Marvel’s new Ultimate books have given X-Men fans two flavors of mutant comic. The first is Ultimate X-Men, a comic that uses horror manga to tell a story about mutants in this new universe. The other is Ultimate Wolverine, which is more of a classic style X-Men story, as a group of mutants have to battle against foes who want to use mutants to cement their own power. Ultimate Wolverine, so far, has been very Wolverine-centric, as his actions as the Winter Soldier, and de-programming him has been a big focus of the series. Ultimate Wolverine #7 sees him dealing with the consequences of his actions before being sent on a mission by the Opposition, the group of mutant fighting against the Eurasian Republic. This mission involves a briefing, and that briefing brings back an X-Men deep cut involving Kitty Pryde.
Kitty Pryde has played an important role in Ultimate Wolverine, which makes sense. Kitty is always a very important character to Wolverine, and has gone through a lot of changes over the years. Issue #7 has a lot of Kitty in it, as she helps Wolverine deal with his actions as the Winter Soldier, helping him come to terms with his role in the death of their friends. However, we also learn something very important about Kitty in this issue as well, as the codenames of the Opposition are revealed. Kitty’s is Sprite, which is very familiar to long time X-Men fans. Kitty Pryde and codenames (and costumes honestly) are one of those fun little bits of X-Men trivia, and Ultimate Wolverine adds to it.
Sprite Was Kitty Pryde’s First — But Not Last — Codename
Kitty Pryde joined the X-Men when she was about 13, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men #129. Kitty brought a burst of energy to the team, and proved to be the missing ingredient that made the X-Men better. Kitty’s bond with Wolverine and Storm played a huge role in the team’s evolution, and she gave the team something they didn’t have before, a certain je ne sais quos that helped make the team who they are. Now, as a 13 year old, Kitty Pryde was quite flighty when it came to making up her mind about things, something that honestly wouldn’t get any better as the years went on. She was most flighty about codenames and costumes. When Kitty first joined the team, she decided on using the name Sprite as her codename, and wore the classic blue and yellow X-Men costume. This would change as the years went on. So, for example, we have the above costume, which Kitty designed herself. Later, she gets a green costume, and then went with blue number with puffy sleeves that she wore throughout the late ’80s and early to mid ’90s, before going back to a blue and yellow X-Men costume, and in recent years a pirate costume and a more ninja inspired look. Kitty kept the Sprite codename throughout her early tenure of the team, but would soon change her codename to Shadowcat.
After Shadowcat, Kitty would just use her real name, before changing that to Kate Pryde during the Krakoa Era. After Orchis’s attack on Krakoa, she started using Shadowkat as her codename, which was honestly the worst codename change in Kitty’s history. She’s since went back to Kitty in the 616 universe. Kitty using Sprite in the 6160 universe is kind of strange for a variety of reasons. Sprite was Kitty’s codename when she was at her most innocent — she would only change her name to Shadowcat after completely her training with the body-jumping ninja Ogun. This may be a window into how this version of Kitty sees herself. Sprite isn’t exactly the kind of name that a mutant soldier would use, especially one who has been fighting against an enemy like the Eurasian Republic. However, Kitty may have been keeping this name because deep down she doesn’t want to be a mutant soldier. A sprite is a trickster, flitting around and causing mischief. 6160 Kitty doesn’t want to live the life she’s stuck in now. She’s fighting so that she can one day be a Sprite again.
Sprite Is Going to Have Her Work Cut Out for Her
Kitty’s role in Ultimate Wolverine #7 feels very familiar to longtime X-Men fans. The issue kicks off with her talking to Wolverine, who has finally broken out of his Winter Soldier programming. Kitty helps him come to terms with the whole situation, which is something that Kitty always did in the 616. 616 Kitty would often play the conscience for Wolverine, and this is part of why her calling herself “Sprite” makes more sense than something like “Shadowcat” (not to mention the terrible “Shadowkat” — Gerry Duggan writing X-Men was a mistake).
Shadowcat is Kitty as a warrior, but so far, we haven’t really seen her as a warrior. She’s been a sprite, a spirit flitting in and out, helping the Opposition with her phasing abilities. Her help with Wolverine is sort of like those times when sprites and spirits acted as the conscience for a person, helping them come to terms with their lives. Kitty hasn’t been Sprite for a long time, but her Ultimate version taking back the name is perfect.
Ultimate Wolverine #7 is on sale now.
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