MUA2: Psylocke Trailer & Spotlight

Marvel.com Spotlight on Psylocke

Alex Kerr, Community Manager for Vicarious Visions, on Psylocke:

"For Psylocke we wanted play up her martial arts background while still keeping her unique powers in the limelight. This approach really paid off well: in-game she's got a feeling of smooth, clean lethality. Psylocke's an extremely graceful character, but also extremely dangerous, and you can see that within seconds of bringing her into the game.

"One of the things that makes Psylocke so intriguing is that she fights with weapons constructed out of psi-energy. Getting this right was very important to us, and we made sure to incorporate her iconic blades into her most basic attacks, so you'd be seeing them all the time."

Randy Ma, Intern, Marvel Games:

"The fan-favorite Marvel ninja babe is kind of a no-brainer to have as character DLC. The PS2 and Wii versions of 'MUA2' already have Psylocke, but you really don't appreciate the character until you see her in high definition. All of the staples of Psylocke's powers are here, from her psi-bolts to her butterfly kick. It is also great to see her psi-blades integrated into her melee attacks with fluidity in every strike. For fans of'Marvel vs Capcom 2,' her telekinetic-katana lunge definitely is an homage to the psi-drill, and looks just as devastating.

"Playing as Psylocke in the office also prompted me to go over the heroine's history—I had forgotten how completely insane and complicated the history of Betsy Braddock is! But it's great to have Psylocke back in the Ultimate Alliance series, as well as to have more girls on the roster of heroes to play. And it's always great to have another character with mind powers to give Jean Grey a run for her money."

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Update

GameSpot: X-Men fans will likely be very pleased at the addition of Psylocke to the roster. The psychic ninja's model looks great and is curvy in all the places fans will want it to be. Her default outfit is based on the iconic blue ninja outfit we all know and love, with some nice subtle touches and two-toed ninja shoes. Her alternate outfit is based on one of her more modern suits, which is a bummer since we were hoping for Lady Mandarin armor, but so it goes. Psylocke's powers are a nice mix of some of her classic powers and some ninja moves. Her katana lunge is a forward charge using her psychic knife. The butterfly kick is a short series of kicks. Psionic bolts are psi bolts that stun enemies. Finally, the triple strike is a series of three slashes. We've tried a few of her fusions with different characters and are pretty pleased by how she fits in to the mix of powers. What we've seen skews more toward clearing and guided fusions, which are handy.

MUA2: Psylocke Confirmed as DLC!

Kalina, one of the game producers, just posted the following message on the VIP board at HeroHQ. Be sure to check GameSpot later today for in-game videos of Psylocke!

"Hi VIPs,

Today is going to be a really quick note as I know everyone is on the edge of their seats for the reveal. Just wanted to say that there is also going to be some news today on what you are getting over and above characters for DLC… yes, there will be very cool additional gameplay. Tune in to GameSpot to find out details.

And most of you guessed by now why I’m personally excited about today! The reward goes to those who have followed me since the beginning, you all know who my favorite character is outside of Gambit… I can’t wait until you see how true to form this one looks like in-game.

The video got finished late, so this might be an end of day thing on GameSpot… but I think I just gave VIPs the inside know on this… See? I look out for you!"

~

UPDATE: GameSpot released a Sneak Peek video. Jump to the 6:00 mark and catch a glimpse of Psylocke in-game! The model used for the MAXIM magazine article is really from MUA2. You can also notice that the five DLC characters are Psylocke, Carnage, Magneto, Black Panther and Cable!

Uncanny X-Men #516 Spoilers

Spoilers: The five superpowered beings from last issue force Scalphunter to fly a cargo plane carrying 5 Predator X's to Utopia. According to their leader, it's is in order to "save" mutantkind. Meanwhile, Magneto arrives in Utopia seeking to speak with Cyclops. Xavier is openly hostile to Magneto, while Cyclops listens to what he has to say. Magneto states he's aware of Scott's accomplishments and leadership through these dark days, so he has come to praise him. Xavier thinks it's a trap, but Cyclops gives Magneto the benefit of the doubt. After Scott orders Psylocke to drive a psy-knife to Magneto's skull if she detects any untoward thought; Cyclops, Emma, Magneto and Psylocke head to the conference room. Magneto explains how he regained his powers with the help of the High Evolutionary and how the machine they built was destroyed right after. Magneto thinks there's no salvation for mutantkind anymore, however Cyclops points out that the Messiah girl is still alive, which sparks Magneto's interest. The meeting is interrupted by Scalphunter, who requests permission to land on Utopia. Cyclops orders Nightcrawler to teleport and check what's inside his plane. Kurt sees the Predator X's and tells everyone to shoot it down.

Notes: There's only buttshots of Psylocke. LOL. I don't think I need to post scans of that. This was all about Magneto/Cyclops/Xavier. Not even Emma Frost has any lines. Nothing really happened.

X-Men: The Second Coming

Marvel.com: X-Men - Second Coming

CBR: X-Writers Prepare for the "Second Coming"

IGN: A Second Coming for the X-Men

The mutant messiah returns to the present and sparks a crossover event across all the X-Men titles. Cable and Hope return to the present in March of 2010. Kicking off the final chapter in the Messiah Trilogy, "X-Men: Second Coming" was announced today at the Diamond Retailer Summit. It's a multi-part crossover that begins in the "X-Men: Second Coming" one-shot, then runs through issues of "Uncanny X-Men," "X-Men: Legacy," "X-Force" and "New Mutants," before ending in June with another one-shot.

Hope's return sends multiple fractures throughout the dwindling mutant population, however, no mutant feels the pressure more than the leader of species, Scott Summers, who has dedicated himself to the protection of the child and allowed Cable to take her to the future in order to insure her safety. With the girl's return, Cyclops finally finds out if his unwavering hope in Hope pays off.

In the "X-Men: Second Coming" one-shot, Cable and Hope's sudden return to the present forces the villainous Bastion, who's machinations have been plaguing X-Force, to put the final stage of his master plan into action."You're going to see in 'Necrosha' that Bastion doesn't go away. He's aware of things. You'll see his reaction to the events in 'Necrosha,' but Hope's return is the explosion that means things have to happen now," Kyle revealed. "What Bastion knows about, now, and what he must do, is always in flux. The actions of Selene in 'Necrosha' and the arrival of Hope are two things he can't plan for. So this is going to push everything to a head. For Craig Kyle and Chris Yost, "X-Men: Second Coming" is doubly satisfying because not only is it the final chapter of the Messiah Trilogy, it's also the final chapter in their run on "X-Force."

The Second Coming

Behold, she is coming soon.

Uncanny X-Men #516 Preview & X-Men Vs. Agents of Atlas #2 First Look

Cover by: Greg Land
Writer: Matt Fraction
Pencils: Greg Land
Inks: Jay Leisten
Colored by: Justin Ponsor
Lettered by: VC's Joe Caramagna

The Story: “Nation X” Part 2 (of 8) He returns.

In Stores: October 14, 2009

X-Men Vs. Agent of Atlas #2 - First Look:

"Psylocke" First Look!

Oh. My. God.

Yost talks about Psylocke mini-series

Marvel.com provides us with an article on what Yost has to say on the upcoming Psylocke mini series he is writing and what we can expect of the story.

According to Yost, Psylocke feels a strange type of obligation to return her former body to Japan.

"Well, if you can't feel responsible for your own body...it's such a bizarre, creepy situation," notes Yost. "At one point in issue #1, she's just staring at her body, on the medical exam table. Not an experience a lot of people get to enjoy. But it's just one more horrible, bizarre thing in Psylocke's life. Blinded, mechanical other-dimensional camera eyes, body swap, Crimson Dawn, death, being remade by her insane brother, universe-swap-at some point, it has to affect her. This is it."

Psylocke's solo series also features the return of the villainous Matsu'o, who previously played a significant role in our heroine's life.

"Matsu'o has a very real, long-standing connection to Psylocke," recounts Yost. "After all, [she currently inhabits] the body of his one true love, something he is responsible for. As for why he's interested in her right now, he has his reasons. Horrible, horrible reasons."

Since Psylocke's creation more than 30 years ago, she's typically acted in a supportive or ensemble role, but Yost sees this limited series as an opportunity to really bring her into new territory.

"I think when any one of the X-Men is with the team, it's easy to get caught up in the big p

icture stuff, like the end of their species, fighting Dark Avengers, mutant messiahs, all the big 'X-Men' stuff," he comments. "But it's always great to put the spotlight on a character like this,

because let's face it. Horrible things happen to these people, and they almost never get to deal with it. So with Psylocke on her own, getting attacked in a very personal way like this, we really get a chance to get inside her head and see how she's dealing with a very challenging life."

Following up on that, Yost promises to push Psylocke further than she's ever gone before.

"Betsy is a battle hardened warrior who's been to the end of the multiverse and back again," relates the writer. "She's seen it all. But everyone has their limit. We'll get to see if Psylocke [has] found hers."

The first issue of Psylocke is on sale November 4th!

X-Men Vs. Agent of Atlas & Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2

X-Men Vs. Agents of Atlas #1: At the old X-Men's base, the Agent of Atlas plan to steal Cerebra, in order to find Venus, who's been kidnapped. Cloak teleports in with Cyclops, Emma, Wolverine, Storm and Colossus, but the Uranian - a telepath - messes with the X-Men's minds, and the Agents manage to get away with Cerebra. The X-Men track Cerebra's position, so once Atlas is back at their subterranean base beneath San Francisco, an even bigger group of X-Men teleports in. Psylocke included. I guess she will have a bigger role in issue #2 as she's the only one who can take down the Uranian!

Deadpool #16: There's nothing with Psylocke in it, except for what's been previewed.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2: Rumor has it that Psylocke is included in the first DLC pack for MUA2 to be announced in the coming days. Cable, Carnage, Magneto and Dr. Doom are supposedly part of the DLC pack too. Stay tuned! Also men's magazine MAXIM has picked Psylocke as one of the hotties of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. It's interesting to note that the article features a never-seen before 3D character model. (Thanks Psychild and Centurion :D)