Spoilers: After Psylocke’s soul is drained by Sapphire Styx, she finds herself in Saphhire’s mindscape and reflects on her life. Betsy takes her time to investigate and finds out Sapphire has been feeding on others for centuries. When she finds a piece of Logan’s soul trapped there for years, she urges him to fight together and uses her telepathy to help him do so, hence his Patch persona appearing before Styx earlier. All the other souls beg Betsy to avenge them and it’s what she does by breaking Sapphire’s body from within. Betsy taps into all the soul power unleashed by Sapphire to rebuild her original body, molecule by molecule, and makes her way back to the physical world, appearing before her X-Men friends. She’s back to where she belongs. Kitty and the others are taken aback by her original appearance, but there’s no time to celebrate yet. Magneto is still too weak to stop the rocket, so Kitty phases Rogue and Storm out of the vessel. Meanwhile Betsy overwhelms and defeats Bloodlust. Jubilee takes on Knockout. When Viper strikes back, Psylocke then proceeds to implant a suggestion in her brain, blurring her vision. Kitty rescues Rogue and Storm, but Magneto is unable to prevent the rocket launching as he is still too weak. Psylocke then confuses Snake-whip by making her target an illusion instead of her. Rogue touches Knockout and absorbs her powers, defeating her and getting some revenge. Domino points a gun at Snake-ship, who surrenders. Storm makes her entrance and stops the torrential rain hitting Madripoor; Betsy is amazed at her, just like when she joined the X-Men. Magneto threatens to murder Mindblast, and Psylocke is ready to stop him, if necessary killing him again, but he backs down before anything can happen. Afterwards, the X-Men interrogates Magneto, and Psylocke knows he has nothing to do with Wolverine's body. Erik promises to clean up Viper’s mess in Madripoor and track her down, as she has escaped. When it comes to finding Wolverine, Kitty says their only lead was “Soteira”, the organization name. which was revealed by Snake-whip in return for a lighter sentence. Meanwhile Betsy is by herself, admiring the view of Madripoor’s cityline. Jubilee meets her to make sure she’s okay and asks if this is the original her and if she remembers everything they’ve gone through. Betsy says she does. Psylocke explains that when Sapphire exploded, she used the soul power she left behind to create a physical body for herself. It feels a bit strange, but comforting. For so many years her body has been manipulated by others (Dr. Synne, S.T.R.I.K.E., Mojo, The Hand), but no more. Now she’s herself.
Meanwhile, back at the Femme Fatales’ fortress, Soteira’s employees are cleaning up the mess, but they are surprised by… the Asian body alive! The woman speaking Japanese just wants to ask a few questions! Kwannon?
“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.
39 comments:
Messy ending. I understand Psylocke is powerful, but rebuilding a whole body from a molecular level is ridiculous. Her powers are nothing like that... and the explanation is a big 'wtf?' They also leave an open door for "Kwannon" to return... again. Ugh. The whole 'Wolverine' angle was just a red herring to do another confusing body swap for Betsy. They just keep doing Jim Lee/Chris Claremont dirty.
She used the power of the enslaved souls, the same power Sapphire used to keep her body young, to build the new body. If it could repair and heal Sapphire's body for generations, it's not so far a stretch to think it could rebuild that body into a new Betsy.
I prefer Asian psylocke... but, men. At least we get Revanche. She might supplant Betsy as my favorite if shes more kickass.
So basically theu split Betsy and Kwanon by making Betsy build her body.. molecule by molecule ? That isn't Betsy at all nor her powers nor something she can do at all.... WTF. I knew they were gonna bring Kwanon back and as I said before this is fucked up, Like real bad. Now Psylocke in her original body and Kwanon in hers as well. back to the old days when Betsy was still becoming essential for X-Men. She only became so mysterious and more interesting when she swaped with Kwanon, ninja, crimson dawn, etc... I have a feeling this ending is konda temporary for Betsy before she's back to her body.
Maybe she'll later see because building a body isn't her thing and thus maintaining that BUILT body would be hard for her... eh I am out of ideas here...
Even though i like one thing. Betsy got back to my to do a lot of work by herself which is super badass
AKO, she didn't rebuild her body using her own powers, she tapped into all the lifeforce inside Styx to do so.
Anyway, I am very pleased with this issue. Psylocke hasn't been this creative and resourceful with her telepathy in years. She was badass.
Using other mutants' powers in different ways when taking over their minds isn't such a new thing in the X-Men universe. Remember when Emma Frost took over Iceman's body. I think we got a pleasing story for both - the fans of Caucasian Betsy and the fans of Asian Betsy. I wonder what plans they have for the Asian body.
Creating her body molecule by molecule wasn't Psylocke's power, she used Sapphire's ability to re-create the body.
I'm assuming those confused didn't bother to read the issue yet and are just basing their opinion off a brief summary lol
Thank god, she did not take Sapphire Styx’s body as we feared she might. This is a bit of wonky storytelling, but I’m willing to accept thay based on the lifeforces of others she can harness their power to rebuild herself. It would have been great of they would have tied in Jamie or Sinister, but now that I thibk of it, that might have still been more manipulation of Betsy which she took a stand against with this, so this works.
Also, for everyone wanting Kwannon to be explored, that may happen. Personally, I think they should let Kwannon ride off into the sunset to enjoy her new lease on life and second chance without Matsu’o and Nyorin and all their drama.
Plus Betsy now has real eyes versus bionic implants controlled by Mojo.
Win/Wim for both women. I am pleased. Most of all since Betsy showed that she is a warrior in spirit and has always been, and was quite crafty in her power display.
It’s funny and ironiic how so many told us who wanted Betsy retored told us that if we were true fans of the character we would just accept her in Kwannon’s body, but now that the shoe is on the other foor thay they are talking about how Psylocke is now dead to them and looking for excuses to stop stanning for the character. Double-standard much? :-p
She is still the same woman. In fact, she is now truly the woman she always yearned to be. I’m pumped to see what’s in store for our girl with her new beginning after coming full circle.
Interesting story, though we know that it's not the end of the whole Psylocke/Revanche saga, and it is as much of a tangled web as the Jean Grey/Phoenix relationship. It's never ending...
At least Brexit Betsy :) got what she wanted, let's see if the finances of the X-men can sustain such an exit from the ethnically diverse telepath, who so many people have learn to appreciate for the past 30 years. I reckon that Betsy will merge back with Kwannon in the near future, or even rebuild her body in the shape of Kwannon...molecule by molecule (I guess she can now manipulate matter at the molecular level??? not atomic?)
Oh, and please forgive my atrocious grammar and spelling errors above. I am typing on a bloody smartphone versus a desktop. That being said, I enjoy our conversations and debates and dig all of you. Just pointing out that some of you who got on us about not being true fans of the character if we could bot accept her fully in Kwannon-face or now being really fickle with your loyalty now that she has her own face back and even going as far as saying that Kwannon if back may be your new favorite. LOL.
I do hope whoever this is in the Japanese body is not telepathic and only has Kwannon’s very subtle empathic power and nothing else. And is never seen or heard from again.
:-)
I think Rahsaan already said everything I wanted to say, so... yeah. Not the best explanation for the return of her original body, but it's acceptable; at least it IS her body, not Sapphire's with some lavender hair dye.
The Asian body still being alive is probably the only messy part, since Sapphire had already declared it dead (plus, Kwannon's soul allegedly moved to a higher plane of existence long ago, so how and why would she even come back now?).
And while everyone else here will be talking only about Psylocke, I must say I'm glad Storm and Rogue got to do something before the miniseries ended, but the way these two women were treated in this story overall is still offensive. They deserved much better than being stuck inside a rocket and doing nothing for the majority of the story.
I don't mind her going back to her body. It is her right and of course something she wanted for a long time. Just the bad writing like Japanese body somehow alive and that sudden change. I mean come to think of it this and Adamantium agenda are the two conclusions with big changes to the character
Only thing I can think of is yes, it's actually Kwannon some how back in her own body or it's Sapphire or one of the souls she's consumed. I'm thinking it's more the former then the later options.
It was nice seeing Betsy be creative & sneaky with her TP. It was a nice mix of physical & mental. I know that some people hate that she's always up close & personal in combat & like it when she's shown being more deceptive & ranged in combat.
I'm just wondering if it's Kwannon, will she be written as the empath she was originally described has or will it be like the early 90's when both were telepaths & manifesting swords?
@Rahsaan this must be why I loved this story so much. Betsy getting her body from Sinister or Jamie would be another manipulation, a woman forced on something she didn't want by a man. Instead, we have Betsy making her own choice and living the way she wants. That's just brilliant.
Guys, I know it’s a comic book and all and we already are doing impossible things with people molecularly restructuring themselves. That being said, I have one gripe with editorial. No one thought that Betsy should have remanifested as blonde and naked, only to later re-dye her hair and then decide on a new uniform??? Attentions to detail do matter, but who am I kidding? This is Marvel.
LMFAO.
Well, her Astral form was blonde and naked. I think her lavender hair and eyes are now natural and that's how she built her body according to her taste.
"No one thought that Betsy should have remanifested as blonde and naked, only to later re-dye her hair and then decide on a new uniform???"
Did she reappear already in her new uniform? That's nice for a change; Psylocke had a habit of often appearing naked whenever these body swap/teleport/whatever shenanigans happened!
As for the Asian body, if it's Kwannon, please DON'T let her join the X-Men, Marvel! Keep her as far away from Betsy as possible; she has already messed up a lot of Betsy's background... she could go to that new Avengers team that is basically all former supervillains (Loki, Kang, Emma Frost...) plus Kamala Khan.
Just read the issue...underwhelming.
Brotherhood
@FSaker, great idea! Can we trade Kwannon to the Avengers for Bobby and Sam???!!!
LMAOOL!
Even better idea...
Send Kwannon to the Exiles and their Panoptichron Crystal Palace! She can take Elizabeth's place and make her own niche far away from the X-Men.
I really loved it! Full circle! I thought the way she used her powers reminded me of the old psylocke! and the way she would use them in her Out back/fall of mutants days. I think the charecter has split so many people over the years and also with this latest reversal. It seems like it really depends on when you started reading the charecter as to how you see her. For me it was the outback era! but then again i also loved the awesome Remender uxf run! I do however understand that some people have grown up on ninja psylocke and invested a lot of time on her and this new/old betsy might be alien to them,
but I think give it a chance! With the right story lines I think it's going to be interesting to see where she goes from here! How will it affect her? Those around her? Will she develope her powers differently? Also with revanche/kwannon lurking about? If that is her and not one of the other souls escaped! Things might get interesting. For me as long as the storys keep developing Betsy in new and exiting ways I'll always read her regardless of how she looks.
One other question. People keep saying that many fans had no idea of who Betsy used to be before the Kwannon madness and that is why they are so unsettled by this turn of events. Really???
Marvel brings up the fact that she was switched with Kwannon at least 12 times every year. I don't know how anyone who is a fan and reads the books could not know that by now. LOL.
Rahsaan, lol. I first heard of Psylocke as a ninja but only true fans would love her enough to know what she's been through
I noticed she didn't use any fight skills in this issue, only psychic powers.
I'm afraid she lost her ninja abilities.
@AKO, LOL. Again, I stand by statement. How could any fan not know about that she wasn't really Asian aside from having someone else's face? It's literally brought up all the time in the books in dialogue, in monologue, in character descriptions. Anyone who didn't know this must really not be reading the books. LOL. Also, I''ve actually had some newer fans say to me they didn't know she was Asian as she hardly looks Asian half the times she's drawn. LOL.
Marvel was right to undo this mess based on all of the above.
Agreed!I've been blown away by some people going mad on sites and not realising she was even british! or captain britain's twin? But i do think it definitely dependeds on your jumping point with the character and what your used to. If you jumped on pre ninja then it was originally a shock when the swap/merge happened.I was like who's this? Oh right it's psylocke? But then slowly got used to change, likewise as it is now for the pople that have only known ninja psylocke. But I think anyone that was familiar with her preswap self could recognise all the nods to her former self.
I would suggest giving this recent incarnation some time before declaring her weaker, or whatever. Or having lost things. Some things might've just been homage to her pre-Acts days, such as the illusion trick (it was one of her favorites, she /frequently/ used that). There's no indication she's lost her martial arts abilities (and her cover art suggests she still has the psi-knife; a distinct post-Acts addition). As that was something that was practiced constantly, I doubt when putting herself together she went 'Y'know what? I'm going to leave these incredibly useless skills out of my new body'. Long story short, one issue isn't enough to showcase what she's capable of now; I expect that to be explored in future issues in other books.
In terms of her being able to 'build herself a new body', she specifically states that she used the energy built up from STyx to do so. Betsy has always been a high level psion, though depending on that level seems dependent on the writer (in Remender's X-Force, when she was cured of being Death, it was mentioned she was made Omega Level, for instance--I could be remembering this passage wrong however), and there's also the fact that she (depending on the writer) still retains her telekinetic abilities. It is a thing that is not out of the realm of possibility for her--and she again specifies the energy usage, suggesting a one time deal.
This also, to me, calls back to her brother, Jamie's powers. He brought her back to life after her death in X-treme X-men by literally rebuilding her. She... just kind of did the same.
What I find intriguing, outside of the obvious above-table choice to do this, is her choice for this body. To me, this means she's always seen herself, deep down, as this visage. Varying strengths, yes, but always This face.
Jeanette,
WORD!
I loved it.
I noticed she didn't use any psychic weapons or ninja skills, and I have to say I much preferred it.
Not sure how that adds up with her manifesting psychic blades on all the covers though.
But most importantly of all...
KWANNON IS BACK! LONG LIVE REVANCHE!
I hope they don't go the route of making her a generic villain.
I. like it.
Okay, the whole story was a sketchy mess, but they were dealing with a sketchy mess in the first place, so it's not out of line. This miniseries was a device to give Betsy her body back and it accomplished that.
Note: Kwannon is wielding the psychic knife, which suggests we not only have Betsy back from the dead, but we have Revanche back. Sweet.
I had a feeling Kwannon would be back. Great move. Since people already accept her as totally badass, there is already a seed to develop her into a great character in her own right.
I would have to disagree with the others wanting to send her away. You got your Betsy, just be happy. It's really unbelievable to still hear complaints and referring to her as"the Asian body" instead of by her name. That sure raises some eyebrows.
This was the best way to please both camps. Well done!!!
-AO
Welcome back, Elizabeth! You deserve that!
A whole new chapter in your life waits for you!
You have got to meet your lovely niece and
remain as a sea of strenght in an ocean of sensibility
to the X-Men. Welcome back.
Welcome home Psylocke.
Welcome back Kwannon. PLEASE use her real name. Kwannon is literally a Japanese Goddess. I hope she flies or falls on the merits of the character.
Food for thought... there were a ton of souls in Sapphire. Maybe one of them found its way back to the Kwannon body. I mean 99% it's most probably Kwannon... but can you imagine?
The "Patch" psychic echo... I mean... #ThatsHowYouFlameFanboys Haha.
Indeed. Maybe Sapphire's own soul flew into the Asian body before Psylocke exploded her? Weirder things have happened before in Marvel.
And we shouldn't forget that it's the Asian body that appears in the cover for next week's Dead Ends one-shot, so maybe whoever is now inside it will play a role in the story...
Let us be clear on something: this is an energy-based REPLICA of the character's original body. It is not the actual thing. It would have made more sense that after Psylocke's soul was free, that it would go back to the only existing body that housed it. For whatever reason, the creative team though that it would be a better idea to make a replica of an outdated idea than to have an Asian woman be Psylocke.
Asian Psylocke was a multi-layered survivor who had already defined herself on her own terms. This "original" Psylocke looks and acts pretty basic when her hands and eyes are not glowing.
The "Asian body" spoke Japanese. It's highly unlikely that Saphire Styx took up Kwannon's body instantly becoming fluent in Japanese and being able to generate a psychic blade - a feat that needs some training.
Messy ending. Not the original body, Kwannon alive? Reconstructing a body at molecule level ? Hate that new costume and really hope Betsy keeps her ninja skills nd this new body because , how many times are they going to change her body ?? Still, i love Betts and always will as a whole not just as a body has many of her fans here do. I still think this was a bad idea though and her worst costume design ever but I am excited to see this new phase in her life! :)
Mixed feelings on this.
I preferred ninja/Asian Psylocke, and a few years ago I would've been very resistant if not totally opposed to switching her back.
But I'm more open to it now.
Betsy's grown beyond the body-swap thing and there was nothing really more to be done with it. And even with her old body back (or restored or whatever you want to call it), it's not like her years as a ninja didn't happen. There's no reason she can't still be a bad-ass martial artist.
Or at least I hope that's the case. Because the thing that's worrying me now is they're going to reduce Betsy to purely a telepath who never engages physically while the Asian body (Kwannon I suppose) will keep the fighter/ninja stuff.
And if that's the case, all they'll have done is take my favorite character and split her in twine. I liked the whole package of Betsy/Psylocke. The butterfly telepath who was also a kick-ass ninja.
This is taking a ten and turning her into two fives.
So I hope Betsy hasn't lost her ninja qualities entirely. Aside from not making a whole lot of sense (martial arts are a learned skill not tied to the body you happen to occupy), I think that would be a terrible regression for the character, alienating for the fans who know her best as a ninja, and profoundly lame to boot.
I don't know anything about this new Asian body character (assuming it isn't Kwannon). And even if it is Kwannon, what the hell do I care about her? I liked Betsy.
I guess we'll see where they go with this, but I really do hope Psylocke's ninja qualities haven't been jettisoned.
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