Spider-Man and Kitty Pryde

[Ultimate Captain America]

Ultimate Spider-Man had Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy, two big relations of 616 Peter in the past. And at one point, he falls in love with a third one: Kitty Pryde. Is this based on something from 616 canon, or was that completely Bendis' idea?

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Ultimate Spider-Man had Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy, two big relations of 616 Peter in the past. And at one point, he falls in love with a third one: Kitty Pryde. Is this based on something from 616 canon, or was that completely Bendis' idea?

Totally Bendis' idea.

When Kitty Pryde 616 was introduced into Marvel Continuity (in the '80s) she was originally 13 at a time when Peter was mid-20s. No way was anything possible.

When Kitty was finally aged up it was Warren Ellis' run in Excalibur at which point Peter was married.

So there was never any chance.

[Digifiend]

Yeah, they have something like a ten year age gap in 616. In Ultimate, they were the same age. Kitty was also later on a teammate of Miles in All-New Ultimates - the Ultimate Universe's version of the Young Avengers (the other team members were Bombshell, Cloak, Dagger, and Jessica Drew). At the same time, her 616 counterpart was teaching the time displaced O5 X-Men, and a couple of years later would take charge of the entire school.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Yeah, they have something like a ten year age gap in 616. In Ultimate, they were the same age. Kitty was also later on a teammate of Miles in All-New Ultimates - the Ultimate Universe's version of the Young Avengers (the other team members were Bombshell, Cloak, Dagger, and Jessica Drew). At the same time, her 616 counterpart was teaching the time displaced O5 X-Men, and a couple of years later would take charge of the entire school.

Now she's a pirate.

[Frontier]

Now she's a pirate.

And trying to make "Kate" happen...

[Revolutionary_Jack]

And trying to make "Kate" happen...

Not trying. Made it happen. Captain Kate Pryde rules.




I kind of felt that in Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimat Kitty served as the Black Cat romance there. Obviously there is an Ultimate Black Cat but that character is way older than Peter and I guess Bendis realized that there's no way to make Felicia Hardy teenage. So he used Ultimate Kitty to serve as that same dynamic -- someone who likes the Spider-Man part of Peter more than the regular Peter part and who's a threat to MJ in that she can partner with Spidey in battle. So Bendis used Kitty Pryde to work it there.

[Ultimate Captain America]

The purpose was simpler than that: it allowed to tie the Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men comics closer, and reinforce the "shared universe" thing.

[Frontier]

Not trying. Made it happen. Captain Kate Pryde rules.

I like Kitty as a pirate, but I doubt "Kate" will completely catch on .

I kind of felt that in Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimat Kitty served as the Black Cat romance there. Obviously there is an Ultimate Black Cat but that character is way older than Peter and I guess Bendis realized that there's no way to make Felicia Hardy teenage. So he used Ultimate Kitty to serve as that same dynamic -- someone who likes the Spider-Man part of Peter more than the regular Peter part and who's a threat to MJ in that she can partner with Spidey in battle. So Bendis used Kitty Pryde to work it there.

I've never really thought of that, but in terms of relationship dynamics and role in the series, they're pretty similar. Plus they're both cat-themed...and have the bitterness towards MJ/Peter being their one great love they never got over in common.

(You could make Felicia a teenager).

[Huntsman Spider]

I like Kitty as a pirate, but I doubt "Kate" will completely catch on .

I've never really thought of that, but in terms of relationship dynamics and role in the series, they're pretty similar. Plus they're both cat-themed...and have the bitterness towards MJ/Peter being their one great love they never got over in common.

(You could make Felicia a teenager).

Hmm, like in Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, or more recently, the Avengers Academy mobile game where almost every major Marvel hero (and villain) is a teenager (late high school, early college).

[K7P5V]

Not trying. Made it happen. Captain Kate Pryde rules.




I kind of felt that in Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimat Kitty served as the Black Cat romance there. Obviously there is an Ultimate Black Cat but that character is way older than Peter and I guess Bendis realized that there's no way to make Felicia Hardy teenage. So he used Ultimate Kitty to serve as that same dynamic -- someone who likes the Spider-Man part of Peter more than the regular Peter part and who's a threat to MJ in that she can partner with Spidey in battle. So Bendis used Kitty Pryde to work it there.

Brilliant! Can't say enough how much I enjoyed the Bendis version of Ultimate Pete.

In fact, Ultimate Clone Saga is still superior to the '90s version in every way conceivable. One of the results of that is Ultimate Spider-Woman, and she's still a personal favorite of mine. I still LOVE her interactions with everyone connected to Pete (especially Ultimate Kitty Pryde):

[scilover]

Ultimate Spider-Man and Kitty Pryde relationship was 100% Bendis’ idea. For me personally, I didn’t enjoy the relationship, I felt like it was very forced. Just because both of them are teens still.

[WebLurker]

Ultimate Spider-Man and Kitty Pryde relationship was 100% Bendis’ idea. For me personally, I didn’t enjoy the relationship, I felt like it was very forced. Just because both of them are teens still.

I thought it was okay for what it was, although I will concede that I wasn't shipping them. I kinda wish they'd done more with Kitty and Jessica, though; that could've been interesting story fodder.

[Huntsman Spider]

I thought it was okay for what it was, although I will concede that I wasn't shipping them. I kinda wish they'd done more with Kitty and Jessica, though; that could've been interesting story fodder.

Same here, especially in All-New Ultimates where they became roommates and teammates.

[phantom1592]

I'll admit, I loved the Peter and Kitty relationship. She was a decent, nice person... who had enough powers that the whole 'I have to keep my girlfriend safe' simply didn't apply. It's also one of the first real stories that actually didn't feel like a total ripoff of the traditional 616 stories.

It felt new and fresh and made sense.

[Celgress]

I'll admit, I loved the Peter and Kitty relationship. She was a decent, nice person... who had enough powers that the whole 'I have to keep my girlfriend safe' simply didn't apply. It's also one of the first real stories that actually didn't feel like a total ripoff of the traditional 616 stories.

It felt new and fresh and made sense.

I agree with you. It was a refreshing change of pace at the time. I enjoyed it.