In one of the more shocking moments in recent X-Men Comics, Kate Pryde was seemingly killed after being betrayed by Sebastian Shaw. While her death was a cliffhanger of sorts as it hasn't been fully resolved, an upcoming preview shows that Pryde might be dead for good.
In the Marauders, Pryde has experienced considerable personal growth as she travels across the globe to protect her fellow mutants. Kitty now goes by Kate and has taken a role in Krakoa's foreign policy efforts as the new Red Queen. Her growth was put to an end, however, when Shaw doublecrossed her in an effort to gain more power, setting up an on-board attack that distracted the crew as he drowned Pryde and her alien dragon companion Lockheed.
On Tuesday, Marvel dropped a small preview for the upcoming Marauders #11 by Gerry Duggan and Stefano Caselli. The image is grim for Kate, as she lays in a bed of flowers as a tearful Storm, Emma Frost and other X-Men stand in sadness. It looks akin to a Viking funeral. The caption is equally as heartbreaking as it reads "The X-Men thought they conquered death. Looks like they were wrong." The only good news seems to be Lockheed is alive.
Pryde's post-Krakoa journey has been liberating on the seas, but her place among fellow mutants has never been more unclear. She was the only mutant who couldn't pass through the gates of Krakoa. It's also been hinted that Pryde, unlike her fellow X-Men, can't be resurrected on Krakoa after her death - so maybe, they haven't conquered death as they thought. While there's still plenty of explaining that needs to be done by Duggan and the X-crew to reveal what exactly is going on with Kate, it appears all roads lead to her actually being dead in the comics. To say that would be a bold decision is putting it lightly.
The good news is, superhero comics rarely keep a character dead. Even when someone dies, they are usually brought back within a couple of years or when a new relaunch happens. Dead is rarely dead. However, Marvel seems to be pushing the idea that in this case, Kate's journey has ended. That would be a truly shocking result. The endgame is unclear. Will Kate be reborn? Is she actually a mutant incapable of being resurrected? How will the rest of the X-Men deal with the potential loss of one of their most respect team members? Right now, the questions outweigh the answers. All we can do is wait and see if Kate Pryde is actually dead.