40 Years Ago, Marvel's Secret Wars Ended The X-Men's Creepiest Relationship

The Marvel Comics event "Secret Wars," which spanned 12 issues from May 1984 until April 1985, was one of the most brazen fan-service-inspired events in the history of the company. After all, when you boil the medium down to its very essence, the fundamental question of superhero comics is "Who would win in a fight?" Would Spider-Man best Wolverine? How would Captain America fare against the Hulk? Such questions lead to fun, speculative conversations that can while away a summer afternoon in the fourth grade. It doesn't matter why the heroes are fighting. The only important thing is the fight.

"Secret Wars" decided to dramatize such fights by constructing a massive superhero event with no real-world context and no real motivation. The paltry story goes like this: A godlike super-being called The Beyonder (perhaps a stand-in for Marvel readers) loves superheroes. He wants to see who would win in a massive fight between Good Guys and Bad Guys, and constructs a pocket dimension — Battleworld — where they can fight unfettered. Why are they fighting? They're Good Guys and Bad Guys, that's why. Also, the winner gets a wish. At least 35 notable Marvel characters were part of the fracas. 

Several of the X-Men were present, of course. Notably for this article, the metal-skinned Russian bruiser Colossus was there, but not the ghostlike Shadowcat, a mutant who can pass through walls. At the time, Colossus and Shadowcat were dating, which is creepy, given that Colossus (real name: Piotr Rasputin) was 19 when they started their relationship while Shadowcat (real name: Kitty Pryde) was only 13. 40 years ago, Jim Shooter, the editor-in-chief of Marvel at the time, wrote a special arc into "Secret Wars" that saw Colossus falling in love with another woman, effectively bringing that creepiness to an end. 

The controversial Jim Shooter introduced a new character during "Secret Wars" that Colossus would become infatuated with, all in the middle of battle. The character was an alien doctor named Zsaji, and Colossus was smitten at first sight. His love for Zsaji — an adult — was so strong that he began to realize that his feelings for Shadowcat — not an adult — were not entirely genuine. Zsaji had healing powers and used them up, ending her life, to heal a gaggle of injured heroes. Colossus never got to date Zsaji, but his time with her was personally substantial. 

When Colossus returned to Earth after the events of "Secret Wars," he broke up with Shadowcat. This happened in "The Uncanny X-Men" #183, written by Chris Claremont. According to the website Comic Book Herald, Jim Shooter never liked that Colossus and Shadowcat were dating. Their relationship began as something kind of cute, with the young Kitty having a crush on her older, hunkier teammate, but the fact that they started dating seemingly made Shooter uncomfortable. Zsaji was invented specifically so Marvel could worm their way out of a canonical relationship between a college-age guy and a junior high girl. 

It should be stated that these were comic books intended for young readers, so there was no sexual dimension to Kitty's and Piotr's relationship. That much is a relief. Indeed, one can read those '80s "X-Men" comics and see Kitty's inital crush as very sweet. It's when Colossus began flirting back that things started to feel a little icky.

Fans on Reddit have pointed out, though, that the relationship between Colossus and Shadowcat wasn't nearly as unsavory as a relationship Shadowcat had in the 1990s. In issue #90 of "Excalibur," published in August of 1995, Kitty teamed up with a superpowered British spy named Pete Wisdom. Pete, a legit member of MI6, was able to throw bolts of electricity. At this point, Kitty's age had been forward-shifted to 16 (remember that time doesn't work consistently in Marvel Comics). Peter Wisdom, however, was said to be in his 40s ... and he and Kitty began dating. This was the '90s, so the "it was a different time" argument holds considerably less water. Plus, a 40-year-old trying to date a high school girl is far more egregious than a 19-year-old dating a 13-year-old. 

Of course, the inappropriateness of the Pryde/Wisdom relationship became a plot point almost immediately. Colossus, in hearing that his ex-girlfriend was being preyed upon, attacked Wisdom, breaking his back and leaving him in a wheelchair. This happened in "Excalibur" #92, only two months later. Both issues were penned by Warren Ellis. 

Eventually, Kitty and Piotr did begin dating again, as explored in "Astonishing X-Men" #14. That issue, however, wasn't published until 2006, and a lot had happened in the intervening decade. Colossus was killed and resurrected, for one thing. Also, both characters had finally been age-shifted forward into adulthood, so when they consummated their relationship, it was all, finally, above-board. Also, it had been 22 years since "Secret Wars," so many of the old Marvel readers had likely moved on since then. 

It took decades, but Marvel finally did something appropriate with these characters.

A feature film called "Avengers: Secret Wars" is due in theaters on December 17, 2027.