Marvel FINALLY Confirms X-Men’s Kate Pryde Is Bisexual

This article contains spoilers for Marauders #12.

Marvel’s X-Men comics have finally confirmed Kate Pryde is bi. A firm fan-favorite, Kate “Kitty” Pryde was created by the legendary Chris Claremont and John Byrne. The X-Men books are commonly described as something of a superhero soap opera, so it’s no real surprise her love life has consistently been something of a train wreck. Amusingly, Kate has always seemed to have something of a thing for boys named Peter; she’s fallen for Peter Rasputin (Colossus), Pete Wisdom, and even Peter Quill (Star-Lord). In the Ultimate universe, Kitty Pryde dated Spider-Man.

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But the X-Men books have also consistently queer-baited Kitty Pryde. Over the years, there have been subtle hints she’s actually bi, with a near-kiss with fellow X-Woman Karma in the Mekanix miniseries. Claremont subtly hinted she was more than just a friend to Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik, when he showed her drawing Magik’s Soulsword; what’s more, he always intended Kitty and Rachel Grey to be soul-mates, but he was prevented from doing anything more than hint at this – even in the 2010 X-Women one-shot, which saw Kitty and Rachel embrace in a way that seemed far more than “just good friends.”

Now, after all these years, Marvel has finally confirmed Kate Pryde is bi. This week’s Marauders #12 sees a newly-resurrected Kate Pryde reunited with her oldest friends, and initially, the issue seems filled with more queer-baiting. When Rachel arrives, she and Kate share a significant look, and the shape of the lighting behind Rachel looks rather like something of a sex object; when Magik teleports in she knocks Kate to the ground in another amusing scene that’s open to interpretation. But, after all these years, writer Gerry Duggan finally decides to make the subtext overt later in the issue, when he sends Kate to a tattoo parlor. There, she shares an innocent and sweet kiss with the girl who’s just given her knuckle tats.

It’s a wonderful scene, not least because artist Matteo Lolli gives Kate a look of sheer delight after she’s initiated the kiss. Needless to say, X-Men fans are reacting in delight; this has been hinted for decades, but always subtly, so it was just a matter of interpretation. Now, finally, Kate Pryde has become an explicitly bisexual character.

Of course, the really interesting question is whether or not this will lead to either of the fan-favorite relationships Marvel has been hinting at for years. The potential is clearly there, with Duggan’s script deliberately reminding readers of all the theories Kate should hook up with Magik or Illyana (or, this being Krakoa, potentially both). New Mutants #5 certainly revealed Magik is pansexual (in the weirdest possible way), so the potential is certainly there. It will be exciting to see what comes next for the X-Men‘s Kate Pryde.

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