Even the X-Men writers don’t really believe Kate Pryde is dead. Marvel’s X-Men relaunch has headed in an unexpected direction, with the apparent death of Kitty Pryde. She was betrayed by Sebastian Shaw, another member of the Quiet Council of Krakoa, who wanted her out of the way so his son could take her place in the Hellfire Corporation.

Marvel’s gone to a great deal of effort to persuade readers that this death is for real. While the X-Men have conquered death, writer Gerry Duggan has strongly implied that Kate is outside of the resurrection protocols. The preview image for Marauders #11 is grim news for Kate,showing Storm and Emma Frost looking over Kate’s mutant “coffin.” Duggan has fanned the flames on Twitter, suggesting that the ongoing X-Men/Fantastic Four miniseries - which features Kate - is set before her death, and should be seen as something of a Last Hurrah.

Of course, the more effort Marvel put into marketing this apparent death, the more readers doubt it’s for real. And not just the readers either - it turns out classic X-Men writers are equally bemused at it all. Over on Facebook, legendary X-Men scribe Chris Claremont posted a simple status update; “Am I missing something? Apparently, is Kitty Pryde dead?” The best response was from another classic X-Men writer, Louise Simonson, who simply commented, “I expect she’ll get better.”

It’s easy to understand Claremont’s concern for Kate Pryde; he and John Byrne created the character back in 1980, and Claremont has always been particularly fond of her. Indeed, in his X-Men: The End miniseries (a future timeline where Xavier’s Dream was ultimately accomplished, albeit at a cost) Claremont literally envisioned Kitty becoming the first mutant president, the personal bridge between man and mutant. Kate Pryde, traditionally known as Kitty, is a fan-favorite, and she tends to be a “viewpoint” character for readers who’ve followed her story since she joined the X-Men as a 13-year-old. As such, Marvel’s decision to make her something of an outsider on the mutant nation of Krakoa - the one mutant who can’t use Krakoan gateways and who could potentially be outside the resurrection protocols - is a strange one. It would be even odder if Marvel were to kill her off.

Of course, these are X-Men comics. Even if Kate Pryde really is dead, and the X-Men are unable to resurrect her, that doesn’t mean she won’t be back. That’s a lesson both Claremont and Simonson know all to well, having been involved with some of the most notable mutant deaths and resurrections - most notably that of Jean Grey. Pretty much every long-term X-Men reader will share Simonson’s view; “I expect she’ll get better.”

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