Sunday, June 21, 2009

Breaking News: Yost Talks Psylocke Mini!

CBR: You can't keep a good British, psychic, mutant ninja down for long.

After a wild resurrection and sudden body transfer in the pages of Matt Fraction and Greg Land's "Uncanny X-Men" #511, the once and future X-Woman Psylocke bounces back towards her '90s ninja roots in "X-Men: Psylocke," a four-issue Marvel miniseries announced today at Charlotte, North Carolina's Heroes Con. Written by Christopher Yost with art by a creative team yet to be revealed, the series takes the newly reconstituted sister of Captain Britain on a different kind of revenge mission meant to remind fans why the katana-wielding warrior was one of the more popular X-Men characters during the property's heyday.

"The mandate on this series was 'Tell us a story that reminds everyone of why she's so kick ass,'" laughed Yost in an exclusive first interview with CBR. The writer said Psylocke’s general appeal is almost too easy, while digging into Psylocke's history gets infinitely harder. "The bottom line is that the great things about her is that she kicks ass and she's sexy. Those are two things that are not going to be hard to incorporate into any story. But when you look at the history of Psylocke, it's just batshit insane – all of the stuff she had to deal with: the Mojo stuff and the crazy, other-dimensional Captain Britain stuff. Having bionic eyes and getting switched into an Asian body. Getting the Crimson Dawn, which I'm not even clear on what that is. It's like...where do you start?"

However, despite regaining her senses and her ninja warrior body at the end of the "Sisterhood" arc in "Uncanny," Betsy Braddock still has a mess of a life (or lives) to clean up before she can move forward with her team – starting with what to do with her own corpse. "It was tricky to decide what aspect of the character to take on," explained Yost. "We figured coming out of 'Sisterhood,' the matter at hand was that there are two Psylockes sitting there. At the end of it, one will be alive and one won't. So out of respect, Psylocke is returning her other body to its grave. That's a pretty straightforward place to start...and then things get a little complicated."

While drafting the first script, Yost found one element of the story surprisingly uncomplicated: how to portray the long-lost character's personality. “Psylocke doesn't take any shit from anybody. But it's tricky because in opposition to Emma Frost who's very snooty and sarcastic, Psylocke’s very no-nonsense and tough," he explained, noting that one of the series villains will be the ninja master who removed Betsy from her original body to begin with.

"Matsu'o Tsurayaba is involved," Yost confirmed, adding the obvious fact that Psylocke aims to kill her former abuser, though twists abound. "There's a very specific reason that she wants him dead, and there's a very exciting villain that she has to overcome to make this happen. In this story, it became Psylocke fighting ninjas in Japan and that stuff, but there's a very personal story to it. It's deadly personal to Psylocke. It's her body."

And while some fans may hold allegiance to the character's original form, Yost and editor Daniel Ketchum agreed that Fraction and Land's use of the Asian version made the most sense. "She definitely is going back to her ninja assassin look," he said, citing J. Scott Campbell's variant for "Uncanny #510" as a prime example of Psylocke. "We tend to think of that as what people identify as the definitive Psylocke. I still kind of like the light pink butterfly Psylocke here and there, but I think for most modern readers Psylocke is that person.

“But that's part of the story. Who is Psylocke? She has to think to herself, waking up in the morning, 'What shell am I in today?' She's been jerked around the multiverse for a while now. So a lot of the story is setting her up and reestablishing her in the 'mainstream' Marvel Universe. This is who she is, where she is and what her worldview and attitude on things is. This is how she functions in the X-Universe.

“And there's fighting!"

30 comments:

Giles said...

Christopher Yost = the Gift the Keeps on Giving!!! Yost = Marvels finest!!! :) :) :) :)

Psychilde said...

YES YES YES YES!!!!!! FINALLY!!! I CANT WAIT!!! I WANT IT NOW!!!
SO HAPPY!!! XD

Mirage said...

Reading that didn't make me as excited as it should have with all the ninja talk... but I have faith in Mr. Yost. Hopefully he will use the sexy ninja stuff to entice people into reading the mini, but then do a lot more to move Betsy forward.

Anonymous said...

I`m wet

Anonymous said...

after carrying exiles with average sales all on her own, i think she deserves it...

daniel oshima said...

keep the corpse and bring revanche back!!!

Anonymous said...

i will never understand why marvel writers just didn't create a ninja japanese sexy girl instead of making psylocke one. pointless stupid wank if you ask me. i hate that he basically said it's quintessential psylocke. no. that's kwannon that will never be psylocke. this story will blow. i might download it but i won't buy it. ooh sexy ninja in japan whoooooo. not.

Anonymous said...

kinda annoys me that they keep focusing on Psylocke as "sexy" instead of her personality.

I like Yost so hoping this is good.

Giles said...

Askanipsion, you're a member of the PSQUADRON, are you not? ;) We got a "memo" from LuckyStar, here it is:

"ATTENTION PSQUADRON!
I'm not gonna accept any whining about Yost saying people see her as a sexy Asian ninja rather than a British butterfly lady! For Yost is right. We should be happy! Embrace change!
"

Anonymous said...

i can bitch if i want to so i don't care what luckystar says. and i think it's sad for us old foggie british betsy fans to keep getting the shit end of the stick. asian ninja thong psylocke is NOT Australian team psylocke and it's really sad that we're forced to accept that or shut up. and it's insulting that all of the writers are basically acting like asian psylocke is the original canon and british betsy is meaningless. how many forums besides this one had a huge lead of people wanting the british body back? it will never be resolved but it's annoying so many people keep telling us to shut up about it. it's my favorite character i think i should be able to say how i feel. and how i feel is that ninjas going to japan to battle old retcon mortal enemies is lame and a waste of a good mini.

Francis said...

this is...simply...fantastic!!! we could not hope better! Yost!!! you're our hero! xD

Anonymous said...

The asian body is the marketable one, the one most people recognize. That's who Psylocke is now, so we really do need to accept that and move on. Looks like what we're getting with this mini is an amazing writer who knows all of Psylocke's history and who wants to incorporate that into a story that will bring in new readers, please the character's fans and set her up for a shining spot on the main X-Men team. Couldn't ask for more than that!

Anonymous said...

it is not the more marketable one, for no one has hardly ever drawn her looking asian anyway. she's eurasian. she looks white reguardless. why not make her original body retain ninja knowlege. why does she have to be trapped in kwannon's body for marketablity? she doesn't. meaning she could still be british and be a fighter or wear a similar costume even though most people hate that one. it WAS more marketable in freaking 1990. times have changed. how many ninja movies or tv shows have you seen this decade. i'm not buying uncanny anymore but i actually thought this would be good. too bad for me.

Anonymous said...

Nope I am not a member of PSQUADRON (never got my membership card) but I am a huge fan of Betts since she first appeared in New Muties Annual.

I have no problem with Betsy staying in the Asian body though I prefer the British body. What I have a problem with is that instead of them focusing on characterization & creative use of her powers, they would rather focus on that she is "sexy". Yes she is sexy but characterization should come first. I don't want her to just be the "pin-up" of the X-Men.

Yes I am happy she is back and looks like she will get more exposure......but I want some good stories about her instead of just picture spreads where she is showing her butt.

Hoping now with her psychic illusions, she will go back to using tactics like she did when she was in British body.

Anonymous said...

Best Limited Series Ever!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Limiteds lead to ongoings if the sales are good ya know...

Giles said...

Nope I am not a member of PSQUADRON (never got my membership card) but I am a huge fan of Betts since she first appeared in New Muties Annual.

Wait, you have to get invited? Dang, than I'm not a member either. ;) lol

Have you seen the new variant cover for Uncanny #513? Betsy's in it, and as Kendra would have said; DAMN!

Betsy looks incredible fierce and battle-ready, but incredible fugly at the same time! It's drawn by Bianchi (I think).

centurion said...

This is encouraging news for all Psylocke fans! It is good to see that so many Marvel writers are becoming interested in developing Psylocke's character further and making her more of a mainstream character. The mini series could explain loose ends like Psylocke's departure from the Exiles, her sentiment toward her original body, and her reincorporation into the X-Men post UXM 511. I always wanted to know what were Besty's own feelings about the body swap. Suffice it to say, I am thoroughly excited about this new mini-series. I actually didn't think it would happen, but this prompts one to ask the question "what is impossible?" According to the CBR transcrip, it seems that Yost et.al are trying to clarify aspects of Psylocke's history that seemed nebulous in the past, which is a sensible way of further establishing her character for modern audiences. For those of you interested in videogames, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is scheduled for release in two weeks on PSN and Xbox Live :) Psylocke will definitely be on my team :)

Best,
centurion

Giles said...

"According to the CBR transcrip, it seems that Yost et.al are trying to clarify aspects of Psylocke's history that seemed nebulous in the past, which is a sensible way of further establishing her character for modern audiences."

As long as she doesn't make any kind of pact with Mephisto, then I'm happy. ;) lol.

Em said...

I don't know if I understood one part where he sorta said someone in Japan was messing with "her body" so she's pissed. I really really really really hope they aren't going to destroy her British body for good. That would make me sad :(

Anonymous said...

Ugg the #513 variant cover has an AWFUL FUGLY looking Betsy - she looks like a 60 year hag!!!

YUCK!!!

centurion said...

Same here, Giles ;) Sorry for the typo in that part of my citation :(

Best,
centurion

Giles said...

"she looks like a 60 year hag!!!"

He he, I think you're being waaaayyy to generous here. ;)

But I agree, this cover-Betsy makes even Cassandra Nova look "good" in comparison!!!

Anonymous said...

@ Giles - maybe Betsy body swapped again into a 60 old Morlock hag?? Maybe it was Masque!

Well I take that back that they are just gonna focus on Betsy being "sexy" cause she sure isn't on this cover! LOL

Well at least the regular version of #513 has a nice cover even though Betsy isn't on it.

Anonymous said...

you guys who say australian betsy isn't the same as the asian one actually READ NEW EXILES RIGHT?? it was the exact same character.

kwannon is beautiful and complicated and she empowered a woman who already seems....well, let's say psylocke probably believes in capital punishment. betsy's psy powers keep changing, but her ninja bod can always be relied upon in a fight, so let's just accept what happened to her and move on.

CrimsomSpy said...

This is Yost. Obviously the story is gonna be good. For God's sake. Stop whining for a second. British Betsy is dead and she's not coming back. Get over it. Thanks for all the news :)

FSaker said...

I only managed to read this now... But this is GREAT news!! Yost is a terrific writer, and I'm sure he'll write a great story with Betsy.

I don't mind her showing her ninja skills in this mini; even if Betsy went back to her British body, I guess she would still have her ninja skills. I just hope he also shows that regardless of her body, she still has that British ironic sense of humor (as Claremont showed since when he revived her). And also, if possible, that he addresses her time with the Exiles/New Exiles, if she misses her teammates from the Panoptichron (and specially Sabertooth), etc...

Starlight Starbright said...

CrimsomSpy said...

This is Yost. Obviously the story is gonna be good. For God's sake. Stop whining for a second. British Betsy is dead and she's not coming back. Get over it. Thanks for all the news :)


you're a fuckin idiot and just for that i will bring it up in every comment until i die

Anonymous said...

LOL. Pay no attention to the delusional.

PsySpears said...

Everyone should calm down.Its getting a bit too heated in here with Psylocke caught in the middle lol.
anyway,whoopie at the mini-series,should be a great lil addition to Betsys mythos.
I just hope whoever the creative team make the story loom beautiful.

Oh and this might surprise people but describing Psylocke as sexy isnt that blasphemous,ummm mainly because she is,whats the matter with that.Her personality was mentioned just as much.
Alot of the "wolvie-style" loving readers love that fact about Psylocke.shes kickass and sexy,shes the female charater its cool to like for the testosterone filled brigade.They dont relate to the jeans or polaris's or the dazzlers so whats the matter with wrapping a kickass personality in a sexy body?
Psylocke is still true to the "utback" personality,so leave it be.