Marvel Legends - SHADOWCAT!

Marvel Legends - X-Men Excalibur 3-Pack -  Hasbro Pulse Exc - Hasbro 2021

Kitty Pryde seems to be a character that is continually reimagined and designed in the comics. My first exposure to her was in her Sprite and Ariel phases in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends show. She was a regular feature in my older brother's Classic X-Men issues. And then she was the focal character of the Pryde of the X-Men animated pilot (which seemed to always be on TV). But I think her most prominent and iconic phase was her Excalibur years as Shadowcat. She presented as noticeably older in this era with a two-tone blue outfit, big hair, and even bigger sleeves. It wasn't my favorite look at the time, but it has stood the test of time moreso than any of her other looks. (Writing this is reminding me to catch up on my Marauders reading - where she is a central character and seemingly being reimagined all over again). I've been hearing requests for this Excalibur iteration in Legends form for years. I like the final result, but I realize her hair and sleeves fall short of (80's) expectations.

Marvel Legends - MEGGAN!

Marvel Legends - X-Men Excalibur 3-Pack -  Hasbro Pulse Exc - Hasbro 2021

Meggan is a character that has intrigued me from the first time I laid eyes on her. That first exposure was way back in 1989's Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem. At the time I would buy anything drawn by Arthur Adams and I was tangentially exposed to all of Excalibur with this book. Meggan was on the cover, and appeared in about 6 panels. She was wearing her yellow cow-neck outfit at the time and didn't really do anything. To me she was just a mysterious young woman with a massive amount of hair and elf ears. A couple years later she was included in second series of Marvel Universe trading cards and her bio explained her powers... sort of. It said she has the "power of metamorphosis", which I took to mean that she had abilities like Wolfsbane. And in subsequent exposures to her character, I saw her do a quasi-werewolf transformation. I still have never read Excalibur and she is largely a mystery to me, but still oddly iconic to my childhood. Let's check out this long-awaited Meggan figure below!

Toy Biz - SHADOWCAT!

Marvel Comics - ToyFare Exclusives - Kitty Pryde (ShadowCat) - Toy Biz 1998

With the exciting rumors of a possible Excalibur Marvel Legends box set coming this year from Amazon, I thought I would revisit the only real action figure of an Excalibur character that I own. In the late 90's, exclusive mail-away action figures were a real thing. It sounds like a bizarre concept now, but between Wizard and ToyFare magazines and various comic and videogame offerings, there were always exciting little exclusives to be had. These were mostly simple repaints, but were often surprisingly significant characters - like Feral, Firestar, and of course Shadowcat. Kitty Pryde has always suffered a bit of an identity crisis in the costume department, but I think her blue, puffy-sleeved look is the most iconic. And ironically it's the costume where she looks most like a mature adult woman, rather than the youthful energetic X-Man she is typically portrayed as. But still it's my favorite and I really can't wait to get her in legends form (along with Meggan and Rachel of course!). Let's check out Kitty below!