That irritates me almost as more than Simone Bianchini drawing huge areolas on Scott Summers.
@zombox – hmmm, well, there are only so many PLOTS, yes. And you can figure out the details of the plot. But there are an infinite number of ways to tell a STORY. That’s a significant difference for me. Plot, for me, is just a way to move the story. Stories have nuance, drama, emotional resonance — all things that only come in the telling of the story, rather than the spoiling of the plot. Thus, I’m not usually bothered by releases like this. My real joy in always in the meat of the story itself.
The way I look at it is this: Today I was "surprised" by the return of Kitty. In a few months, I’ll get to read the story. So I still get the surprise AND the story, one just comes via press release and one via comic book. 😉 I’ve treated spoilers that way for years now, and it works. 🙂
I always wondered why she couldn’t just pass through the bullet and have someone pick her up. She phased into it. Why couldn’t she phase out of it? I’m sure their was a reason by I really dont recall.
Really glad I don’t read Uncanny=), I swear that news actually makes me happy I don’t read the book. Kitty is gone and unless Joss brings her back I don’t really care. I haven’t been around for most of the hero ressurections, but this type of news is really just starting to make me genuinely laugh.
@Crucio- At the end of Astonishing they said that Kitty was "bonded" with the bullet. I interpreted that to mean that the energy it took for her to phase through the earth in some way fused her to the bullet.
*I realize Kitty never died and that it is not a ressurection, I just think its implausible that they randomly came up with a way in which to free her from the bullet. Reed Richards and Dr. Strange couldn’t save her… she’s "GONE".
@daccampo I think you have a more generous "surprise" threshold than I do. If a story is well executed, it gives the surprise meaning and impact that it otherwise wouldn’t have. If you had told me right as I sat down to watch the Sixth Sense for the first time the Bruce Willis is dead from the beginning of the movie, I guess I would be surprised to know that, but there wouldn’t be nearly the same kind of payoff as I experienced watching the movie without that knowledge. For me at least, surprise cannot be neatly cut out of and separated from story without both elements suffering.
The X-Universe needs Kitty and Peter…
AAAaAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAaaaaaaaaah!
I thought this site was anti-spoilers!?!?!
It’s no big surprise, I guess. I mean I knew it was gonna happen, but I didn’t wanna know know, you know?
I for one love Fraction on Iron Man and on Uncanny and also pretty much everything else he writes
Wasn’t Colossus’ return in Astonishing a surprise? I don’t recall a video montage for that.
I don’t see why they couldn’t have done the same thing here.
@patio – if you didn’t hear about it here, you were going to hear about it somehwere – it’s how Marvel is marketing the book. The spoiling doesn’t necessarily have to come from the reveal, rather in how/why she’s back etc.
I just hope Fraction doesn’t recycle the same tired old animosity between Kitty and Emma the same way he’s been doing with Emma and Storm. (Hint: Read Astonishing X-Men. They’re friends now. Or at least friendly.)
At this point, I’m not even treating Ellis’s run on Astonishing as in continuity (due in no small part to "Ghost Boxes" and how much it sucked).
I think Matt Fraction does a much better job with Iron Man than he does with Uncanny X-Men but I still have enjoyed the majority of his X-Men books.
Yawn. Not surprising in the least, though… oddly timed. I was sure Kitty would have been gone a few more years. However, I really would have liked some more build up to it and the ending being a surprise when you got to that issue. While I understand the motivation for the press release it makes it seem far more like a desperate publicity stunt than just killing off the character and bringing her back is already. (Not that DC or other companies aren’t culpable of the same stunt-tactics, but I don’t recall a press release for any of their returns since Superman’s.) Just passing this off as "sign of the times" "Age of storytelling over plot details" is pandering a bit. This past summer’s Star Trek film had a rather spartan trailer that really didn’t reveal much in the way of the movie’s story such that I was quite surprised how much I didn’t know when I go there. The trailer for Inglorious Basterds focuses on what amounts to only 20% of the film’s actual content. Surprising the audience and reader can still occur.
@smasher Yep. The book came out that Wensday with a regular cover and a Colossus variant cover that had been leaked, but people thought was hoax. (#4 I believe.) There’s also very little build up to his return in the first three issues, so it was certainly a surprise.
@slockhart As both a long time Iron Man and X-Men fan, I can safely say that Fraction seems to be two different writers on both books. One Iron Man he gets the character, what makes him tick and he gets the supporting cast. On Uncanny the characters bear no resemblance to the characters I know and have followed for years and they seem to be dithering each issue. While this is not the place for this discussion, I can certainly understand how a relatively "newer" X-Men reader would like his run.
I’m gald to hear she is coming back. Ever since she was forced to leave, the whole X-franchise seemed to have lost their…..innocence is the best word to use lately. There doesn’t seem to be a factor in any of the books to say ‘Well sure this can get pretty heavy, but here’s the lighter side of mutants’.
So I’m all for this happening.
I’ve given up on the whole "why do they need to bring back everybody from the dead?" debate a long time ago – even though here Kitty never really died. Give me a plausible story that doesn’t contradict anything else and I’m fine with it.
@mrlogical – Oh, certainly in some cases it’s better to have the surprise within the story. I’ll agree with you there. It would have affected my viewing of The Sixth Sense, but it wouldn’t have ruined it by any means. The movie holds up to repeat viewings, IMHO.
But either way: with long-running, serialized comics, I don’t think the surprise of ANYONE coming back is that big of a deal, so that’s why I have that stipulation with comics (it doesn’t necessarily apply the same way to movies). I like reading teasers and spoilers online — it’s a different kind of sport for me. Then when I sit down to read the actual story, it’s all about the how/why, as Ron said, which is a different experience.
I know people will hate
At the end of the day, we readers get much more of an impact from a well devised plot twist that takes us by suprise than a plot development that we have been informed about. Yes, Kitty Pryde’s return can be written really well, but it wouldn’t beat the combination of shock and happiness we readers would get if it took us by suprise. Ill definitely be getting this, though.
On another note, Im really glad this issue is being drawn by Whilce Portacio, as Im guessing theyre going to be going for an epic feel for this issue, and Portacio can do epic quite well.
Who’s Kitty Pryde and why is she important? I’m not bein a prick, I’m just curious. I don’t know much about the X-Men.
…
wow! great
@jumpingjupiter Kitty is the heart of the X-men in much the same way the Ray Stanz is the heart of the Ghostbusters
@JumpinJupiter.. Kitty was the quintessential 80’s teen girl (everyone’s little sister with mutant powers) that brought a sense of comedy and lightness to the team. My favorite arc would be Uncanny#182-185 with her saving Colosus, her dealing with Storms changes and of course the Mutant Massacre(Iforget the issues on that)
I’m probably gonna get shot… But I hope Kitty’s return doesn’t mean Jubilee will still be without her place at the table.
I know, she’s not that popular anymore. But I started reading X-Men during the Marc Silvestri run, and I’m not ashamed to admit I own a complete Generation X run mainly due to my huge crush on her when I was a kid.
-J.
Re: "spoiling," did you really read the last chapter of Astonishing and think, "Well, I presume that A-list character starves to death off-panel now. That’s it for her, I guess"?
I’ve been looking forward to this development since I closed that book. Can’t wait to see how it’s done, and Fraction is just the fellow to do it.
Didn’t Colossus get cloned or something and make an unlikely comeback? I just assumed the bullet would smack into a planet,they’d mop up the Kitty goo and make a new Kitty.
Boring….Maybe Colossus and her will have romantic drama???!? Been there…done that. Once again, the Xmen recycles a storyline.
@Slockhart – I think Matt Fraction is the most overrated writer at present. Everything he touches be it Iron Man or X-Men turns to suck. I have heard good things about his Iron Fist but haven’t read it so I’m willing to give him some benefit of the doubt but when I read his issues of both Iron Man and X-Men I felt like I was reading a sixth grader’s notebook doodlings.
Because Fraction is on the flagship X-title it reallys sends home how bad the entire X-franchise is right now. But I would be remiss in not giving Warren Ellis some credit. His run on Astonishing is almost as terrible.
Cool, I’ve been looking for a jump on point to Uncanny again (Had to drop it a about three years ago) so happy to find a good jump. or so I think
I’ve been waiting for this for a while. It’s just a shame that it while be happening in Fractions spectacularly BAD Uncanny run. Which pretty much guarantees a painful anti-climax and a messy delivery all round.
I also still resent the way that Marvel de-aged Kitty back to a teen after Davis, Lobdell and Ellis had written such a comprehensive and gradual aging into adulthood, over a good 7 of her 10 years in EXCALIBUR. That should never have occured. She’s still been regularly written as younger than some of the New Mutants since 1998, and the whole thing is a mess, to be honest.
I’m a little shocked. I thought it would happen in Sword. I already had her joining the team in my head. What was the point of that backup story. I don’t blame Sword, but I’m a little disappointed.
The only surprise that I have is that it took this long! But I have to wonder, how are they going to get her out of this one.
In the trailer there was a panel of Kitty doing the classic Wolverine-in-the-sewer shot from Dark Phoenix. Did that already happen or is that something coming up? Whatever it is from, I thought that was a cool touch.
I’ve gotten over the "spoiling" factor. If you don’t see it in Previews, Newsarama, or some other site, then its plastered on the cover for you to buy it. @ron is right, this is how the book gets marketed so that you buy the damn thing. As long as the writers leave a few surprises then I’m good.
@zeppo it might be a crossover with SWORD. for all we know that seed that was planted in SWORD could be used to bring kitty back in this book
Thanks for that. All that time avoiding comic book websites to avoid spoilers really paid off
I say again: did you REALLY not know Kitty was coming back? Does that really spoil something?
yes and potentially yes
Never lose that.
I saw this news and was like, "Here is one thing that no one on the Internet can possibly turn into a negative!"
You’d think I’d never met the Internet.
Take it easy guys, I just avoid any kind of spoilers. That’s the reason why this is the only comics website I go to, I miss being surprised when I open up my issues.
Not blaming ifanboy specifically, it’s just an annoying part of the industry for me.