Skip to content

The New Star Lady: Or, When Will Pryde Get The Recognition She Deserves?

The New Star Lady: Or, When Will Pryde Get The Recognition She Deserves? published on

So the big Marvel summer event that had so many of us intrigued, worried, excited and slightly dubious is preparing to wrap up and October will see Marvel usher in a new era; ‘All-New, All-Different Marvel’. Several teasers have already been dropped as to what to expect once October hits, one of them being the identity of the new ‘Star Lord’ (or in this case, ‘Star Lady’) in The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.

Unsurprisingly, this reveal shows Kitty Pryde, original X-Men member to be taking over the role of the Star Lord (hence referred to as Star Lady) in place of Peter Quill who has taken off to become the new emperor of Spartax.

So is it finally time for Kitty Pryde to get the recognition she deserves? She has certainly been one of the most popular, and some would say understated, female character in the comic book world. Making her first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #129 in January 1980 she was originally portrayed as a 14 year old girl, shy and nervous about her powers and very much seen as a younger sister to the X-Men at the time. However, as the years have gone by we have seen Kitty evolve physically and emotionally into a strong female character, one which many people can relate to and one who has well and truly earnt her superhero stripes.

Her powers have also grown with her over the years, and when it was revealed that the most recent X-Men film, Days of Future Past, would include a character who had the ability to transport people’s consciousness’s backwards and forwards through time, I was ecstatic; who else could it be but Rachel Summers sending Kitty Pryde back to help the others? Finally, a more than worthy character would get her chance on the big screen to cement herself among the likes of Wolverine and Storm and claim her rightful place as one of the strongest and most lovable mutants to have come out of the Marvel Universe. To say I was angry when I heard it would instead be Wolverine who was sent back in time by Kitty (not even Rachel Summers!) would be an understatement.

This wasn’t just the chance for Kitty Pryde to make her name with cinematic audiences as well as comic book fans; this was a chance for a real, female led superhero movie to finally dominate the big screen. Simon Kinberg, producer of Days of Future Past, told Empire magazine that X-Men Kitty Pryde just wouldn’t have been old enough in this portrayal for the time travel thing to make sense (although when have comics ever cared about making sense?), and also acknowledged that having Wolverine as the lead would bring more ratings in.

The release of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie in 2014, starring Chris Pratt as the Star Lord was a box office smash being nominated for and winning several awards in the process. The popularity of the franchise did not go unnoticed, and people are already gearing up for the sequel. Kitty Pryde featuring in GOTG#2 is practically an impossibility, but with X-Men: Age of Apocalypse in the making as well as her soon to be taking over what is now a much-loved role by comic book readers and movie goers alike, could we one day finally see Kitty Pryde get the recognition she deserves?

I sure hope so. For a character who has stayed strong since the 80’s and fought demons, aliens, mutants and everything in between, who almost completely dissipated due to her powers, had a brief stint as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent and thought permanently fused to a bullet and dead among many other escapades, it’s about time.

Secondary Sidebar