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.
37 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 :)
I am all in for anything Betsy related, even if it's a flashback. I think this miniseries will be to reinforce the retcon (that Betsy took over Kwannon's body). I wouldn't be surprised if Tim Seeley gives Betsy psychic clues that perhaps Kwannon still existed underneath her base persona. I feel like this will be a Betsy Braddock book about Kwannon. Elektra will probably have some kind of retconned history with Kwannon.
Just want to manage my expectations, as it seems like everyone including editorial and most fans on social media have turned against Betsy the character.
@Flying Negro, if they do that, it will be a complete retcon that makes even further confuses everyone because as we saw a few retcons ago, Kwannon’s soul/mind was inhabiting Betsy’s body during the time when Betsy was being conditioned to be a Hand assassin. However, these editors never seek to have a good grasp on continuity, so I will not be shocked if you end up being correct.
@Edu, my pleasure. Crimsontt is awesome!
Yeah that would be an awful idea and mistake imo
@Rahsaan and @flyingnegro it would really be bad though because in Kwannon's recent book they just acknowledged her time as Revanche in Betsy's body.
So they definitely just again recently confirmed they were in each other's bodies.
If they tried to act like that didn't happen, then Kwannon's mini she just had wouldn't make sense lol.
@Rahsaan and @X-Man - I don't think they would pretend the body switch didn't happen, but I think they would justify Tini Howard's retcon by making up some means of Kwannon's soul still being present. Even though we saw her die, we saw Matsuo Tsurayaba cleanse Kwannon's full memories and personality from Betsy's psyche. I feel like they want people to blame Betsy for the whole body swap thing still. In an odd way, Betsy was sacrificed to give Kwannon some angst and a storyline, even though she still remains a rather generic character. Alyssa Wong tried with their recent Psylocke run, which was not bad, but I still don't see Kwannon as an essential character, nor has she really had any memorable moments with the X-Men outside of the body swap saga. She is still just a body and a powerset. She never had her "welcome to the X-Men" moment. She didn't need to come back after Betsy was returned to a semblance of her true form.
To be fair, it was really Jim Zub that decided to re-introduce Kwannon after Betsy returned to her original body. Apparently Zub did not read Nicieza's run, lol.
Betsy is now a D-List character after more than three decades. Thanks to poor choices by a few writers...Fabian Nicieza, Sam Humphries, Jim Zub, and finally the final nail in Betsy's coffin...Tini Howard. Except for Geoff Thorne, each new writer just keeps making the Betsy situation worse, which is why I am setting my expectations low for Tim Seeley.
Im am a little more hopful that this can be a starting point to reset Betsy. I hope this series is what I was advocating for, the idea of revisiting Betsy’s past leading up to the body swap but not dwelling on the Kwannon mess. I say that because in the solicitation they mention “the sacrifice she made for the X-Men.” That immediately brings to mind the moment when Betsy, on her own, used her abilities to send the team through the Siege Perilous, a pivotal event in X-Men canon that has never really been examined in depth. What exactly did she sacrifice there?
Betsy desperately needs a reset, a return to who she was before the body swap. She had her own distinct power set back then, with abilities and traits that were dropped in favor of the new persona that emerged after the swap. I’m hopeful that this story might serve as a way to explore that, especially if it’s structured as a kind of flashback or internal reflection, Betsy looking back, trying to untangle the mess she was forced into.
My real hope here is that this will lead to her shedding the Captain Britain persona, which to me was just another kind of body swap, another identity imposed on her that pulled her further from her core self. It would be great to see her step away from that and reclaim her own sense of identity. That would also help her put the Tini Howard era behind her, which never really felt like Betsy’s story.
Bringing Elektra into the mix adds another powerful layer. She, too, was violated by the Hand, her body stolen, her mind corrupted, and her identity weaponized against her will. In that sense, Betsy and Elektra share a painful common thread. Neither can be villainized for what was done to them, both were victims of manipulation and control. If the writers lean into that parallel, it could finally acknowledge that Betsy, Kwannon, and Elektra were all violated by the Hand in different but equally profound ways, and that none of them should bear the blame for surviving what was done to them.
And I want to add that what happened with the Hand and Betsy was not the first time she was manipulated body and mind. Mojo abducted her, changed her, gave her cybernetic eyes that were secretly used to spy on the X-Men, and I hope this new story eventually leads her back to Mojo and Spiral, who in my opinion, have always been her true tormentors. That angle has never been fully revisited and has nothing to do with Kwannon, beyond the fact that Spiral admitted to helping facilitate the body swap. The Mojoverse connection feels far more uniquely Betsy than anything tied to Otherworld. Every great hero has a defining nemesis, and for Betsy, that should be Mojo. Part of her “reset” could be returning her to a world and conflict that belong to her alone, one that has nothing to do with Kwannon. Because I dont think that any writer should go near the Betsy/Kwannon story again, it just gets messier every time someone tries to explain it.
This is all very good but I don’t think the editors are capable of giving it this much depth. I do HOPE that mini does give us some of this though. I just don’t know how to please the Captain Britain fans because they can’t see that the mantle has diminished her.
If only Marvel Editorial used the kind of care you did in your post...Betsy would be in a better place today. Let's hope it's a fully Betsy-centric story arc! Loved the idea about Mojo being her arch enemy.
There any captain britain's fans?
I actually don't mind Betsy with the Captain Britain mantle, but I wish she was closer associated with actual Britain, or even an AU version of it.
My main problem is that while Brian Braddock had clear ties to Great Britain, and his early books even took place in GB, Betsy has the title in name only. It's bad enough that Tini Howard destroyed the mythology by literally having Betsy destroy the Amulet or Right. Logically, Betsy should not have had any CB powers after that. She barely uses her own telepathic powers. She just had generic "powers" most of the time where we didn't see a butterfly signature.
She doesn't have any of the main powers (Super Strength, enhanced reflexes) and while there may have been one or two instances where the gang was in England, she is about as far removed from Britain as T'Challa/Black Panther.
@The Flying Negro to be fair, while I don't like Betsy as CB at all, and definitely ultimately found TH writing to be terrible as well as the personality she gave Betsy,
She didn't do that soul crap retcon, the writer of the Fallen Angels Kwannon series did
The only thing is he didn't give specifics and kinda backed off, my suspension is due to the backlash Betsy fans gave.
We all knew Betsy was victimized.
To TH credit, the only time I actually liked her writing (as much as I could) was when she didn't have Betsy in Otherworld and had her on Krakoa or teaming up with Kwannon.
I kinda liked how she resolved the issue with Betsy and Kwannon where Kwannon finally said "the bad things between them have been done to them" seemingly finally realizing it was never Betsy fault.
I didn't like TH writing overall, but I did think she did better than expected with resolving the nonsense the Fallen Angels writer created.
It was one of the few times I didn't find her writing terrible.
Jmho :)
The fans of CB Betsy are usually the lesbians and they/thems, I remember Betsy was always loved by the gays and now she’s for the lesbians and sapphics thank you TH and Leah Williams! Your little pet fetishized project was a success, I’m just glad TH wasn’t allowed to make Betsy “big and buff” as she put it. Still the damage is done Betsy has completely fallen off and I knew this where we would be with the character the moment I saw the solicits for Excalibur and Fallen Angels way back when
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