Whilst Kitty Pryde is one of the more popular X-Men, her fashion choices since she debuted in Uncanny X-Men #129 have been somewhat varied to say the least. We've seen flamboyant, bizarre, and uncomfortably creepy costumes that have done nothing for her character, as well as some truly awesome ones that make her cool mutant powers secondary to what she wears.
Her costumes may not inspire the likes of Christian Dior or Ralph Lauren to create a new fashion line in her honor, but there's no denying she's not one to cause a stir with the contents of her wardrobe. We take a look at 5 of Kitty Pryde's best costumes, and 5 that we can't stand to look at.
10 Best: Wolverine Claw Costume
During the events of X-Men Forever, Kitty Pryde managed to acquire one of Wolverine claws after a fight with Fabian Cortez where she phases through Logan. Not only did she just she end up with a retractable claw, but she also absorbs his healing factor and his heightened senses.
Whilst the 2010 X-Men Forever 2 series was canceled after 16 issues, her costume was one of her coolest. It was dark blue with red trim exposing her midriff, with her long hair tied back. She had also developed a set of bone claws in her left hand, not only making her look awesome but providing her with a new skill set that shadows Wolverine in almost every way.
9 Worst: Sprite/Original Costume
Back when Kitty Pryde first joined the X-Men, she was given the name Sprite by Storm. She managed to impress Professor X with the way she breezed past her first training exercise, developed a crush on Colossus, and saved the day during the events of Days of Future Past, but her costume was pretty terrible.
Granted, this one wasn't her fault (unlike many others later on), but it did nothing to make her look as good as her fellow X-Men. It wasn't so much the black and yellow bodysuit or boots that did her an injustice, but the awful mask she wore that made her look like a robber, and the way her hair spilled out from the bottom of it didn't work at all.
8 Best: Star-Lord Costume
Best known for being one of the X-Men and having an intense relationship with Colossus, Kitty Pryde once had a spell as one of the Guardians of the Galaxy alongside the likes of the Thing and Venom. During her tenure in the team, Peter Quill asked for her hand in marriage, and she accepted.
She ended up taking on the Star-Lord persona when Quill became the king of the Spartax Empire, and although this made him angry about her new role, she enjoyed being a member of the Guardians, now led by Rocket Raccoon. Star-Lord's outfit always looked good on Quill, but the red leather jacket looks much better on Kitty Pryde.
7 Worst: Snazzy Costume
Kitty Pryde joined the X-Men as a teenager - a naive 13-year old where her ideas of cool involved lots of color and plenty of sparkles. To be fair to artist Dave Cockrum, the idea behind the legwarmers and mishmash of colors in Uncanny X-Men #149 was intentionally done to highlight her youth and bizarre fashion sense, but it was still hideous to see.
Blue lightning bolts on a red vest, gold tights, and purple, white, and black legwarmers made up the majority of this terrible costume. Top it off with oversized orange gloves and a jagged purple mask and you get the most famously garish costume Kitty Pryde has ever worn. Now let's just forget it ever existed.
6 Best: Excalibur Costume
After the events of the Mutant Massacre, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat were left in shock as many of the X-Men had supposedly died. Recovering with the aid of Moira MacTaggert, the two former X-Men teamed with Captain Britain and his girlfriend Meggan to save Rachel Summers from Technet and the Warwolves.
They ended up forming Excalibur in honor of the X-Men, planning on continuing their legacy in their absence. Shadowcat's costume featured a puffy jacket and light blue tights, along with the same mask as her original Sprite costume, however, her long curly brown hair flowed freely from her head and made it look a million times better than it did back then.
5 Worst: Bartender Costume
It's a shame that a blatant teenager's transformation from dorky to sexy was done in such a derogatory way. The Kitty Pryde of old was now overtly sexualized, working in a bar wearing leather pants with slits on the outer thighs. The cover art from X-Treme X-Men #44 by Salvador Larroca even showed off the straps of her thong, which was pretty disgusting.
Even the famed erotic artist Milo Manara had a go, and although her costume remained unchanged from the original bartender design, he put plenty of emphasis on the contours of her bottom, only adding to the creepiness. Thankfully, she didn't wear this costume for long, returning to a much nicer and respectable take on an older outfit.
4 Best: Updated Original Costume
Kitty Pryde showed her maturity and growth without resulting in showing off plenty of skin during a few updates to her original outfit. When she joined Cyclops' and Emma Frost's X-Men, Pryde wore full black lycra with a yellow stripe down the middle, complete with yellow collar, boots, and gloves.
The best version of an update on the original was when it was made up of a full blue bodysuit complete with a yellow X over her chest and a much smaller mask over her face, complete with a solitary silver claw for added attacking prowess. To top off the look, she'd had a haircut which was much shorter and suited her really well.
3 Worst: Green Strapless Costume
There was a running joke for much of Kitty Pryde's early time as an X-Man where she wore a variety of costumes that were both ridiculous and bearable. Years before the hideous bartender costume, Marvel weren't exactly paying attention to the uncomfortable nature in which they gave a young teenager a costume that was completely inappropriate.
In Uncanny X-Men #156, Kitty Pryde was experimenting with a "clothes-makin' gizmo," and one of the costumes she changed into was green and strapless, exposing her shoulders, albeit the two green pieces of fabric that barely covered her chest. What made it worse was Nightcrawler's reaction to it and his ambivalence to the fact she was far too young.
2 Best: Ninja Costume
We've seen Kitty Pryde fight alongside Captain Britain in Excalibur, take on alien races with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and become a respectable member of the X-Men. She's learned a lot over the years, and during X-Men: Kitty Pryde - Shadow and the Flame, she tried her hand at becoming a ninja.
Whilst the story itself isn't one of her best, the costume she wears on the cover of X-Men: Kitty Pryde - Shadow and the Flame #3 gives her a unique look that fully embraces the Japanese fighting style. With her fire-breathing friend Lockheed on her shoulder and a sword in her hand, I doubt anyone would attempt to mess with her.
1 Worst: Fitness Instructor Costume
OK, so this probably isn't the term she'd give for this white, blue, and red abomination, but it's pretty obvious that was the look Kitty Pryde was going for. For quite a while in her early Uncanny X-Men escapades, Pryde would wear plenty of ridiculous costumes, with this one being one of the worst.
It was comprised of white Lycra, a blue top with a white baggy shoulder scarf, blue gloves and boots, along with a red headband. Thankfully as time went on and Kitty Pryde grew up, her fashion sense improved just like her powers. Let's hope her days of experimentation are long gone and the fitness instructor outfit never makes a reappearance.