ellen@reed.UUCP (Ellen Eades) (07/20/85)
> > Several things get me right off: > > Kitty has turned from an interesting, three-dimensional youthful > > character into some caricature of a new-wave hipster. The > > majority of her dialogue no longer talks about how she feels; it's > > used to remind us how cool she is, the Spider-Man wisecracks, the > > tough talking from the side of her mouth. Apparently we need a > > 16-year-old version of Wolverine to bring sales up, eh, Chris? > > Right on the dot. Kitty used to be one of my favorite characters. Now, > she seems like something of a stranger. A result of her experiences in > Japan, maybe? Whatever's the cause, I don't like it. Now wait just one minute here! I have to take exception to both these comments. I still like Kitty. I particularly liked her treatment of Peter in #197. Think about it this way for a sec: The kid fell in love with Peter when she first came to the X-Men at fourteen. It's been almost four years now. She gave and gave and gave to him and was dumped without apology for Zsaji ("I met someone else. We fell in love."). She would have gone down into the Morlock caverns forever with Caliban if that was the price she had to pay for Peter's life. She loved him and he screwed her over royally. Now, Kitty's not a Kitten anymore. She's grown up with the X-Men, and that includes *growing up*. She's become a tactician and a strategist as well as being scientifically bright. She has feelings, and ego, and when she's hurt she wants to hurt back, not just run into Ororo's arms and cry. I think it showed a lot of maturity for her to *admit* that she did want to hurt Peter, just to see what he would do if he thought she was dead. Now they've both got to figure out where they stand. With themselves, not with each other. They have both admitted to each other that they care enough to want to be angry. Now they will learn that they can care enough to be friends. I like Kitty's new strength. She was too pink and fluffy before. Shadowcat is a little contrived, admittedly; but she's strong. Ellen Eades -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Who's been repeating all that hard stuff to you?" "I read it in a book," said Alice. - - - - - - - - - - - - - tektronix!reed!ellen OR tektronix!reed!motel6!ellen
datanguay@watdaisy.UUCP (David Tanguay) (07/22/85)
> The kid fell in love with Peter when she first came to the > X-Men at fourteen. It's been almost four years now. 13 1/2 actually. It's been almost 4 years for us, but less than 2 for them (she's still not 16). > Now, Kitty's not a Kitten anymore. She's grown up with the > X-Men, and that includes *growing up*. She's become a tactician > and a strategist as well as being scientifically bright. She > has feelings, and ego, and when she's hurt she wants to > hurt back, not just run into Ororo's arms and cry. Growing up is fine, but the current Kitty seems to have liitle in common with the original. I can't believe a person can lose so much of their old personality in so short a time. The thing I dislike most is the destruction of her uniqueness (??) as a character. She seems very little different from Rogue or Maddy or Ororo or Illyana or ... (Claremont stereotype #2). It would have been nicer had she kept some of her former light spiritness (i.e. the jokes, the tantrums), although it would be appropriate to have these traits slowly fade away. I think the abruptness and completeness of her personality change is what really irks me, rather than the final result. > I like Kitty's new strength. She was too pink and fluffy > before. Shadowcat is a little contrived, admittedly; but > she's strong. I liked Kitty's old strength (remember those Christmas demons? I was hoping for a trend there ...) > Ellen Eades David Tanguay