Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.
Today we look at the Kitty Prydes from Days of Future Past: Ariel/Sprite
Appearances in Heroclix: Xplosion, Universe, Sinister, Captain America, Wolverine and the X-Men, Days of Future Past
First Appearance: (Uncanny) X-Men #129
Team Affiliations: X-Men
Note: This article will cover Kitty Pryde’s history up until the Days of Future Past divergence. Though we’re listing every Kitty appearance in Heroclix out of simplicity.
Katherine Pryde started having headaches at age thirteen as her mutant powers began to emerge. Both Charles Xavier and Emma Frost approached the young girl and hoped to recruit her. Disliking the cold demeanor of Frost (who at the time was still a member of the Hellfire Club), Pryde chose to accompany Xavier; Storm’s revelation about the existence of the X-Men only excited the young teenager even more.
Not satisfied with Kitty’s choice, Emma attacked the group en route to the school. Though the mercenaries she had hired were defeated, Emma was able to telepathically subdue the X-Men. Fortunately, Kitty had been separated from the others and was able to contact Cyclops, Phoenix and Nightcrawler. Along with Dazzler and Kitty, the five were able to rescue their comrades from the Hellfire Club.
Unfortunately, Kitty’s parents had seen some of the battles on the news and were furious with Xavier. They intended to stop Kitty from attending the school. It was at this point that Phoenix (as Jean was calling herself at the time) erased these memories from Pryde’s parents and implanted false ones, which returned them to the more amicable attitude they had previously had. With that done, Kitty Pryde became the youngest student to enroll at the Xavier Institute.
Kitty joined the X-Men and assumed the first identity of Sprite. Not long after, a older Kitty from an alternate future calling herself Ariel came back and took possession of her younger self’s body. Ariel-Kitty helped the present day X-Men stop the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly by the second Brotherhood of Evil Mutants; this act, had it been successful, would have led to a future ruled by Sentinels where all mutants were imprisoned in concentration camps or dead.
The plan works but does not change the future that Ariel hails from, instead changing her future into a branching alternate future. Once back in the future, Ariel helps Rachel Summers (the daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey-Summers) escape back to the 616 reality, hoping to give her a brighter future. Kate is then captured by Sentinels and manages to escape by phasing through her inhibitor collar (which was supposed to suppress her mutant power) and falling into a time warp.
Again in the past of the 616 reality, Kate’s mind does not return to her younger self but instead a strange small robot body. The time travel journey leaves her temporarily amnesiac and so she is known as Widget, helping Excalibur (which, at the time, included her younger self as well as a Phoenix empowered Rachel Summers) on several adventures. Eventually, Ariel-Kitty regains her memory and Excalibur help return her to her future. Together, they manage to reprogram the Sentinels to protect life, creating a far happier future.