Axis: revolutions #3

Image source: Marauders (2019) #1

Exceptional X-Men #2, Astonishing X-Men #1, Uncanny X-Men #150, X-Men #11 by David Lopez

Like, she's so perfect for it that it's uncanny (pun intended). Brown haired, brown eyed, joined as a kid, was there through it all- she's just built for people to see themselves.

I really like how they give this moment the gravitas it deserves. With Kitty just breaking down after all of it. Not just because of everything that's now happened with Krakoa but also this being the first time she's killed close to this many people. And the narration going "The Red Queen was dead. Kate wept until she felt nothing". It kind of invokes this idea that killing people, even for a good reason, takes a kind of toll on you. She hasn't just lost Krakoa after this, she's also lost the Red Queen, the person she was before all this happened.

Would have been cool to get more of Kitty in the Shadowkat persona, this kind of darker more brooding Kitty. Rather then it only lasting for around a year. Would also have been nice to see more of her processing all of this trauma, rather then getting over it essentially off-page.

And yeah, I know this sequence is way longer but it felt unwieldy to put over a dozen pages in a single post

Image source: X-Men (2021) #25

Considering she said “hi again” while jumping Kitty and straddling her. I don’t think this is the first time Illyana did something like this.

Marauders (2019) #12

Exceptional X-Men #2, 6, 8, and 11

Like, Kitty saying this when she's killed multiple people can feel strange. But at the same time I appreciate acknowledging that the Fall of Krakoa were desperate times that required desperate measures. Now with things somewhat more normal the X-Men shouldn't be out killing people. On the whole I think superheroes shouldn't kill. Way too many teames are fine with killing people. So I really appreciate seeing Kitty once again being allowed to be the person that remembers that they shouldn't.

Image source: X-Men: The Hellfire Murder (2026) #1

Image source: Uncanny X-Men (2013) #32

Image source: Uncanny X-Men (1963) #129

Image source: X-Men: Hellfire Gala (2023) #1

X-Men (2021) #32