| Lockheed | |
|---|---|
 Lockheed, from the cover ofX-Men: Kitty Pryde - Shadow & Flame #4 (November 2005). Art byPaul Smith. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Uncanny X-Men #166 (Feb. 1983) |
| Created by | Chris Claremont (writer) Paul Smith (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Flock |
| Team affiliations | Marauders S.W.O.R.D. Pet Avengers X-Men Xavier Institute Excalibur The Flock Jean Grey School |
| Abilities | Fire projection Flight Empathy |
Lockheed is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character appears most commonly in association with theX-Men. He is a dragon-like alien and the longtime companion ofKitty Pryde, a member of theX-Men andExcalibur.
Lockheed makes sporadic minor appearances in X-Men related animated television series and made his live-action debut in the 2020 filmThe New Mutants.
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Lockheed was created by writerChris Claremont and artistPaul Smith and first appeared inUncanny X-Men #166 (February 1983).[1]
InThe Uncanny X-Men #153, "Kitty's Fairy Tale", Kitty Pryde tells a bedtime story toIllyana Rasputin that places the X-Men in the roles of fairy tale characters. One such character was a black dragon named Lockheed, based on the X-Men'sLockheed SR-71 Blackbird aircraft.[2]
Not long afterward, the X-Men are captured by the alien race, theBrood, and taken to a Brood-colonized planet. Kitty meets a purple dragon-like alien who resembles the creature from her fairy tale, which she also names Lockheed.[3]
Lockheed saves Kitty from the Brood, and then secretly departs along with her.[3] She, as well asProfessor X and her teammates, are unaware of his presence in theX-Mansion until he saves Kitty from a nest ofSidri hatchlings. The X-Men accept his presence, and Lockheed has since become Kitty's longtime companion.[4]
To a lesser degree, Lockheed also bonds with Illyana Rasputin,[volume & issue needed] who, after being abducted into the dimension of Limbo (also known asOtherplace) by the sorcererBelasco, had aged into a teenager, manifested her ownmutant powers, and been installed as Kitty's roommate. Lockheed occasionally accompanies Illyana after she joins the X-Men's "junior team", theNew Mutants, including an adventure where the two encounter Brood-controlledclones of the X-Men.[5]
During theSecret Wars storyline, Lockheed and the X Men are transported to a planet nicknamed "Battleworld". There, Lockheed meets a green, female alien dragon, supposedly created by theBeyonder's lingering power. This dragon accompanies Lockheed and his allies to Earth, but grows to a gigantic size upon arrival and rampages acrossTokyo. She seemingly vanishes from existence when Lockheed rejects her,[6] though she eventually resurfaces. In the companion seriesSpider-Man and the Secret Wars, it is shown that Lockheed spent some time protecting Denver, Colorado after it was taken to Battleworld.[7]
In addition to serving with the X-Men alongside Kitty, he joins her when she co-founds theBritishsuperhero team Excalibur.[8] There he would form a friendship withWidget.
Lockheed participates in the so-called Cross-Time Caper, which involves him and his teammates leaping through dimensions on a train. The train itself is from an alternate universe, and it is discovered that its power source is an alternate version of Lockheed. The two Lockheeds become good friends, although the other Lockheed desires to stay on the train. Lockheed travels with the team and their ally,Alistaire Stuart on several adventures throughout multiple realities. The team also encounters a humanoid version of Lockheed. He and a femaleNightcrawler analogue together adopt the identity ofCaptain Britain, protecting the citizens of a magic-heavy planet. Near the end of the Caper, Lockheed and the team believe Kitty to be lost in the dimensions; in reality she had been transported home earlier than the rest of the group. The intervention ofSaturnyne allows the team to return home.[9]
Eventually, Lockheed's decision to leave with Kitty and the X-Men comes back to haunt him. By leaving so unexpectedly, he had abandoned his fiancée, whom he had been due to wed the following day. While healing from injuries gained from fightingDoctor Doom,[10] his astral form is apprehended by the Flock and made to stand trial for treason. After managing to explain his motives and saving his fellows from a piloting accident, he is officially exiled from his race, but on amicable terms.[11]
Lockheed's affections for Kitty earn him the ire of theBamfs, characters from the fairy tale Kitty once told Illyana who resemble Nightcrawler and originate from an alternate universe where the story's events were real. At one point, jealous of Lockheed's relationship with Kitty, the Bamfs invade the tunnels underMuir Island and hold him prisoner for some time. Lockheed's penchant for hiding after Kitty moves does not help his situation, as Kitty simply believes he is being difficult.[volume & issue needed]
Lockheed develops a severe distaste for the secret agentPete Wisdom, Kitty's love interest. Lockheed demonstrates that he has the ability to speak, but only talks to Wisdom, telling him that he "hates him". Wisdom tells Kitty about this, but she believes he is only joking, and he suffers the frequent theft of his clothing and cigarettes. Lockheed does save Wisdom's life at one point, but states that he still does not like him. It appears that one reason Lockheed dislikes Wisdom so much is that he much prefers Kitty's previous boyfriend,Colossus. This is demonstrated at the wedding ofCaptain Britain andMeggan, when Lockheed attempts to help them reconnect by snatching the bride's garter and dropping it into Piotr's hands just after Kitty had won Meggan's bouquet.[12]
Later, after Kitty left Excalibur and the X-Men entirely, it is believed that Lockheed had died. In reality, Lockheed had been found, wounded and confused, by a pair of girls who practiced witchcraft. He bonds with them until he discovers that the girls use their abilities to terrorize the local populace. The duo were soon humiliated in battle by their rival, another young girl with powers. This new friend heals Lockheed and directs him back to Kitty.[13]
Kitty eventually rejoins the X-Men and Lockheed happily follows. When the X-Men battle the alienOrd, Lockheed saves the day with his fire breath.[14]
Lockheed becomes part of a training exercise for the younger students at Xavier's institute. He serves as the "flag" in a game ofCapture the Flag, hiding in the middle of the hedge maze. This created problems because many of the students found it hard to believe that he exists; the mutantWither ends up endangering Lockheed with his organic-destruction powers.[volume & issue needed]
It is revealed that Lockheed is a mole within the Institute forS.W.O.R.D.[15]Abigail Brand, S.W.O.R.D.'s director, tells Kitty to stop coddling Lockheed like a "starlet's chihuahua", that he was an informant in exchange for S.W.O.R.D.'s help with pressing issues on his homeworld, and that he could speak more languages than the X-Men's resident genius, theBeast. The shocked team looked on as Lockheed flies away from Kitty.[volume & issue needed] The X-Men then join forces with S.W.O.R.D. in an attempt to end the confrontation with the alien race of Breakworld, who are attempting to destroy Earth with a giant missile. Kitty is assigned with the team appointed to stop the missile, while Lockheed is forced to remain behind. The two share a final lingering look before Kitty leaves. It is revealed that the missile is actually a giant bullet, and Kitty becomes trapped inside it. While grieving over Kitty, Lockheed drinks heavily to help with the pain. Eventually, Brand reveals that Kitty is still alive within the bullet, but they cannot get her out yet. Lockheed then approaches a villain named Unit for help, but after learning that he would have to free Unit from prison, he changes his mind and leaves.[16]
Kitty and Lockheed reunite inAstonishing X-Men (vol. 3) #38. He has since joined her at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, teaching a class entitled "Knowing Your Alien Races, And How To Kill Them".
In the mini-seriesLockjaw and the Pet Avengers, Lockheed teams up withLockjaw,Redwing,Zabu, Niels (Speedball's cat, who possesses similar powers to him), afrog Thor, and Ms. Lion (May Parker's dog) on a quest for theInfinity Gems. He expresses great grief over the loss of Kitty and his estrangement from his homeworld. In another instance, he expresses feelings of guilt over acting as a mole for S.W.O.R.D, stating that he had already "betrayed too many friends and allies in the past". Lockheed is given the Time Gem during this adventure.[17]
Lockheed attends Kitty's wedding rehearsal dinner, bringing along his dragon family.[18]
Lockheed looks like a smallEuropean dragon about the size of a cat. He has purple skin, sharp claws and teeth, two small, curved horns protruding from the back of his head, and wings that enable him to fly. He can breathe extremely intense fire and is a surprisingly formidable combatant for his size, having once destroyed a nest of Sidri hatchlings and at another time bested a fully armored medieval knight-in-training. The Brood that he confronted upon his first appearance were terrified and immediately fled upon seeing him. His brain is immune to telepathic probing by telepaths such asProfessor X. He is empathic, able to understand human speech, and although he rarely does so is able to speak English as well.[citation needed]
Lockheed's appearance and character, as depicted by the various artists who illustrated him and writerChris Claremont, evolved from the time of his first appearance to his later appearances inExcalibur. When he first appeared as drawn byPaul Smith, he was largely quadrupedal, with red eyes, a triangular head, and dog-like intelligence. InExcalibur, as drawn byAlan Davis, he possesses a more anthropomorphic design with an oblong head, black eyes, and a longer jaw.
Lockheed is capable of speech, but initially did not display the ability to do so. Additionally, only Kitty Pryde and some others can understand him.
Locksteed, a character based on Lockheed from Earth-71912, appears inX-Babies.
An alternate universe version of Lockheed from Earth-1289 appears inExcalibur.
An alternate universe version of Lockheed from Earth-1298 appears inMutant X. This version is a member of theStarjammers.
Lock, aChinese dragon-inspired version of Lockheed from Earth-13116, appears inSecret Wars.[22]
Lockheed appears inThe New Mutants. This version is a companion toIllyana Rasputin / Magik who resides in Limbo until he is summoned to aid her.[23]
Lockheed appears in the novelization forX-Men: The Last Stand.