I had fallen way behind with the X-Men until about a year ago when I went out and bought a ton of graphic novels bringing me right back up to date with the goings on of Marvel’s mutants. However, it was in the 2008 Free Comic Book Day issue of Uncanny X-Men that I was first introduced to Pixie. As many of you will probably know by now, I’m from Wales, and I was astonished to discover that right in front of me was the very first Welsh superhero! Not only that but Pixie instantly came across to me as a likeable and interesting character and every issue I’ve read since has further enhanced my belief that she’s one of the best X-Men out there today. Marvel have taken what could have been yet another two dimensional young character, made her into one of the most important core X-Men and have even given Pixie her own series recently with X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back.
I had wanted to include her in a fan cast for a long time and the perfect opportunity arose recently with my Uncanny X-Men fan cast. When it came to actually casting her though, it wasn’t all that easy. At first I decided that it had to be a Welsh actress but quickly discovered that I couldn’t find anyone who fit the role perfectly. So, I started searching for actresses on Google but soon gave up because if there’s one thing I hate while making my casts (apart from how long it takes to make the pictures, lol!) it’s just choosing somebody based on looks without knowing enough about them to be 100% happy with my choice. It’s something I’ve done once or twice in the past and instantly regretted when I’ve thought of someone better for the role soon after! I then decided not to include Pixie in that particular cast but happened to turn on the TV and caught a glimpse of a show that I hadn’t watched in a long time - Skins. I had never really been a fan but from what I had seen both that night and in the past, there was one actress who stood out as being better than the rest…Kathryn Prescott. And after all those hours of searching, I had finally found the perfect actress for Pixie!
Now, why do I think she’s right for this role? Well there are a number of reasons to be honest. Before you start thinking it’s because of the similar hair colour, that’s not it, although t definitely helps to back up the point I was going to make about her looking perfect for the role so I might as well start there. At 18, she’s at exactly the right age for Pixie and everything about her appearance is like seeing the character step out of the pages of the comic book in my eyes. There’s no doubt that Prescott is an incredibly beautiful young woman and everything from her eyes to mouth just fit Pixie’s appearance. She’s the right build and height for the character as well and although I’m sure that her role in any future X-Men movie would be minor in comparison to the likes of the better known Wolverine and Cyclops, an actress who looks so well suited to this role would not only be a bonus for comic book fans but would really stand out in helping to bring the character to life on the big screen to appeal to a wider audience especially as Pixie’s appearance is so unique in comparison to the aforementioned characters!
Pixie also happens to be one of Marvel’s best female characters which is yet another reason I’d like to see her brought to the big screen as movies like Elektra and Jessica Alba’s awful performance as Sue Storm have hardly helped with the portrayal of female superheroes! I’d love to see characters like Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman in their own solo movies but right now that doesn’t seem all that likely. Marvel have actually recently taken the initiative of highlighting the women of Marvel in the hope of increasing female readership (surely a good thing!) and if the introduction of Pixie would help do the same with the movie going audience then again, that’s nothing but a good thing in my eyes! A young and fairly unknown actress like Prescott would be a good choice to help with this and would definitely appeal to a female audience in my opinion especially as she comes across as extremely likeable and humble in the interviews that I’ve seen her in.
More importantly, as I mentioned before Prescott is a great actress. She may not have a lot of acting experience but the praise that she received for her role as the bullied closeted lesbian, Emily Fitch in Skins proves that’s not a problem after taking on such a challenging role. That show gave her a chance to display what a talented and diverse actress she is and starring as a character like this would really give her the big break that, in my opinion, she deserves! It was also her performance there that showed she has all of the right qualities to be able to easily pull off playing the loveable and quirky Pixie. Unlike a lot of the teen actresses seen in show’s like 90210 and the rest of that CW crap (no offence, just my opinion!) she’s capable of portraying a character that it’s easy to care about while delivering a unique performance rather than just another version of what you’ve seen a hundred times before in actresses of a similar age. Finally, there’s the accent! Prescott is English but I honestly don’t think she’d have a problem pulling off a Welsh accent and let’s be honest - it’s not really as important as a character like, Gambit for example, having his trademark Cajun accent! However, it would be nice to see it done right and as I just said, I don’t see any reasons why Prescott couldn’t handle it!
So, that’s my argument for why I think Kathryn Prescott should play Pixie. Many of you might think it’s pointless but the two editorials I did last year first supporting Bret Harrison for Spider-Man and secondly supporting Ryan McPartlin for Captain America (yeah, I know how that worked out!) helped to gain support for those actors being cast in the roles and I’d love to see that happen again here. Not because of ego and not because I want to say I was the first to suggest her for the role. Simply because I don’t think that there’s anyone else out there better suited to playing Pixie.
'Nuff said. :)