Marvel confirms another superhero as ‘canonically bisexual’ after 40 years of queerbaiting and fans are ecstatic
Kate Pryde shared a same-sex kiss after decades of queer subtext. (Marvel)
Marvel appears to have confirmed X-Men superhero Kate Pryde is queer after alluding to her sexuality for four decades.
For decades Marvel fans have speculated that Kate (formerly known as Kitty) Pride is part of the LGBT+ community, thanks in large part to some heavy-handed queer-baiting.
Now, 40 years after the character’s first appearance in Uncanny X-Men, a new comic has “cemented her status as a bisexual icon”.
Marauders #12 – part of Marvel’s Dawn of X relaunch initiative – details Kate’s first moments after being resurrected (she was killed by the villainous Sebastian Shaw, only to be brought back to life on mutant nation Krakoa).
She’s welcomed back to the ranks with a party, during which she catches the eye of Rachel Summers – who fans have long believed her to be in love.
Rachel leaves before Kate can speak with her, and so she has Magik teleport them away to get some fresh air.
Kate then finds herself in a tattoo shop, and before long shares a kiss with the female tattoo artist.
So, I never really got into Marauders when Dawn of X happened and now I've just found out they've finally cemented Kate Pryde's status as a bisexual ICON. pic.twitter.com/HE0s7adzX3
— QuornHub (@simondoesthings) September 9, 2020
Fans were naturally ecstatic that Marvel is finally allowing Kate Pryde to express her sexuality.
KITTY PRYDE IS CANONICALLY BISEXUAL. #xspoilers— thomas ♉️ (@dirtbattery) September 9, 2020
#xspoilers
?Welcome home, Kate Pryde ? pic.twitter.com/wj8dqUANtz— Z'Reee Shar (@jumbocarnationx) September 9, 2020
Others were simply glad that the comics are finally dropping the subtext that has been picked up on for decades.
Anyone who doesn’t believe that Kitty/Kate Pryde is queer, simply hasn’t been reading X-Men for the last 40 years. Still, final confirmation made me cheer. (As an Excalibur fan, I’m rooting for Rachel) pic.twitter.com/hFbZ5KGaFY— Fabulous Secret Powers (@OhBilly3D) September 9, 2020
KITTY/KATE PRYDE HAS NEVER BEEN STRAIGHT. She’s def bi/pan or a label similar to that. My dude Claremont always been on point with these things, between this and Mystique being Nightcrawler’s father and Destiny being his mom. VINDICATION! https://t.co/hCJjIrnA0O
— Lauren | GA EARLY VOTE DEC 14 (@legendsofmood) September 9, 2020
Marvel finally letting a character whose exploits for *40 YEARS* consisted of awkward/melodramatic/tragic/intensely-close flirting with other women, whose name is KITTY PRYDE, "come out" is like Black Panther only *now* taking the mask off and people reacting like Blazing Saddles— MovieBob Productions (@the_moviebob) September 10, 2020
the funniest thing ab 80s xmen gay coding is that like every teenage girl who came into contact with kitty pryde ended up gay just by association ?????— jean gay (@kamalasmarvels) September 9, 2020
Throughout her history Kate/Kitty Pryde has been depicted in relationships with men including Star-Lord and Colossus.
However fans believe she was in love with the latter’s sister and her childhood best friend, Illyana, and later her Excalibur teammate, Rachel.
Chris Claremont, who created the Excalibur series in 1988, said in 2016 that his original intention for Kate to end up with her “true love” Rachel. He also tried to canonise her bisexuality int he 2002 miniseries Mekanix.
While it remains to be seen whether Kate will end up with Rachel, elsewhere in the Marvel universe two gay superheroes recently celebrated their wedding.
In Empyre #4, it was finally confirmed that Young Avengers co-founders and superheroes Hulkling and Wiccan are married, with flashback scenes depicting the first same-sex wedding between two superheroes.
