Remender on Uncanny X-Force

CBR: "Wolverine and Archangel's X-Force may still exist, but they're far from the same team as the previous incarnation. The last line up featured some members who had no real previous experience with killing, including Elixir and Thunderbird. For this new team, the leaders have recruited Deadpool, Fantomex and Psylocke, all characters who have had experience doing the bloody, but often necessary, work that the new team will take on."

"The reasoning behind the decision to recruit Psylocke to the team is rather apparent, as her presence gives the new X-Force some much needed psionic firepower. "Obviously, Betsy's strengths for the team are that she's an omega level telepath and a stealthy ninja bad ass," Remender said. "Like her teammates, she's another character who's been tampered with; another good person who's had bad infused into her psyche. She's a person who has been shattered and then rebuilt. Every one of these characters has had the same thing happen to them. They've all been tampered with. They've all had somebody else come in and reprogram some part of their brain to be wild and maybe even villainous, and that's a common thread throughout the series."

"Psylocke is also dealing with her death and recent resurrection at the hands of the Sisterhood of Evil Mutants. It's made her very reflective about her past, which is something Remender certainly plans to explore. "I think there's a lot to rediscover and be reconnected with in terms of her past. I believe both her brother and her father had some small connection with Fantomex," the writer revealed "There's a duality and conflict inside of Betsy, and I'm really fascinated by that. I've been reading the character since ,85 and up through the changeover into what she is now. Her mind is hard to define at this point, if you follow every point of continuity. It was transferred and tampered with, and then she went through the Siege Perilous. It's easier for me to get my head around if you just think, after all these things, her mind is broken and she's trying to put it back together. She's trying to rediscover the center of who she is and see past all of this smoke that other people have filled her mind with."

Long time X-Men fans know that Psylocke and Archangel were once romantically linked, an aspect of their relationship which will play an important role in "Uncanny X-Force." "That's one of the reasons they're both on the team. There's an element of that. Something in their past relationship is a big reason why they're on this team together," Remender told CBR. "I reread a lot of the issues that featured their relationship, just to see why it worked and why it just wasn't a convenient thing. I don't want to give anything away, but I think what I've done with these characters is sort of the natural conclusion and a natural thing for them to come to."

Notes: Psylocke is mentioned as being an "Omega Level Telepath" by Remender! Uncanny X-Force is on sale Oct 2010.