I know she's resistant to psychic abilities while phased.  I also know that she's immune to physical attacks and most energy attacks. 

She also seems to be unaffected by gravity while phasing, or else the "walking on air" she can do would be impossible. 

However, I'm not sure about things like magnetism.  If she was carrying something metallic, like a sword or electronic device, would Magneto be able to take control of it? 

She's obviously also affected by light (seeing as she's visible, so the light's reflecting off her).  Does that mean that lasers could hurt her?  How about Cyclop's eyebeams?  Granted, they're beams of kinetic force, but they seem to have light-like properties.  For instance, he can bounce them off reflective surfaces. 

The reason I'm asking this is because I'm going to be playing this character in a sort of role playing game in the future, and these sorts of issues might come up.  I'm wondering if anyone here with more comic knowledge than I have might know the answers to these questions. 

Thanks. 

She's resistant to Psychic attacks???? In Astonishing, Emma had her under the illusion that someone was trying to take the baby she and Colossus never had away

Kitty has been electrocuted and hit by Magneto (magnetism?  more electrocution?) while phased.

She's also vulnerable to radiation.

I always thought the psi resistance while phased was dumb.  I wouldn't be surprised if somebody handwaved it.

Way back in Age of Apocalypse Husk turned into an acid that could hurt her. 

 I believe electro magnetism can effect her as well.   Since magnetism isn't a physical attack, I don't think her power protects her from this. 

I don't think lasers effect her though, since they are used in the Danger Room and she has phased through them in the past.  Though they are many types of lasers, so some of them may work on her.

Huh. 

The resistance to physic powers makes perfect sense to me.  She phases through lots of energy attacks, so why would she not be able to phase through "psychic energy"?  Magneto has a helmet that can block it.  I see no reason why Kitty shouldn't be able to phase through it. 

But a lot of her powers don't make a lot of sense to me. 

She can be electrocuted, but she phases through (and shorts out) electrical systems all the time with no ill effects.  That's a little weird, considering that there must be a lot of power going through those Sentinels. 

As for lasers not affecting her, that really doesn't make sense either.  She reflects all the colors the human eye can see, so obviously she doesn't phase through visible light.  Therefore, any laser that would be visible should affect her.   If she can phase herself through light, then she should have the power to turn invisible. 

Oh well.  I guess I'll just have to attribute this to comic book science and the differing interpretations of the different writers who have written the comics she was in over the years.  Still, I wish the books were a little more consistent. 

extreme heats and stuff should affect her as well

@honeybunch

Because there isn't such a thing as psychic energy?  If Professor X wants in her head, I don't see why the physical attributes of it have anything to do with the matter.

I agree that the electricution thing is odd, considering her whole disrupt machines shtick but I've seen her get electrocuted.

yea her powers don't make perfect sense, it all depends on what the writer wants to do and how they tweak her powers.

It was a person using an electro sword.  I don't know your stance on that, WM. XD

She can suffocate while walking through solid or liquid matter.

As for her ability to walk normally while phased, I'd suspect that she can 'unphase' the thinnest bottom layer of her feet subconsciously.  So her feet stick in place as she walks.

She also as trouble with Adamantium, since one time when she tried to phase through Wolverine, it really hurt her.

Nah, it was Deathverine.

A naked male?

    The electrocution was a special case, I think. But yeah...it's possible it was a once in a life time thing.

   Now, the psi resistance evolved over time. While phased she was hard to mentaly detect as far back as Excalibur, and later she was somewhat resistant to (but not immune to) such attacks. The fight with Emma Frost went her way because her attack was so brutal it took her by suprise, and when she dragged her into the ground and held her half-in and half-out of the cave wall, she told Emma that if she even imagined Emma was in her head...she let her go inside the wall.

   It's best to assume that if Kitty's phased, she's immune to attack or detection from minor mentalists like Mindwave or Magneto (does he still have his low-level telepathy, or was that ret-conned out of existance?), but not Karma, pre-M-Day Mirage or Emma Frost...who detected her even though she was phased and out of sight. When phased, it's harder (but not impossible) for a mentalist or psychic to get a hold of her mind. When Emma took control of her and made her think she'd had a child and been betrayed by the X-Men, she wasn't phased.

   Charles Xavier, Mastermind and the Shadow King wouldn't have much trouble, no matter what.

" OMG i have just finnished reading Essential X-Men 182 and our Shaddow cat is gone - trapped inside a massive bullet (which she bonded with - so would appear she is vulnerable to something) made from the metal that she freed Colossus from Ord of the Breakworld. "

" She's resistant to Psychic attacks???? In Astonishing, Emma had her under the illusion that someone was trying to take the baby she and Colossus never had away "

" extreme heats and stuff should affect her as well "

I read a description once that said she phases by magnetically vibrating her molecules to fit in between the spaces of other molecules with the "magnetic" part causing the side effect of disrupting electronics (it's in a comic book so it doesn't have to make scientific sense I guess). So she doesn't necessarily turn all intangible or parts of herself intangible and leave other parts tangible. With this description she merely chooses whether she wants to vibrate her molecules through something or not as she comes in contact with it. So she can phase through a bullet by vibrating her molecules through the spaces between the bullet's molecules, but still stand on the floor because she didn't try to slip into the spaces of the floor's molecules with her molecular vibrations. 
 
That sounds really confusing, but every writer seems to imagine her power's implementation in their own way.

She can be hit by magic. If I remember well, she has been hit by a demon while phased.

Does this refer to the icicle incident described by Cyke in 2015 in http://community.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?43903-Frieza-Vs-Magneto&p=1281287&viewfull=1#post1281287 ?

"I remember one battle where Shadowcat snuck up behind him and tried to phase-impale him with a huge icicle, but once the icicle phased through, Magneto electrocuted her through the icicle because it was made of water. Nevermind that it was still phased, or that Shadowcat's form disrupts electrical energy by default, or that part of the icicle was still phased in him when he interrupted her attack and de-phased her. Because, as you say, MAGNETS."

Thanks to http://www.magnetowasright.com/pages/analysis/the-science-of-magneto.php "dissipating the water of an icicle Kitty speared through his chest in X-Men Vol. 2 #87" I was able to locate the instance on page 12.

"DID YOU THINK SOLIDIFYING A PHASED SHAFT OF ICE COULD HURT ME? I CAN DISPERSE THE ICE INTO HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN WITHIN MY CHEST -- AND USE THE WATER MOLECULES OF THE SHAFT ITSELF TO CONDUCT AN ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE!"

Looks like she's probably unconscious or something....

Also interested in issue/page for the radiation instance. Can Shadowcat get sunburned while intangible?

Which issue had this "acid that can harm intangibles" Husk transform? Sounds important. Does your reference to electromagnetism mean the above-mentioned "icicle in magneto" incident?

When has she been electrocuted? Is it possible that disrupting electrical systems without being harmed requires her focus/awareness and that if caught unaware, it harms her because she cannot manage the energy?

https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/47-colours-of-light indicates a laser causing the color red on you is because your body absorbs blue/violet

This is somewhat complicated by the color of clothing that she is able to turn intangible with her. Having pale skin is a bonus. Someone with pure black skin would be absorbing all wavelengths of visible light, someone with pure white skin would be reflecting all wavelengths of visible light.

It might be that her power somehow results in absorbing light without being damaged by it though. Perhaps that helps to power her abilities?

Who? What issue/page depicted it?

Was this a canon description in a comic? If so perhaps we can locate book/page? Or was it fancruft?

The idea that electricity can harm someone phased was present in the 1980s dice RPG "Heroes Unlimited". Page 184 of the 9th printing of HU Revised (January 1993) for Intangibility "Electricity and sonic blasts, which stimulate and agitate molecules, do half damage. Psionic attacks have full effect. Gas attacks are particularly effective, as the gaseous substance passes right through and into the blood stream, doing full damage/effect."

I don't know what heroes exist to inspire this power aside from Shadowcat... possibly Martian Manhunter? This makes me wonder, has Kitty ever been heard by sonic attacks (Banshee?) or gas attacks while phased?

Anyone know issue this happened? Perhaps because demons can turn intangible and intangible people can hit each other?