Marvel and Random House Worlds, part of the Penguin Random House family, have announced the latest book in its “Marvel: What If…” series of novels: Marvel: What If… Kitty Pryde Stole the Phoenix Force? by Rebecca Podos, currently scheduled to arrive at a bookstore near you on October 14, 2025.
The exciting new addition to the “Marvel: What If…” novel series was announced earlier today, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, on Marvel.com. The officially licensed original novel series presents fresh takes on the origins of beloved Marvel superheroes and has thus far reimagined Loki, Scarlet Witch, and Moon Knight’s origin stories.
Each of these “Marvel: What If…” stories takes place in a unique section of the Multiverse, providing a captivating twist on a classic Marvel origin story. For example, in the Seanan McGuire novel Marvel: What If…Wanda Maximoff and Peter Parker Were Siblings?, Scarlet Witch is adopted by the Parker family before Uncle Ben’s murder, which irrevocably alters the lives of both superheroes (and Pietro). With McGuire at the helm, fans finally got a Scarlet Witch origin story that was both tragic and empowering—anecdotally, I was so inspired by the novel that I created some fan art, which I rarely ever do.
Marvel: What If… Kitty Pryde Stole the Phoenix Force? is also penned by a powerhouse YA and adult author, Rebecca Podos. She is best known for her Lambda Literary Award-winning novel, Like Water. Her adult fantasy debut, Homegrown Magic, co-written with Jamie Pacton, is her latest work, with the sequel to follow in 2026.
For more details about the book, see Random House Worlds’ official description below:
So many worlds, so little time. Infinite possibilities, creating infinite realities. Long have I watched generations of mutants live in a world shaped by Jean Grey’s legacy. But what if . . . that legacy was cut tragically short, dooming the world to a future without the X-Men?
What if . . . a watcher must do more than watch?
The year is 1990: The X-Men all perished more than a decade ago, and Kitty Pryde is no hero. Emma Frost rescued Kitty from an obscure existence as a mere rebellious teen kicked out of boarding school, terrified of ever being discovered as a mutant. After growing up under the tutelage of the White Queen, Kitty is an apex predator of a superior species, yet she lives alone in a tiny, rundown apartment, preferring isolation to a knife in the back. What is her alternative? The world is what it is.
But sometimes Kitty isn’t so sure of that. Sometimes it feels like she phases right out of her own life. Breathe in: She’s suddenly surrounded by friends she’s never known, living out events that never happened. Breathe out: It’s all back to normal. Kitty always shoves these flashes down, until someone from that other life finds her. This familiar stranger, Betsy Braddock, is a rambling confirmation that something is wrong with their world.
Betsy has a wild theory and if it’s right, Kitty’s only shot at changing the present is to free-fall into the past. The girls follow a tenuous psychic trail back to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in its glory days and embed themselves with the X-Men. There they discover that the inflection point that will unravel their future revolves around a certain omega-level mutant, destined to become the Phoenix. But little do Kitty and Betsy know, they’re not alone in their search.
The year is 1975: Jean Grey has weeks left to live. The Whisperer is coming. He has recruited an ally and accounted for every foreseeable variable. He will leave nothing to chance. He will lead this reality to its Doom.
Don’t miss out—Marvel: What If… Kitty Pryde Stole the Phoenix Force? will be available on October 14, 2025, and you can pre-order it from any major bookseller.
