X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men or more commonly known as Pryde of the X-Men was a pilot that was aired on the Marvel Action Universe television block.
Credits: Larry Parr – Writer, Ray Lee – Director, Jack Kirby – Creator, Stan Lee – Creator, John Stephenson - Professor Charles Xavier, Neil Ross - Logan / Wolverine, Michael Bell – Scott Summers / Cyclops, Kath Soucie - Kitty Pryde, Susan Silo - The White Queen, Frank Welker – Toad & Lockheed, Alan Oppenheimer - The Blob, Earl Boen – Colossus, Stan Lee – Narrator, Patrick Pinney - Additional Voices, Dan Gilvezan - Additional Voices, Alexandra Stoddart - Additional Voices, Ron Gans - Additional Voices, Andi Chapman - Additional Voices
Brief Description:Kitty Pryde is introduced to the X-Men which include Cyclops, Colossus, Dazzler, Nightcrawler, Storm, Wolverine, and is led by Professor X. Unfortunately, introductions are cut short as the team is called away on an emergency leaving Kitty and Xavier behind. While the others are away Magneto and Juggernaut attack the abandoned mansion and procure Cerebro’s mutant power circuit. Meanwhile, the X-Men are distracted by Pyro and Blob. When the X-Men return they find Professor X and Kitty incapacitated. As Xavier comes around, he reads Magneto’s mind to discover his plot: Magneto is going to redirect the Scorpio comet into Earth. The X-Men including Kitty go to Asteroid M and manage to stop him, thanks mostly to some nearly self-sacrificial heroics from Nightcrawler.
Full Synopsis:
The story begins with the voice of Stan Lee. “Look around you. You never know who could be a mutant, a person born with strange and wondrous powers.”
A heavily armored military convoy is driving through the desert with its carefully guarded prisoner, Magneto. Suddenly the convoy’s commanding officer Colonel Jaffe receives a communication that his convoy is sinking into quicksand. But it is not quicksand, the White Queen is attempting a rescue mission and is using an illusion to accomplish it. She frees Magneto from his force field prison, and that is all the help he needs as he promptly tears the truck into two like a wet paper towel.
Later at a mansion in Westchester, New York, a teenager named Kitty Pride arrives in a taxi. She beseeches the taxi driver to stay with her, but he speeds off insisting that this place gives him the creeps. Upon entrance Kitty rereads her invitation to the mansion. Her presence has been requested due to her unique ability to pass through solid matter (a gift called phasing). She is disturbed by the letter because even her parents were unaware of her special talent. She is greeted by a mental projection of Professor Charles Xavier who welcomes her to the mansion. He explains that he found her by using his computer Cerebro which can locate the unique genetic signatures of mutants.
Xavier leads Kitty to a control room where she can observe Xavier’s other students, the X-Men, while they hone their skills in the Danger Room. He explains each mutants’ powers as they train. First, Kitty sees Cyclops who employs his optic blasts against an oncoming juggernaut (a literal one). Then, she sees Dazzler attacked by a voracious plant. Fortunately, she can turn the plant’s noise into dangerous bursts of light. Next, she sees Colossus seemingly crushed by a collapsing hallway a la Temple of Doom; but he emerges unscathed as he transformed into organic steel and makes him invulnerable. Additionally, Storm is shown summoning her trademark lightning bolts. Finally, Nightcrawler is shown teleporting away from a robot just in time for Wolverine to impale it upon his adamantium claws.
Xavier summons the assembled X-Men up to the control room to meet Kitty. Nightcrawler arrives first by means of teleportation. He attempts an introduction; but his appearance frightens Kitty, and she rebuffs him. The rest of the X-Men are also very friendly in their greetings except for Wolverine who insists that “The X-Men don’t have room for whiny brats.” Wolverine’s bluster is quickly calmed by a personalized thunderstorm from Ororo.
An alarm sounds warning the X-Men of an evil mutant threat. The X-Men sans Kitty and Professor X leave in the Blackbird. Nearby, Magneto and Juggernaut watch the jet leave. Assuming their distraction is successful, they force their way towards the mansion with Juggernaut in the lead. The mansion’s defenses crumble before the duo leaving Professor X and Kitty near helpless. Xavier scans Magneto’s mind and learns that he is after Cerebro’s mutant power circuit. Xavier gives the circuit to Kitty and instructs her to flee. As Juggernaut totals the control room, Magneto follows Kitty.
When Magneto corners Kitty, he first offers her membership in his Brotherhood of Mutants. She angrily replies, “Never!” Magneto then electrocutes her using nearby wiring and apprehends the circuit.
Meanwhile, the X-Men arrive at an astrological observatory that is being held hostage by Magneto’s minions, Blob and Pyro. The X-Men easily free the less-than-grateful hostages, but the villains escape claiming they got what they came for -- information on the Scorpio comet.
The scenery changes to Magneto’s lair, Asteroid M. There he is explaining to the Brotherhood: the aforementioned Blob, Pyro, White Queen, Juggernaut, and also Toad and Lockheed are present. He intends to use the circuit and his own magnetic powers to direct the Scorpio comet towards Earth.
Simultaneously, the X-Men return to the mansion to find it in ruins and both Kitty and Professor X unconscious. When the professor is revived, he reads Magneto’s mind to discover his nefarious plot. Realizing the ramifications of Magneto’s plan, he orders the X-Men off to Asteroid M to stop the Brotherhood, but Kitty is told to stay behind as the mission will be too dangerous.
Once again, the X-Men up and away in the Blackbird. They break into the asteroid, but Storm must remain by the air lock to maintain the atmosphere inside; this leaves only Nightcrawler, Colossus, Wolverine, Dazzler, and Cyclops to stop the Brotherhood.
In the Blackbird, Professor X orders Kitty to come out of storage. (There is no point in hiding from a telepath). Kitty begs and pleads to help her teammates until Xavier finally relents. She quickly runs off to help the team.
Back on Asteroid M, the X-Men run into the maniacally laughing Pyro. Selflessly, Dazzler tackles him alone, and tells the team to continue on without her.
As Wolverine gets a scent, Toad suddenly descends from the ceiling and attacks him. Wolverine makes short work of the leaper as the remaining three continue on without him. Juggernaut blocks the X-Men’s path and insists they will go no further. Colossus changes forms, and they come to blows -- allowing Cyclops and Nightcrawler to pass. Cyclops is struck by a mental bolt from the White Queen, and he returns in kind with an energy blast of his own. Nightcrawler scampers on unstopped. Unfortunately, Kurt Wagner comes against a distinct size disadvantage when he runs into the Blob (who has the mutant power of obesity). Fortunately, no fisticuffs are necessary as Nightcrawler teleports passed him.
Nightcrawler finds Magneto watching from the Scorpio comet approach Earth on the monitor. Magneto boasts about his imminent victory and prepares to blast Nightcrawler, but Kitty emerges from the floor and accidentally causes him to blast the wiring of his comet re-director. With Xavier’s instruction, Kitty tricks Magneto into switching the comet’s direction towards Asteroid M. One catch: Nightcrawler must use his body as a human conductor or the comet will again redirect towards Earth.
Magneto and the Brotherhood escape. Likewise, the X-Men are ordered to reassemble in the Blackbird. Kitty doesn’t want to leave Nightcrawler, but Xavier insists. She regretfully retreats with Lockheed in tow. Nightcrawler does manage to teleport out of Asteroid M moments before the collision, but he reappears in outer space instead of the jet. He seemingly burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The X-Men grieve their loss but none mourn more than Kitty who ostracized Nightcrawler for his appearance. Miraculously, Nightcrawler’s voice is heard from one of the lockers. Colossus rips off the locker’s door to find his friend very much alive. The team returns to Earth victorious, but the ever-cantankerous Wolverine insists that Kitty got lucky and that she isn’t a member of the X-Men. Not yet, at least.
Characters:
Colossus, Cyclops, Dazzler, Nightcrawler, Professor X, Storm, Wolverine (all X-men)
Kitty Pryde (X-Men Ally)
Colonel Jaffe, private, taxi driver
Lockheed
Juggernaut, Magneto, Pyro, Toad, White Queen (all Brotherhood)