O5. Nightcrawler
The Road to Second Coming: If Cyclops has more faith than anyone that Hope will save the mutant race, Nightcrawler is a close second. Like many of his teammates, Nightcrawler probably won't be happy to learn about the dark choices Cyclops has made in the past year. The real question is whether his faith in Hope is tied to his faith in Cyclops.
Matt Fraction: "What happens when he discovers the lengths and depths to which Scott has gone and sank to make it possible? Would Nightcrawler abide by all of the decisions Scott made if he knew what those decisions were?"
The Road to Second Coming: If Cyclops has more faith than anyone that Hope will save the mutant race, Nightcrawler is a close second. Like many of his teammates, Nightcrawler probably won't be happy to learn about the dark choices Cyclops has made in the past year. The real question is whether his faith in Hope is tied to his faith in Cyclops.Matt Fraction: "What happens when he discovers the lengths and depths to which Scott has gone and sank to make it possible? Would Nightcrawler abide by all of the decisions Scott made if he knew what those decisions were?"
∞
O6. Psylocke
Aliases: Elizabeth Braddock, Kwannon, Captain Britain, Lady Mandarin
First Appearance: Captain Britain Vol. 1 #8 (1976)
Basic Powers: Psylocke has both telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Because of her training as a ninja, sh most often manifests these abilities in the form of a psychic dagger that can incapacitate victims.
Did You Know: Betsy is an English-born woman and the sister of Captain Britain. However, her body was switched with that of an Asian assassin named Kwannon. Psylocke has generally remained in this new body ever since.
Aliases: Elizabeth Braddock, Kwannon, Captain Britain, Lady MandarinFirst Appearance: Captain Britain Vol. 1 #8 (1976)
Basic Powers: Psylocke has both telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Because of her training as a ninja, sh most often manifests these abilities in the form of a psychic dagger that can incapacitate victims.
Did You Know: Betsy is an English-born woman and the sister of Captain Britain. However, her body was switched with that of an Asian assassin named Kwannon. Psylocke has generally remained in this new body ever since.
The Road to Second Coming: Recent years have been even more chaotic for Psylocke than the rest of her teammates. She died in Spain in an attempt to protect her fellow teammates from a villain named Vargas. She was then resurrected one year later. Then she was recruited by the Exiles in their continual quest to protect the Omniverse. In the midst of this newest mission, she was plucked back into her normal reality by Madelyne Pryor and the Sisterhood of Mutants.
After traveling across universes and through life and death itself, Psylocke is understandably confused and adrift. Adjusting to life as an X-Man has proven difficult for Betsy. Even a simple journey to Japan to re-inter the body of Kwannon proved more complicated than expected.
After battling The Hand and Selene's techno-organic slaves, Betsy has proven she is every bit the warrior she ever was. These recent battles have at least helped her assimilate back into the fold of the X-Men. But much like Kitty Pryde, Psylocke was absent when the conflict over Hope began. When Hope returns, Psylocke will have to decide who and what she fights for, and whether she has the same faith in the fate of the mutant race as some of her comrades.
On Psylocke's place in the X-Men:
Matt Fraction: "She hardly knows who she is let alone what her role is now that she's back. This is a catastrophe and a cataclysm, and coming out of it where she is coming out of it shapes the beginning of the next chapter of her life."
On adjusting to her return:
Matt Fraction: "It would be an adjustment for anybody. She's just barely gotten her sea legs and now the boat's under attack."
On the Colossus/Nightcrawler/Psylocke partnership:
Nick Lowe: "Three friends who are pushed into a tough situation and will be made stronger by it."
After traveling across universes and through life and death itself, Psylocke is understandably confused and adrift. Adjusting to life as an X-Man has proven difficult for Betsy. Even a simple journey to Japan to re-inter the body of Kwannon proved more complicated than expected.
After battling The Hand and Selene's techno-organic slaves, Betsy has proven she is every bit the warrior she ever was. These recent battles have at least helped her assimilate back into the fold of the X-Men. But much like Kitty Pryde, Psylocke was absent when the conflict over Hope began. When Hope returns, Psylocke will have to decide who and what she fights for, and whether she has the same faith in the fate of the mutant race as some of her comrades.
On Psylocke's place in the X-Men:
Matt Fraction: "She hardly knows who she is let alone what her role is now that she's back. This is a catastrophe and a cataclysm, and coming out of it where she is coming out of it shapes the beginning of the next chapter of her life."
On adjusting to her return:
Matt Fraction: "It would be an adjustment for anybody. She's just barely gotten her sea legs and now the boat's under attack."
On the Colossus/Nightcrawler/Psylocke partnership:
Nick Lowe: "Three friends who are pushed into a tough situation and will be made stronger by it."
∞
X-Men: Second Coming Preview
X-Men: Second Coming Preview
“For so long, my life has been out of control. Chaos and serendipity, wrapped in insanity. I have suffered, I have lost. Not just my life, but my very soul, my self. But no more. Now I know who I am.” – Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Braddock, daughter of Otherworld, mutant, telepath, telekinetic, defender of the realm and, above all, X-Man.
6 comments:
Maybe my thoughts are against the grain, definitely against the currents writers, but I do not get this, "Betsy's so confused, Betsy's still readjusting" crap. I've always found Psylocke to be a resilient character who's taken charge in the face of tragedy (Storm getting killed in Uncanny) and simply is someone able to adjust to whatever hand she's been dealt. I think her history up until recently says that as well.
From what I understood from her mini, Psylocke used to act like she didn't care as a defence mechanism. But it's not like that anymore. The destruction of her former body has hit her hard and opened her eyes. She will now have to relearn who she is and her place among the X-Men.
I really enjoyed the limited series i felt it was a good read but there are things that didnt quite sit right with me in it.
Firstly Psylocke had zero of her lust for life personality that really makes her enjoyable as a character. Ok I understand the severity of the situation, her former body had been destroyed. But Betsy had adjusted to being in this body and come to terms with things many years ago. If it had meant that much to her why didnt she bury it in England in the first place? She clearly acknoledged it was Kwannon whom had died as the gravestone read. Also I swear Kwannon was buried on the cliff she fell and not in some urban cluttered tokyo cemetry. If anything after yet another recent body swap manipulation im suprised Betsy didnt burn the body herself, at least it avoided it getting up and trying to kill her during Necrosha. If Betsy should be concerned with anything it should be the fact she might not be real! how do we know her 2nd body that died in spain isnt still rotting in england and shes just going to blink out of existance one day. Limited series are designed to showcase the character and a huge portion of what makes Psylocke so spectacular was missing, she didnt even have a witty comback to Emma and that was before her body got destroyed.
Then we come to Wolverine, he unleashes the animal against Betsy almost instantly, what if he had killed her? wouldnt he have felt ten times worse than he already feels? protecting a scumbag like Matsuo. And if Matsuo's threats were true that Dazzler, Angel and Captain Britain would all be killed wouldnt Wolverine also kill him anyway? Psylocke was so adamant that she was going to murder him then just because he has been deformed she suddenly decides he needs to be mercy killed? if she was really that angry I dont see why she wouldnt have allowed Wolverine to continue torturing him. Hell she might have even joined in.
It seemed at the end she suddenly deflated willing to die and felt she didnt know who she is and that she hoped to recover herself, which I had been led to believe she had done years ago anyway. And if these events had affected her so traumatically i dont feel it was shown very well, The only time i remember her completley freaking out was when she was in bed with Warren during the crimson dawn series. Even face to face with Revanche when everyone thought she was a traitor she stood her ground and refused to deny who she was.
It was wonderful to see Psylocke have a true limited series all to herself even if she had to share a bit of it with Wolverine but it was still only bogging Psylocke down with talking about body swap crap. I dont see why Psylocke cant have a new adventure that doesnt involve that convulted plot. Sorry Ive complained way too much, im really glad the series happened and i hope it opens up a lot of new doors for our beloved heroine.
I have been a critic of the uncanny writers but I actually think its a positive turn that they are thinking of Psylocke's subtext and what she might be going through. I agree that it's not typical to see her be not decisive, but to your point, she could potentially wink out of reality at any moment, so maybe that's a little part of not knowing who she is. Maybe she is thinking of that body that she died in (I dont know where it is now) and thinking, is she a double? Is she an alternate
betsy? she could be anything and she is smart enough to realize that, and in the past she has been used to hurt her team mates by being manipulated by others to do so, so maybe she is afraid of being a kind of sleeper agent that can be used that way again, who knows? This fear is not new and goes way back when she first became the Asian Psylocke, I seem to remember a scene where she is leaving Japan on a boat after a final fight with Mandarin having the same sorts of feelings.
So I think its good to give her a little inner monologue that sets her apart from the rest, you can understand why she an sometimes be a little cold to others. And Im glad that Fraction is folding this into her storyline.
"Three friends who are pushed into a tough situation and will be made stronger by it."
So, does that mean that the three friends will survive the tough situation? I can't see how one could become stronger after getting killed...
I hope the three of them survive. Magik and Archangel are the ones I wouldn't care if died, but since it seems that none of them will, maybe X-23 is the best option...
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"Three friends who are pushed into a tough situation and will be made stronger by it."
So, does that mean that the three friends will survive the tough situation? I can't see how one could become stronger after getting killed...
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I like all three of them (Betsy the most of course) so I hope you are right. Fraction does mention the next chapter of her life so I hope she comes through.
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