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But I read a lot of them. Some of my friends as a middle schooler were big fans of one title or another. I was happy to read over a shoulder. It was something my parents never liked but sometimes ignored because there is a murmur that passes around Jewish parents reminding them that many of the very successful comic writers are Jews. In fact, my father was much warmer to the Fantastic Four when he found out that my (perhaps *slightly* antisemitic) maternal Grandmother did not like that Ben Grimm was put forth as a hero and role model and was loudly Jewish. Just sayin.

Anyway,

Recently as I have looked for stuff that is quiet (don't wake the baby!) but not just tonnes of depressing news stories confirming that nothing has changed in the last 4 hours since I last checked, I've been reading a lot of comics online. Catching up with my favorite characters. Seeing who holds up outside the rose colored glasses of preteen life.

And I'm reminded how much I love Kitty Pryde.

Of course she's designed that way. If she were designed by a fan-fic writer, we'd all say, "What a Mary-Sue!" and "isn't she just a cipher for the audience to self-insert with?"

As a character, she is well established as a polyglot who has mastered several martial arts who is highly empathetic, but very moral allowing her to engender trust. Her flaws are things like, she wants to date every boy named Peter...

Even Peter Quill who is terrible and obnoxious:

And perhaps it's just that I've always been her target audience... but I think its a big shame she isn't better recognized for who she is.

She is a character who as a kid openly talked about how her parents divorce makes her feel but never came off as overdramatic for doing so.

She is a character who can pass for "normal" and announces to the world that she is Jewish and a Mutant because she wants to work towards a world where people don't treat her badly for it and knows working in the daylight will help that cause faster.

She is a character who understands that being a mutant is easier for her than for others, even if it isn't always easy for her, but it is who she is and she embraces it and supports others to help them to be able to do so too.

And she's everywhere. She was introduced in the 80s in X-Men with Peter "Collosus" Rasputin, but she's been a Guardian of the Galaxy with Peter "Starlord" Quill, teamups with Wolverine, often part of Excalibur with Pete Wisom, she dated Peter Parker's Spiderman in the 2000s Ultimate stuff and several other places like a one shot with SHIELD as well. She's been in several X-Men movies, although usually as an unnamed background character or just for one big scene.

But when I ask people about her, I get blank stares even as those same people tell me they went to see Infinity War opening weekend and that they loved Deadpool (whom you won't be surprised to find she was in a comic with) and suggest that I catch back up with Flash and Supergirl. Sometimes I wonder if she isn't recognized outside of strictly comic book fans because she is so open about who she is. Captain America was created by a pair of Jews making a specific political statement inspired by their Judaism but never says that out loud. Spiderman was by a Jewish author, whose common refrain "with great power..." Rings to me of the Talmudic responsibility to use the power you have to do what you can for a better world. Superman is inspired the the difficulties of assimilation while keeping the parts important to you. So many of the comic book heroes most people actually recognize are closeted statements about Jewish experience, ethics, and culture. I wonder if the reason Kitty isn't better known is because she isn't willing to stay in her closet and it troubles people like my grandmother.