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SHADOWCAT
Earth-295

Real Name: Katherine "Kate/Kitty" Pryde

Identity/Class: Alternate Earth (Earth-295), human mutant

Occupation: Teacher, freedom fighter

Group Membership: Generation Next (Chamber/Jonothon Starsmore, Colossus/Peter Rasputin, Husk/Paige Guthrie, Know-it-all/Claudia, Mondo, Skin/Angelo Espinosa, Vincente Cimetta), formerly X-Men (Banshee/Sean Cassidy, Blink/Clarice Ferguson, Dazzler/Alison Blaire, Exodus/Bennett du Paris, Iceman/Bobby Drake, Magneto/Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, Morph/Kevin Sydney, Nightcrawler/Kurt Darkhölme, Rogue/Anna Marie Lensherr, Sabretooth/Victor Creed, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Sunfire/Shiro Yoshida, Wild Child/Kyle Gibney, Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff-Lensherr)

Affiliations: Bishop, Destiny (Irene Adler), Gambit (Remy LeBeau), Jubilee (Jubilation Lee)

Enemies: Apocalypse, Dark Beast (Hank McCoy), Infinites, Mikhail Rasputin, Seattle Core Workers (Quietus, Sugar Man, Undercloaks, unidentified others), formerly Sabretooth (Victor Creed)

Known Relatives: Peter Rasputin (husband, deceased), Carmen Pryde (father, deceased), Theresa Pryde (mother, deceased), Illyana Rasputin (sister-in-law, deceased), Mikhail Rasputin (brother-in-law, deceased)

Aliases: "Katya" (nickname used by Colossus)

Base of Operations: X-Men Memorial Gardens, New York City, New York;
    formerly The Tomb, Colorado Rockies, Colorado;
    formerly mobile with the X-Men;
    formerly Deerfield, Illinois

First Appearance: Generation Next I#1 (March, 1995)

Powers/Abilities: Shadowcat was a mutant with the ability to phase through solid matter by shifting her atoms through the spaces between the atoms of the object she is moving through. She had discovered that phasing through electronic equipment disrupts the system. Kitty could also pass this phasing ability on to other people she was in physical contact with, and simulate flight by "walking" on air. Kitty was a trained ninja assassin with a ruthless streak. She could comfortable stay phased inside solid objects or even people, patiently waiting for her moment to strike seemingly without requiring air. Her costume came equipped with a pair of wrist gauntlets containing claws similar to those of her mentor Weapon X. Shadowcat was a smoker.

Height: 5'6"
Weight: 115 lbs.
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Brown

History:

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men - Age of Apocalypse 2005 I#1) - Katherine Pryde lived the suburbs of Illinois and kept her mutant abilities a secret. When Apocalypse began gathering mutants, Kitty's parents protested and were murdered. Kitty phased out of the house and ran.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men - Age of Apocalypse 2005 I#1) - Kitty was eventually captured by Apocalypse's master hound Sabretooth who discovered her during a mutant sweep in the ruins of Chicago. Before he could take her back to Apocalypse, the X-Men's Colossus freed her. Kitty became the youngest member of the X-Men.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men - Age of Apocalypse 2005 I#1) - Magneto assigned Weapon X to train her. He was secretly preparing her to become the X-Men's ghost assassin. Given metallic claws similar to Logan's, Shadowcat took to her training readily.

(X-Men Chronicles I#2 - BTS) - When Weapon X and his lover Jean Grey left the X-Men after an argument with Magneto, Kitty found herself without a mentor.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men - Age of Apocalypse 2005 I#1) - After the loss of her mentor, Kitty began to question her role on the team. Searching for someone to bond with, she turned to Colossus. The two developed a strong relationship and eventually married (see comments).

(X-Men: Age of Apocalypse One-Shot I#1) - Tired and demoralized after years of constant combat and death, Colossus lost the will to fight. He was comforted by his wife who told him they had every right to live their own lives and to get away from this madness to start their own family. Shadowcat also decided she had enough. As if on cue, Magneto entered the couple's quarters to propose that they used their collective experience to teach the next generation of mutants, showing them images of future Generation Next members including Husk, Mondo, Skin and Vincente.

(Generation Next I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Shadowcat and Colossus took their band of young mutants to Colorado where they established a base inside The Tomb, an old, abandoned castle in the Rocky Mountains. Their recruit Know-it-all was granted her own computer lab in the catacombs from which she helped her teachers run the base. She used her control over machinery to set up weapons gauntlets in the woodlands near the Tomb that Kitty and Peter used for combat exercises.

(X-Men Chronicles I#2) - Shadowcat and Colossus, along with their recent recruit Skin, helped save young British psionic Jonothon Starsmore from Mikhail Rasputin and his forces. Jonothon joined the team as Chamber.

(Generation X I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Battle-hardened after years of strife, Colossus and Shadowcat were ruthless towards their students. To make sure they were ready for the war against Apocalypse, the duo had them constantly on edge, often having them engage in kill or be killed scenarios.

(X-Men Alpha I#1 (fb) - BTS) - When Magneto learned from the mysterious Bishop that their reality was a mistake, he intended to set things right. He reached out to various X-Men allies, including Peter and Kitty. He ordered them to prepare the students for a mission he was coming to Colorado inform them about.

(Generation Next I#1) - While waiting for Magneto to arrive, Colossus and Shadowcat put their young wards through their paces in the woodlands. After the team had survived for three minutes, Colossus joined the fray with Kitty hiding inside him. She made her presence known when Husk tried to burn her husband by turning into acid. She clawed at the girl, calling her sloppy while forcing her to shed her skin to get rid of the flesh wounds she'd caused. Paige thought she could nail her teacher by secretly husking her hand into a diamond dagger, but Kitty phased and let it pass through her. Paige's teammates Chamber and Skin tried to intervene, but Kitty made short work of them. This did allow Paige to shift into a bio-pattern that Kitty's phasing was useless against: a corrosive mist that filled Pryde's lungs. Before the situation could turn dire, Magneto arrived to end the training.

(Generation Next I#1 - BTS) - Magneto and his associate Bishop first visited with Know-It-All who was asked to
scan Apocalypse's databanks for information on chrono-variant mutants. She gathered a list of mostly deceased subjects like prelate Gallo and T. Edenfox, as well as Flashback who was missing in action.

(Generation Next I#1) - Kitty and Peter went inside with Magneto to have a meeting with Bishop and Know-It-All who presented her findings. Both Peter and Kitty expressed concern for their student's safety. If the Shadow King were to catch her psi-surfing Apocalypse's files, she risked instant lobotomization. Undeterred, Know-It-All continued her presentation which ended when Colossus was stunned to find his young sister was on the list. He had thought she'd died, but Know-It-All confirmed Illyana was being held at The Core, Apocalypse's main power plant in Seattle. Figuring Illyana's latent temporal abilities were their best bet, Magneto ordered the team to rescue the girl.

(Generation Next I#2 (fb) - BTS) - The news that his sister was alive made the taciturn, morose Colossus reckless and unpredictable. Kitty noticed the change in him, but felt she could do little to change his mind. Along with the students, they planned a way to get Illyana out. The team was to infiltrate the facility while their teachers would go around the back to serve as ace in the hole.

(Generation Next I#2 - BTS) - Know-It-All remained behind in the Tomb to monitor the rescue mission.

(Generation Next I#2) - Arriving at the Core incognito, Shadowcat was astounded by its imposing size. When she expressed her incredulity at being expected to break into there, Colossus coldly dismissed her concerns: if you do not feel up to this, Katya,  am more than willing to do it alone." All she could do was whisper to herself: "That's what I'm afraid for."

(Generation Next I#2) - When Colossus walked off, Kitty was left muttering to herself and about to light a cigarette when she was attacked by the Undercloaks, Sugar Man's assassins who preferred to strike from the shadows. Colossus rushed to aid his wife, but she didn't need much rescuing: popping her claws, she stabbed her assailants to death, hoping they caught them before they could warn their superiors.

(Generation Next I#3) - Know-It-All concluded that her teammates were having problems inside The Core. She risked her safety by contacting her teachers, projecting an image of herself on the outside wall of The Core where Colossus and Shadowcat were waiting for a signal to move in. Know-It-All told them Skin, Chamber, Husk and Vincente were cornered and needed help while Mondo was about to reach Illyana's location deep within the plant. Taking Claudia's recommendations to heart, Peter and Kitty phased through the wall of the Core to help their young wards.

(Generation Next I#4 - BTS) - Peter and Kitty caused a massive disturbance when they crashed through the ceiling of the Core, immediately causing the distraction needed to get Illyana and the others to safety. Kitty remained hidden inside her husband who started barking orders at his students, telling them to get his sister. However, Mondo was killed by the Sugar Man while carrying Illyana inside his own body. Colossus jumped on the villain, seemingly splattering him but freeing the girl in the process. Shadowcat was on hand to watch Peter's back, popping up to claw at anyone who attempted to blindside him. Reconnecting with most of their students, they set out to escape the Core but got drawn into the massive riots that had broken out following Colossus' arrival. Shadowcat offered to go after Skin and Chamber, but Colossus coldly reminded her of their mission: to bring Illyana to Magneto. He ordered his wife to take him and Illyana out of there. Once safely outside the Core, Kitty wanted to go back but Peter offered to go instead, not wanting to risk losing both his wife and his sister.

Generation Next I#4 - BTS) - While Kitty waited with Illyana, Colossus tried to get back inside the Core. He pried open the massive doors and was about to go in, but when he saw that all his students except for Husk appeared beyond rescue, he decided to head back.

(Generation Next I#4) - When he returned alone, Kitty asked about the others. Peter lied and told her he did everything he could. "Sorry" was all he managed to say, a sentiment mirrored by Kitty. They quietly sat by the fire before heading to Westchester with Illyana (see comments).

(Amazing X-Men I#4 (fb) - BTS) - Peter and Kitty arrived with Illyana at the Xavier Estate. Finding the place empty, they came across a message from Quicksilver telling them Magneto and Bishop had been taken by Apocalypse's forces while young Charles and his robotic Nanny were also missing. The note further stated that Quicksilver and his team had gone off to rescue Bishop from the Madri in Quebec, while Dazzler and Exodus went to search the tunnels for signs of Charles.

(Amazing X-Men I#4) - Shadowcat and Colossus welcomed Rogue and her team of X-Men back from their mission to halt Holocaust's cullings. They informed the new arrivals of the situation, but Shadowcat had no interest in Rogue trying to express her sympathies over the loss of her students. Kitty calmly stated she had no more tears left as she phased to avoid Rogue's well-intended hug. Not too long after that, Peter and Kitty witnessed Rogue trying to kill Gambit when she learned he was responsible for letting Charles fall into Apocalypse's hands. They were also on hand when Quicksilver and Storm returned from Quebec with Bishop while Nightcrawler teleported in with the mutant seer Destiny. Fascinated by the fact that all of Magneto's disparate plans had more or less worked out, Kitty and Peter joined the others in their preparations for a final assault on Apocalypse's citadel.

(X-Men Omega I#1) - Blink teleported Shadowcat, Colossus and the others to the Pens underneath Apocalypse's stronghold. They were ready for battle, but much to their surprise found the place was mostly empty and abandoned, with only the injured Dark Beast present. When Rogue called this lucky, Colossus grew unreasonably angry: he was not about risk his sister's life on luck and demanded an explanation, much to his wife's concern.

(X-Men Omega I#1 - BTS) - Dark Beast told the X-Men about Apocalypse and his plans for the M'Kraan crystal. He was forced to tell them where the crystal was kept and got dragged along with the group. At the same time the young psionic Nate Grey had freed Magneto from Apocalypse and Holocaust.

(X-Men Omega I#1) - Colossus slammed his way through the walls to enter the crystal chamber. When faced with the ever growing crystal, the seer Destiny sensed Bishop's stories about the alternate timeline were true. She told the X-Men that only she and Illyana could accompany Bishop. Colossus protested, but got distracted by X-Man and Holocaust who dropped through the ceiling and crashed through the floor to continue their fight. Magneto approached Illyana, asking her to help him create a better world. Colossus tried to keep his sister from agreeing, saying Magneto couldn't promise her that this new world would be better because he didn't know. This led Bishop to step in and assure her there would be at least hope there.

(X-Men Omega I#1 - BTS) - Illyana accompanied Bishop and Destiny into the expanding crystal. Colossus angrily promised Magneto they would be enemies forever if something happened to her in there.

(X-Men Omega I#1) Shadowcat and Colossus then joined the other X-Men in protecting the crystal and fighting off the hordes of Apocalypse. But after a while the frantic, erratic Colossus broke ranks and went barrelling towards the crystal, screaming that he was coming to join his sister, in death if need be.

(X-Men Omega I#1) - Shadowcat tried to block his path, so confident that he would stop for her that she didn't bother phasing. Colossus was so clouded by insanity that he didn't even see his wife until after he had trampled her to death. Now completely mad with grief, he was killed by Gambit before he could cause any more damage. As he lay dying, Illyana returned from inside the M'Kraan. She was ready to hold her brother's hand when he passed, only to be rapidly snatched away by Quicksilver to keep her safe from lurking attackers.

(X-Men: Age of Apocalypse I#6 (fb) - BTS) - After Apocalypse was defeated and the world was saved, Shadowcat was eventually laid to rest in a graveyard near the Xavier Institute in Washington D.C. Her burial plot was right next to Peter's.

(Excalibur I#103) - Shadowcat of Earth-295 was one of the many alternate reality Kitty Pryde counterparts summoned by Belasco to toy with Earth-616's Excalibur.

(Rise of the Powers of X I#5) - The soul of Shadowcat was among the countless deceased mutants from untold realities summoned by Earth-616's Jean Grey to help her and the Phoenix finally defeat the multiverse spanning threat of Nathaniel Essex.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne;
  adapted by Scott Lobdell, Chris Bachalo, and Mark Buckingham.

Considering Earth-295's divergence point from Earth-616 is the death of Charles Xavier, this technically means that Earth-295's Shadowcat had the same past as her Earth-616 counterpart. However, since this has not (yet) been confirmed on panel, it's not included in the profile.

There's a bit of a discrepancy between the 2005 Handbook and the actual comics. According to her handbook profile, Shadowcat married Colossus. However, in Generation Next they specifically state there were no clergymen left alive to perform a wedding ceremony, but they consider themselves husband and wife anyway.

It's also left unclear how Colossus and Shadowcat traveled with Illyana from Seattle to the Xavier Estate in Westchester. Generation Next didn't appear to have any aircraft of their own and it's not recommended to fly over Apocalypse controlled terrain. They definitely didn't walk and Illyana wasn't old enough yet to have manifested her teleportation powers either. Perhaps Earth-295's Shadowcat also mastered the fast travel technique some of her counterparts employ: phasing out of sync with the Earth's rotation and using it to quickly 'travel' hundreds of miles.

Shadowcat wears a choker that's oddly reminiscent of the one that appears when people are possessed by Malice. Kitty certainly is every bit as devious and ruthless as that discorporate Marauder, but I guess having to survive in an ever worsening hellscape since your early teens tends to breed a mean streak as well.

And, if you'll permit me some armchair quarterbacking 30+ years after the fact: Know-It-All was able to pinpoint Illyana's exact location inside the Core. So why risk the entire team of students while their intangible ninja assassin teacher remains outside taking a smoke break? She could have walked in and walked out with her sister-in-law with literally no one laying a hand on them... Especially if she had mastered that fast travel technique!

All locations mentioned are Earth-295, unless otherwise specified.

Shadowcat of Earth-295 received a full profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men - Age of Apocalypse 2005 I#1

Profile by Norvo

CLARIFICATIONS:
Shadowcat of Earth-295 should not be confused with


Images: (without ads)
Generation Next I#1, p11, pan1 (main)
X-Men Age of Apocalypse one-shot, p8. pan3 (starting a family)
X-Men Chronicles I#2, p44, pan1 (saving Chamber)
X-Men Chronicles I#2, p44, pan1 (teaching)
Generation Next I#3, p22, pan4 (one last fastball)
Generation Next I#4, p19, pans4&5 (wants to go back for her students)
Amazing X-Men I#4, p9, pan3 (they're dead Rogue)
X-Men Omega I#1, p32, pans2,3,4 (dies)


Appearances:
Generation Next I#1 (March, 1995) - Scott Lobdell (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Mark Buckingham (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Generation Next I#2 (April, 1995) - Scott Lobdell (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Mark Buckingham (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Generation Next I#3 (May, 1995) - Scott Lobdell (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Mark Buckingham (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Generation Next I#4 (June, 1995) - Scott Lobdell (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Mark Buckingham (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Amazing X-Men I#4 (June, 1995) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Matt Ryan (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
X-Men Chronicles I#2 (June, 1995) - Howard Mackie (writer), Ian Churchill (pencils), Scott Hanna, Al Vey, Bob Wiacek, Steve Moncuse (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
X-Men Omega I#1 (June, 1995) - Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid (writers), Roger Cruz (pencils), Bud LaRosa, Tim Townsend, Karl Kesel, Harry Candelario, Scott Hanna, Al Milgrom (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Excalibur I#103 (November, 1996) - Warren Ellis (writer), Carlos Pacheco (pencils), Scott Koblish, Bob Wiacek (inkers), Matt Idelson, Paul Tutrone (editors)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men - Age of Apocalypse 2005 (March, 2005) - Mike Raicht (writer), Jennifer Grunwald (editor)
Exiles I#60 (May, 2005) - Tony Bedard (writer), Jim Calafiore (pencils), Mark McKenna (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse One-Shot I#1 (May, 2005) - Akira Yoshida (writer), Mark Brooks (pencils), Jaime Mendoza (inks), John Barber (editor)
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse I#6 (June, 2005) - Akira Yoshida (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Mark Irwin et al (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
X-Termination I#1 (May, 2013) - David Lapham, Marjorie Liu, Greg Pak (writers), David López (pencils), Ãlvaro López, Allen Martinez (inks), Jeanine Schaeffer (editor)
Rise of the Powers of X I#5 (July, 2024) - Kieron Gillen (writer), Luciano Vecchio (pencils & inks), Jordan D. White, Lauren Amaro (editors)


First Posted: 01/03/2025
Last Updated: 01/06/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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