Written by: Tim Seeley
Art by: Nico Leon
Cover by: Derrick Chew
Variant Cover by: Pablo Villalobos
Variant Cover by: Skottie Young
Variant Cover by: Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau
Versus Elektra Variant Cover by: TBD
Foil Variant Cover by: Dike Ruan
X-Men Trading Card Variant Cover by: Juan Frigeri
Variant Cover by: Nogi San
On sale 1/21
BETSY BRADDOCK: MUTANT, X-MAN... NINJA!
Flashback to a time when Psylocke was reborn into the ultimate killing machine. What sacrifice did Betsy make to save the X-Men? Why did the Hand choose Psylocke to be their weapon? And what does it have to do with their former assassin... Elektra?! Discover the answers to these questions and more in a lost story from the X-Men’s past!
“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.
23 comments:
Imagine if this story actually makes Betsy's side of the story seem more sympathetic and the general audience loves her again
General audiences have always loved her as an ninja and understood that it wasn’t her choice. She was at her most popular this way, and “general audiences” have found her “fixed” status as bland and uninteresting, as sales demonstrate.
I think she'd be fine as a ninja in her own body, like Kwannon was in Betsy's body as Revanche.
I also think most general audiences liked Betsy in Dissasembled it kinda mixed her ninja skills with some new ones.
I think her being written as CB is what they find bland overall (because the role doesn't fit her personalit).
It just kinda happened fairly soon after she regained her original body so I think a lot associate the 2 with each other.
I'd love if she would return to Dissasembled Psylocke.
Disassembled was a nothingburger, imo. She was barely around, using her powers like twice. The one inner character moment from that time period is when she is crying to Jean about being in her old body WHICH SHE CREATED HERSELF out of thin air. None of that made ANY sense. Why is she unhappy, she did it? Why not make is Asian if she didn’t like her old body? Why not fix it now if she can create and switch bodies so easily? It’s been utter nonsense ever since Zeb Wells’s mini.
@Someguy That's factually wrong, Jean and Betsy were the ones who got the most panel time and actual development. She never cried because she was back in her original body — she struggled with readjusting to it, which is a perfectly normal and very human reaction.
Factually, that’s wrong. Jean get la the most time, but followed by Kitty Pryde and Bishop. And what development did Besty supposedly get during this time exactly? Being Jean’s helper?
And first of all, crying because you “struggled” to adjust being in a body IS INDEED crying about being back in that body. Secondly, how is crying about adjusting to being back in your own body (that you picked out and created) a “normal human reaction”?
Nobody apart from Jean had character moments worth recalling in Disassembled, because she was the only one with real ties to the plot. That's like saying Betsy was the star in X-Tinction Agenda and Inferno, because she had a handful of fierce fight scenes.
Also, who remembers anything from Disassembled at all? Other than its being a poor man's Legion Quest.
@Some Guy, please refer us to the issue when she cried. I am asking sincerely with no shade as I recall something completely different than what you are referring to. I distinctly recall one panel pre-Disassembled when the Avengers visited the mansion and were shocked to see the original Betsy and she was withdrawn. Kitty explained to them that she was psychologically unpacking being back in her original body. I agree that made no sense as she was clearly happy and empowered being herself again at the end of the Madripoor mini. However, we never saw her crying about it. Unless you’re using the word crying figuratively to describe that one panel with het sitting alone drinking a warm beverage and asking Kitty and the Avengers for privacy.
As for the actual Disassembled era that came after the forementioned singular panel, she pretty much used her powers in every single issue in an array of forms (both telekinesis and telepathy) and her defining characteristic moments that rang true were:
1. Her freeing Warren from Nate Grey’s hold.
2. Her having Warren fly her up to acrobatically jump off and ambushe Ororo, plunging her psychic sword into the latter’s psyche to free her.
3. Her sending Bishop into Nate Grey/David Haller almagamation’s mind to save those imprisoned.
All pretty solid, standout moments that were on-brand for Betsy’s persona and character.
And then post-Disassembled during Age of X-Man was the one time she actually did cry about an implanted memory when telling Blob about her eating disorder being tied to her dysmorphia which she fel free from in Kwannon’s body. However, that backstory was one that Nate Grey created for her and planted in her mind as he did for all the mutants in his newly created universe to preoccupy them and not have anyone challenging his made-up reality, so I would say that also doesn’t count.
Not interested in this suit, or this "POPULAR" version of Psylocke. I'm a heavy disliker of the Ninja thong, and Ninja in general. I don't care how popular she is in this silly suit. Not a fan.
I'll skip this one, and hope she gets her name and legacy back one day. I love Betsy, can't stand Ninja nonsense anymore. I hated it in GI JOE, and can't even stomach the turtles anymore.
When I say “like 2” times and the big refutation is that it’s actually 3, it just proves my point.
@Some guy, those three examples are way more standout moments than most got in that large ensemble cast, so that is something.
100%
This argument is futile. Neither side of the Body Ware will concede. I honestly disbelieve the return to her original body is the problem. The problem is that Marvel decided to strip her of all ger Psylocke traits. Had she been in the hands of a Hickman, Ewing, or Remender and remained Psylocke to boot she would be just as popular. I don’t think people are necessarily attached to her having an East Asian phenotype because at least half her time in that body, she was drawn to look like a European woman who was olive-skinned. Hell, some of the time, Kwannon is depicted the same way, including in her own solo which is hella disrespectful. Alyssa Wong should be on the artists and editors’ asses about that, but that’s a whole other topic.
Rahsaan, first of all, let me give you props for being a true class act here. I'm saying that as one of the occasional pests on this board.
Secondly, the problem is not her birth body. The problem is Kwannon. I can't speak for Some guy, but for me, Disassembled Psylocke was just a quick blip on the radar before sending the character off and replacing her without much hassle, as was the plan from the start, when the body switch was undone. You cannot have two Psylockes, and it's already too late to go into this direction; let's stop recycling this debate.
If you ask me what I want, as someone who grew up with East Asian Psylocke, it's Betsy in her ninja garb and her birth body, and Kwannon written out of the stories for good. That's the only way the noise will shimmer down everywhere.
On a side note: criticising artists' falling short of depicting people of colour accurately needs its limits. Let's acknowledge that those people have to dig through insurmountable deadlines and are often underpaid; the fact that Marvel hire domestic artists more and more rarely is proof of that.
I know this would never happen because Cebulski would probably rather lose his left foot to diabetes than ever change Kwannon this drastically, but the rumor of Rogue having a baby or as TomB put it "an established x-women is going to have a baby" a long those lines, it would be IMO organic if Kwannon had a baby with Greycrow or whatever his face is called, due to Kwannon losing her child. She now has her life back and a now love that isn't manipulating her and this would be her chance at a real family again.
Kwannon being pregnant would be sidelined naturally and it would be so cool of Cyclops went to Betsy like "hey we need a Psylocke and K is out of commission for a while" and then whenever K has her baby she would have this revelation that she doesn't want to be the dangerous Psylocke anymore and risk losing this child, relegatingt her to a smaller role and NOT Psylocke.
That would be so much more organic and natural than when Kwannon took the mantle and costume cause... she blamed Betsy LOL Imagine hating someone so you take their name and costume.. right
The thing is: tini howard turn betsy in a shit character. And Marvel office glad applauded. They took every aspect of betsy and give it to k. And give supposedly cool and New attributes (to her). She did it The same to Rachel.
I think people forget that if Logan, Kitty and Elektra can be ninjas so can Betsy; she doesn’t need to be in an Asian body. But we know for a fact that because of business an IP they have Kwannon the Psylocke mantle because she was a true Asian character. Even though she was a retcon. I hope this mini clears the way for there to be two Psylocke’s OR she just goes by her name now like Emma and Jean did for a long time.
@Poetry, thanks. I appreciate you. 💜 And noted about Alyssa and other non-white creators on the system they have to abide by when under Marvel/Disney’s rule.
A treat for everyone to lighten the mood. I really wish this creator was the one officially writing and drawing Elizabeth. Their Instagram fan-fiction is better than everything we have seen of Betsy in the last seven years:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP63svgDo-W/?igsh=MTI2dndqa3RjMDNmNw==
Well, this mini series is as interesting as unexpected!
A new writer is a breath of fresh air! We might have a great 2026 start to Elizabeth! I wonder if/what retcons wiil possibly be brought, particularly concerning the Siege Perilous!
Thanks for sharing crimsontt instagram @Rahsaan! Their tumblr fanfic is fabulous!!
Agreed @Rahsaan on all counts.
I didn't remember any scene crying with Jean either.
For me she really shone in Dissasembled.
At one point Warren was mind controlled and abandoned her and she really couldn't care less and was like "guess I'll try out these new weapons lol.
I thought she was pretty authorities at points whether telling them to pull their punches with the natives, or telling Nightcrawler to get them out of there.
I loved her grabbing multiple man by the neck and drilling a psychic knife in his head.
She and Jean worked great as a team to shut down Jamie (multiple man).
They sent her out of everyone to take down Storm, and then the other psychics basically said they needed her to defeat X-man/Legion.
She had a lot of stand out moments i think & most importantly she was written with the right personality and in character imo.
I also enjoyed her in Hunt for Wolverine as well, the minute she got her body back she was doing those trick illusions like the old days and contemplating killing Magneto lol.
It's only when TH took over that Betsy imo was severely written out of character and CB just doesn't fit her personality to me.
I do find it interesting that in Kwannon's solo book they had revisited her time as Revanche in Betsy's body, and now Betsy revisits Psylocke in Kwannon's body.
Definitely gonna grab to support Betsy :)
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