| Psylocke | |
|---|---|
%2c_No._19_(Textless_Variant).jpg) Textless variant cover ofExcalibur (vol. 4) #19, depicting both characters associated with the codename Psylocke:Betsy Braddock (left) andKwannon (right). Art byMahmud Asrar andMatthew Wilson. | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Earth-616:
Earth-6160:
|
| Created by | Chris Claremont (writer) Herb Trimpe (artist) |
| Characters |
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| Psylocke | |
 | Psylocke #1 (2009) featuring the body-swapped Betsy Braddock version of the character, art by David Finch and Jason Keith. |
| Series publication information | |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Publication date | Nov.2009 - Feb.2010 |
| Number of issues | 4 |
| Main character(s) | Psylocke (Betsy Braddock) |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Christopher Yost |
| Penciller(s) | Harvey Tolibao |
| Inker(s) | Paul Neary |
| Colorist(s) | Jay David Ramos |
Psylocke is the name of two connected characters appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics, commonly in association with theX-Men. Both characters are portrayed asmutants, a subspecies of humans born with an "X-gene" that grantssuperhuman abilities.
In theprimary continuity of theMarvel Universe, the first character to use the Psylocke moniker isBetsy Braddock (created byChris Claremont andHerb Trimpe), a Britishtelepath who is initially depicted as asupporting character in stories focused on her twin brotherBrian. Betsy adopts the codename "Psylocke" upon joining the X-Men, and later takes on the appearance of a Japanese woman and the abilities of a ninja in a story written by Claremont and illustrated byJim Lee. This redesign wasretroactively established years later to be the result of abody swap with the ninja assassinKwannon (created byFabian Nicieza andAndy Kubert). Following 29 years of publication history, both women were returned to their respective bodies, and Betsy assumed the mantle ofCaptain Britain from her brother while Kwannon became the second Psylocke.
TheUltimate Universe features two original versions of Psylocke:Sai andKanon Sainouchi (both created byPeach Momoko).
In addition to their presence in numerous X-related team titles over the decades, both iterations of Psylocke have been featured in various limited series and one-shots. In 1997, Betsy Braddock, as Psylocke, appeared in the 4-issue team-up seriesPsylocke and Archangel: Crimson Dawn. Additionally, she starred in the one-shotX-Men: Sword of the Braddocks #1 in 2009 and the solo 4-issue seriesX-Men: Psylocke in 2010. During theKrakoan Age, Kwannon as Psylocke appeared in various team books such as theHellions (2020) andMarauders (2022) and then starred in the one-shotX-Men: Blood Hunt – Psylocke #1 in 2024. As part of theX-Men: From the Ashes relaunch, Kwannon as Psylocke is set to star in a new soloongoing series starting in November 2024.
Created by writerChris Claremont, Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock first appeared inCaptain Britain #8 (Dec. 1976), withCaptain Britain #10 (Dec. 1976) as her first cover appearance, published by theMarvel Comics' British imprintMarvel UK.[1] InNew Mutants Annual #2 (1986), Claremont integrated Betsy Braddock into theX-Men franchise. After being rescued by theNew Mutants and taking up residence at their mutant-training academy, Braddock is formally invited to join the X-Men and officially adopts the codename Psylocke, becoming an enduring fixture of the team over the next three decades.[2]
In a 1989 story, an amnesiac Betsy is kidnapped byThe Hand, who brainwash her and physically alter her to take on an East Asian appearance.[3] Under the name Lady Mandarin, she briefly becomes the Hand’s supreme assassin. While her memories return, she retains her new appearance and skills, including the ability to manifest the focused totality of her telepathic power in the form of a “psychic knife.” A 1993 story byFabian Nicieza would retroactively establish that Braddock’s changed appearance was the product of abody swap between Braddock and the assassinKwannon.[4]
In the Claremont-writtenX-Treme X-Men #2 (2001), the character dies, hercomic book death lasting until 2005'sUncanny X-Men #455. During theHunt for Wolverine storyline, the psychic vampire Sapphire Styx absorbs the entirety of Braddock’s soul, leaving her body dead.[5] After destroying Sapphire Styx from the inside with assistance from a fragment of Wolverine’s soul, Braddock reconstitutes her original body with the villain’s remaining soul power.[5]
During theDawn of X, Braddock subsequently took up her brother Brian’s former title of Captain Britain, forming a new iteration ofExcalibur withApocalypse,Gambit,Rogue,Jubilee, andRictor, to protect the Kingdom ofAvalon.
In Kwannon’s first appearance, using the codename Revanche, she traveled to the United States to confront Braddock, believing herself to be the real Betsy Braddock due to amnesia caused by the body swap.[6] She discovered that she was formerly The Hand’s prime assassin before incurring brain damage and falling comatose as a result of a battle with her lover Matsu’o Tsurayaba, a high-ranking member of the Hand.[7] In hopes that, due to Kwannon’s low-level psychic abilities, the powers of the high-level telepath Betsy Braddock would be able to save her life, Tsurayaba sought the help of the sorceressSpiral, who instead transferred the women’s minds into each other’s bodies rather than simply recovering Kwannon.[8]
After accepting that she is not the original Betsy Braddock, Kwannon becomes a member of the X-Men, shortly thereafter contracting theLegacy Virus.[9] As the disease progressed, Kwannon’s psychic abilities increased, allowing her to clarify her own distorted memory.[10] Choosing to die on her own terms, Kwannon confronts Tsurayaba, who complies with her request to kill her rather than waiting to succumb to the disease.[7]
Following theHunt for Wolverine, when Braddock was restored to her original body, Kwannon was reborn in her original body as well.[5] Claiming the codename Psylocke for herself, Kwannon became a citizen of the mutant nation ofKrakoa. After the apparent murder of her long-lost daughter by a threatening artificial intelligence called Apoth, Psylocke assembled a new team ofFallen Angels withX-23 andCable.[11] After finding out that Apoth was using children to disseminate a technological drug called Overclock,Mister Sinister modified Overclock to allow Psylocke to interact with Apoth in a cyberspace, killing Apoth, whose remains she delivered to Mister Sinister in exchange for his assistance in keeping this extrajudicial mission a secret from the Krakoan Quiet Council.[12]
Following the Apoth incident, Psylocke was assigned to monitor Mister Sinister’s new team ofHellions, composed of mutants considered too violent or troubled to assimilate intoKrakoan society.[13] The character was later featured as a team member in theMarauders (vol. 2) as the team was refocused on their mission of mutant rescue.[14] Following the fall ofKrakoa, Kwannon will headline in the upcomingongoing seriesPsylocke (vol. 2) written byAlyssa Wong with art by Vincenzo Carratù. This solo series will be spun out of events in Jed MacKay andRyan Stegman'sX-Men (vol. 7) where Psylocke is a team member.[15][16]
Psylocke was initially the code name of Elizabeth Braddock, a British woman. However, in a Marvel storyline of 1989,Acts of Vengeance, she was "physically transformed into an Asian woman by a villain seeking to brainwash her and turn her into an elite assassin for a group of ninja warriors."[17] This has been criticized as racially insensitive or stereotypical by multiple fans and critics. For example, Anna Lam calls her new form a "fetishized Asian sex object in the style of the classicDragon Lady of the 1930s."[18] Chris Claremont, the writer of the story, has said that this transformation was originally simply a disguise but became semi-permanent because most fans embraced it.[19] The artist for the story isJim Lee, aKorean American.
The subsequent storyline of 1993, written by Nicieza, mitigates the issue because subsequently the East Asian Psylocke and the white Psylocke are two distinct women (Kwannon and Betsy Braddock, respectively).
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| X-Men: Psylocke | Psylocke #1-4,Uncanny X-Men (1963) #256-258 | 2010 | 978-0785144397 |
An original incarnation of Psylocke namedO-Chiyo Braddock appears in5 Ronin. This version is the English-Japanese orphan daughter of a local Japanese woman who died when she was a baby and an English expat trader who committed suicide when she was a child after his business failed. After being forced into theyoshiwara to survive, O-Chiyo grows up to become the top-ranked prostitute, codenamed "Butterfly", in a high-end brothel. She later crosses paths with a Ronin called theWolverine, who becomes her regular customer.[20]
Two original incarnations of Psylocke from Earth-6160,Sai and her descendantKanon Sainouchi, appear in series set in theUltimate Universe.
Sai appears inDemon Days: X-Men. She is an adventurous Japanese samurai accompanied by a wolf named Logan who comes from a variation of ancient Japan where humans used to coexist withyōkai until the avarice within humans caused a conflict between both species.[21]
Sainouchi appears inUltimate X-Men. She is a senior at Idori High School, an expert fencer, and younger sister of a police officer named Tatsuya.[22][23]
Psylocke, primarily based on Betsy Braddock's characterization while her mind was in Kwannon's body, has been adapted in various forms ofmedia, including films, television series, and video games.Olivia Munn portrayed the character in the 2016 filmX-Men: Apocalypse.
The Sai incarnation of Psylocke fromDemon Days: X-Men appears as a playable character in the video gameMarvel Rivals.[24][25]
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