As Betsy Braddock celebrates 50 years of adventures across the Marvel Universe, it's time to look back at the characters, creators, stories, costumes, powers, relationships, and unforgettable moments that have defined her history. From her earliest days in the pages of Captain Britain to her decades as Psylocke, her time with the X-Men, X-Force, Excalibur, and beyond, this poll is your chance to celebrate your favorite parts of Betsy's incredible journey.
Cast your votes below and help determine the fan favorites from Betsy Braddock's first 50 years. You can also use the Other option whenever your personal favorite isn't already listed. The poll will remain open through October 31, 2026, and the final results will be revealed here on the following week.
GamesRadar+: The X-Men have their work cut out for them in the wake of Avengers: Armageddon. As announced by Marvel Comics back at SDCC 2026, writer Christopher Yost and artist Tony S. Daniel will be getting the team back together, so to speak, while the Avengers pick up the pieces in Maximum X-Men this December – and we've got an exclusive preview of the interior art as well as some answers from Yost about what to expect from the new ongoing series.
"In the wake of the events of AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are no more," the official announcement of the Maximum X-Men series reads in part. "So who will stand in defense of the Earth? The X-Men will! Storm gathers an elite team for just that task, including Wolverine, Colossus, Bishop, Iceman, Psylocke, Firestar, and Justice! Mutants by birth, heroes by choice! And their first challenge is a full-on invasion from the Negative Zone! Is this Annihilus again—or something far, far worse?"
One might argue this is answering the question of what the X-Men would be like if they were Avengers, but it's not exactly like it's the first time we've seen mutants step up in this way. As Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios continue to become more aligned, it's also worth noting that Avengers: Doomsday releases later the same month, though it doesn't seem like there will be much in the way of overlap.
Read on to see what Yost has to say about the X-Men, the new ongoing series, and more. You can also see the exclusive interior art, as well as previously revealed covers, for Maximum X-Men #1 below:
GamesRadar+: You previously described this run as having "a classic Claremont vibe." Can you explain what you mean? What is that to you, and what about Maximum X-Men has it?
Christopher Yost: I grew up on Claremont/Romita Jr.X-Men, then went back and discovered the classic Claremont/Byrne era. The Claremont vibe was big adventure, intrigue, real people with character put into positions where they had to be heroes… and soap opera. It was a lot of relationship drama amidst all the super-heroing. And there was fun!
This isn't me reinventing the wheel, this is just classic X-Men… and Maximum X-Men is all that, but probably leaning a little more into the action because it's me.
GamesRadar+: Talk me through the lineup here. There are some obvious picks, and some less-than-obvious ones. What excites you about this team?
Christopher Yost: There are some characters that just scream 'classic X-Men,' when you see a lineup that's got Wolverine, Storm, Colossus… that's X-Men. Psylocke was a newcomer when I was reading, as was Bishop… but they've cemented their places as classic members. Then you've got Firestar who's come in and out of the X-Men world, and Justice who's always leaned 'Avenger.'
But for this story we're looking at people who are all looking for HOPE most of all. They're all heroes, and this is the X-Men standing up and fighting the good fight.
Also, I love Firestar.
GamesRadar+: There have been plenty of X-Men team leaders over the years. What do you think it is about Storm (no stranger to the job herself) that's fundamentally different from the likes of other X-Men team leaders?
Christopher Yost: Compared to Professor X, Cyclops or Rogue, she's just seeing the situation from a different viewpoint. Storm has the confidence and belief in her abilities that comes with being the goddess she is. She has a benevolence to her that she'll never let be mistaken for weakness. There is nothing she won't dare, no power she won't stand up to as she protects the people she cares for. She's also got better style than all of them put together.
GamesRadar+: Everyone has their own take on this, and I'd love to hear yours: what's the purpose of the X-Men?
Christopher Yost: To protect a world that hates and fears them. The X-Men will always do the right thing, they're fighting ignorance as much as supervillains. But in this moment in time for the team, humanity seems to be coming around a little bit. In a world without Avengers… who will save us?
GamesRadar+: What does Tony S. Daniel bring to the table in Maximum X-Men, in your own words? What is it about Daniel's work here that speaks to you most?
Christopher Yost: Not only does Tony love drawing the X-Men, he's killing it on the sheer amount of action we're delivering here. There's a dynamic quality to his art that's just perfect for this kind of book, and the scale of it is something I'm excited for everyone to see. But in the end, it's love. You can tell he just loves the X-Men. And Spider-Man, which I'm gonna get in there. Probably in issue 6.
Maximum X-Men #1 is set to release on December 2, 2026. The upcoming X-Men movie is set to release on May 5, 2028, while Avengers: Doomsday releases December 18, 2026. While you wait, you can always check out our ranking of the best X-Men comics.
Spoilers:At sunrise in Cooterman’s Creek, Bushranger arrives seeking the X-Men’s help, recognizing them through her ability to see mutant auras. She protects the Never Never, a hidden community of mutants who cannot safely blend into human society. The Lava Men have abducted her people, and their ruler, King Basallo, plans to extract their mutant genes to strengthen his own kind. Bushranger was killed during the attack, but her powers allow her to survive as long as someone still believes in her. Havok immediately supports the rescue, while Psylocke tells Storm that Bushranger shows no signs of deception. Madelyne Pryor insists on joining the mission, frustrated at always remaining behind because she has no powers. With Havok’s support, Storm agrees, and Madelyne equips herself with Reaver weapons while Wolverine stays to guard the base.
Bushranger leads the team through the deserted Never Never and into the tunnels beneath it, explaining that the community’s protective mirage could not conceal them from an underground attack. Along the way, Madelyne confides in Havok about her recurring nightmares of fire and her suspicions about Bushranger’s interest in him. They soon confront Basallo, who claims that sacrificing the mutants fulfills his duty to his people and the Mother Core. When he refuses to release the prisoners, the X-Men attack, with Madelyne fighting alongside them. Basallo unleashes a cloud of ash that blinds the team while allowing his soldiers to move freely. Psylocke counters by locating the Lava Men telepathically, linking their minds with her own, and sharing that awareness with Dazzler and Longshot. Surrounded by Betsy’s psychic butterflies, her teammates can target their enemies without seeing them. Storm then disperses the ash with her winds.
Bushranger confronts Basallo directly, enduring his burning touch as she fights him. When the king launches another attack, Havok pushes her to safety and takes the blast himself. Madelyne rushes to Alex’s side, while Bushranger continues battling Basallo, eventually taking his staff and turning it against him. The king boasts that his people cannot be killed, but Storm demonstrates that the molten metal within their bodies conducts electricity. She threatens to unleash far greater voltage unless he frees the mutants and leaves the Never Never alone, while Bushranger promises to pursue the Lava Men relentlessly if they refuse. Although his guards remain willing to fight, Basallo finally chooses to spare them further suffering and orders the prisoners released.
After the rescue, Madelyne confronts Bushranger for failing to check on Havok, but Bushranger explains that his aura already told her he was safe. She introduces Mirror, whose powers conceal their community, before affectionately reuniting with her longtime partner, Buckland. Madelyne realizes that she has misread Bushranger’s interest in Alex: Bushranger perceives beauty through mutant auras and finds Buckland beautiful regardless of his unusual appearance. Bushranger thanks Madelyne for helping without special powers, suggesting that more people like her might make hiding unnecessary. She also promises that her community will protect the secret of the X-Men’s survival, grateful that the team put the captives’ safety before its own secrecy. When she says they did not have to risk themselves, Storm firmly disagrees.
Meanwhile, in the Mojoverse, Master Molto presents Mojo with footage of a new kill squad, the Execution Producers, murdering civilians to musical accompaniment. His Murder Video Channel is ready, but Mojo decides that the killers alone are not enough: the program needs a recognizable star. Confident that he knows the perfect lead, Mojo prepares to contact someone from Longshot’s little black book.
Tony Daniel has shared a first look at how Betsy Braddock will appear in Maximum X-Men, giving fans an early glimpse at the character through a new sketch posted on his Instagram.
ComicBook.com:
First debuting in Captain Britain #1 in 1976, Brian Braddock and his twin sister Betsy have grown to be beloved characters over the decades with deep ties to plenty of major Marvel teams, including the X-Men, the Avengers, and even a literal league of their own, the Captain Britain Corps. To celebrate this major milestone moment for the characters, an all-new special, Captain Britain 50th Anniversary Special #1, hits shelves on October 14th, featuring stories by Dan Abnett, Chris Claremont, and Alan Davis celebrating the past, present, and future of the heroes, and ComicBook had a chance to chat with Davis, looking back on his place in Captain Britain history — and a little tease of his new story in the upcoming special.
Chris Claremont and Paul Davidson: “Braddock Business”
Alan Davis: “Chains of Command”
Dan Abnett and Kelsey Ramsay: “Another Day, An Otherworld”
One of the things that is interesting about any major comics milestone is looking back at where things were at any given point in the character’s timeline. For Davis, Captain Britain’s story is a big part of his own story as a creator, as Davis wasn’t a full-time comics creator at the time. Davis explained that when he started, the work was just for fun — and uncertain.
“When I started working on Captain Britain, it was just for fun,”Davis said. “I had a full-time job and Marvel UK could only afford to produce five or six pages a month so it never felt like Captain Britain would survive for too long. Paul Neary was the mastermind behind the relaunch and he chose myself and Dave Thorpe because of our enthusiasm — and the fact that we would work for cheap.”
Being a good bargain aside, however, Davis did say that he feels lucky that he got to be such an important part of Captain Britain’s history with his work on the character’s major redesign in 1981.
“I feel lucky to have been in the right place at the right time to be offered the chance to work on and redesign Captain Britain,”Davis said, though he also noted that he isn’t one to guess where the future goes, having been surprised by the character’s continued longevity.
“As for the future, who knows,” he added. “I figured Captain Britain would have fizzled out over forty years ago.”
Of course, Captain Britain isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The upcoming anniversary special is offering up three stories for Brian and Betsy. Davis’s story has been described as showing readers what happens when you try to rein in a Braddock, and Davis offered up a bit of insight as to what fans can expect from Brian Braddock.
“Brian Braddock is an old-fashioned patriot.” he said. “He respects tradition and the values of his forbears but he hates the bureaucrats who use their positions within the ‘System’ for personal gain. Brain doesn’t challenge the system head on but he does score points whenever the opportunity presents itself.”
The three stories will offer up that past, present, future approach to celebrating the iconic characters. Chris Claremont and Paul Davidson bring “Braddock Business” to the book, while Davis’s story is “Chains of Command.” Rounding out the trio is “Another Day, An Otherworld” by Dan Abnett and Kelsey Ramsay. You can check out pages from each story for yourself above. The book itself will go on sale October 14th.
X-Men: Outback #4 Writer: Steve Orlando Art by: Roi Mercado Cover by: Russell Dauterman
The Story:
The Morlocks of the Outback are in trouble — and only the X-Men can help! Havok and Madelyne Pryor must help the Morlocks of Australia escape from the Lava Men! Can even Havok withstand the heat? Will these X-Men be able to establish a truce between the Lava Men and the Morlocks before Maddie’s fiery visions of the future come true?
Maximum X-Men writer Chris Yost has shared another exciting tease from the upcoming series, this time offering fans a glimpse at the script for Maximum X-Men #3. The excerpt features Betsy Braddock inviting Storm over for tea, giving us an early look at what appears to be a quieter and more personal moment between the two longtime X-Men. Yost had previously teased that Betsy and Ororo would “have tea” in the series, and this new script preview confirms that the scene will indeed make it onto the page. Check out Yost’s post below:
Marvel has shared more details about the upcoming Captain Britain 50th Anniversary Special in this week’s X-Mentions column featured across the X-books. While the special’s creative teams had already been announced, the new description reveals that Alan Davis’ story will feature Captain Britain facing the unstoppable Fury, while Dan Abnett and Kelsey Ramsay’s contribution will follow an atypical day in the life of Betsy Braddock, the current Captain Britain, described as a can’t-miss chapter in the ongoing story of one of mutantkind’s strongest warriors. The issue will also include a story by Chris Claremont and Paul Davidson set during the earliest days of Brian Braddock’s adventures.
Captain Britain 50th Anniversary Special will be released on October 14, 2026.
Spoilers: X-Force followed the pull of the Opal of Ozymandias to an ordinary-looking American town secretly controlled by Clan Akkaba. Psylocke sensed that nearly every mind nearby had been fitted with psi-blockers, yet she also detected an ancient presence drawing the opal toward it. Although she did not believe they had found War, the signal suggested that they were finally closing in on the Horseman’s trail.
While Jubilee and Sunspot posed as stranded travelers, an elderly resident welcomed them inside before he and his wife revealed themselves as armed cultists. After subduing the pair, Jubilee warned Cable that the entire town appeared to serve Apocalypse. Cable, Psylocke, and Archangel encountered similar resistance inside the local elementary school, where they defeated more followers and stole their freshly laundered robes to infiltrate the Clan’s gathering.
At the ceremony, Ozymandias rejected a worshipper’s request to use Apocalypse’s rejuvenation chamber, insisting that it belonged only to his master and the woman chosen to stand beside him. He then presented Famine—Autumn Rolfson—wearing a bridal dress. Ozymandias recalled how her uncontrollable mutant power once caused food to wither in her hands until Apocalypse transformed her, while Famine boasted that she could now destroy far more than what was on her plate.
Convinced that Famine could bear Apocalypse’s heir, Ozymandias called her a far better candidate than Pestilence. He then warned her about Candra, who had joined Apocalypse after Rama-Tut’s defeat and became the only woman he regarded as his near-equal. Candra secretly persuaded him to share a fragment of his power, then attacked him in a moment of weakness and fled, using the stolen energy to become an immortal External—a betrayal Apocalypse never forgave.
Before the ritual could continue, Exodus arrived with his Acolytes and denounced Apocalypse as a fallen prophet, arguing that Magneto’s vision offered mutantkind a nobler path. Exodus then revealed that he had penetrated Ozymandias’s psi-blockers and that locating one of Apocalypse’s rejuvenation chambers had been his true objective all along. He intended to use the chamber to resurrect Magneto. As the rival factions confronted one another, Cable searched Ozymandias’s quarters and recovered enough prophecies to anticipate War’s next moves.
Ozymandias refused to surrender the chamber, and fighting erupted after Famine struck one of the Acolytes. Exodus ordered his followers to defend one another, while Ozymandias branded them apostates and commanded Clan Akkaba to purge them. After recognizing Rusty and Skids among the Acolytes, Jubilee warned X-Force that although they had entered the town searching for a man named War, an entirely different kind of war had found them instead.
Maximum X-Men writer Chris Yost has been sharing a few early teases about Betsy Braddock while chatting with fans on Bluesky, including one particularly charming detail involving Storm. Yost revealed that Betsy and Ororo Munroe will share tea together in the series, teasing a quieter moment between the longtime friends and X-Men teammates.
Yost also offered a fun detail about Betsy’s powers when a fan asked whether Maximum X-Men would feature her psychic butterfly, psy-knife, psychic sword, and psychic staff. His response was: “So far everything but the staff is in there, all psychic constructs.” In other words, Betsy is already set to use several of her most iconic psychic manifestations throughout the series, including weapons and imagery associated with different periods of her history.
Spoilers: In the Mojoverse, Master Molto attempts to convince Mojo to approve his proposed new program, Murder Television, promising an even more brutal form of entertainment for his audience. Meanwhile, an older threat begins moving against the X-Men in Australia. Long ago, in the microscopic realm of Sub-Atomica, the Lich Duke Yaga Dyara conquered the wandering mystic Grishka, a secret member of the Rasputin bloodline. With his dying breath, Grishka cursed the Duke, promising that one day he would fall to a Rasputin. In the present, Betsy Braddock finds Piotr Rasputin painting alone in the Australian wilderness and recognizes that he is struggling with the weight of his family name, Illyana’s fate, Mikhail, and the recent rebirth that has left him questioning his place in the world. Betsy understands that burden intimately and urges him not to let his family history define him. Their conversation is interrupted when she is struck by an overwhelming empathic surge of fear and hatred. Yaga Dyara arrives with the undead Rotwave, declaring that he has come for Rasputin blood, and Piotr immediately puts himself between the monsters and Betsy.
As Piotr is overwhelmed and dragged away, Psylocke desperately sends a psychic call to the other X-Men. Yaga Dyara reveals that he knows exactly who Piotr is: a cousin of Grishka and part of the bloodline destined to destroy him. He intends to eliminate every remaining Rasputin, including Illyana. Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Havok, Dazzler and Longshot answer Betsy’s call and attack the Rotwave, but Betsy remains focused on Piotr, calling his name again and again until she can barely detect his consciousness beneath the darkness surrounding him. Unable to reach him physically, she enters his mind. There she finds Piotr retreating into fatalism, wondering whether the Rasputin bloodline itself is cursed and whether everything should simply end with him. Betsy refuses to let him surrender. She tells him that even if every Rasputin before him were gone, he would still have a family—the people outside fighting for him, including her. She reminds him that Illyana would never have allowed him to give up and finally asks whether he is really going to make his friends fight for him alone. Her words reach him, and Piotr’s anger and will return with explosive force.
Colossus tears himself free and confronts Yaga Dyara while the rest of the X-Men battle the spreading Rotwave. Betsy continues operating on several fronts at once. While maintaining her psychic connection to Piotr, she penetrates what remains of the Rotwave creatures’ minds and gives them a new command: devour your own. The undead are forced to turn on one another, dramatically weakening the Duke’s army. Yaga Dyara nevertheless proves powerful enough to rot and wither even Colossus’s armored body, boasting that he will destroy the Rasputin line and tear Illyana apart after Piotr. At the moment when Piotr seems closest to death, the spirit of Grishka appears. Grishka reveals that Yaga Dyara lied about having exterminated the entire family: Grishka alone fell to him, while the Rasputin line survived. He provides Piotr with the words of a spell, explaining that the dead can empower it but only the living can banish the Duke. Piotr recites the incantation, and the combined power of the living Rasputin and his dead ancestor opens a microscopic gateway that drags Yaga Dyara, his warriors and the Rotwave back to their own realm and seals the passage behind them.
Grishka remains just long enough to heal Piotr’s ravaged flesh, telling his cousin that healing his heart will have to be Piotr’s own work, before disappearing like a shooting star. Betsy stays close to Piotr afterward, and their earlier conversation becomes much more personal. Back where he had been painting, Piotr considers whether the damage caused by the attack might become part of the artwork rather than something to erase. Betsy applies the same idea to his family: one miraculous relative cannot wash the Rasputins’ history clean, but Piotr can change what the name means through the man he chooses to be. When Piotr observes that she seems to believe in him, Betsy admits that she saw something beautiful when she was inside his mind. He then turns the question back on her and asks what she found there—whether he is a friend, a lover, or something caught between the two—and who exactly she was trying to save when she threw herself into his pain. Betsy cannot give the relationship a simple name but admits that she could not allow his suffering to continue and that he has become someone she cannot imagine being without. Neither is ready to risk pushing things further, so they agree not to let that uncertainty change what they already mean to one another. Betsy makes him promise that the next time he paints, he will put people into his world; when Piotr suggests perhaps beginning with her, she happily accepts the deal.
Hours later, Madelyne Pryor sits with Havok and admits that she feels useless beside the X-Men because she spent the crisis watching from the monitors while Colossus nearly died. Havok tells her that not everyone contributes in the same way and that simply remaining with the team and helping however she can still matters. He admits that he looks to her for strength, but Madelyne is frightened by how much others may depend on her while she continues to struggle with nightmares and the lingering terror surrounding her own past. Havok understands the feeling more than he initially lets on: beneath his reassurance, he confesses that sometimes he feels as though he is only barely holding himself together.
Find out what really happened between Psylocke and Colossus in the Australian Outback in tomorrow’s X-Men: Outback #3—and what the issue reveals about the complicated bond that had been quietly developing between Betsy Braddock and Piotr Rasputin.
A fascinating new behind-the-scenes revelation sheds light on the decision to portray Psylocke as Betsy Braddock in X-Men '97. During an interview with theSolving for X-Men podcast, director Emmett Yonemura revealed that the subject was debated among the show's staff.
Ultimately, Betsy's portrayal received strong support from Yonemura and assistant director David Maximo, both Asian members of the production team, who stood up for the character and recognized the narrative importance of remaining faithful to Psylocke's history during the period in which the series is set.
Solving for X-Men Podcast: Speaking of a little show called X-Men '97, I wanted to know: when you were directing Psylocke, did you know who you were directing? Did you know if it was Betsy or if it was Kwannon? Did they tell you that, or...? 'Cause there's the whole controversy.
Emmett Yonemura: Yeah, you know, there is. And at one point, the showrunner was almost making me feel a little bit token-like: "Well, how do you feel about this 'cause you're half Japanese?" And I'm like, "Oh God, I'm not that close to this character. I'm not that close to this character." But I was like, "Yeah, it does feel a little weird to have, I guess, a bit of cultural appropriation." It was also the way it was phrased to me, just, "It's offensive, right?" And I was like, "Yes, it's offensive. I'm [laughter] totally offended."
But then I asked [David] Maximo, one of Chase [Conley]'s assistant directors for his episodes, and he's a huge Psylocke fan. And as soon as he heard that there was even a debate going on, he was like, "How dare you? This is totally a part of her character. It doesn't—no one's looking at it from some sort of racist standpoint. It's just—it's what happened to these two women, and this is what's going on. And it's she's trapped in her—that it's not meant to be appropriation."
And so he was so firm about it that I was like, "No, no, no, no. This is the guy you ask. And if he says it's fine because he's the huge fan and Asian and he just—he gets it." I was like, "No, no, no. We can do it this way."
So yes, English woman trapped inside a Japanese woman's body, but it does actually matter for content and story and where you're going to take characters. So, yeah, it was a debate, but I'm glad that we just kind of stuck to the character, at least for where she is at this time period, because it just—it makes sense.
And also, who doesn't want more drama? Look, if we can add her bag of issues to the pile, let's do it. [laughter]
Solving for X-Men Podcast: I agree. I like that decision.
Emmett Yonemura: Yeah, me too. I felt comfortable once we had a fan—you know, [David] Maximo is just so close to these characters. But when he was just like, "No, no, no, no, no. To change it would be actually offensive," I was like, "Okay, cool. I like that. I dig that."
X-Men ’97: Season 2, Episode 9 — “Survival of the Fittest”
Cable presented Valerie Cooper and X-Factor with his argument that Apocalypse remained alive inside Gambit and would eventually seize complete control of his body. Convinced that killing Remy was the only way to destroy Apocalypse, X-Force and X-Factor launched a government-backed assault on X-Corp headquarters. Psylocke joined Cable and Archangel on the front lines as the two factions battled the X-Men, who remained determined to save Gambit.
During the attack, Psylocke and Archangel specifically targeted Wolverine and succeeded in pinning him down. Their apparent victory was immediately undermined when a second Wolverine emerged from the shadows and attacked them. The opponent they had restrained was revealed to be Morph, who transformed into Doctor Octopus and continued disrupting the battlefield while the real Wolverine turned his attention toward Psylocke and Archangel.
Psylocke confronted Wolverine with both her martial arts training and psychic abilities. She attempted to incapacitate him with her psychic knife, but the attack had no effect because his mind had already endured an extraordinary accumulation of trauma. Wolverine then seized one of Psylocke’s swords and used her own weapon against her, brutally overpowering her after her psychic assault failed to penetrate his defenses.
Despite the setback, Psylocke continued fighting alongside Cable’s forces as the conflict spread throughout X-Corp. The battle reached its turning point when Cable reached the restrained Gambit and shot him in the head at close range, intending to eliminate both him and Apocalypse. Instead, the attack completed Apocalypse’s return, allowing him to take full control of Gambit’s body, overpower the assembled mutants, and enslave nearly everyone present.
Rogue returned empowered by the Celestial Eson the Searcher after agreeing to sacrifice her life in exchange for the strength necessary to save Remy. She broke Apocalypse’s control, extracted his essence from Gambit, and imprisoned it within a gemstone that she entrusted to Cable. Gambit was restored, while Nightcrawler secretly assumed Rogue’s place in the Celestial bargain and sacrificed himself so that his sister could survive.
X-Men ’97: Season 2, Episode 8 — “The Dead Man’s Hand”
After Rogue experienced a disturbing vision of an undead Gambit, X-Force arrived at X-Corp carrying Apocalypse’s withered remains and the scorched Queen of Hearts card discovered beside them. Jubilee presented the card to Rogue as evidence that Gambit had been resurrected as Apocalypse’s Horseman Death. The discovery immediately divided the assembled mutants, with Cable advocating decisive action while Rogue and the X-Men insisted that Remy could still be saved.
Psylocke stepped forward as X-Force’s measured voice and clearly explained their proposed plan. She asked Professor Xavier to use the newly upgraded Cerebra to locate Gambit so that the teams could confront him and free him from Apocalypse’s corruption. Psylocke suggested that Rogue’s absorption powers might be capable of purifying Gambit, just as she had once freed Archangel from Apocalypse’s influence. Despite her explanation, Rogue remained suspicious that X-Force’s true objective was execution rather than rescue.
Xavier activated Cerebra and located Gambit in New Orleans, but the psychic connection produced a violent backlash that tore the helmet from his head and released an ominous cloud of purple energy. The reaction suggested that something far darker than a simple resurrection was controlling Gambit. Psylocke subsequently accompanied X-Force and the X-Men to Louisiana, where the combined teams prepared to confront the transformed Horseman.
During the confrontation, Gambit resisted Rogue’s powers, rendered her unconscious, and brought Nightcrawler under his influence. Amid the resulting chaos, one of the team’s aircraft was disabled and began falling from the sky. Psylocke joined Cable and Jean Grey in combining their telekinetic powers, safely guiding the damaged jet to the ground and preventing the mutants aboard from being killed in the crash.
Rogue eventually reached Gambit’s buried consciousness and temporarily freed him from Apocalypse’s control, only for the teams to discover that Apocalypse remained alive within him. Cable then revealed that X-Force’s true mission had always been to kill Gambit and thereby destroy Apocalypse. Horrified by the deception and unwilling to support his methods any longer, Jubilee and Sunspot abandoned X-Force and sided with the X-Men.
Psylocke remained loyal to Cable’s uncompromising mission, leaving her, Cable, and Archangel as the final three members of X-Force. While the diminished team regrouped inside a warehouse, Valerie Cooper arrived with X-Factor and proposed that their rival groups form an alliance against Apocalypse.
Following the rescue of the imprisoned young mutants, the X-Force jet became severely overcrowded. Sunspot teased Archangel and Psylocke, suggesting that beneath their hardened exteriors they must feel proud of having saved the children. The team delivered the young mutants safely to the Xavier School, but remained aboard to avoid exposing their location or mission. Their caution proved justified, as Black Widow secretly observed the drop-off and attached a tracking device to the underside of their jet.
Running low on fuel, X-Force landed at one of Cable’s supply caches hidden in a snowy mountain region. Psylocke and her teammates were immediately confronted by the Avengers, who had tracked them there to arrest them for disrupting X-Factor’s government-sanctioned operations. Captain America attempted to persuade Cable to surrender peacefully, but Cable opened fire, triggering a full-scale battle between X-Force and the Avengers.
During the fight, Psylocke faced Hawkeye and attacked with silent, relentless precision. Wielding her katana, she rapidly overwhelmed the Avenger with her superior martial arts skills and prevented him from mounting an effective defense. Hawkeye desperately called for assistance, complaining that although Psylocke had barely said a word, she was thoroughly beating him. Hercules offered to help only after dealing with Sunspot, leaving Hawkeye struggling to withstand Psylocke’s assault alone.
The battle ended when Cable threatened to destroy the fuel cache and trigger an avalanche upon the town below, forcing Captain America to order the Avengers to stand down. As Psylocke and the others returned to the jet, Captain America warned Jubilee that X-Force’s extreme methods would eventually lead them too far. Jubilee admitted that this was precisely why she remained with the team: someone needed to keep its dark mission under control. With the Avengers unable to intervene, Psylocke and X-Force escaped and continued their hunt for Apocalypse.
08 • ANIMATED SERIES
X-Men ’97: Season 2, Episode 7 — “Strange Land, Savage Heart”
While the X-Men confronted the Acolytes in the Savage Land, Psylocke joined Cable and X-Force in tracking Apocalypse to a hidden lair beneath the Parthenon in Athens. Expecting a confrontation, the team instead discovered Apocalypse’s skeletal remains surrounded by fragments of his technology, suggesting that the immortal tyrant was dead or had somehow abandoned his body. Jubilee then found one of Gambit’s distinctive playing cards nearby, confirming that Apocalypse had resurrected him as the Horseman Death. The discovery shifted X-Force’s mission toward the possibility that Gambit now carried Apocalypse’s legacy and represented the greater threat.
X-Men: Outback #3 Writer: Steve Orlando Art by: Stephen Segovia & Roi Mercado Cover by: Russell Dauterman
The Story: Lying low in the Australian Outback, the X-Men have seemed to find peace — that is until the ancient necromancer YAGA DYARA arrives from the Quantum Realm seeking to end Colossus’ Rasputin bloodline for good. How can Piotr and his comrades succeed against this sorcerer’s cosmic threat? Will Yaga’s undead magic stamp out the Rasputin line for good?
X-Men ’97: Season 2, Episode 2 — “A Force to Be Reckoned With”
Young mutants seeking refuge at the abandoned X-Mansion instead found themselves hunted and detained by X-Factor, a government-sanctioned mutant team operating under the direction of Dr. Valerie Cooper. Although X-Factor claimed to be relocating them for their own protection, the young mutants were imprisoned under heavy security, raising questions about whether the government’s true objective was their safety or containment.
Meanwhile, X-Force’s search for War led the team to Brazil, where they cornered the Horseman amid the chaos of the streets. Following a fierce struggle, Psylocke used her psychic abilities to render War unconscious before probing his mind for information about Apocalypse’s plans. She glimpsed a mysterious delivery of something vital, but an impenetrable wall of diamonds suddenly blocked her path, preventing her from exploring his memories any further.
With Psylocke unable to extract additional information and War remaining a dangerous servant of Apocalypse, Cable ordered Archangel to end his life as an act of mercy. Archangel carried out the execution without hesitation, but Jubilee was deeply shaken by the cold finality of killing an unarmed mutant. She openly challenged Cable’s ruthless methods, exposing the growing divide between the young recruit and the hardened members of X-Force.
The diamond barrier Psylocke encountered pointed the team toward Emma Frost, whose psychic powers and diamond form matched the defense protecting War’s memories. When confronted, Emma admitted her involvement and directed X-Force to a hidden facility that appeared to be preparing advanced technology for a new generation of Horsemen. The lead was a trap: Emma had made a deal with X-Factor in exchange for amnesty and deliberately lured X-Force into an ambush.
A brutal confrontation erupted between the two mutant teams. Most of X-Force managed to break free and withdraw, but Jubilee was overwhelmed and taken prisoner aboard a government helicarrier alongside the other captured young mutants. During her interrogation by Havok and Polaris, Jubilee appealed to the ideals Polaris had once upheld as a member of the X-Men and awakened the doubts she still harbored about X-Factor’s actions.
Polaris secretly disabled the helicarrier’s security systems and her own power-suppressing collar, giving Jubilee an opportunity to escape. Jubilee fought through the guards, released the imprisoned mutants, and summoned X-Force for extraction. The team arrived and carried the liberated youths to safety, but the rescue led Cooper to brand X-Force as fugitives, forcing Psylocke and her teammates deeper underground as they continued their mission against Apocalypse.
X-Force’s next mission took them to a clandestine auction of rare artifacts in Madripoor, where Pestilence unleashed her plagues in a desperate attempt to seize an opal recovered from one of Apocalypse’s tombs and regain his favor. When X-Force stormed the auction, Psylocke joined her teammates in battle and observed that the Horsemen had begun turning against one another. Pestilence confirmed her suspicions by declaring that neither X-Force nor Famine would stand in her way. Archangel ultimately defeated Pestilence, allowing the team to escape with the opal.
Aboard their jet high above the Pacific, tensions remained high as the hunt for Apocalypse continued. Psylocke stepped forward holding the glowing red gemstone and identified it as the Opal of Ozymandias. She recounted how Ozymandias, once a pharaoh’s son consumed by his pursuit of power, had been overthrown by En Sabah Nur—Apocalypse—and cursed with prophetic vision and eternal servitude as the chronicler of the tyrant’s deeds throughout history.
When Cable impatiently demanded to know whether the artifact retained enough power to locate Apocalypse, Psylocke remained unfazed. Purple butterfly energy bloomed around her face as she activated her psychometric abilities and reached into the memories preserved within the stone. The accumulated anger, pain, and relentless will to survive nearly overwhelmed her. More unexpectedly, she discovered the X-Men themselves woven into Apocalypse’s ancient past, revealing that their histories were far more deeply entangled than she had realized.
With Cable’s assistance, Psylocke pushed deeper into the opal’s memories. They witnessed the newly named Apocalypse vowing vengeance against the remnants of Rama-Tut’s empire while embracing Candra and testing her suitability as his queen. The visions then shifted to Ozymandias discovering Rama-Tut’s hidden technology, only to be ambushed by Apocalypse and transformed into an immortal seer condemned to record his conqueror’s deeds for eternity.
The visions continued as Apocalypse brought a massive boulder down upon the crusader Bennet du Paris to teach him that “survival is not enough.” Psylocke and Cable then witnessed Ozymandias advise Apocalypse to father an heir rather than continue searching for a new vessel. When the face of Famine suddenly emerged within the memories, the psychic connection surged beyond Psylocke’s control and violently hurled both her and Cable backward across the jet.
Archangel rushed to steady the shaken Psylocke as she voiced her fear that Apocalypse’s heir might already have been born and hidden from the world. Cable recovered and immediately relayed the revelation to the rest of X-Force. Their mission had suddenly become far more dangerous: they were no longer simply hunting Apocalypse, but preparing for the possible existence of his secret child.
PUBLICATION NOTE • ONGOING
The Story Continues
X-Men ’97: Season Two is still ongoing. Issues #4 and #5 are scheduled for release on September 2 and October 14, 2026, respectively. The story of X-Force and Psylocke then continues in Episode 2 of the animated series.
“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.
“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.
