Summary

• Kate Pryde plans to leave the X-Men after Charles Xavier's villainous actions during Fall of X.
• Kate's evolution from Kitty Pryde to Shadowkat shows her complex character growth over the decades.
• Kate's departure signals a major loss for the team, leaving fans to ponder her future path.

Warning: Spoilers for X-Men #34!One of the most important figures of the X-Men has just declared their plans to exit the team. The franchise is nearing the end of its Krakoa era, and with such a finality, it means anything can happen. Just as readers can expect numerous casualties in the fallout, they can expect unheard of moments, like staples of the team going their separate ways.

X-Men #34 by Gerry Duggan, Joshua Cassara, Romulo Fajardo Jr., VC's Clayton Cowles, Tom Muller, and Jay Bowen sees longtime member Kitty/Kate Pryde (aka Shadowkat) declare her plans to leave the X-Men.

Kate Pryde has been a pivotal part of the team dating back to the Chris Claremont era of the X-Men, where she was often depicted as a lead protagonist and still going by the name Kitty. Shadowkat's inevitable departure from the X-Men has been a year in the making, but to best understand where she goes from here, readers must understand first how she got here.

Why is Shadowkat Leaving the X-Men?

Because Professor Xavier is a Jerk

The end of the X-Men's Krakoan period started when Professor Charles Xavier fell into a trap by Orchis (a mutant hate group that have proven to be Professor X into the deadliest mutant of all time. Following the tragedy of the Hellfire Gala and Orchis continuing to turn the world against mutantkind, Xavier's descent into madness has progressed as his dream slowly dies. Now, he has officially become a villain by willingly siding with Orchis to commit genocide against the entire human race.

As Xavier's true colors have come to light, few mutants have been more heartbroken than Kate Pryde. This is not only because she's idolized Xavier for so many years, but in becoming Shadowkat in the fallout of the Hellfire Gala, she's done horrible things like kill, all in the hopes of keeping alive a dream that Charles Xavier doesn't even believe in. In X-Men #34, she even tries to convince Caliban to help her track down Xavier so that she can kill him. After Caliban refuses, Kitty is completely disheartened, and she expresses to Wolverine that Charles' changes have completely broken her. Whether the mutants win this war against Orchis or not, she tells Wolverine point-blank that, for her, there will be "no more X-Men."

Kate Pryde's Evolution with the X-Men

From Optimistic Teenage Protagonist to Cold-Blooded Killer

Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Kate made her on- debut in 1979's Uncanny X-Men #129 as Kitty Pryde. In her earliest days, Pryde was young, optimistic, and enthusiastic about everything she experienced. With every new situation she encountered, Kitty would slowly come into her own as a full-rounded character and evolve over time. Her character development would often manifest overtly in her taking on new identities for herself. Fans have watched Kitty Pryde evolve from her original codename, Sprite, into Shadowcat, to Ariel, and for a time, her most important evolution saw her become Captain Kate Pryde when she led the Marauders.

Eschewing her old identity of "Kitty" and adopting the name Captain Kate Pryde reflected the mature leader that several decades of character development had molded her into. Living the pirate life, followed by a run as The Red Queen of the Hellfire Trading Company, showed Kate's transition officially from an occasionally naive optimist to a fully confident realist who can handle her opponents on a physical, emotional, and mental level when the situation calls for it. Her evolution wouldn't stop there, as the fall of Krakoa forced her to develop more of a violent streak and a vicious tenacity, bringing back the Shadowkat moniker with a new twist.

The Significance of Kate Pryde on the X-Men

Why Kate Leaving the X-Men Would Be a Major Loss for the Team

As one of the lead characters of writer Chris Claremont's legendary 16-year X-Men run, Kitty Pryde acted as Claremont's "viewpoint character." Kitty was frequently the character whom audiences could use as a guide to discover new things about the X-Men and the world around them. For the age demographic of readers at the time, especially, the introduction of Kitty gave readers someone their age who they could relate to and learn about the X-verse, its lore, and its teachable metaphors alongside. For the same reason, it has made watching the evolution of Kate Pryde develop in real time feel rewarding as a reader.

Younger readers can take - pardon the pun - pride in watching Kitty's journey from her humble beginnings as a rookie X-Men member to the confident leader she's become today. Many readers have quite literally grown up with Kate Pryde over the years, and as those same readers grow into fully fleshed out adults improving over time, they can see Pryde do the same. Kate Pryde exiting the team after 44 years is an excruciating loss to witness, as her presence on the team and in these books has proven too significant to not go unnoticed.

What Could This Mean for the Future of Kate Pryde?

Leading the Future of X-Men in a New Way?

Kate Pryde has made her plans to leave the X-Men known now, but what plans could the X-books have in store for her? Whether the X-Men survive and prevail in the war against Orchis or not, Kate is still likely to leave the team, but there are several possibilities regarding how she leaves the team and where she goes from there. Kate could begin her solo adventures momentarily, solidifying herself as the new Wolverine as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery as a lone wolf walking the Earth and searching for a purpose.

Then again, maybe this wolf won't be alone forever, considering new announcements for the Exceptional X-Men series debuting in September, where both Kate Pryde and Emma Frost will lead a new generation of mutants. Pryde is already finding herself pulled back into the X-life before she can make an official exit. Granted, considering how disheveled she's been from going on missions and killing people during the Fall of X, priming a new generation of young mutants for the future may best fit her new outlook on life. Whatever happens, Kate Pryde made her mark as an X-Men member and her time with them will never be forgotten.

X-Men #34 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.