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Kitty Pryde
|Kitty Pryde
File:Kitty Pryde by Paul Smith.jpg
Kitty Pryde with Lockheed
Art by Paul Smith
|Publication information
|Marvel Comics
|First appearance
|Uncanny X-Men #129 (January 1980)
|Created by
Chris Claremont
John Byrne
|In-story information
|Alter ego
|Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde
|Human Mutant
|Team affiliations
|Notable aliases
|Ariel, Sprite, Shadowcat
Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 (January 1980) and was co-created by writer-artist John Byrne and Chris Claremont.
A mutant, Pryde possesses a "phasing" ability that allows her and objects or people with which she is in contact to become intangible.[1] This power also disrupts any electrical field she passes through, and lets her simulate levitation.
Storm christened Kitty with her first code name, Sprite. Professor X had also suggested the codename Ariel, which Kitty adopted for a short time prior to adopting the codename Shadowcat. Pryde was the youngest person invited to join the team of mutant superheroes the X-Men.
During her early years, she was portrayed as a "kid sister" to many older members of the X-Men, filling the role of literary foil to the more established characters. In the years since her introduction, she has aged and matured, and has become a main character on her own.
In the X-Men film series, Kitty Pryde was portrayed by young actresses in cameos in the first two films, Sumela Kay in X-Men (2000) and Katie Stuart in X2 (2003), and is portrayed by Ellen Page in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). She is ranked #47 in IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.
- 1 Publication history
- 2 Fictional character biography
- 3 Relationship with Colossus
- 4 Relationship with Star-Lord
- 5 Powers and abilities
- 6 Other versions
- 7 In other media
- 8 Awards and tributes
- 9 References
- 10 External links
Publication history
|This section requires expansion. (September 2008)
Kitty Pryde was introduced into the X-Men title as the result of an editorial dictate that the book was supposed to depict a school for mutants.[2] Uncanny X-Men artist John Byrne named Kitty Pryde after a classmate he met in art school, Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary in 1973. He had told Pryde that he liked her name and asked for permission to use it, promising to name his first original comics character after her.[3] Byrne had drawn the character to slightly resemble an adolescent Sigourney Weaver.[4]
The fictional Kitty Pryde first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 (January 1980), by writer Chris Claremont and artist Byrne, as a highly intelligent 13-year-old girl. Claremont said several elements of the character's personality were derived from those of X-Men editor Louise Simonson's daughter, Julie.[5] Claremont and Byrne made the new character a full-fledged X-Man in issue #139, where she was codenamed "Sprite". She was the main character in the issues #141-142, the "Days of Future Past" storyline, where she is possessed by her older self, whose consciousness time travels into the past to prevent the mass extermination of mutants. The six-issue miniseries Kitty Pryde and Wolverine (1984–1985), written by Claremont, was a coming-of-age storyline in which she matures from a girl to a young woman and adopts the new name "Shadowcat".
Shadowcat's popularity had a profound effect on the real-life Kitty Pryde: the latter became so overwhelmed by attention from Shadowcat fans after the publication of the X-Men comics that she abbreviated her name to K.D. Pryde to avoid association with her fictional counterpart. She has since stated that she has mixed feelings about her fame, saying that she values Byrne's comics for their entertainment and artistic value, but wishes that more people would appreciate her as more than just Shadowcat's namesake.[3]
Fictional character biography
|This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (October 2008)
Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde was born in Deerfield, Illinois to Carmen and Theresa Pryde. Of Jewish descent, her paternal grandfather, Samuel Prydeman, was held in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. Kitty started to have headaches at age thirteen, signaling the emergence of her mutant powers. She was approached by both the X-Men's Charles Xavier and the Hellfire Club's White Queen, Emma Frost, both of whom hoped to recruit her for their respective causes. Kitty was unnerved by Frost, observing that the White Queen had looked at her as if she were "something good to eat." She got along better with Xavier and the three X-Men who escorted him to his meeting with her and her parents, quickly becoming friends with Ororo Munroe. Ororo told Kitty who she really was and about the X-Men, which made the teenager even more enthusiastic about attending Xavier's school.
Their conversation was cut short when they (along with Wolverine and Colossus) were attacked by armored mercenaries in the employ of Frost and the Hellfire Club. The X-Men defeated their assailants, but were subdued by the White Queen's telepathic powers immediately after. In the confusion, Kitty had become separated from the X-Men and therefore was not captured along with them.[6] She managed to contact Cyclops, Phoenix, and Nightcrawler.[7] With the help of Dazzler and Pryde, those X-Men rescued their teammates and Xavier (who had also been captured) from the Hellfire Club.[8]
The White Queen appeared to perish in the battle, which meant she was no longer competing with Xavier for the approval of Kitty's parents. Kitty's parents had not heard from her in more than a day, because during that time she was first being pursued by the Hellfire Club's men and then working with the X-Men to save their friends. All they knew was that Kitty had left with Xavier's "students" to get a soda, there had been reports that the soda shop had been blown up, and that Kitty had been missing since. Therefore, they were angry at Xavier when he finally returned with Kitty in tow. At first, it seemed like there was no chance of Kitty being allowed to attend the school and join the X-Men. Phoenix then used her considerable telepathic power to erase the memories of Kitty's parents and plant false ones, resulting in a complete shift in their attitude towards Xavier. Kitty was then allowed to enroll at Xavier's school with her parents' blessing.[8] She was the youngest person to join the X-Men up to that point.
Joining the X-Men
Kitty joined the X-Men,[9] and assumed the costumed identity of Sprite.[10] Early in her career as an X-Man, Kitty's adult self from an alternate future took possession of her body in the present to help X-Men thwart the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly by the second Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.[11] Kitty then singlehandedly defeated a N'Garai demon.[12] Kitty also briefly attended the White Queen's Massachusetts Academy when her parents became convinced that she needed to be with students of her own age, but following a failed attempt to subdue the X-Men, Frost revoked Kitty's admission.[13]
During her teen years, Kitty fostered a number of close relationships with others at the school and in the X-Men. She developed a crush on Colossus and became close friends with his little sister Illyana Rasputin. Initially uneasy around Nightcrawler and other mutants with physical deformities, Kitty finally overcame her fears and became close friends with him. Kitty also befriended Lockheed, a highly intelligent alien resembling a dragon,[14] who followed her home after a mission in outer space.[15] Lockheed is extremely loyal to Kitty, and the two of them share a psychic bond. Wolverine became something of a mentor to Kitty despite his usually gruff personality. Storm came to view Kitty as the daughter she never had.
Kitty was later assigned to the New Mutants,[16] a team of younger mutants established in the absence of the X-Men while they were in outer space. Kitty convinced Professor Xavier to allow her to remain a full member of the X-Men on the basis of her high intelligence, maturity, and the fact that she was already a fully trained member of the team. Kitty was later abducted by the Morlocks and nearly forced to wed Caliban.[17] She was then abducted by the White Queen, but rescued by the New Mutants.[18]
During this time, Kitty began to "date" Colossus, but this did not last long. Colossus developed feelings for an alien woman named Zsaji whom he met on the Beyonder's planet in the first Secret Wars. Colossus' feelings toward Zsaji were primarily a side effect of her own unique healing abilities, which she had used on him after he became injured. Regardless, Colossus' feelings were real and he returned to Earth consumed with grief after Zsaji's death. He admitted to Kitty that he loved Zsaji, which hurt her deeply and ended the budding romantic relationship.[19] Kitty had made good friends with a local boy from Salem Central named Doug Ramsey around this time, but her feelings for him never went as deep as his for her, and they never actually dated, though they remained close, even more so after Doug's status as a mutant was revealed and he joined the New Mutants under the codename Cypher. They remained friends until his death some time later.[20]
During the 1984-1985 Kitty Pryde and Wolverine miniseries, Kitty is possessed by a demon, the ninja Ogun. Ogun psychically bestows upon Kitty a virtual lifetime of martial arts training. Kitty was brainwashed by Ogun into becoming a ninja assassin, and was sent to attack Wolverine. Kitty is able to resist Ogun's influence with Wolverine's help, and the two form a strong teacher/student bond, which helps them in vanquishing Ogun. Kitty returns to the X-Men, no longer the innocent girl they once knew, and officially adopts the codename Shadowcat.[21]
Morlock Massacre
While trying to save Rogue, Kitty was badly injured by Harpoon's energy spear during the Mutant Massacre story arc, in the massacre of the Morlocks, with the result that she lost control of her power and was stuck in an intangible state and could not regain her solidity.[22] She was rushed to Muir Island along with other surviving casualties of the Massacre to be tended to by Moira MacTaggert. MacTaggert was able to keep Kitty's condition from deteriorating to the point where she completely lost physical substance and ceased to exist, but was not able to do any more to help her.[23]
At this time, Kitty's natural state was to be intangible. Where she once had to make a conscious effort to phase, she could now only maintain her solidity through an act of conscious will. The X-Men went to Reed Richards, Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, for aid, but Richards initially refused because he was not sure he would be able to help.[24]
Having nowhere else to go, the X-Men turned to Richards' enemy Doctor Doom. This created a moral dilemma for both the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, and both teams fought each other because the Fantastic Four were trying to stop the treatment while the X-Men were determined to save Kitty's life. In the end, both the personal crisis of the Fantastic Four and the life of Shadowcat were saved after Franklin Richards, with the help of Lockheed, brought both teams to their senses.[25] Kitty has since recovered from this state and now has full control over her power again.[volume & issue needed]
Among the others injured and brought to Muir Isle were Colossus and Nightcrawler, although Colossus left the United Kingdom shortly after being released from MacTaggert's care to join the rest of the X-Men on their mission to battle the Adversary.[26] The X-Men sacrificed their lives to defeat the Adversary, the battle and their sacrifice was televised and broadcast across the world.[volume & issue needed] The X-Men were resurrected later, unknown to the world at large, but chose to keep a low profile and perpetuate the belief that they were still dead.[volume & issue needed] This strategy was enforced to more effectively fight their enemies. This meant avoiding contact with friends and family, including Kitty. Thinking the X-Men were dead, Kitty and Nightcrawler joined Rachel Summers, Captain Britain, and Meggan to form the Britain-based team Excalibur.[27] For a brief time, Kitty studied at St. Searle's school for girls in Britain.[28] During her time with Excalibur, Kitty developed a crush on Professor Alistaire Stuart which went unreciprocated since Alistaire was attracted to Rachel.[29] Later, she was romantically involved with former Black Air agent Pete Wisdom, with whom she lost her virginity.[volume & issue needed] At some point, Kitty was recruited by the international law enforcement agency S.H.I.E.L.D. to repair the computer system of their flying headquarters. Kitty discovered the problem was due to Ogun's spirit having infiltrated the computer system, and with the aid of Wolverine, she managed to purge Ogun's presence.[30] During this time, Kitty was attracted to a S.H.I.E.L.D. intern her own age, and this made her begin to doubt her relationship with Wisdom.[volume & issue needed] Soon after, she broke off their relationship.[volume & issue needed]
Back to the X-Men
|This section does not cite any references or sources. (January 2013)
After Excalibur's dissolution, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Colossus return to the X-Men. While returning, they faced a group of imposters following Cerebro, in the guise of Professor X. While tracking Mystique, she stumbles onto prophetic diaries that belonged to Irene Adler, a precognitive. During the six-month gap, Kitty visited Genosha. Whatever she experienced there is unknown (although presumably connected to her father, living on Genosha at the time), but it had a profound effect on her. She cut her hair and began to act rebelliously, also using one of Wolverine's bone claws broken off during battle as a weapon. Kitty remained with the X-Men for a while before leaving after the apparent death of Colossus. Trying to give herself a normal life, she attended the University of Chicago. During this time, her father was killed when Cassandra Nova's Sentinels destroyed Genosha. Kitty later finds a recording of his death due to exploring footage of the attack. She is also kidnapped by William Stryker, but the X-Treme X-Men team helped her escape, and she assisted them on several missions.
At the start of Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men, Kitty once again rejoins the X-Men, despite having extreme reservations about working with the former White Queen, given their history. This was the primary reason why Frost herself wanted Kitty on the team, as a sort of "safety" should Frost ever revert to type. Frost reasoned that the person who trusted her least would be most likely to spot such behavior. On one of the team's first missions, Shadowcat discovered Colossus was alive. After some initial awkwardness, Kitty and Peter resumed dating.
Kitty Pryde appeared alongside Colossus in the "Blinded by the Light" arc in X-Men. They are the two X-Men left to look after the students while the rest of the X-Men leave for Mystique's home in Mississippi to check up on Rogue, during which they are ambushed by the Marauders. Kitty and Colossus, meanwhile, attempt to protect the students from a faction of the Marauders led by Exodus. It is revealed over the course of the story that Kitty, worried of the Destiny Diaries' safety, devised a plan with Cyclops and Emma Frost to hide them and have Emma wipe the location from her mind. The location could only be revealed by a code word spoken to Kitty. The arc concludes with a battle between Iceman and Cannonball against the Marauders for the diaries, during which they are destroyed by Gambit.
In the "Torn" arc, the latest incarnation of the Hellfire Club begin an assault on Xavier's School. Kitty fulfilled the role that Emma Frost envisioned, personally taking down Frost and imprisoning her, only to fall under a telepathic delusion created by Hellfire member Perfection, who claimed to be the true, unreformed Emma Frost. Under this delusion, Kitty was made to believe that she and Colossus had conceived a child, which was later taken away by the X-Men because its potential mutant abilities were supposedly dangerous. Kitty reacts in the delusion by attempting to rescue the child from a near-inescapable "box" in the depths of the school, unaware that in reality she is freeing an alien entity, Stuff, who contains the trapped consciousness of Cassandra Nova, the apparent ringleader of this new Hellfire Club. A newly awakened Cyclops revealed that the new Hellfire Club, including Perfection and Nova, are actually mental projections created by a piece of Cassandra Nova's consciousness; which became lodged in Emma's mind during the X-Men's last confrontation with her, playing on her survivor's guilt over the Genoshan massacre, and utilizing Emma's telepathy to both confound the X-Men and orchestrate her (Nova's) escape from the Stuff body. As Cyclops killed the mental projections, Emma tried to force Kitty to kill her to get rid of Nova. Undeterred, Cassandra Nova switched her focus to attempt to transfer her mind to Hisako Ichiki. It appears that Nova did not succeed, as the team was transported to S.W.O.R.D.'s air station en route to Ord's Breakworld for the "Unstoppable" arc that concludes Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men.
As the team prepares to end the confrontation with the Breakworld leader, the team splits up—with Kitty on the team appointed to stop the missile pointed at Earth. Kitty phases into the missile to disrupt its circuitry noting that it is composed of the same material as the rest of Breakworld, a material that's difficult and exhausting for her to phase through. After phasing for a mile into the missile, Kitty finds the center only to discover it empty. The missile is fired, causing Kitty to pass out inside of it as Beast discovers too late that due to its shape, trajectory, and lack of internal circuitry, the Breakworld's weapon is not a missile, but a bullet. As the bullet hurtles toward Earth, Kitty lies unconscious within it.[31]
As the situation becomes increasingly dire, Emma establishes mental contact with Kitty, reassuring her that she will come out of this fine, though it eventually becomes clear to both that the situation will be grim. Kitty and Emma come to an understanding and reconciliation, Emma stating that she never wanted something like this to happen to her. Kitty then phases the bullet through Earth, but is trapped within. At the end of Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men, Scott Summers mentions that Doctor Strange, Reed Richards, and some "top men" tried to save her, but believe she has fused to the bullet, as it continues to hurtle through space. Whether she is alive or dead is unknown, though the X-Men consider her lost to them.[31]
As a result of these events Kitty does not appear in the X-Men crossover event X-Men: Messiah Complex, since this takes place after the events of Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men. She is briefly mentioned in the aftermath of the Messiah Complex, by Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine, as the three of them discuss "losing her."[32]
To cope with Kitty's loss, Colossus takes down a group of Russian criminals dealing in human trafficking, and gets a tattoo of the name 'Katya' on his chest.[33] Emma begins having a recurring dream in which she hears a voice whom she believes is Kitty's trying to reach out to her.[34]
It was later confirmed by Abigail Brand that Kitty Pryde was still alive within the bullet, but because the bullet's design would harden as time went on, it would become increasingly difficult to break the bullet open.[35]
After the X-Men move to the island of Utopia, Magneto arrives on the island professing his desire to join and support the X-Men in their effort to unite the world's remaining mutants. The X-Men reluctantly let him stay, remaining wary of him despite his efforts to gain their trust.[36] In a final bid to gain their trust, Magneto focuses his powers, attempting to divert the interstellar path of the metal bullet Kitty is trapped in and bring her home to Earth. Meanwhile inside the bullet, Kitty is revealed to still be alive.[37] Unbeknownst to the others, Magneto had encountered the bullet earlier while attempting to regain his powers with the High Evolutionary and surmised that Kitty was inside. Despite this and the High Evolutionary's apparent ability to retrieve the bullet and Kitty, Magneto chose to focus on regaining his powers, secretly keeping tabs on the bullet until his decision to draw it back to Earth. During her time trapped inside the bullet, Kitty keeps herself and the bullet phased to avoid collisions with any inhabited objects in its path. Magneto brings her safely down to Earth, with the help of Doctor Strange, by cracking the bullet in two and levitating Kitty to the ground. When she and Colossus try to touch, it is revealed that she is trapped in her intangible form, unable to speak, and the X-Men place her in a protective chamber similar to the one used for her following the events of the Mutant Massacre.[38][39] How Kitty survived her time in the bullet is unclear to the X-Men's science team, where the X-Men discover that all her bodily functions halted.[39] An analysis by Kavita Rao hypothesizes that Kitty created an intense muscle memory to keep herself and the bullet phased and has "forgotten" how to un-phase.[39]
During a conversation with Colossus, with Emma Frost acting as the psi-conduit, Kitty picks up Emma's stray thoughts on killing the captive Sebastian Shaw, to prevent Namor from discovering she previously lied to him. While disgusted at Emma's intentions, Kitty offers a compromise. Due to her current ghost state, she is the perfect tool for making Shaw disappear.[40]
In a storyline in Uncanny X-Men, the Breakworlders make their way to Earth. During the conflict between the Breakworlder Kr'uun and the X-Men, Kitty is slain and resurrected by Kr'uun's mate in an alien ritual, which results in her powers returning to normal.[41]
Shortly thereafter, Kitty breaks up with Colossus,[42] and decides to return with Wolverine to Westchester to open the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.[43] In Wolverine and the X-Men #4, she appears to be suddenly pregnant,[44] but the pregnancy was revealed to be a Brood infestation, and it was swiftly dealt with by a team of X-Men.[volume & issue needed] Since returning to Westchester, Kitty has shared several kisses with Iceman.[volume & issue needed] During the events of Avengers vs. X-Men, Kitty does not take a side, but instead decides to stay at the school to work with the students.[volume & issue needed] Once Bobby returned from working with the X-Men after realizing that the Phoenix had corrupted them, he and Kitty finally decide to go on a date.[45]
All-New X-Men
After Beast brings the original five X-Men into the future to stop Cyclops in the present,[46] Kitty volunteers to take responsibility for the temporally relocated X-Men while they work to undo this dark future.[47]
New X-Men
In 2013, Marvel revealed an all new all female series simply named X-Men. Written by Brian Wood with art by Olivier Coipel, X-Men will feature an all-female cast including Storm, Jubilee, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Rachel Grey and Psylocke.[48]
Cyclops's X-Men
Kitty has joined Cyclops's X-Men at the New Xavier School.[49] During the first few weeks at the New Xavier School, Jean Grey is abducted by the Shiar Empire to stand trial for her future self's crimes. Kitty and the time-displaced X-Men team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy and succeed in rescuing Jean from the Shiar. At the conclusion of the storyline, Kitty begins a long-distance, flirtatious relationship with Starlord, Peter Quill.[50]
The Black Vortex
After the trial of Jean Grey, her relationship with Peter Quill started to develop more and more. At one point, she decided to go rescue Quill in space, despite her fear for it as a result of her being trapped on the giant space bullet.[51] After rescuing Peter, she decided to stay in space with him. Then, Kitty convinced Peter to steal a powerful artifact called the Black Vortex from his father J'son. Soon, they found themselves being chased by J'son's assassin team, the Slaughter Lords, so they requested the aid of the X-Men and the Guardians of the Galaxy to protect the Vortex. The two groups discussed the idea of using the Vortex to gain cosmic powers and confront the Slaughter Lords; Kitty was against it but Peter wanted to do it; however, a few of their own friends couldn't resist the temptation and submitted to the Vortex, betrayed the team, and escaped with the artifact. After that, the team split and Kitty stayed in Spartax to help an orphanage. She was encased in amber after Thane (who was allied with J'son) froze the whole planet along with the people inside it; but, thanks to her phasing powers, she could get out of the amber. Then the Brood attacked Spartax, planning to use every encased person to lay eggs and create an army of Brood to start invading other planets and conquering them. Kitty felt the only way to stop them was by submitting to the Vortex and gaining cosmic powers. She reluctantly submitted and became a being of unlimited power. She started traveling across the multiverse and for a moment almost abandoned her friends, but after being reminded of the love between her and Peter Quill, she went back and phased all the amber that encased Spartax, along with the Broods trying to infect the people, and send them all to another dimension. After the crisis passed and J'son was captured, Kitty didn't give up the cosmic power but admitted to Peter that she was afraid of it. Peter promised her that he would never abandon her no matter how much she changes. Then, Peter kneeled and proposed marriage to Kitty. She, with tears in her eyes, accepted.[52]
Relationship with Colossus
Kitty expressed a romantic love interest in Colossus early into her time with the X-Men. This did not sit well with Marvel Comics' editor-in-chief at the time, Jim Shooter, who disapproved of the suggestion that a nineteen-year-old boy was sleeping with a fourteen-year-old girl.[53] Kitty had in fact directly propositioned Colossus in Uncanny X-Men #165, when they were both infected with Brood embryos and seemingly doomed to die: Kitty, aware of the taboo of their romantic relationship, made the plea that if she were older it would not be a problem, but Colossus refused — offering only a passionate kiss — saying "However, little one, you are not older". This did not stop the relationship from continuing, as the two were spotted once again passionately kissing in an apparent formalization of their romantic involvement.[54]
Shooter finally brought an end to the close and budding romantic relationship in his Secret Wars limited series, in which Colossus developed romantic feelings for an alien woman named Zsaji while on the Beyonder's Battleworld.[55] Zsaji was a healer whose abilities had a side effect of infatuation. For Colossus, this infatuation furthered his doubts of his feelings for Kitty due to his jealousy of her friendship with Doug Ramsey and led to a passionate, albeit brief romantic relationship with Zsaji. After Zsaji's death, Colossus found he no longer had romantic feelings for Kitty, and upon returning to Earth, he would break up with her.[56]
The two remained friends, though much cooler around each other until they were separated when Colossus was among the X-Men killed in Dallas during Fall of the Mutants. While a member of Excalibur, Kitty exploited her closeness with Colossus after he joined the Acolytes by luring him to Muir Island under the pretense of wanting to join him on Avalon. In reality, it was a ruse to allow Professor X to heal a head injury Colossus had suffered which they assumed had led to his defection. Kitty disliked betraying him, but went along with the ruse and was forgiven for her part in it.[57]
After the fall of Avalon, Colossus came to Muir Island looking for Kitty, and upon finding her with Pete Wisdom, he attacked and seriously injured Wisdom. The two talked about their past and decided to become close friends, with Colossus carefully watching over her romantic relationship with Wisdom. After Kitty and Wisdom's romantic relationship ends, she rejoins the X-Men with Colossus and Nightcrawler, and the two remain close. Kitty was not among the team when Colossus sacrificed himself to cure the Legacy Virus, but she returned to claim his ashes and spread them in his homeland.[58]
After Colossus' resurrection in Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men, the two discuss their feelings and consummate the strong, close romantic relationship.[59]
During the events of Fear Itself after numerous failed attempts to stop the Norse-powered Juggernaut Cain Marko, Shadowcat goes on a mission with Magik and Colossus to Cytorrak's dimension to try to convince him to stop using Cain Marko as the avatar of the Juggernaut. Cytorrak accepts on the terms that one of them become his new avatar, which Colossus takes to prevent his sister from carrying the burden.[42] After Colossus repels Cain's attack, Kitty dissolves her romance with Colossus, saying she needs a man who will live for her, not die for her.[42]
Relationship with Star-Lord
In comics, Kitty and Star-Lord developed strong romantic feelings for each other, despite both belonging to different franchises. After the Avengers vs. X-Men and the relaunch called Marvel Now that followed, writer Brian Michael Bendis became the main architect behind both the X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy franchises. His plan to join Kitty and Star-Lord would not start until a year later when he created a crossover event called "the trial of Jean Grey" where he revisited the event of the original Phoenix Saga with the original X-Men team who he had brought into the present. At the end of the crossover, Star-Lord gives Kitty an intergalactic phone she can use to call him whenever she wants to. Kitty, who was already interested on still seeing him, accepted the gift and kissed him on the cheek.[60]
Soon, Star-Lord new ongoing series writer Sam Humphries took interest on the relationship and decided to expand it in his own book. He, along with Bendis and editor Mike Marts (who edited both franchises), would start developing the relationship for a year before doing another crossover event that would be completely focused on them.
In Star-Lord's book, Peter and Kitty kept using the intergalactic phone to call each other and have what they called "holo-dates". The many problems in Peter Quill's life started interfering and soon he was captured by a new villain who had put a bounty on Peter's head called Mr. Knife. Kitty, who had been witness of Peter being abducted while they were on a date, rushed to Avengers Tower and stole one of Tony Stark's jets to go into space and save Peter.[61] She infiltrated Mr. Knife's base (now revealed to be J'son, Star-Lord's father) and rescued Peter after hitting Knife in the face. Then they kissed for the first time.[62]
After spending an afternoon in Ma Savage orphanage (one of many orphanages Peter founded), Kitty decided to leave earth and stay in space with Peter, after that they consummated their relationship on Peter's ship.[63]
Soon the crisis of the Black Vortex started. Kitty and Peter started fighting a lot because of the Vortex. Kitty wanting nothing to do with it while Peter wanting to have cosmic powers that would help him deal with the horrors of outer space. However, at one point, Peter had the complete freedom to submit to the Vortex and gain cosmic powers. He asked the Vortex to show him how his future would be if he submitted and he saw himself saving Spartax and gaining the approval of his father, but at one point he would go back to being a womanizer and Kitty would then leave him. Peter completely rejected the Vortex after this, wanting to be a better man for Kitty because he really loved her. Kitty appreciated this but submitted to the Vortex anyways in order to save the galaxy.[64]
After saving everyone from the horrors of the Black Vortex, everyone was offered a chance to give up their new acquired cosmic powers but Kitty didn't take it. She then used these new powers to walk in space with Peter. There, she confessed to him how afraid she was of this new powers and their influence. Peter assured her that no matter what happens or how much she changes, he would be by her side to the end because he knew the real Kitty would always be there, and to prove how sure he was about his love for her, he proposed marriage right there. Kitty started crying and finally accepted. Both then started dancing in space while their friends watched them.[65]
Powers and abilities
Kitty is a mutant with the ability to pass through solid matter by passing her atomic particles through the spaces between the atoms of the object through which she is moving. In this way she and the object through which she is passing can temporarily merge without interacting, and each is unharmed when Shadowcat has finished passing through the object. This process is called "phasing" or quantum tunneling and it renders her almost completely intangible to physical touch.[1] Shadowcat passes through objects at the same speed at which she is moving before she enters them. Since she is unable to breathe while inside an object, she can only continuously phase through solid objects (as when she travels underground) as long as she can hold her breath. However, contrary depictions of the duration of her phasing ability have been presented, such as when she has phased miles within an object. The use of her abilities also interferes with any electrical systems as she passes through by disrupting the flow of electrons from atom to atom, including the bio-electric systems of living bodies if she concentrates in the right way.[66] This typically causes machines to malfunction or be destroyed as she phases through them, and can induce shock and unconsciousness in living beings.
Using her power began as an optional ability, but for a period (over ten years of published comics, approximately two years in-continuity) Kitty existed in a naturally "phased" state, and had to consciously choose to become solid. Kitty has returned to her original form and is normally solid and must choose to use her power.[67] While phasing, she does not physically walk on surfaces, but rather interacts with the molecules of air above them, allowing her to ascend and descend, causing her to seemingly walk on air. While phased, she is immune to most physical attacks, and has inconsistent showings of some resistance to telepathy. The density of some materials (such as adamantium) can prove deleterious to her phasing, causing her to be severely disoriented or experience pain if she tries to pass through them.[68] Some energy attacks also prove problematic for Kitty. For example, an energy blast fired by Harpoon, a member of the Marauders, caused her to lose her ability to become fully tangible for months. Magic and magical beings can also harm her in her phased state, as demonstrated in a battle with a N'Garai demon whose claws left no visible marks, but caused Kitty severe pain as they passed through her intangible body.
Kitty can also extend her powers to phase other people and objects. She is able to phase at least a half a dozen other people (or objects of similar mass) with her, so long as they establish and maintain physical contact with her. She can extend her phasing effect to her own clothing or any other object with mass up to that of a small truck, as long as she remains in contact with it. Kitty can also make objects intangible by maintaining contact with them. She has threatened to leave people phased into a wall,[volume & issue needed] and used her power offensively to harm the Technarch Magus,[volume & issue needed] and Danger.[volume & issue needed]
Kitty's powers seem to have increased over the years. During an X-Treme X-Men story arc where she is kidnapped by Reverend William Stryker, she phases out of sync with Earth's rotation to move from one place in the world (only east or west) to another seemingly instantaneously.[volume & issue needed] At the climax of Astonishing X-Men, Kitty phases a 10 mi (16 km) long "bullet" composed of super-dense alien metals through the entire planet Earth. This feat caused her considerable strain, but she is unable to phase out of the bullet.[69] Moreover, originally Kitty found it difficult or impossible to phase only part of her body at a time. In the Days of Future Past story arc, she is possessed by her older future self, allowing her to solidify only her shoulder while phasing the rest of her body through Destiny - a feat explicitly beyond the 13-year-old Kitty's abilities.[volume & issue needed] By contrast, the Kitty Pride of Joss Whedon's run can punch and kick someone standing on the other side of a wall, selectively phasing and unphasing body parts as necessary.[volume & issue needed] She can even run and leap through an armed opponent, grabbing their weapon as she passes by, which presumably requires her to solidify only the surface area of the palms of her hands and them immediately phase both her palms and the weapon.[volume & issue needed]
Besides her mutant powers, Kitty is a genius in the field of applied technology and computer science. She is highly talented in the design and use of computer hardware. She is a skilled pilot of piston and jet engine aircraft, and a competent pilot of certain advanced interstellar vehicles. She has previously shown a unique ability to wield the Soulsword and also be harmed by it. Since her possession by the ninja demon Ogun, she has been consistently shown to be an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, having since been endowed with a lifetime of training in the martial arts of Japanese ninja and samurai, such as aikido, karate, and ninjutsu. She is also trained in the Israeli martial art of Krav Maga.
She is a professional-level dancer in both ballet and modern dance. She speaks fluent English, Japanese, Russian, and the royal and standard languages of the alien Shi'ar and Skrull, and has moderate expertise in Gaelic, Hebrew, and German.
Kitty also shares a mental/empathic connection with her pet dragon Lockheed; both she and the alien dragon can "sense" each other's presence at times and generally understand one another's thoughts and actions.
Other versions
In addition to her mainstream incarnation, Kitty Pryde has been depicted in other fictional universes.
In other media
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Kitty Pryde appeared as Sprite in "The X-Men Adventure" episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, which guest-starred the X-Men. She was voiced by Sally Julian. She also appeared in her short-lived "Ariel" costume in the X-Men group cameo at the end of the episode "The Education of a Superhero."
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men
Kitty Pryde (voiced by Kath Soucie) was a viewpoint character in the animated television one-shot Pryde of the X-Men, as the newest member of the team. She is a new recruit of the team and is initially frightened of Nightcrawler, due to his demonic appearance. She and Nightcrawler later succeed in defeating Magneto. Once Nightcrawler seemingly dies as a result of having apparently sacrificed himself, Kitty begins to cry until discovering that he is alive and is met with positive relations by her teammates, except Wolverine.
X-Men: Evolution
In the animated series X-Men: Evolution, Shadowcat is a main character, who is shown as the teenybopper of the team and who has a romantic interest in Brotherhood member Lance Alvers. Shadowcat saves Wolverine in the season one episode "Grim Reminder", where she unintentionally stows away with Nightcrawler while on the Blackbird without the knowledge that he was beginning to pilot the jet. She is also shown to have developed a close friendship with Nightcrawler, despite the fact that she at first displayed a dislike for his appearance. Besides Nightcrawler, she is shown to have formed a friendship with Rogue and Spyke.
Her initial dislike of his appearance changes after he is severely wounded by Rogue, while she and the rest of the X-Men tried to recruit her. In this series, she does not have Lockheed for a pet, but she is shown preferring to sleep with a stuffed dragon instead of a teddy bear. Though she has an on-and-off interest in the delinquent mutant boy Lance Alvers, early in the series she displays interest in Cyclops. After Rogue is recruited, she serves as her support in beginning a romantic relationship with Scott and develops a friendship with her, despite their differences.
When Avalanche tries to join the X-Men in the season two episode "Joyride", she tries to help him and shows additional attraction to him as she grades him and the other members of the junior team. After he informs her that some members of the group have started a joyride on the Blackbird and helps her avert catastrophe, she staunchly defends him once he is accused by Cyclops of being responsible. When Avalanche starts to leave, Shadowcat gives him a brief kiss before his departure. With the exposing of the X-Men and mutants in general in the third season, Kitty hides with the other X-Men and after being allowed at school, starts to dislike Nightcrawler after he refuses to reveal himself as a mutant.
In the fourth season, the X-Men try to use her powers to damage one of Apocalypse's domes and fails, instead being electrocuted briefly. In the fiftieth episode of the series, entitled "Ghost of a Chance", she comes across Danielle Moonstar once she depicts herself in a dream sequence to her. Once she wakes out of it, she tries to and successfully finds her, becoming friends with the girl after learning she had been in suspended animation for two years. Prior to this, it is discovered that her fear is phasing repeatedly into the ground and going further without any control of where she is going. Of the six main X-Men from the first season of the series, she is one of the four that is still a member of the team in the future Charles Xavier saw while in the mind of Apocalypse. Shadowcat was voiced by Maggie Blue O'Hara.
Wolverine and the X-Men
Shadowcat appears in Wolverine and the X-Men,[vague] voiced by Danielle Judovits and was a student at the Xavier Institute before the destruction of the X-Mansion and disappearance of Professor X. When Wolverine reformed the X-Men to take down the Mutant Response Division and save the dismal future controlled by the Sentinels, Kitty was on her way to the "mutant paradise" Genosha. The X-Men came to re-recruit her and she immediately rejoined the team. Shadowcat appears as the youngest member of the team and she seems to have a crush on Iceman as she is jealous when his attention is taken by Emma Frost[70] and is shown with a love-struck face when she lands on Bobby during a Danger Room training session, though she quickly moves away from him when Angel arrives. She seems to have formed a friendship with Tildie Soames after babysitting her in one episode.
In the last episode of the series, she uses her powers to penetrate a Sentinel controlled by Magneto, of which Beast had difficulty with. Her design is inspired by the appearance of the character in the Astonishing X-Men comics, and her costume emulates the design with the appearance of the blue and yellow used on her costume. The shorts she wears are based off the appearances of the original X-Men, and her first appearance when she wore a variant of the uniform.
The Super Hero Squad Show
Shadowcat appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "And Lo...A Pilot Shall Come." She appears alongside Colossus at the unveiling of the Great Wall that separates Super Hero City from Villainville and helping citizens into the S.H.I.E.L.D. Shelters. In the episode "Mysterious Mayhem at Mutant Academy", she uses Lockheed to chase Reptil and the hypnotized X-Men out of the girls' bathroom.
Motion comics
Shadowcat appears in the Astonishing X-Men motion comic, voiced by Eileen Stevens.
- In the film X-Men, she has a small cameo, played by Sumela Kay. She is referenced as the "girl in Illinois who can walk through walls" by Senator Kelly. She is shown in Xavier's class when Wolverine walks in; she returns for her books which she had left behind, grabs them, and phases through the door on her way out. Xavier responds with a cheerful "Bye, Kitty" while Wolverine is startled.
- In X2: X-Men United, she has a brief appearance played by Katie Stuart. She is shown phasing through walls and through people to escape William Stryker's military forces during their attack on the X-Mansion. Another scene shows her falling through her bed to avoid an assault. She shares a room with Siryn; in the novelization it is stated that this is because her phasing ability gives her partial protection from Siryn's scream. When the President of the United States asks Professor Xavier how he got the files he gave him, Xavier replies that he knows a little girl who can walk through walls.
- In X-Men: The Last Stand, she is portrayed by Ellen Page and has a central role. She serves as a rival to Rogue for the romantic attentions of Iceman, since their close friendship and their kiss (deleted scene) make Rogue increasingly jealous and frustrated. She also joins the X-Men in the battle on Alcatraz Island, breaking off from the battle to save Leech from the Juggernaut. In the novelization of the film, it is hinted that at some point Kitty had a romantic relationship with Colossus, but that it had long since run its course, although Colossus appears to still retain feelings towards her.
- Ellen Page reprises her role in X-Men: Days of Future Past.[71] Pryde is the prime facilitator because she has developed a new power.[72] In this film she can send the consciousness of another person back into his or her body in the past. At the beginning of the film, she has been using this ability to repeatedly send Bishop four days back in time whenever the Sentinels attack, thus preventing her group from ever engaging them. She sends Wolverine back to 1973 to prevent the Sentinels' creation, and was gravely injured when Wolverine becomes violent due to provocation from events in 1973. After the timeline was successfully altered, Kitty is seen teaching a class at the X-Mansion with Colossus.
Video games
- Kitty Pryde appears in Konami's 1992 X-Men video arcade game, as a non-playable character (NPC). In this game, she is not known as "Sprite;" instead, she plays the "damsel in distress" role as it is based on "Pryde of the X-Men". In the 2010 re-release of the game she is voiced by Mela Lee.
- Shadowcat is a playable character in the game X-Men II: The Fall of the Mutants.
- Shadowcat appears as an NPC in the X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, voiced by Kim Mai Guest. She has special dialogue with Colossus (who she scolds for flirting with Scarlet Witch).
- Kim Mai Guest reprises her role of Shadowcat who appears in X-Men: The Official Game.
- Shadowcat is a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, voiced by Tara Strong.
- In X-Men: Destiny, Gambit mentions that the U-Men had captured Kitty and extracted bits of her power. Gambit obtains a vial of a substance which temporarily lets the character fall through the roof (if the player chose the correct option).
- Kitty Pryde is a playable character in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
- Kitty Pryde is a playable character in the X-Men: Days of Future Past app game.
- Kitty Pryde appears in the X-Men/Star Trek crossover novel Planet X. In it, she is examined by Geordi La Forge, who notes the similarities between her ability and the chroniton displacement he and Ro Laren experienced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Next Phase".
Popular culture references
|This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2014)
- Kitty Pryde is mentioned in the Weezer song In the Garage. In her first appearance (Uncanny X-Men #129, January 1980), she has a poster of the rock band Kiss in her room, like Weezer mention in this song.
- She is also mentioned in the song Missing Link by Dinosaur Jr. and Del tha Funkee Homosapien from the soundtrack for the movie Judgment Night.
- In Spike Lee's film 25th Hour, Edward Norton's character expresses his desire to avoid prison by stating he wishes he was "that girl from X-Men... the one who can walk through walls."
- Kitty Pryde is mentioned in the ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead song, "An Ounce Of Prevention".
- The last verse of Linkin Park's "H! VLTG3" references Kitty Pryde, as well as fellow X-Men Cyclops, Bishop, and Jean Grey.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon has acknowledged that Kitty Pryde was an inspiration for Buffy Summers.[73]
- In Genesis, the first episode of the TV series Heroes, the character of Hiro Nakamura specifically mentions Kitty Pryde traveling through time. He erroneously cites the issue number as X-Men #143 whereas the actual time traveling storyline takes place in X-Men #141-142. He is later corrected on this by a fellow "Hero", Charlie Andrews, who has the power of eidetic memory.
- In the web comic "Diesel Sweeties" by R Stevens, Maura Glee buys a "Kitty Pryde" app for her iPhone so she can walk through walls instead of bumping into them while texting.[74]
- In the TV series, No Ordinary Family, Stephanie Powell asks Katie Andrews, a lab tech and comic book fangirl, if she likes a superhero and she answers that her favorite hero is Kitty Pryde. When Katie is almost finished telling her, Stephanie brings a toy version of the character from Katie's desk downstairs.
- The rapper now known just as Kitty was formerly known as Kitty Pryde.[75]
Awards and tributes
Kitty Pryde has been well received as a comic book character and as a member of the X-Men. Wizard magazine put her at number #13 in 200 Greatest Comic Characters of All Time. She was the highest female comic character in the list beating rivals such as Wonder Woman, Buffy Summers, and She-Hulk.[76] IGN also ranked her as the 47th greatest comic book hero of all time stating that as X-Men writers have often found it useful to introduce younger teen recruits to offset the experienced members of the team, Kitty Pryde set the standard when she debuted, and none have surpassed her.[77] IGN also rated Kitty Pryde #3 on its list of the Top 25 X-Men from the Past 40 Years describing her as the mutant everyman, the common girl turned superhero; IGN also stated that as her pet dragon, Lockheed, became instantly attached to Kitty, we were hooked early on.[78] Marvel.com also ranked her as the tenth greatest X-Men member stating that unquestionably, the dynamic of the X-Men shifted entirely when teenage whiz kid Kitty Pryde joined the team in the early 1980s; Marvel.com also stated that even though Kitty has since blossomed into a young woman of considerable maturity and power, she remains the access point to the X-Men for countless readers.[79] A later list on Marvel's website, ranking the top 50 X-Men characters, placed her in first place, citing the ease of identifying with her for the audience, and her development over the years.[80]
- ^ a b c Kakalios, James (2005-10-04). The Physics of Superheroes. New York: Gotham Books/Penguin Group, Inc. ISBN 978-1-59240-146-8. The author, James Kakalios, is a physics professor. Pages 254-255: "With our improved understanding of physics, we can now more accurately describe Kitty Pryde's mutant power as being able to alter her macroscopic quantum wave function, increasing her tunneling probability to near 100 percent at will." Page 255: "How, when she's is 'phasing' and immaterial, can she walk?"
- ^ Grant, Steven. "Permanent Damage - The 20 Most Significant Comics" Comic Book Resources, October 22, 2008
- ^ a b Cronin, Brian (March 16, 2006). "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #42". Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed. Comic Book Resources. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
- ^ The X-Men Companion, Volume II. 1982. Fantagraphics Books, Inc.
- ^ Defalco, Tom (2006-05-01). Comics Creators on X-Men. Titan Books. p. 79. ISBN 1-84576-173-1.
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #129
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #130
- ^ a b Uncanny X-Men #131
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #138
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #139
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #141-142
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #143
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #151-152
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #166
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #168
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #167
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #177-179
- ^ New Mutants #15-17
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #183
- ^ New Mutants #60
- ^ Kitty Pryde and Wolverine #1-6
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #211
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #212
- ^ Fantastic Four Vs. the X-Men # 1
- ^ Fantastic Four vs. the X-Men #1-4
- ^ Uncanny X-Men 225
- ^ Excalibur Special Edition #1
- ^ Excalibur #33
- ^ Excalibur (vol. 1) #11
- ^ Kitty Pryde Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.' #1 - #3
- ^ a b Giant Size Astonishing X-Men # 1
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #496
- ^ Uncanny X-Men # 507
- ^ Secret Invasion: Dark Reign # 1
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #520
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #521
- ^ Matt Fraction (w), Whilce Portacio (p), Ed Tadeo (i). "Ghostly" Uncanny X-Men 522 (May, 2010), Marvel Comics
- ^ a b c Matt Fraction (w), Whilce Portacio (p), Ed Tadeo (i). "The Five Lights Part One: Freak Like Me" Uncanny X-Men 526 (July, 2010), Marvel Comics
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #529
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #538
- ^ a b c Uncanny X-Men #543
- ^ Wolverine and the X-Men #1
- ^ Wolverine and the X-Men #4
- ^ Wolverine and the X-Men #14-15
- ^ All-New X-Men #2
- ^ All-New X-Men #5
- ^ Esposito, Joey. "Marvel Debuts All-Female X-Men". IGN.
- ^ X-Men: Battle of the Atom #2 (October 2013)
- ^ "X-Men: The Trial of Jean Grey Part 1-6 (January–March 2014)
- ^ Legendary Star-Lord #6 (February 2015)
- ^ "Guardians of the Galaxy & X-Men: The Black Vortex Part 1-13 (April–June 2015)
- ^ Review of Uncanny X-Men #183, UncannyXmen.net (see "Notes")
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #174 (November 1983)
- ^ Secret Wars #5
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #183 (July 1984)
- ^ Excalibur Vol. 1 #75
- ^ X-Men vol. 2 #110
- ^ Astonishing X-Men #14
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 #13
- ^ Legendary Star-Lord Vol. 1 #6
- ^ Legendary Star-Lord Vol. 1 #7
- ^ Legendary Star-Lord Vol. 1 #8
- ^ Legendary Star-Lord Vol. 1 #11
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy & X-Men: The Black Vortex Omega
- ^ X-Men Black Sun #1
- ^ X-Men True Friends #1 (1999)
- ^ Wolverine vol. 1 #125
- ^ Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #2
- ^ Wolverine e os X-Men (Wolverine and the X-Men) Eps. 3, 4 - "Hindsight Pt. III, Overflow"
- ^ "'X-Men: Days of Future Past' Cast: Ellen Page, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore Added To Roster". The Huffington Post. 2013-01-26.
- ^ Plumb, Ali (July 31, 2013). "Exclusive: Bryan Singer Talks X-Men: Days of Future Past". Empire Magazine. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
- ^ "Interview: Neil Gaiman and Joss Whedon". TIME Magazine. Time Inc. 2005-09-25. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
Kitty was a huge proto-Buffy. I mean, there was no other you could point to as strongly.
- ^ The iTunes Mutation Store : diesel sweeties robot webcomic & geeky t-shirts
- ^ http://www.avclub.com/article/teen-rapper-kitty-pryde-returns-as-kitty-with-a-sp-90750
- ^ "Wizard's top 200 characters. External link consists of a forum site summing up the top 200 characters of Wizard Magazine since the real site that contains the list is broken.". Wizard magazine. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ "Kitty Pryde is number 47". IGN. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ "Top 25 X-Men". IGN. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ "Take 10: Greatest X-Men". Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ "The 50 Greatest X-Men of all time Part 5".
External links
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kitty Pryde.
- Kitty Pryde at Marvel.com
- UncannyXmen.net Spotlight on Shadowcat
- Kitty Pryde at DMOZ


text: Home & Garden Garden The Moth Man of West Virginia By Benyamin Cohen Writer Georgia State University Benyamin Cohen is a journalist and author with more than two decades of experience, focusing on topics related to science, arts, religion and culture. our editorial process Benyamin Cohen Updated May 17, 2019 Professor Kevin Daly has spent his career studying moths. (Photo: Benyamin Cohen). Share Twitter Pinterest Email Garden Insects Planting Guides Indoor Gardening Urban Farms Dr. Kevin Daly is allergic to moths. "I'm not a bug lover at all," admits the 46-year-old professor in his fourth-floor office one recent morning. Which wouldn't be that odd — except Daly makes a decent living studying moths. Not just studying moths, but training them. He's got a whole lab full of them. He breeds them, cares for them, studies the neural activity of their olfactory system. All of which requires inordinate amounts of time in the company of bugs. He is serious about moths. So what does he do when he sees one at home? "Like most people, I usually kill it." Daly is an enigma. On the one hand, his boyish antics got him kicked out of Catholic school in the sixth grade. On the other, his desire to learn led him to earn a Ph.D. in ethology and evolutionary psychology and ultimately to become a tenured biology professor at West Virginia University. He admits to being hyperactive, but as he leans back in his chair, speaking softly and dressed in a blue T-shirt, dark shorts and no shoes, that assertion can be hard to believe. But when you're with Daly, belief is something you just have to leave at the door. His office, tucked away amid the Appalachian Mountains, is dotted with photos of mushrooms. An issue of National Geographic — with the cover story "Inside Animal Minds" — rests on his desk. A coffee mug with a picture of President Obama's birth certificate sits on top of a nearby cabinet. He enjoyed riding motorcycles, but after being hit twice he finally decided to quit. He's now taken up mountain biking and power walking around his suburban neighborhood for hours on end to release excess energy — kind of like a moth in flight. *** Daly wasn't always interested in moths. He started a little higher on the evolutionary scale, studying primates at the Jane Goodall Institute, but didn't feel scientifically satisfied. While attending the University of Arizona, some friends brought him out to a desert museum where they were performing experiments on how moths react to certain odors. "The scientific gears instantly started going," he recalls, and he never looked back. It turns out male moths will do just about anything to get closer to moths of the fairer sex. As a graduate student, Daly learned to extract pheromone from females and put it in a wind tunnel. The male moths instinctively flew upwind to get to the source of the scent. His next logical question: Could he train the moths to fly upwind to other bouquets? Daly discovered moths could learn to respond to novel odors when that odor was paired with food. Like Pavlov's dogs, the moths start feeding behaviors (in this case a surprisingly long "tongue" extends from the moth's head) when the odor they learned is released. Daly could train moths to respond selectively to odors that predict the presence of food. And perhaps more remarkably, he found he could train them in as little as a single attempt. Some would even remember it for the rest of their lives. While this sounds like a great parlor trick, it actually has practical implementations. Forensic entomologists, for example, can aid police in determining when a murder occurred based on the evolving odor profile the corpse releases. Hence, as corpses decay, they attract different species of insects at different times. "A dead animal is a bouquet just like Chanel No. 5," Daly quips. Daly knew there were certain types of chemicals he could train moths to sniff out. The U.S. Department of Defense decided to fund his research so he could determine whether odors of military interest — chemical compounds commonly found in explosives — can be detected by insects. So Daly asked what seemed like an obvious question: Can you train a moth to sniff out a bomb? *** Daly and his colleagues got to work building a handheld bomb detector, using bathroom plumbing parts they found at Lowe's. In MacGyver-like fashion, they broke open a computer, grabbed the fan, and mounted it to their new device. That fan drew air over 10 moths mounted inside the device. (Imagine a shoulder-mounted missile launcher, but instead of rockets in the chamber, there are moths.) Above: The MacGyver-like bomb detector that holds 10 moths. Below: The schematics for a slimmer version that holds one moth. They trained half the moths to respond to the dynamite, and the other half were trained to ignore that odor. This way they could be sure to weed out any inaccuracies from false-positive responses. If all 10 responded, you knew it wasn't what they were looking for. They tinkered with several odors that would be of interest to drug officials. They even had samples of cocaine in the lab, which the moths failed to pick up. But, Daly says, "I don't think they'd have any trouble detecting marijuana." *** He opens a PowerPoint presentation on his computer of a recent talk he gave at Wake Forest University. The five-hour car ride to the lecture, with moth larvae riding shotgun, was hellish on his allergies. He shows me an animation of the brain activity of Manduca sexta, one of the world's largest hawk moths, as if it's the most exciting movie he's ever seen. When I ask about recent studies involving bees, he notes with a dry mix of competiveness and humor, "Bees can't smell bombs." In the end Daly was indeed able to train moths to sniff out bomb odors. The only problem? They're nowhere near as good at it as dogs. Plus, can you imagine cops roaming airports with PVC pipes stuffed with moths? Well, neither did the Department of Defense. But don't feel bad for Daly. It was just his opening act — a prelude to a more ambitious task. Daly, a father of two, hopes to leave a legacy to the world of science. And he realizes there's a bigger picture to his research than just moths. Indeed, he tells of a university-wide interdisciplinary project involving departments like physics and pharmaceutical sciences. Their goal? To build an electronic nose. Sure, it could be used as a prosthetic for patients who can't smell. But the device could have even larger implications. An electronic nose — trained to sniff certain chemical compounds — could be used to detect land mines, chemical spills, even spoiled food. Like dogs that use olfactory cues, it may even be able to detect certain forms of cancer. "Understanding how olfactory systems work is the first step in replicating what they do." The National Institutes of Health has now come knocking. And just like the moths he studies, Daly moves on.

subset: commoncrawl


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Insecurity and the Internet of Things, Part 1: Data, Data Everywhere
Oct 15, 2013 5:00 AM PT
The Internet is actualizing the vision of a global village today. Cars are becoming infotainment centers with online connections; printers, home appliances and even door locks are being connected to the Internet; and some cities have begun putting in hundreds of sensors to help them better manage their buildings and utilities.
The world is fast becoming interconnected, in other words, and that helps save money and make things more efficient, according to major players such as IBM and Cisco. It also gives rise to what is called the Internet of Things, also known as the Internet of Everything.
The other side of all this connectivity, however, is a security problem that threatens to overshadow anything we've ever seen.
Forget about the NSA spying on everyone everywhere; they're our madmen and we know where they are. Think instead of the assorted cybercriminals and cyberpranksters who will strike through Internet-connected appliances and cars and disappear before we even know what has happened.
'An Increasingly Large Attack Surface'
"The Internet of Everything connects things all around us, from baby monitors to TVs and other home appliances," Alex Watson, director of security research at Websense, told TechNewsWorld.
Medical devices, connected cars and increasingly networked public safety systems such as dedicated short-range communications for traffic safety present a particularly high level of risk to attack, Watson suggested.
The Global IP-based Village
The IoT, or IoE, is "billions of smart connected things -- a sort of universal global neural network in the cloud -- that will encompass every aspect of our lives," states a white paper published jointly by mobile chip maker ARM and semiconductor manufacturer Freescale.
It consists of smart machines interacting and communicating with other machines, objects, environments and infrastructures.
The IoT covers machine-to-machine communications; machine-to-infrastructure communication; telehealth -- the remote or real-time pervasive monitoring of patients, diagnosis and drug delivery; continuous monitoring of and firmware upgrades for vehicles; tracking goods on the move; automatic traffic management; remote security and control; environmental monitoring and control; and home and industrial building automation.
The IoE creates more than US$14 million in value due to a combination of increased revenues and lower costs, Cisco says.
Players in the IoT Business
IBM has been actively positioning itself as an IoT player with its Smarter Planet initiative. This includes the company's Smarter Cities campaign.
The basic idea is, you pay IBM lots of money to put in sensors everywhere and replace your servers and software with its own and pay it a monthly fee to manage these systems and analyze the data they collect. Nice work, if you can get it.
Big Blue is chugging merrily along with these campaigns, turning out supporting products such as MessageSight, an appliance it launched in April to handle M2M communications.
IBM is involved in more than 2,000 projects with cities worldwide to monitor, manage and measure most of their physical systems.
One such city, South Bend, Ind., is using IBM's Smarter Cities Cloud Analytics to handle its wastewater management system. It expects to save $120 million in infrastructure systems while avoiding costly fines for overflows.
Cisco, meanwhile, is offering the Cisco Open Network Environment, or ONE, portfolio of technologies for the IoT.
Its stance is that the Internet Protocol will replace most of the 92 legacy protocols used today in connected devices. Cisco's ONE technologies will make those devices programmable.
Separately, 10 companies set up the Internet of Things Consortium in January. Among them are Logitech, Ouya and SmartThings.
Driving While Connected
General Motors in February announced a global strategy to deliver new connected cars and trucks with 4G LTE capability built in. This is a joint venture with AT&T.
Meanwhile, AT&T has gone full tilt into the connected car business. In August, it opened a connected home and car foundry, an innovation and developer collaboration center in Atlanta, Ga. This will focus on the IoT.
A Connected Car Expo will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in November, and every major brand will be there. Other participants will include Intel, Qualcomm, the Car Connectivity Consortium, Sprint, AOL, Facebook, Apple, Google, HD Radio, Microsoft, Nuance, Tumblr and Yahoo.
A Connected Cars World Conference will be held in Amsterdam next year.
"The automotive industry understands there is a [security] danger, and they have representatives that participate in some cybersecurity working groups," Jarad Carleton, a principal analyst at Frost & Sullivan, told TechNewsWorld.
One of the "most frightening" issues is that cars are beginning to offer WiFi for passengers, Carleton said.
"That network connection is a potential route into the control systems for the automobile, many of which are controlled by computer software," he elaborated. "Things like applying the brakes, accelerating or even turning off the engine while driving at highway speeds are possibilities that hackers are already looking into today."
Stop, Look and Listen to Your Heart Race
Indeed, "we have already seen cases where people are being exploited -- both in terms of basic privacy violations and in some cases for financial gain -- as a result of device insecurity," Kevin O'Brien, enterprise solution architect at CloudLock, told TechNewsWorld.
"Certain devices simply should not be accessible via the Internet because the value added by their connected state is outweighed by the risk created," he continued.
"There are an increasing number of exploits occurring in more recent times that suggest a quasi-anarchist 'for the lulz' approach to hacking," O'Brien concluded. "By placing highly visible or highly useful systems online, we are apt to see more and more of this behavior."
Insecurity and the Internet of Things, Part 2: Dangers Lurk


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Many of us Badger fans aren't overly surprised that Jim Leonhard is establishing a quality NFL career now. We knew he was gifted athletically despite what some people have said – that he's just a smart player but not that athletic. The truth is he is very athletic and very smart. (At 5'8″, Jim Leonhard would frequently win the Badger football team's slam dunk contest…) The Baltimore Ravens' playoff run has highlighted his talents, so the secret is out.
My question for Packer nation is this: is Jim Leonhard worth pursuing to start opposite Nick Collins? Both Collins and Leonhard are listed as strong safeties, but I think with a new 3-4 defense coming in, Leonhard would be able to move to free safety. Baltimore coaches, according to Nantz, praised Leonhard's ability to pick up their complex 3-4 defense immediately, so I'm not worried about his ability to adapt to a new system. Anyway, I believe Leonhard is a free agent this off-season, though I'll bet the Ravens make a strong move to re-sign him because Dawan Landry, the safety whose injury opened the door for Leohnard, is an UFA.
Brian Dawkins, Mike Brown (for 8-10 games before he gets hurt anyway), or Oshiomogho Atogwe could also be nice additions. I haven't given up on Bigby, but all of these guys would be upgrades.
But now, I need to get back to my excitement for the 3-4 and all of the line-up possibilities I have been thinking about…


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"Apparently, no one told Ford about smog emissions, high insurance premiums, and the new legislation-sponsored safety laws."
The 429-equipped Torino GT sounds great, does 0-60 in seven seconds flat, and handles quite a bit better than the Car & Track big-block '69 Impala road test we saw a couple weeks back. The only problem? Lack of a 4-speed!


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text: I've been Googling this for about an hour with no luck. I have absolutely no idea where to start. What I need is to find the coordinates of a specific window (one that is NOT part of the Java program) and be able to assign them to a integer. Right now I don't think it's possible, but if anyone knows how, I would much appreciate it if you could explain it.


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Sophia Wide Bedside Chest
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The Sophia dressing chest offers useful storage space for any bedside as it includes two drawers. The surface is ideal for a bedside lamp too. This chest is available with an optional protective glass top.
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About the brand and rangeThe Winsor Sophia Bedroom Collection is a truly luxurious range of handmade bedroom furniture crafted using only the finest solid wood with some veneers for added stability. The beauty of the range is enhanced with the hand carved detailing of the delicate patterns and curves. Each piece is then meticulously leafed by hand to create a breathtaking antique silver metal finish.
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Finance OptionFinance is available, with a required 25% deposit, on orders over £1000. All paperwork for finance must be completed in store, however the deposit can be paid online. The length of term is discussed with the sales adviser in store. Find out more about our finance options by visiting the finance page here.
Partial PaymentFor orders in excess of £1000 you may be able to pay a 25% deposit with the remainder of the balance payable prior to delivery. Please get in touch with us if you'd like to make use of this service.
*Whilst we endeavour to ensure prices, dimensions, lead times, descriptions and images are accurate, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions that may be present on the website.


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Five More New Microsoft Stores! See If Your Town Made the List!
With its new Surface tablets fighting for market share with more well-established rivals, Microsoft is doing all it can to spur consumer interest in them. To that end, the company is expediting what has to date been a methodical/slow retail store rollout.
Back in December, Microsoft announced plans to open six new brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. by summer. Today, the company added five new locations to that list. The chosen cities: Natick, Mass.; Portland, Ore.; Honolulu, Hawaii; Troy, Mich.; and Schaumburg, Ill. — assuming that Microsoft has its geography right, which isn't always a sure thing.
Microsoft's decision to ramp up its minimalist brick-and-mortar retail presence follows criticism that early sales of Surface were hamstrung by far too limited distribution. The company subsequently expanded Surface sales to Staples and Best Buy.
A wise move, of course. But big-box retailers like those aren't going to showcase Surface and other Microsoft offerings the way an eponymous store will. By expediting its retail store rollout, Microsoft is not only increasing locations where consumers can have meaningful hands-on time with its products, it's constructing a brick-and-mortar marketing juggernaut of the sort that has been quite effective for its rivals. The company said in 2011 that it would open 75 more retail stores in the next few years. These upcoming openings are another sign that the pace is quickening.


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The Institute of Archaeology can be a very quiet place in the summer. The normally buzzing building full of students (not just Archaeology types) and staff empties in early July with everyone jetting off to sometimes warmer and sunnier climes to undertake fieldwork. This summer we have undergrads working in Belize, Romania, Montenegro, Spain, Greece, Turkey, China and all of the UK to mention but a few. Postgrads are currently working in Olduvai Gorge , Brazil, Romania in fact all over the globe.
This means that finding willing or even unwilling volunteers for my Day of Archaeology blog, this year entitled 'Humans of Archaeology' (borrowed from the famous 'Humans of New York' and the less well known 'Humans of UCL' projects) has proven a little tricky. However, I have been creative. As well as this I have used this to launch our very own Facebook page – 'Humans of Archaeology' glimpses into the everyday lives of our Archaeological Staff and Students – my contribution to the #dayofarch.
The first Humans of the Institute of Archaeology (IoA) – two of the founders Mortimer and Tessa Wheeler – pictures taken from the current Museum Studies Exhibition 'Voices of War' – Mortimer and Tessa Wheeler founded the IoA in the 1930s, with the first students being admitted in 1937. I gave a tour to a potential undergraduate application today and her mum and always enjoy wittering on about the history of the IoA and Mortimer's fine trench work and even finer moustache.
Or maybe…the Non-Humans of Archaeology
I have been wandering the corridors of the IoA for over seven years, counting the year as a Masters Student. The majority of doors I pass today contain no humans, merely the material remains. The humans they house being out in the field excavating or researching overseas. So, instead of starting with the people of the IoA I'm going against my 'Humans of Archaeology' objectives and for now I'll be exploring the Material Culture left behind by the Humans of Archaeology in the IoA. Enjoy. Come September there will be 200+ Undergrads 200+ Masters Students 100+ Staff & PhDs…so maybe I should enjoy these hallowed corridors before the Humans return…
I found some Humans too…a student and staff, some of whom may have been a little camera shy…
As can be seen from my other blogs (in 2011 and 2012) I studied Archaeology at Southampton University, graduating in 2003. I went on to work at English Heritage (with John Schofield, now director of York Archaeology), the Scottish Crannog Centre, the Soay Sheep Project on St Kilda and Atkins Heritage before underaking an MSc in Human Evolution at UCL. I then continued to work at UCL in my current role as Undergrad Admin / Fieldwork Admin / Recruitment / Museums Placement Admin / Social Networker – and sometime digger – an Archaeologist of all trades if you will. I undertake research into memorilisation in my spare time and hope one day to develop this to undertake a PhD… fingers crossed!


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The Museum of Useful Things is a collection of utilitarian products designed to lend a helping hand around the home or office. We are always looking for new ideas and uses for products. Let us know how they help you by emailing us at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Anthopoulos discusses Gregg, Olivo
Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos held a conference call on Friday to go over the moves he made one night earlier. Toronto declined all the club options in closer Kevin Gregg's contract and declined a club option for Miguel Olivo shortly after acquiring the catcher in a trade with the Rockies.
Here are some highlights of what Anthopoulos had to say…
On the decision to make Gregg a free agent:
"The decision on Kevin Gregg was not an easy one to make. It's one that we took a long time to make the evaluation and we really had it pushed up to the deadline just because of what Kevin did for us last season. Obviously, the numbers speak for themselves, but also the leadership component that he brought to the bullpen and to the clubhouse. That being said, I had spoken to him and I had spoken to his agent, because of the free agency dates and the option decision dates had been moved up, comparative to past offseasons, we just didn't have as much time to potentially flesh out the market or flesh out the alternatives like we would've in the past. I explained that to both Kevin and his agent. What I really took the time to do over these last few days as guys filed for frree agency, was try to get a feel for some of the free agents that were out there and also to try to make a determination from a trade standpoint with allocating our funds.
"Like I explained to Kevin last night, we're not prepared to lock him in right now at those option salaries, but we may very well come back to him in two weeks or three weeks from now, after we've had a chance to continue to work through the offseason and the market. We'll know what the landscape will be. It'll be a little more defined and we'll have a better understanding and feel for what our alternatives are and we may very well come back and try to get something done with him. He's very open to coming back here."
On the possibility of an internal closing candidate:
"We haven't made any determinations on anything like that at all. The offseason is so fluid. I have no idea what's going to happen trade wise. [Manager John Farrell] and I are continuing to work on putting our staff together. He's continuing to reach out to players and have dialogue and I'm starting to familiarize him a little bit more with the personnel that are here from our perspective. With respect to anybody specifically, in terms of certain roles and things like that, especially in the bullpen with any free agents, I wouldn't be sitting here today telling you who'd be anointed the closer. That's something I'd talk to John Farrell about because he would have a large part in making that determination as well."
Asked if the closer is most likely to come from outside the organization:
"It's hard to say. I'm open-minded to anything, I guess is what I would say. I'm going to continue to talk to John about it and continue to talk to our staff and our scouts about it. I don't think there's an absolute there. I'm open to anything. There's a lot of ways that we can go with this thing."
Asked if Olivo move was about securing the rights to the compensation Draft pick:
"No, and I've been reading a lot of that today. There's a lot of components with that. We didn't talk about the players that we pursued last offseason. When we signed John Buck, we were really agonizing over — at the time — Miguel Olivo and John Buck. … Collectively, we elected to go with John Buck. Knowing that John's a free agent and, as we continue to gather information, whether it's just getting a sense of a market and so on, it seems to be, and rightfully so, that the market for John Buck is going to be incredibly strong."
On how Olivo move protects the team against Buck's possible departure:
"I really don't believe we can afford to be left naked at that position. We need to continue to have our options and continue to have our alternatives. Olivo is a guy we had interest in last offseason. We still continue to have interest in John Buck. But, we're in the free agency period and we don't know where the market for John is going to go. [The trade] allowed us to have dialogue with Olivo's agent last night. It allowed us to explain to him with the way things are going for us in the offseason, explaining that we would like to have John Buck, we do have J.P. Arencibia with the club, we do have Molina under contract currently, but we do not know what the offseason is going to bring. We wanted to at least be able to have that dialogue. We were granted a window in a lot of ways to have that dialogue to be able to lay things out for them."
Asked if he believes Arencibia needs more time before being full-time catcher:
"I don't know. … You hope all players feel this way, J.P. absolutely feels that he's ready to perform at the big league level at this time. I'm not one to ever say that a young player, or a player who hasn't established himself, is ready at this time or that time. Players will dictate that to us and players will show that to us. That beeing said, my job and our responsibility is to protect the organization and to have the most competitive club. Part of that is to insure against certain performances, health, things like that. And, we need to continue to try to build that depth. Competition is not a bad thing."
On Arencibia possibly switching positions:
"J.P. Arencibia for us, there's no question, we view him behind the plate and we don't view him at any other spot. People have talked about his ability to play other positions, because he's that type of athlete and he's that type of kid. But, there's no question, his value and where we think he has tremendous ceiling and tremendous upside is behind the plate."
What does it all mean? It means, welcome to the offseason.
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Looks like the Jays won't be the only team breaking in a new catcher next year……..
Back in July, the Yankees were willing to deal Jesus Montero for Cliff Lee. When the 2011 season starts, Montero could be catching Lee in the Bronx.
The consensus among the Yankees' high command is that Montero who turns 21 on Nov. 28 – is ready to assume the starting catcher's job, according to a source with knowledge of the team's thinking.
Montero's future was among the topics of discussion during the Yankee meetings at the Stadium over the past two days, with Lee and the free-agent and trade markets dominating the conversation.
Montero's defense has been scrutinized, but team brass believes he made enough strides this season to assume the bulk of the workload in 2011.
He will likely be given the chance to win the starting job during spring training, turning over a position that has belonged to Jorge Posada since 1998. The front office believes that Montero is already a better defensive catcher than the 39-year-old Posada, who has struggled behind the plate – and to stay healthy.
If Montero comes through, Posada would likely be shifted to the designated hitter spot, with some backup catching duties mixed in.
The plan would be for Montero to catch roughly 100 games, said a source, with Posada and Francisco Cervelli sharing the rest of the duties. Austin Romine, the Yank's other blue-chip catching prospect, would start at Triple-A, potentially taking over Cervelli's spot by midseason if he shows he is ready.
Rest Of article here…http://tiny.cc/8nktm
nice to see you back gs
i was just wondering about this years first players draft, you said it is very deep. Is it deep in certain positions or does it have a lot of high school players or college players or is it good for atheltic players or just plain power hitters?
I tried to search it up and i found that there were a lot of good RHP in the draft but do you think the jays will be going for them and drafting even more pitchers? I personally think we have enough now in the system with
Cecil, Morrow, Marcum, Romero, Purcey, Stewart, Drabek, Syndergrad, Asher Wojnewski (sp?), Deck McGuire, Chad Jenkins….
i think thats enough for starting pitching and bullpen.
We should go for more athletic players with power, (which i think we can with 8 draft picks in the top 50) and if we select mostly those i think 3-4 are bound to work out and I think that is more than enough to give the jays the boost they need with Snider, Arencibia, Lind, Escobar (i am still not 100% sold on Bautista, however i wish him all the success and want him to do very well) playing for us


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Nutrition Before, During, and After Pregnancy
In this article, you will find:
- Weight gain and adjusting your eating
- Getting essential vitamins and minerals
- Morning sickness, constipation, heartburn, and swelling
- Diabetes; nutrition for breastfeeding
Getting essential vitamins and mineralsVitamin and Mineral Needs
Vitamin and mineral needs also increase with pregnancy. Unlike calorie needs, your increased need for vitamins and minerals is immediate. Certain ones are especially important, such as folate, calcium, and iron.
Folate is especially important for women during the first three months of pregnancy. The body uses folate to manufacture new cells and genetic material. During pregnancy, folate helps develop the neural tube, which becomes the baby's spine. Because most women do not know immediately that they are pregnant, and because the neural tube and brain begin to form so soon after conception, taking enough folate on a regular basis is important if you are of childbearing age. Taking enough folate can help to greatly reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects like spina bifida and birth defects of the brain (anencephaly). The National Academy of Sciences recommends that women of childbearing age get 400 micrograms (mcg) of folate each day, especially one month prior to conception.
Fact: National surveys show that the average folic acid intake by women of childbearing age is about 230 micrograms daily. Folic acid intake should be kept below 1,000 micrograms per day to avoid excessive intake.
Most women get folic acid daily through fortified products and other foods. To get more folic acid in their diets, women anticipating pregnancy should eat more citrus fruits and juices, leafy dark-green vegetables, legumes, and fortified breakfast cereals. To ensure adequate intake, woman can take a multivitamin that contains folic acid, in addition to eating a healthy diet.
Not all vitamin supplements contain folic acid, so check the label to be sure. Also, not all multivitamin supplements are optimal before or during pregnancy. Pregnant women and those anticipating pregnancy should consult their doctor for advice about taking folic acid or any other vitamin or mineral supplement.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is important for promoting the growth and health of cells and tissues throughout your body and the baby's. A healthy diet should provide enough vitamin A during pregnancy so there is no need for a supplement.
New research has shown that consuming too much vitamin A—in excess of 10,000 IU daily—may increase the risk of birth defects. This is twice the RDA. Eating foods such as fruits and vegetables that are high in beta-carotene is not a problem, because beta-carotene does not convert to vitamin A when blood levels of vitamin A are normal.
Other Vitamins
With your increase in calorie intake, your increased need for most of the B vitamins will be met through your dietary intake. Vitamin B12 is found in animal foods such as milk, eggs, meat, and cheese. Women who are vegetarian and don't consume any type of animal foods need to make sure they consume a reliable source of vitamin B12, such as fortified breakfast cereals and/or a B12 supplement. If you don't feel you are meeting your B12 needs, talk to your doctor before taking supplements.
Vitamin C needs increase slightly during pregnancy, but can be met easily with a glass of orange juice, an orange, or another citrus fruit. Vitamin C is important because it helps the body absorb iron from plant sources, and iron needs almost double during pregnancy.
Vitamin D is essential because it helps the body to absorb extra needed calcium. A glass of vitamin-D fortified milk will take care of your extra needs. For vegetarians who do not consume dairy products, your doctor may prescribe a supplement. Make sure your doctor knows your eating habits!
Pumping Up Calcium and Iron
Two minerals that deserve special attention are calcium and iron. If you don't consume enough of either of these minerals during your pregnancy, the baby will actually use the calcium in your bones and the iron in your blood.
Essential! The estimated calcium needs for pregnant girls under eighteen is 1,300 mg per day. For pregnant adult women aged nineteen to fifty, the recommended intake is 1,000 mg per day. There is also an Upper Tolerable Limit for pregnant women set at 2,500 mg per day.
Although it is important to get calcium throughout your life, it is especially important during pregnancy. Calcium helps ensure that your bone mass is preserved while the baby's skeleton develops normally. Consuming plenty of calcium before, during, and after pregnancy can also help reduce your risk for osteoporosis later in life. Good sources of calcium include dairy products and some green leafy vegetables. If you are vegetarian or lactose intolerant and do not consume dairy products, consume plenty of other good calcium sources, such as calcium-fortified orange juice or calcium-fortified soy milk, along with special lactose-reduced products.
The increase in the blood volume of a pregnant woman greatly increases her iron needs. A woman's need for iron increases to 30 mg per day. Several foods supply iron, including meat, poultry, fish, legumes, and whole-grain and enriched grain products. Iron needs during pregnancy can be more difficult to meet because iron isn't always absorbed well, and many women have low iron stores before they get pregnant. Most prenatal vitamins contain iron, and your doctor may also prescribe an iron supplement. Keep in mind, though, that supplements are just to help out; you still need to eat a diet rich in iron. Iron from plant sources is not as easily absorbed as that from animal sources. Eating a good source of vitamin C, such as citrus fruits or juices, broccoli, tomatoes, or kiwi with meals will help the body absorb the iron in the foods that you eat. The absorption of iron from supplements is best when the stomach is empty or when taken with juice containing vitamin C.