WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Marauders #12 by Gerry Duggan, Matteo Lolli, Edgar Delgado, and VC's Cori Petit on sale now.
In the world of X-Men and beyond, fans love to 'ship' characters by pairing them in romantic relationships. Many of these pairings are never confirmed or explored within canon, but some get much-requested page-time. One notable romance fans have been theorizing about for years might finally be coming to fruition in the current era of X-Men comics.
Elements from Marauders #12 suggest Marvel is embracing the idea that Kate Pryde may be bisexual, with a scene of Kate kissing another woman and another moment that underscores the long-held queer subtext of the relationship with her old teammate Rachel Summers.
After Kate Pryde was killed by Sebastian Shaw months ago, the fan-favorite X-Man was revived in Marauders #11, thanks to the resurrection protocols that can bring any mutant back to life in the mutant-nation Krakoa. After a lengthy period of being unable to be restored, Kate Pryde is welcomed back to the ranks of her fellow mutants with open arms. The ensuing party is full of notable moments between Kate and her best friends on the team.
While she's at the party, there seems to be a moment where Kate catches the eye of her long-time friend Rachel Summers. Kate's demeanor softens and she tries to say something to her before Nightcrawler distracts her and Rachel leaves before Kate can get a moment with her.
Needing to get fresh air, Kate has Magik just teleport the two of them away, where the pair get food and hang out. Kate soon finds a tattoo shop and pays the artist there to skip a date and give Kate some new knuckle tattoos, reflecting her intentions to get revenge on Shaw for his attack on her. After spending some time getting the tattoos completed, Kate leans into the woman -- who'd earlier joked that her new date was with Kate -- and gives the artist a surprisingly deep kiss. The smile on Kate's face afterward is one of her characteristically goofy pride.
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A long-standing aspect of Kate Pryde's character that has never been fully dealt with is her sexuality. Although she has historically been paired with men like Pete Wisdom, Star-Lord and Colossus, many fans have theorized that Kitty actually fell in love with Colossus' younger sister, Illyana. The two were quick best friends in their teen years, but with a solid amount of subtext that hinted the pair could be more than that.
When Kitty joined Excalibur, she became incredibly close with Rachel Summers. The pair shared a room during their time on the team, often flirted openly and even shared a kiss in Scott Lobdell and Ken Lashley's Excalibur #75 in 1994, before Rachel was forced to venture away from the time-period. Altogether, it led to the consistent fan theory that Shadowcat is bisexual, which is something one of her creators intended.
During an interview on the podcast Jay & Miles X-Plain The X-Men, Chris Claremont revealed his original intention with Shadowcat had been for her to fall in love with Rachel, her "true love." Claremont also tried to establish Kate's bisexuality following her brief flirtation with Karma in the 2002 mini-series Mekanix, which was penciled by Juan Bobillo.
However, that was largely forgotten after that miniseries. It hasn't become a major aspect of the character, with her love-interests remaining solely male, such as Star-Lord and her near-marriage with Colossus. With the Dawn of X era opening the doors for other characters to embrace their feelings and their truths, this is the perfect time for Marvel to confront the long-running theory and embrace it.
This could be a huge step towards making the relationship between Kitty and Rachel canon, bring a subtext that's been around for decades to the forefront and legitimizing it. It would also be a major, necessary step in making the X-Men a more inclusive team.
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