hot tramp, I love you so
Oct. 12th, 2007 01:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reflectedeveTime for another ridiculous fandom ramble! Today I'm going to do my favorite pairing from one of my oldest fandoms ever.
This is actually the short version. When you've been a fan of a (fairly obscure) character since the age of eight, you can write lots. Essays. Books? I don't really want to know. So this is just a "little" ramble. (But all the same, beware the teal deer.)
Fandom: Excalibur (1988 comic series)
Pairing: Rachel Summers (Phoenix)/Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat)
I first became interested in comics, as a child, through Marvel’s various X-books. My very first comic obsession was the Dark Phoenix Saga, but any interest that I had in Jean Grey was quickly supplanted by her alternate-timeline daughter, Rachel Summers (the current Phoenix at the time). Rachel was fascinating and complex: her tortured past, her confused memories, her connection with the Phoenix . . . her loyalty and close connection with friends and family. I was devastated when she disappeared into limbo for ten years, and absolutely elated at her recent return as the new Marvel Girl. Unfortunately, I’ve been disappointed ever since, as her characterization often bears little to no resemblance to the character I am so fond of. (They seem to want to cut out her entire past, including her closer connections--why do they never team her up with any of her established friends? But I digress.)
Rachel has a fiery temper; anti-human prejudices due to her mistreatment in the future; and intense survivor’s guilt. Slowly, in X-Men and Excalibur, she learns to trust herself again, to become a strong fighter and a fierce friend. She’s beautiful, but not very self-aware (according to her creators; though in England, she certainly tends to choose very provocative outfits; previous to that, she’d generally run around in danskins, and once or twice in a pantsuit). In Excalibur she really comes into her own, eventually healing and regaining her fractured memories, and mastering the Phoenix’s power; making it subordinate to her will, as her mother never managed. (The Phoenix has been retconned so many times: I like the Excalibur version much better than the current.) She exits the comic in an act of self-sacrifice, having seen her “parents” married, and triumphing in some way over her demons (with the help of her best friend, who accompanied her into a vision of her greatest shame). From there she goes on to found a resistance/religious order in a war-torn future, and raise her own half-brother. (Of course, this has been retconned out of canon entirely, and the current Rachel never experienced it, but I still think it’s an important part of her character concept.)
Kitty Pryde is a character I absolutely love as well. Formerly the youngest X-Man, impetuous and perhaps a bit annoying, she also comes a bit into her own in Excalibur—it’s good for her to be away from her “younger sister” role in the X-Mansion, and out from under the Professor’s wing, for awhile. She has a tart tongue, is brilliant with computers and technology, and is a bit of a scrapper (aided by Wolverine’s training). I read once that Alan Davis and Chris Claremont intended her to resemble “a young Katharine Hepburn.” She also has a tendency to be very admiring of other women (there are several occasions during which she more or less openly ogles Saturnine/Sat-yr-9/Courtney Ross).
Rachel’s connection with Kitty is both intense and rather odd: best friends with the “current” Kitty, who is her own age or just a bit younger, she was also very close to the Kate Pryde of her own future, a much older woman, who took care of her, eventually rescued her (by sending her back in time) . . . and called her “my love.” Kate was married to Piotr Rasputin, and Rachel romantically involved with Franklin Richards; however, both died some time before Kate and Rachel’s separation, and I think that the relationship is somewhat suggestive.
Whether or not Kate and Rachel were involved, I first noticed the subtext between Rachel and Kitty—which I’m rather more interested in—in Excalibur #75, Rachel’s last in the 616 universe for ten (real-world) years. Rachel is suffering from a sort of communication with timelost Brian Braddock (Captain Britain), who is attempting to return to his own time by exchanging places with her (Rachel has “timetripping” powers, in addition to her Phoenix-enhanced psi powers). She is terrified and resistant, but also eaten up by guilt, which is only augumented by her greatest weakness, her lingering survivor’s guilt over her time as a Hound. She opens her heart to Kitty, taking her on a psychic visit into her own past. With Kitty’s help and support, she experiences a sense of healing and absolution, and strengthened by this, she goes on to sacrifice herself in order to save Brian. Her goodbye to Kitty is very touching, and incorporates the phrase “kiss me hello.”
That issue is my favorite example of the Rachel/Kitty subtext, though I could certainly come up with many more. But they’re every bit as easy to read as best friends, if you don’t have a slashy eye. And I find them just as appealing that way. Though I’ve described part of the reason I see them as an item, please don’t think I’ll be disappointed with gen! Whether they are best friends or something more, I find Rachel and Kitty’s individual personalities and relationship to be the most engaging part of a really brilliant and enjoyable comic. Excalibur was clever and completely cracked-out. Superhero comics these days seem severely lacking in terms of humor . . . classic Excalibur comics are extremely refreshing. They're so imaginative and wacky, and the interpersonal relationships are so much more believable.
(I'd like to note, however, that I really don't like the Kitty/Piotr relationship . . . if you feel like including one of her canon, heterosexual relationships, I much prefer Kitty/Pete Wisdom.)
I don’t have much in the way of resource links, but:
A scan of Rachel and Kitty’s goodbyes in Excalibur #75
Rachel X - a great Rachel fansite, with more information about her
There is also quite a lot of fanart of this pairing at my website. Just FYI. ^^
This is actually the short version. When you've been a fan of a (fairly obscure) character since the age of eight, you can write lots. Essays. Books? I don't really want to know. So this is just a "little" ramble. (But all the same, beware the teal deer.)
Fandom: Excalibur (1988 comic series)
Pairing: Rachel Summers (Phoenix)/Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat)
I first became interested in comics, as a child, through Marvel’s various X-books. My very first comic obsession was the Dark Phoenix Saga, but any interest that I had in Jean Grey was quickly supplanted by her alternate-timeline daughter, Rachel Summers (the current Phoenix at the time). Rachel was fascinating and complex: her tortured past, her confused memories, her connection with the Phoenix . . . her loyalty and close connection with friends and family. I was devastated when she disappeared into limbo for ten years, and absolutely elated at her recent return as the new Marvel Girl. Unfortunately, I’ve been disappointed ever since, as her characterization often bears little to no resemblance to the character I am so fond of. (They seem to want to cut out her entire past, including her closer connections--why do they never team her up with any of her established friends? But I digress.)
Rachel has a fiery temper; anti-human prejudices due to her mistreatment in the future; and intense survivor’s guilt. Slowly, in X-Men and Excalibur, she learns to trust herself again, to become a strong fighter and a fierce friend. She’s beautiful, but not very self-aware (according to her creators; though in England, she certainly tends to choose very provocative outfits; previous to that, she’d generally run around in danskins, and once or twice in a pantsuit). In Excalibur she really comes into her own, eventually healing and regaining her fractured memories, and mastering the Phoenix’s power; making it subordinate to her will, as her mother never managed. (The Phoenix has been retconned so many times: I like the Excalibur version much better than the current.) She exits the comic in an act of self-sacrifice, having seen her “parents” married, and triumphing in some way over her demons (with the help of her best friend, who accompanied her into a vision of her greatest shame). From there she goes on to found a resistance/religious order in a war-torn future, and raise her own half-brother. (Of course, this has been retconned out of canon entirely, and the current Rachel never experienced it, but I still think it’s an important part of her character concept.)
Kitty Pryde is a character I absolutely love as well. Formerly the youngest X-Man, impetuous and perhaps a bit annoying, she also comes a bit into her own in Excalibur—it’s good for her to be away from her “younger sister” role in the X-Mansion, and out from under the Professor’s wing, for awhile. She has a tart tongue, is brilliant with computers and technology, and is a bit of a scrapper (aided by Wolverine’s training). I read once that Alan Davis and Chris Claremont intended her to resemble “a young Katharine Hepburn.” She also has a tendency to be very admiring of other women (there are several occasions during which she more or less openly ogles Saturnine/Sat-yr-9/Courtney Ross).
Rachel’s connection with Kitty is both intense and rather odd: best friends with the “current” Kitty, who is her own age or just a bit younger, she was also very close to the Kate Pryde of her own future, a much older woman, who took care of her, eventually rescued her (by sending her back in time) . . . and called her “my love.” Kate was married to Piotr Rasputin, and Rachel romantically involved with Franklin Richards; however, both died some time before Kate and Rachel’s separation, and I think that the relationship is somewhat suggestive.
Whether or not Kate and Rachel were involved, I first noticed the subtext between Rachel and Kitty—which I’m rather more interested in—in Excalibur #75, Rachel’s last in the 616 universe for ten (real-world) years. Rachel is suffering from a sort of communication with timelost Brian Braddock (Captain Britain), who is attempting to return to his own time by exchanging places with her (Rachel has “timetripping” powers, in addition to her Phoenix-enhanced psi powers). She is terrified and resistant, but also eaten up by guilt, which is only augumented by her greatest weakness, her lingering survivor’s guilt over her time as a Hound. She opens her heart to Kitty, taking her on a psychic visit into her own past. With Kitty’s help and support, she experiences a sense of healing and absolution, and strengthened by this, she goes on to sacrifice herself in order to save Brian. Her goodbye to Kitty is very touching, and incorporates the phrase “kiss me hello.”
That issue is my favorite example of the Rachel/Kitty subtext, though I could certainly come up with many more. But they’re every bit as easy to read as best friends, if you don’t have a slashy eye. And I find them just as appealing that way. Though I’ve described part of the reason I see them as an item, please don’t think I’ll be disappointed with gen! Whether they are best friends or something more, I find Rachel and Kitty’s individual personalities and relationship to be the most engaging part of a really brilliant and enjoyable comic. Excalibur was clever and completely cracked-out. Superhero comics these days seem severely lacking in terms of humor . . . classic Excalibur comics are extremely refreshing. They're so imaginative and wacky, and the interpersonal relationships are so much more believable.
(I'd like to note, however, that I really don't like the Kitty/Piotr relationship . . . if you feel like including one of her canon, heterosexual relationships, I much prefer Kitty/Pete Wisdom.)
I don’t have much in the way of resource links, but:
A scan of Rachel and Kitty’s goodbyes in Excalibur #75
Rachel X - a great Rachel fansite, with more information about her
There is also quite a lot of fanart of this pairing at my website. Just FYI. ^^
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-12 07:29 pm (UTC)Only if by "somewhat suggestive" you mean "totally married." How else do you explain the "Rachel, my love, I wish I could touch you" bit. Which? Totally shippy. ;) I think if Claremont had his way back then, they totally would've been canon, at least the Kate/Rachel part of it.
Oh, and did you ever get the links for the Wisdom comics? :)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-13 12:19 am (UTC)Plus, much as the Kate/Rachel thing is obvious, I've just never liked it as much . . . I'm not usually one for age gaps, and I'm really attached to 616 Kitty. And as your icon illustrates, she and Ray will be totally married someday. ;)
(Claremont wanted all his women to get together. Wish he hadn't gone so far down the tubes.)
And nope, I didn't . . . I forget, was there a plan for that? I've been superbusy lately, except for setting aside way too much time to obsess over Yuletide. ^^;
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-13 12:44 am (UTC)I like the tragic vibe of Kate/Rachel and that probably has contributed to my Rachel/Kitty love. I prefer Rachel/Kitty, of course, but early "Excalibur" always makes me think that Kate is the big love of Rachel's life and Kitty is maybe just her attempt to recapture it. Which is a pessimistic view of the relationship, but I kind of like my ships doomed and tragic. ;) But I think Rachel/Kitty is one of the few where I want them to end up happy and together. Oh, and Pete can and should join them.
Hmmm. I uploaded "Wisdom" and e-mailed you the links to them a while ago. I'll resend.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-13 12:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-13 03:08 am (UTC)My address is fairiesbite at yahoo dot com.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-15 01:37 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-15 12:52 pm (UTC)Thanks for clarifying, hon.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-13 03:06 am (UTC)*laughs* Yeah, you're a little more hardcore than I am. I like to think that Rachel's love for Kate fades naturally into love for Kitty, just as she recovers from her trauma (to the extent that recovery is possible) and relaxes into her new life. And yes, they can totally have happily ever after. (Pete is optional for me . . . I like them with him, yeah, but I like them without him too. They can be married and he can be their sometimes boyfriend. :p)
Some days I just really want to stage a hostile takeover of Marvel's editorial offices.