"Marvel Rivals" Has Been Teasing Kitty Pryde

Plenty of Marvel characters could join Marvel Rivals, but Kitty Pryde is in a class by herself.

She has been one of the most iconic X-Men for decades and has an impressively varied background: student, X-Man, teacher, team leader, Excalibur member, Guardian of the Galaxy, pirate queen, and even a brief period as a cosmic power. On top of all this, she travels with a purple alien dragon named Lockheed.

Given her history, I have lost too much time thinking about how she could be played in Marvel Rivals. She would easily be a fantastic addition. It’s even more exciting that the developers seem to be hinting at her already.

Marvel Rivals Keeps Mentioning Kitty
While Kitty Pryde has not yet made her official debut in Marvel Rivals, the game clearly shows that she is part of its universe. 

Fans quickly noticed several distinct hints throughout the game: 

In-Game Dialogue: A notable interaction between Jean Grey and Peter Quill features Star-Lord asking if Jean has talked to Kitty lately and if she still remembers him. This directly references Kitty Pryde—Peter Quill’s ex-fiancée from the Earth-616 comics. Jean’s psychic reply essentially says, “You’re hard to forget, Peter.” Including such a specific detail seems too deliberate to be just a casual comment. 

Charms & Accessories: An even sweeter reference appears as an in-game accessory: Illyana Rasputin (Magik) can equip a plush Kitty Pryde charm. The description of this item directly mentions their iconic friendship, making it more than just a simple Easter egg.

At this rate, it feels as though Marvel Rivals is holding up a giant neon sign outside Kitty's door that says, “We know she’s here.” We get the hint, NetEase; now it’s time to finally bring her into the game.

Kitty Would Actually Bring Something New to the Gameplay
The best argument for Kitty Pryde isn't just her popularity; it's the way phasing could become one of the game's most dynamic mechanics.

Instead of being just another Duelist shooting basic energy blasts, her mutant powers should change how players move on the battlefield and engage in combat.

With a passive ability like Intangible Form, Kitty could temporarily pass through walls and other barriers. To stop players from camping inside structures and ignoring the match, this skill could be regulated by a Phase Energy meter.

For close-quarters combat, her major attack, "Phased Strikes," could let her bypass enemy armor and shields, targeting heavily defended opponents.

This opens up even more exciting possibilities.

Phase Disrupt
Passing through an enemy allows Kitty to rebuff them for a short time, making her the hero equivalent of walking up to someone's PC and politely asking, "Excuse me, let me borrow this for a second." Lockheed would be quick to take advantage of this by following up with a damaging burst of fire.

Meanwhile, her team-based phasing could give her and a nearby ally intangibility for a moment or two, allowing her to save an ally from the business end of an enemy ult, phase through a wall to surprise the enemy team from behind, or even save a teammate from their own incredibly dumb decision to walk-charge into all six enemies.

Kitty would stop being a glass cannon brawler and become a genuinely team-oriented hero with this kind of utility.

And Yes, Lockheed Needs to Be Playable
I think it's safe to say that

Lockheed shouldn't be treated as an afterthought, an embellishment to Kitty's load-out, but rather as an integral part of her kit and playstyle.

While Kitty excels at getting up close and personal and igniting things up, Lockheed can focus on sniping from range; his basic attack could potentially throw small fireballs, and his special attack could unleash a short-range cone of dragon fire in an attempt to clear an area or deny space for enemies to advance.

And whenever Kitty phases, Lockheed should phase with her because, really, they've been partners for decades, and there's no possible way a scenario plays out where Kitty phases through a wall, and Lockheed is left hopelessly yowling on the other side.

Then There’s the Black Vortex
This section showcases where Kitty's potential could be utilized best.

Although phasing is her main superpower, all comic book readers are well aware that Kitty has various other abilities.

The Black Vortex form would be the perfect opportunity to take her to a cosmic power level. Her ultimate universal ability would be the Black Vortex Ascension, which would essentially take her to a cosmic state for a short amount of time, allowing her to fly, become intangible, increase her speed, and attack with beams of energy that replace her regular set of attacks in order to take down a group of enemies.

Lockheed would also scale up along with her and, instead of being a little purple dragon that spits fire, would be a large stellar creature that unleashes beams of condensed starlight.

Kitty and Lockheed would essentially turn into a short boss fight for a small amount of time. Players would have a great time watching the screen clear as they unleash their ultimate attacks.

The Skin Potential Is Ridiculous
Kitty’s rich history in the comics means that a live-service game has a vast arsenal of outfits to choose from, and it’s a dream come true for us, the loyal cosplayers. There is so much variety, and I’m going to list my favorite possibilities below:

Classic & Core X-Men

All-New X-Men—a modern iteration of her beloved blue and yellow color scheme.

Exceptional X-Men—Her black and blue costume is the perfect addition to the roster of contemporary X-costumes.

Excalibur—The blue Excalibur costume from the ‘80s and ‘90s is an absolute must-have.

Cosmic & Space

Star-Lord Kitty—The 2015 Guardians of the Galaxy comic costume that includes the lovely coat, the helmet, various blasters, and silly space gear for Lockheed. The interaction with Peter Quill can include a unique personal feature.

Guardians' Uniform—A blue variation of the G-Force costume, perhaps, which will allow the characters to interact in a team setting. The chatty Peter can have some unique banter.

The Black Vortex—an absolutely cosmic enhancement to her power set — would provide the game’s players with unique special effects not seen elsewhere in the game.

Queen of Spartax (Alternate Universe)—A unique and regal alternate costume that imagines a scenario in which Kitty has stayed on Spartax with Peter Quill. It would be a fabulous addition to the game, as it is very lavish and theatrical.

Other Mediums and Nods to Alternate Universes

X-Men: Evolution—Kitty’s streamlined black, purple, and yellow costume from the 2000s animated series, paired with the series’ theme songs for the soundtrack, would be a welcome addition to the game.

Black and Pink Stealth Suit—The stealthy costume she wore in the film was tactical and fashionable, so it would work well in the MMORPG as a stealth suit.

Ultimate Spider-Girl—Ultimate Kitty’s yellow and black costume from Ultimate X-Men #1 — would be a fun addition to the game, and it would allow her to interact with Peter Parker uniquely and nostalgically.

High Fashion & Themed Costumes

Red Queen—Pirate captain garb with a touch of pink for her little buddy, Lockheed, is an absolute must.

Hellfire Gala—Kitty’s Gala costuming is truly exquisite in its design and would be a fantastic addition to the haute couture MMORPG segment.

After all, Kitty has dated enough Peters to have her multiverse relationships charted by now.

Kitty Could Even Have Team-Up Potential
Her versatility and connections to the wider Marvel universe make her a great candidate to appear in Marvel Rivals’ team-based events. As the game encourages using heroes that have a history together in the comics, and Kitty has a great number of such connections:

By bringing her in, players will enjoy:

Magik: Another Kitty Pryde pairing makes for a perfect team-up.

Wolverine: A classic duo.

Storm: Two X-Men heavyweights with a long history.

Colossus: Piotr is practically her brother.

Emma Frost: An enemies-to-friends dynamic.

Star-Lord and the Guardians: She was one of them at one point, so there’s plenty of material to work with.

Spider-Man: Depending on the timeline, the two have crossed paths multiple times.

I think that’s a pretty impressive list to have at your disposal. After all, adding Kitty means adding not a single character, but several dozen potential storylines to Marvel Rivals.

The Factual Question Is: How Do You Make Her Phasing Work?
Balancing Kitty’s fundamental ability is indeed a complicated issue; making her less powerful would significantly diminish her appeal. However, this is another demonstration of the character’s brilliance—her design encapsulates pure coolness and displays it in a manner that is easy to understand and difficult to copy.

This quality is precisely what the game needs, as it allows every character to feel unique and memorable. Marvel Rivals is a game in which players enjoy experimenting and switching between different heroes, testing their skills in a variety of match-ups.

As such, one does not see lesser variations of powerful characters in the lower tiers of play; One sees Groot and Jeff the Land Shark, and Spider-Man, and Human Torch. One sees Magik’s teleportation and the incredible possibilities it opens up for her gameplay.

And one certainly sees Kitty’s ability to phase through objects—a cool ability that should not be nerved. It needs to shine, as it is one of the unique character traits in the game. Ideally, the developers could grant her a kit around this theme while providing a meaningful counter to her potential disruption via global mechanics or particular items that would limit her freedom of movement.

Marvel Rivals Has Already Opened the Door
Those subtle suggestions are very telling indeed.

While Peter asking Jean about his own ex-fiancée doesn't outright say Kitty is coming, and while that plushie isn't exactly an official announcement either, combined with everything else, they still say quite a lot.

Now that Kitty's best friend is already charging into battle with an emotional support plush of her in hand, hope is the only decent option left, isn't it? If Magik can bring a small-scale version of her ally into battle, isn't it only fair that Marvel Rivals is allowed to bring in the real deal to wade through enemies by the dozens?

Get Shadowcat into this roster! Get Lockheed! Phasing powers, pirate costumes, the little pirate cap, even the Black Vortex ultimate from her cosmic magic! It's all obvious, really!