This page is about the character Elizabeth Braddock. For the character currently using the Psylocke alias, see Kwannon.
―Psylocke
History[]
The Braddock Family[]
Sir James Braddock, a denizen of the extradimensional Otherworld, was sent by Merlyn to Earth-616 to father the champion who would be known as Captain Britain. In England, Sir James established a distinguished career as a research scientist, marrying Lady Braddock, setting up home at Braddock Manor and siring a child named Jamie, whose subverted genes rendered him unfit to be the hero Merlyn expected. Around a decade later, Braddock had two more children, the twins Brian and Elizabeth, nicknamed "Betsy". As a child, Betsy was closer to her older brother Jamie than to her twin brother Brian, idolizing Jamie for his adventurous lifestyle as a racing driver. As a teenager, she moved to New York City to pursue a modelling career, where her telepathic mutant powers activated in a traumatic experience. It was never revealed what consequences transpired from her power activation, since she seemed not to be able to fully access them in her early adult years.
After her parents' deaths in an explosion caused by the malfunctioning computer Mastermind, Betsy worked as a charter pilot. Soon after Brian became the hero Captain Britain, she alerted him that their brother Jamie had been injured when testing his racing car in the grounds of Braddock Manor in an apparent attack. Betsy flew Brian back to the Manor, but their plane was downed by the psychic powers of Dr. Synne. Luckily, both survived the second accident, but Dr. Synne mind-controlled Betsy into trying to kill her brothers. The Braddock brothers ultimately managed to overpower her.
Following the incident, Betsy was taken to the nearby Morder Research Centre, unwittingly being delivered into the hands of one of Synne's agents, Dr. Ramsey. Brian defeated Synne, and Ramsey reverted to his true allegiances as an agent of the Nazi Red Skull, claiming Betsy and Jamie as hostages. Both were freed by Captain Britain and his ally, Captain America. Some time later, Betsy had a visionary dream warning her of Brian's peril when fighting the mad Lord Hawk: an indication of her mutant psychic abilities.
S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi Division[]
Betsy quit the charter business and took up modelling, gaining international praise in her career. As her psychic powers grew, she made mental contact with a S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi agent, being recruited by Agent Matthew, with whom she pursued a brief romance. Some time later, Braddock became the lover of fellow Psi, Tom Lennox. Maintaining her modelling career as a cover for S.T.R.I.K.E., she once attempted to infiltrate the Hellfire Club, where her father had been a member of, but she was warned off by Tessa. Around this period, also at the Hellfire Club, she was introduced to the X-Man Warren Worthington III.
Betsy had lost track of Brian while he adventured in America and in the Otherworld. He returned in time to save her when S.T.R.I.K.E. Psis were targeted for assassination by Slaymaster, who had been hired by the crime-lord Vixen to cover her takeover of S.T.R.I.K.E.. Betsy, Lennox, and Alison Double sought refuge in Braddock Manor, though they had to flee as Brian and his allies, Saturnyne and the Special Executive, battled against a hero-killing, extra-dimensional cybiote, the Fury.
With the insane mutant reality-warper, Mad Jim Jaspers, taking over the country, Betsy and her friends hid out in London. Lennox was killed, and Betsy and Double were captured by Jaspers' forces. The two women ended up in a concentration camp until Jaspers' reign was brought to an end, partially by the efforts of Captain Britain. Betsy, who had been in mental contact with Lennox when he died, met and convalesced under the care of Victoria Bentley at the camp. Victoria not only helped Braddock recover, but taught her to harness the trauma she had experienced to strengthen her psychic powers.
Captain Britain[]
Betsy returned home to Braddock Manor, where Brian fought a counterpart of his from another reality, the sadist Kaptain Briton. Briton won the encounter, impersonating Brian, while extra-dimensional mercenaries, the Technet, took Brian to Briton's fascistic reality. Briton tried to rape Betsy, but she fried his brain with her psychic abilities, killing him instantly. Subsequently, R.C.X., the agency which had replaced S.T.R.I.K.E., came to Braddock Manor seeking Captain Britain's aid to help take care of the Warpies, children who were genetically altered by Jaspers' attack. One of the agents who made the approach was Betsy's old flame, Matthew (now using the codename Gabriel). Brian refused to work with them, much to Betsy's rage. R.C.X. were advised by the computer Mastermind to trick Brian and his girlfriend, Meggan, into leaving Braddock Manor. Gabriel then persuaded Betsy to replace Brian as the new Captain Britain.
Wearing Kaptain Briton's costume magnified Betsy's strength and enabled her to fly. The hero Captain UK trained Betsy in crime fighting skills, and they became partners for several months. Captain UK eventually opted to let Betsy follow a solo career as Captain Britain. Soon after, the Vixen lured Betsy into an ambush, where Slaymaster brutally blinded her. Brian felt his twin's pain through the psychic bond they shared. He came to Betsy's rescue, killing Slaymaster, and once again took up the Captain Britain mantle. Betsy was offered new cybernetic eyes by R.C.X., but refused, preferring to rely on her telepathy to see. Betsy later accepted Gabriel's proposal of marriage and the engaged couple traveled to the Swiss Alps, where they hoped she could recuperate in peace.
Psylocke[]
Psylocke's original costume
Unfortunately, Betsy was kidnapped from the Alps by Mojo and Spiral, being surgically given artificial eyes. Mojo mentally controlled Braddock, renaming her Psylocke. Having her star in a popular new show, the Wildways, he used her to lure children around the world into joining his junior team show, the Bratpack. When Mojo captured some of the New Mutants, the rest of the group went to the TV show reality to save their teammates. Braddock was found and rescued by Cypher and Warlock, and chose to stay at the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, home of the X-Men, as her powers were mutant in origin. Her bionic eyes were revealed to be cameras when Mojo regressed the X-Men to X-Babies to film their adventures. The New Mutants battled the de-aged X-Men to break them free of their brainwashing and defeat Mojo.
During the massacre of the Morlocks, Braddock was charged with helping the wounded and staying in telepathic contact with the X-Men who were in combat against the Marauders. After the first strike, Braddock faced the savage Sabretooth in a brawl throughout the X-Mansion, destroying Cerebro. Impressed by Braddocks's courage, the battle-ravaged X-Men offered her a position on the team, which she accepted, adopting the code name Psylocke. Next, Psylocke fought Malice with the X-Men. This was followed by a confrontation on Muir Island between Juggernaut and the newest X-Men members — Psylocke, Rogue, Dazzler, and Longshot — which served as a baptism of fire for them.
Back in New York, X-Men leader Storm decided that, in order to safeguard their friends and families from their many enemies, the X-Men should go underground as a proactive strike force. Unexpectedly, Havok showed up to check on the team, and Storm ordered Psylocke to erase the event from his memory. However, due to Professor Xavier's mental defenses, he resisted. Psylocke suggested killing Havok instead, much to his horror, although he still joined the team.
When Brian and Meggan visited Betsy at the X-Mansion, the X-Men were abducted by Horde, who planned to use them to retrieve the Crystal of Ultimate Vision from the Citadel of Light and Shadow, where it was hidden. Illusions of each of the X-Men's most wished desires were cast. Psylocke was transformed into a metallic warrior as her heart desired physical invulnerability. She sacrificed herself to slow Horde down. Wolverine, empowered to godhood, rejected this power, returning the X-Men and their friends home. Soon after, the X-Men briefly made Alcatraz Island their new hideout when tracking the Marauders, who at the time hunted Madelyne Pryor. Psylocke mainly acted as the psychic link between the members of the group.
Fall of the X-Men[]
When Storm went missing, the X-Men searched for her at Forge's Eagle Plaza in Dallas, Texas, where they were attacked by Freedom Force. During the fight, a rift opened in the sky of Dallas and a maelstrom of bizarre events ensued. The X-Men and Freedom Force formed a temporary alliance to save the citizens of Dallas, until Psylocke recognized Roma in Colossus' recent memories. Gaining access into the Starlight Citadel, the X-Men battled the Adversary and sacrificed their lives to imprison him with a spell cast by Forge. These events had been broadcast on TV and the world believed the heroes to be dead. Roma restored the X-Men to life, an opportunity for the team go underground.
The group resurfaced in Australia, occupying the former Reavers' hideout, freeing Gateway and Jessán Hoan in the process. With the Reavers thrown out, Roma presented the X-Men with the Siege Perilous, a gem that created a portal which granted any person who walked through it judgment and a new chance at life. Psylocke began wearing a body armor that Wolverine ordered from Landau, Luckman & Lake to prevent herself from being a liability to the team. During this period, the X-Men battled the Brood in Denver and Magistrates in Genosha. In the Reavers' hideout, Psylocke had various interactions with her teammates: during a training session, she psychically freed Carol Danvers' personality from Rogue's mind; and, to pass the time, she would pose for Colossus' paintings.
When a demonic inferno was unleashed by Pryor, Psylocke telepathically assisted the X-Men into probing into Jean Grey's memories. Soon after, she went with Carol Danvers, in Rogue's body, to her old apartment, where they were attacked by the Master Mold and Nimrod. Senator Robert Kelly's wife was killed there and Psylocke attempted to ease the pain of her passing. During the battle, the Master Mold absorbed Nimrod and got lost with Rogue by entering the Siege Perilous. The X-Men had other losses: Longshot left to find clues to his origins and Storm was apparently killed by Nanny. Psylocke assumed a leading role for the remaining X-Men, much to Havok's dislike, as he regarded her as an unscrupulous telepath.
The remaining X-Men went to the Savage Land following a call for help from Polaris. On the Savage Land, Psylocke had a premonition about the X-Men being slain by the Reavers. Psylocke opted to transport the X-Men through the Siege Perilous rather than face the threat of the Reavers, now led by Donald Pierce. To convince Havok to go through the Siege Perilous, she confirmed his suspicions as she telepathically forced him to do so.
Assassin Ninja[]
Lady Mandarin
From the Siege Perilous, Psylocke emerged in Southeast Asia. In one of her more bizarre encounters, she was captured by Hand crime lord Matsu'o Tsurayaba, who had her switch bodies with his lover, an assassin known as Kwannon. Psylocke was brainwashed into becoming Lady Mandarin, working for the Mandarin in Hong Kong. She regained her free will after establishing psychic contact with Wolverine. The experience left Braddock and Kwannon physically switched and mentally merged.
Psylocke, joined by Wolverine and Jubilee, stayed in Madripoor until the trio learned the New Mutants had been captured by the Genoshan government, as part of an X-Tinction Agenda led by Cameron Hodge. They travelled to Genosha and rejoined the X-Men. Back to the X-Mansion in Westchester, Psylocke had to cope with the drastic changes she had undergone, where she and Jean Grey were attacked by the Shadow King. Some time later, the X-Men retrieved Professor X from the Shi'ar Empire, after fighting Skrulls, when Psylocke was momentarily replaced by a War Skrull. Once more led by Professor X, the X-Men faced the Shadow King on Muir Island, and Psylocke fell into his vile clutches. With the Shadow King defeated, X-Factor merged into the X-Men.
X-Men: Blue[]
In the reformed X-Men, Psylocke became part of Cyclops' Blue Team, clashing in their first mission against her former ally Magneto and his Acolytes. In their following mission, Psylocke proved to be especially useful for the team against Matsu'o Tsurayaba and the Hand. Psylocke's loyalty to the X-Men was put to the test when she pretended to be under Tsurayaba's influence only to betray him and Omega Red, ruining their plans.
Stabbing Jamie
Psylocke travelled to England to attend a party held by her brother Brian, now part of the British super-hero team Excalibur. The party was interrupted when Psylocke psychically felt Brigadier Sandy Stuart being murdered by her brother, Jamie, under orders of Mastrex Opul Lun Sat-Yr-Nin. With his recently discovered mutant powers and being mentally detached from reality, Jamie easily subdued Psylocke. Since Meggan was immune to Jamie's powers, Psylocke was able to stab Jamie's brain with her psychic-knife, leaving the brother she used to adore in a catatonic state.
Back at the X-Mansion, Psylocke was shown to be attracted to Cyclops. She started to flirt with her leader, attempting to seduce him. The situation escalated when they shared a kiss, suggesting an affair. Cyclops rejected her and claimed he was committed to Jean Grey, who later questioned Psylocke in the Danger Room about the situation. Unexpectedly, Kwannon interfered, fought Psylocke and won, claiming that she was the real Betsy Braddock. The X-Men were not able to confirm which woman was the real Betsy Braddock and went to Japan to meet Lord Nyoirin, a crime lord who Kwannon claimed to be Psylocke's master. Little did this trip help in answering questions about Psylocke's true identity.
Kwannon returned with the X-Men and joined the team as Revanche, causing immense discomfort between her and Psylocke in the team. Not long after, Revanche contracted the Legacy Virus. Revanche had Tsurayaba kill her before the virus could, still in Psylocke's original body. As Revanche died, her telepathic powers reached their peak due to the infection, revealing the full truth about the body swap. She also absorbed all of her memories and her personality traits from Psylocke's mind. Betsy Braddock lived, certain of her identity, but was trapped in Kwannon's body. While Psylocke went through this identity crisis, she got close to her fellow teammate, Warren Worthington III, a.k.a. Archangel. Eventually, recognizing they had much in common as both had experienced radical changes, body and soul, they started a relationship.
Crimson Dawn[]
Sabretooth, when kept captive in the X-Mansion, nearly killed Psylocke after she tried to protect Boomer from him. Wolverine, Archangel, Doctor Strange, and Gomurr the Ancient used the mystical force of the Crimson Dawn to save Psylocke, imprinting on her face a red mark covering her left eye. Her fighting and telepathic skills were enhanced, and she could transport through and become one with shadows. The Crimson Dawn also changed Psylocke's personality profoundly as she grew more reticent and distant from Archangel and the other X-Men. Kuragari, conqueror of the Crimson Dawn realm, attempted to corrupt Psylocke and turn her into his dread queen. Archangel and Psylocke defeated the tyrant and left the X-Mansion permanently, retiring from their activities as X-Men.
When occasionally assisting the X-Men, Psylocke was tricked by the Shadow King into producing a psi-wave, removing all mutant telepathy and allowing him to control every mind on Earth. Although she should have died, the Crimson Dawn saved her once more. In a foolish mistake, the Shadow King expanded his powers too far which made his personal nexus exposed. Psylocke defeated the Shadow King, sacrificing her telepathy by keeping him locked within her mind.
Death and Resurrection[]
Following the Twelve incident, Psylocke developed robust telekinetic powers, a result of a powerset exchange with Jean Grey, who in turn acquired Psylocke's telepathy. Without fine control over her new telekinetic abilities, she rejoined the X-Men, being immediately attracted to new member Thunderbird. Psylocke and Archangel tried to maintain their eroded relationship, even engaging in some adventures by themselves, such as fighting the Twisted Sisters, but eventually Archangel broke up with Psylocke, admitting their relationship had hit a dead end. After the break-up, Psylocke joined Storm's X-Treme X-Men squad and started a relationship with Thunderbird. The new team left the Xavier Institute to search for Destiny's diaries.
When Brian Braddock experienced nightmares at Braddock Manor, Meggan called Psylocke to help him. Brian confessed to his sister he had lost his confidence as Captain Britain. Before anything could be discussed, they learned from Captain UK that Roma had gone mad, threatening the Otherworld. There, Psylocke was imprisoned by the Warpies she once protected. Soon the Braddocks learned who was behind the attack: the computer Mastermind, who impersonated Roma and used the Warpies do gain control of the Sword of Might and the Amulet of Power. Psylocke broke free as Mastermind wasn't aware of her new telekinetic powers. With Mastermind defeated, Brian assumed the Otherworld's throne.
Psylocke's death
In Valencia, Storm's X-Men were captured by the national police. Psylocke was separated from the team with Beast and Rogue, when Vargas suddenly showed up intending to kill Rogue. As the last one standing, Psylocke duelled Vargas to protect her friends, but was impaled through the chest by Vargas and ultimately killed.
Months later, Psylocke mysteriously appeared out of the blue in the exact spot she died, without the Crimson Dawn. Storm's X-Men squad was contacted to retrieve Psylocke and, after running numerous tests, her identity was verified. Initially, the X-Men were cautious of Psylocke's presence and kept her restrained, until they were attacked by the Hauk'ka and Psylocke joined forces with X-23 to help the team on the Savage Land. Joining Storm's X-Men, Psylocke was reunited with her friends in a changed world, where Cyclops and Emma Frost ran the Xavier Institute, presumed dead teammates Colossus and Rachel Grey were alive, while Jean Grey was deceased.
Experiencing visions of her brother Jamie, Psylocke formed a friendship with her teammate Rachel Grey, who experienced the same visions. Jamie's machinations proved to be real when the Scarlet Witch rewrote the entire reality: though Grey tried to protect herself and Psylocke, Jamie forced them into the new reality. There, Psylocke and Grey were influenced into finding a reality breach that represented a threat to all existence, which was fixed by Meggan's sacrifice.
Jamie, confirming Psylocke's suspicions, claimed he was responsible for her resurrection, needing her assistance against a group known as the Foursaken, led by the menacing First Fallen, a polar opposite of the Phoenix. When resurrected, Psylocke became untrackable by telepathy or technology and was immune to reality-warping, being forged into the weapon Jamie needed. The Foursaken and the First Fallen were defeated by Psylocke, and Jamie's whereabouts were unknown after he apparently sacrificed himself to save her life.
Exiles[]
Immediately after M-Day, Psylocke and other X-Men flew to London to help Captain Britain deal with the after-effects of the Decimation and the death of his wife. There, they were attacked by Charles Xavier and his five original X-Men from an alternate reality, reforming the mutant group Excalibur. In another battle between Excalibur and these evil X-Men, Psylocke learned that Xavier was in fact the Shadow King, who had been freed after her death. Psylocke confronted him, but was ripped from the time-stream by Heather Hudson, finding herself in the Panoptichron, headquarters of the Exiles. There, she met an alternate version of Sabretooth, a man she hated in her native reality. However, this Sabretooth proved to be a hero, and they quickly became close to each other. Recruited to the Exiles, Psylocke helped them save their teammates from a version of Hydra led by Susan Storm and Wolverine. During the mission, Psylocke had to face a version of one of her deadliest foes, the Slaymaster. The Exiles finished their mission at the cost of Hydra escaping through the Multiverse. As an Exile, Psylocke was integral in the group's restructuring as several members left to pursue their own lives elsewhere.
Many of the Exiles had ties to Earth-616 and decided to make a visit, meeting Excalibur at a party. The reunion was interrupted when Brian was wounded by Rouge-Mort. Psylocke took her brother and Excalibur to the Panoptichron where they noticed an attack in course against the Multiverse, carried out by Jim Jaspers, now merged with the Fury. Psylocke learned Merlyn was behind the attacks. While Brian fought Jaspers, Psylocke struck against Merlyn, both defeating the villains. Psylocke decided to stay with the Exiles, realizing how crucial was the job they did for the Multiverse.
Psylocke and Sabretooth became co-leaders of the Exiles and engaged in an unresolved romantic relationship. The team was still being hunted by Hydra, Slaymaster being specifically interested in massacring alternate versions of Betsy Braddock across realities. In one of their adventures, Psylocke led the Exiles to Earth-80827. Upon their arrival, Psylocke was possessed by remnants of Lady Mandarin, her alternate self from that reality who had just been killed by the Slaymaster. Psylocke met Lady Mandarin's master, Ogun, who trained her into becoming his new assassin, forging her into the warrior who would kill her aggressor. In a following mission, Psylocke finally faced the Slaymaster, but, before his defeat, he escaped again. She eventually slew him on the streets of Earth-616 London, finally stopping his cross-reality massacre of her counterparts.
Return to Earth-616[]
Breaking free from the Sisterhood's control
The Exiles disbanded, and Psylocke was found between dimensions by Madelyne Pryor's Sisterhood, who brought Braddock's original body from Kwannon's grave and transferred Braddock's mind back to it. Brainwashed, Psylocke joined the Sisterhood in attacking the X-Men. However, she overcame her brainwashing, being restored to Kwannon's body as her original body was fatally wounded by Dazzler. Psylocke returned to the X-Men as Pryor perished. Following her experience with the Sisterhood, Psylocke regained her telepathy. Next, she traveled back in time with the X-Club to study the birth of mutantkind and study a way to reverse M-Day. As the X-Club returned to the present, Psylocke helped them relocate the X-Men to the island of Utopia, as a reaction to Norman Osborn's hunt for mutants on American soil.
In need to provide a second burial of her original body, Psylocke took her corpse back to Tokyo, where it had been originally buried. At the cemetery, she was attacked by ninjas sent by Matsu'o Tsurayaba. She survived the attack and decided to put Tsurayaba down for good. At his hideout mansion, Psylocke was impeded from reaching him by Yukio. Knocking Yukio out, Psylocke met the Jinn, who also wanted Tsurayaba dead. In another of Matsu'o's hideouts, they found him in miserable condition and learned he had arranged for his own death. Throughout the years, Wolverine had gradually mutilated Tsurayaba for his part in Mariko Yashida's death. His attack on Psylocke was actually an elaborate suicide scheme. A violent confrontation between Psylocke and Wolverine took place, and Wolverine ultimately gave up fighting for Tsurayaba's life. Before leaving, Wolverine mentioned Psylocke's recent death wish attitude. Psylocke finally put Tsurayaba out of his misery by stabbing him with her psychic knife.
On Utopia, Psylocke was part of several X-Men missions and events. She witnessed the death of Dr. Yuriko Takiguchi, a dear friend to her; stood for Utopia against Predators X; assisted in a telepathic fight against a Void fragment; teamed up with Wolverine, Colossus and Fantomex to combat the New U-Men; confronted a newly resurrected Proteus on Muir Island; and was on the team responsible for retrieving and returning Hope Summers to Utopia, fighting Bastion's Human Council in the process.
X-Force[]
Following the return of Hope Summers, Cyclops ordered the disbanding of the killing squad X-Force. Wolverine had apparently disassembled the squadron, but turned to his closer allies to continue X-Force in secrecy. Psylocke joined the reformed X-Force with Deadpool, Fantomex, and her former lover Archangel. Braddock and Worthington rekindled their relationship as she helped him control his Death persona. The team's first objective was to stop the resurrection of Apocalypse, a personal interest for Archangel, who had been one of his Horsemen. The team battled Clan Akkaba and the Final Horsemen of Apocalypse on the Moon. Psylocke faced off War, who fell in love with her as Fantomex psychically manipulated him into it. This allowed her to get to Apocalypse's chambers, where she learned the villain had been resurrected as a child, preventing her from killing him in cold blood. While X-Force debated Apocalypse's fate among themselves, Fantomex shot him dead, leaving the group profoundly affected and divided.
In one of their following tasks, X-Force learned the Reavers were back, now led by Lady Deathstrike. Their intel suggested the Reavers planned to attack Utopia. Psylocke was conflicted, not only because the Reavers had been responsible for her entering the Siege Perilous, but also because she found herself elated by killing villains such as them. While the rest of X-Force battled the Reavers in the Australian Outback, Psylocke followed some of them who had teleported to Utopia. There, she slaughtered them without being spotted by any of the X-Men, proving to be a true assassin.
When Deadpool went missing during a recon mission at a military base in Tennessee, Psylocke and X-Force reencountered one of her worst enemies again: the Shadow King. Psylocke fought the Shadow King on the astral plane, while Fantomex protected her body, as he was immune to Shadow King's psychic influence. The Shadow King probed into X-Force's darkest secrets and learned about Apocalypse's assassination. He also telepathically freed Archangel's dark personality, undoing the work Psylocke had gone through with him.
Age of Archangel[]
Apocalypse's death triggered an ascension protocol within Archangel to turn him into the new heir of Apocalypse. X-Force became aware of this after Worthington tried to kill a reporter to whom the Shadow King had delivered files on the secret team. X-Force imprisoned Archangel in their headquarters, Cavern-X, and traveled to the Age of Apocalypse under the direction of the Dark Beast, seeking to claim a Life Seed to counter the Death Seed within Warren. Initially, the group clashed with the X-Men from that universe, who regarded the Dark Beast a vile enemy. The conflict was de-escalated by Psylocke, who recognized Sabretooth from their time with the Exiles. Abandoned by Dark Beast, X-Force teamed up with the X-Men to claim a Life Seed and return to their world. During their time in the Age of Apocalypse, Psylocke and Fantomex shared a kiss, a result of a brief battle sparked by Fantomex, who accused Psylocke of being in a distant relationship with Worthington. Unexpectedly, upon their return to their home reality, X-Force encountered Archangel, who had been freed by the Dark Beast and had Cavern-X overrun by Clan Akkaba. X-Force was massacred by Archangel's forces. Psylocke personally faced him off, missing a hit on purpose, unable to finish him. Surrendering herself, Braddock hoped to appeal to whatever was left of Warren Worthington.
Archangel revealed his plan to Psylocke as they reached the Akkaba Metropolis. Using Genocide and the Doom Fountain, he would scour all life from the world, replacing it with new life grown from the Life Seed. As a test run, a small town in Montana was destroyed and regrown as the Tabula Rasa area. When X-Force led to the demise of the Final Horseman of Death, Archangel determined to replace him with Psylocke, using a Death Seed gathered from the Dreaming Celestial to transform her.
Killing Archangel
The remaining X-Men from the Age of Apocalypse reality arrived to aid X-Force. The version of Jean Grey of that world managed to restore Psylocke after her psi-shields were downed after she was tricked into believing she had killed Fantomex. Grey's intervention expanded Psylocke's telepathic abilities immensely. Psylocke and Fantomex then fought Archangel to the death, with Psylocke stabbing Warren with the Life Seed and supposedly ending him. As Braddock mourned for killing the love of her life, Worthington reappeared with no memory of who he was. Psylocke attempted to rekindle their relationship until realizing the person she loved was gone forever and only a tabula rasa remained.
Following the schism between Cyclops' and Wolverine's factions of the X-Men, Psylocke remained both a member of X-Force, as an ally of Wolverine, as well as being assigned to a team in Utopia, as an ally of Cyclops. The Tabula Rasa area was still something to be attended to; for that purpose, Psylocke went to Cyclops' X-Tinction Team, which investigated the mysterious alien environment. During the mission, Magneto recognized that what had transpired in Tabula Rasa had the involvement of X-Force, a secret he was glad to share with Psylocke only.
Otherworld[]
After sending Worthington to the Jean Grey School, Psylocke and Fantomex were kidnapped from Cavern-X by the Captain Britain Corps. Psylocke was shocked to see her older brother Jamie alive and working with Brian in the Corps. The Braddock brothers confronted their sister over her actions as a member of X-Force and, as Otherworld was being invaded by inter-dimensional forces, they also offered her her original body and her inherited mantle as Lady Britain. Meanwhile, for killing the child Apocalypse, Fantomex was put on trial by the Corps, who used Brian's reformed psychic connection to his sister as evidence. Fantomex was sentenced to death by injection with an anti-reality serum.
As Lady Britain, Psylocke rescued Fantomex from the Corps, and the fugitives went to the Forest of Sorrows. To save Fantomex from the anti-reality serum, Psylocke made a deal with Krokwel, giving up her ability to feel sorrow. Fantomex was safe for the moment, until they were ambushed by the Skinless Man. Psylocke, Fantomex and the Skinless Man had a complicated history together: Fantomex caused the Skinless Man to be arrested by Otherworld's forces, where he was sentenced to have his skin removed by Psylocke's father. A vengeful Skinless Man ripped Fantomex’s face off. Psylocke intervened by apparently killing the Skinless Man. The duo then headed to assist X-Force, who were in the Otherworld fighting the inter-dimensional invasion while searching for their missing teammates.
As Psylocke joined the fight, she learned that the leader of the invasion was a future version of Jamie. Betsy asked Brian to put their brother down, since millions of souls were being reaped by Jamie every second. As Brian refused to do so, she telepathically forced him to kill their brother in order to prevent the tragic future from happening. As Jamie died, Betsy acknowledged that Brian knew how necessary what she had done was. Nevertheless, he chose Betsy as executioner while he remained a hero. After her brother's funeral, in need of feeling something, Braddock finally surrendered to Fantomex's romantic advances.
Final Execution[]
Afflicted by what happened, Psylocke decided to leave X-Force. At her apartment, she was kidnapped by the Shadow King, who was a member of a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, formed by several enemies of X-Force who had learned about their activities. They kidnapped Evan, Apocalypse's clone created by Fantomex, and intended to force him to rise as the new Apocalypse. Shadow King telepathically tortured Psylocke until she was rescued by Fantomex, who gave her his telepathy-blocking hood, leaving himself vulnerable. He managed to send Psylocke away with E.V.A. and was killed by the Skinless Man.
E.V.A. took Psylocke to Cavern-X, where Ultimaton, who had reverted to his original programming of killing mutants after Fantomex's death, snapped Gateway's neck and self-detonated. Psylocke managed to send X-Force away by telepathically hacking into Gateway's teleportation powers. X-Force was transported 30 years to a future where Evan had ascended as Apocalypse. Deathlok explained that this forced Wolverine to assemble an X-Force team to kill the new Apocalypse. Led by Psylocke, known as Magistrate Braddock, X-Force had killed all of the world's criminals and telepathically tracked and terminated people before they committed crimes in a preventative manner.
When Wolverine and X-Force from the present were unrepentant about this course of action, Deathlok attempted to kill them to prevent this totalitarian future from happening. He failed when he was destroyed by Cable. Before being sent back by future X-Force, Psylocke escaped and resolved to prevent this future by killing Magistrate Braddock, her future self. She realized that this would not save the present, since she would still commit the same mistakes. To ensure Fantomex's sacrifice meant something, Psylocke carried on her final execution: suicide, by stabbing herself through the gut with her own katana. Being interrupted by future Punisher and Cable, Psylocke failed when she passed out and was saved by her team-mate Nightcrawler. Healed from her injuries, Psylocke talked with her future self before returning to the present with X-Force.
Back to the present, X-Force headed to Genosha to save Evan from the Brotherhood. In their first strike, Psylocke telepathically subdued Mystique. X-Force argued about whether or not to kill Evan should he become Apocalypse. Wolverine and Psylocke sneaked into the enemies' underwater base. Wolverine handled most of the enemies while Psylocke furtively searched for Evan and Deadpool. She was ambushed by the Shadow King and purposely gave herself temporary amnesia to escape the astral plane. She then caused Omega White to absorb the Shadow King's psyche, leaving him trapped in a comatose body and freeing Evan's mind. Psylocke also decided not to claim the Shadow King's life, departing from the Brotherhood's base with X-Force and Evan. Leaving her katana behind as it sank into Hammer Bay, Psylocke vowed never to kill again.
On Otherworld, Betsy reconciled with Brian. Back on Earth, she was met by Wolverine, who told her there was still one complication left unsolved with X-Force. They left in E.V.A. and met Deadpool at White Sky Headquarters, where Fantomex emerged from a cloning machine with two other Fantomexes: one of them villainous, called Weapon XIII, who teleported away, and the other one a female called Cluster. Since all of Fantomex's three brains were intact, E.V.A. planned for his revival, but Deadpool operated the machine recklessly, generating an individual body for each brain. Psylocke left with Fantomex and Cluster to meet his mother in the French Alps, where Psylocke and Fantomex shared a tender kiss, starting a new chapter of their lives without X-Force.
New X-Force[]
In the war between the X-Men and the Avengers, Psylocke initially stood with the X-Men, personally facing off against Daredevil. During the initial conflicts, some X-Men were possessed by the Phoenix, becoming the Phoenix Five. Psylocke assisted the Phoenix Five in battling Mister Sinister in Sinister London. However, as the Phoenix Five proved to be mentally and morally unstable, Psylocke left Utopia and supported the Avengers against the Phoenix.
Living a frivolous life with Fantomex in Paris, Braddock was convinced to start thieving. However, she eventually realized that the man she fell in love was really torn in three, and Cluster was the best part of him. The two women engaged in a romantic relationship, leaving a jealous Fantomex out of their private affairs. When performing a theft at the Louvre Museum, Fantomex set Braddock up, and some guards were killed as she escaped, much to her despair. Betrayed, Psylocke was cast out of Fantomex's life and went to the Jean Grey School.
Dismissed from teaching by Wolverine due to her rage issues, Psylocke was assigned to a mission with Storm and Puck concerning a drug dealer in L.A.. The dealer was recognized as Spiral, and Braddock instinctively attacked her former oppressor. Meanwhile, Storm and Puck found a telepath girl named Ginny, the "source" of Spiral's telepathic drug. As Spiral teleported away with Ginny, the three heroes were interrupted by Bishop, who returned from the future possessed by the Demon Bear. Psylocke, Storm and Spiral decided to rescue Ginny from Bishop, who kidnapped her. When Psylocke telepathically tracked and stabbed Bishop with her psychic knife, she found out his psyche was not only inhabited by the Demon Bear, but also with another presence, who possessed Ginny. As Ginny vanished, Psylocke decided to settle matters with Spiral for good, after many years of aggressions, but when push came to shove she decided to absolve Spiral.
Probing into Bishop's mind in search of answers, Psylocke learned that the Demon Bear and the other presence, a Ghost Owl, had infiltrated Bishop's mind in the future. The Demon Bear was tearing Bishop's psyche apart. While Psylocke fought the Demon Bear on the astral plane, her body was stolen by Cluster, who expected Psylocke to rescue Fantomex from Weapon XIII. Psylocke was unexpectedly saved by Spiral, who confessed to have been deprived from real relationships. Psylocke ultimately forgave Spiral, ending a long cycle of feuds between them. Back to the astral plane, Psylocke exorcised Bishop from the Demon Bear, incorporating it to her own powers.
With Bishop safe, Psylocke decided to rescue Fantomex with Cluster. On Madripoor, they were ambushed by Weapon XIII's misdirection powers and were kept captive by him. Weapon XIII was in love with Psylocke to the point of devotion, and she tricked him into believing she also wanted Fantomex dead. She was brought to Fantomex, and they discussed their tumultuous relationship, but Weapon XIII intervened when Psylocke could not harm Fantomex. After the conflict was over, Cluster and Fantomex decided to be merged again, though Psylocke seemed not to be interested in maintaining their relationship anymore.
Bishop claimed that the terrible Ghost Owl, a.k.a. the Revenant Queen, planned to liberate an army of psychic doppelgängers known as revenants in Los Angeles. The revenants hunted Bishop down, creating revenant versions of Psylocke, Storm, and Puck who were defeated. Spiral then revealed the Revenant Queen was a future version of Cassandra Nova. An uncanny formation of X-Force was reassembled to combat Nova as Los Angeles was trapped into a psychic prison. Cassandra Nova started a ritual to liberate the revenants, and Psylocke was captured, losing her control over the Demon Bear to Nova. Nova recreated Psylocke's revenant as Braddock's original body and offered her her body back in trade for an alliance. Trapped in the revenants' underworld, Psylocke sacrificed the Demon Bear to expel Nova from Ginny's body. Without a body of her own, Nova had no choice but to possess the body she had created for Psylocke. Psylocke bonded Cassandra Nova to this new body, managing to physically kill Nova with her katana. Braddock not only broke her vow of not killing, but also lost the chance of having her original body back. As Nova died, her macabre ritual was undone.
Psylocke eventually came back to the Jean Grey School, this time not as a teacher but as a security guard. She joined an all-female squadron led by Storm. This squad specifically dealt with diverse threats, such as artificial life-form Arkea, a future version of the Brotherhood, a new formation of the Sisterhood, and Shogo's mysterious father. During this time, Psylocke also mentored a small group of students in Danger Room sessions. Storm's team also helped S.W.O.R.D. in dealing with Deathbird and fought dark versions of Krakoa.
Destructive Habits[]
Hope Summers, knowing Bishop was back in the present, went to Los Angeles seeking revenge. As they met, they were captured by Stryfe. This led to a clash between Storm and Psylocke's X-Force and Cable's X-Force. The teams realized that they shared an enemy in Stryfe, joining forces to free Hope and Bishop. Stryfe was defeated and the X-Force teams disbanded. Psylocke then sought out Cable and offered her services to his new X-Force initiative. The new X-Force was put together after a mutant-related terrorist incident in Alexandria placed Hope in a coma. Psylocke once again worked alongside Fantomex, though now she completely despised him. X-Force eventually had intel that an arms dealer named Volga was behind the incident, since he created artificial mutants to serve him as weapons. Contrary to her former vow, Psylocke became addicted to killing as she grew more bloodthirsty, self-loathing, and broken by the day. Resorting to killing in X-Force was the only way she could feel anything at all. Volga was apparently defeated revealing some of X-Force's secrets. Their newest member, MeMe, was actually Hope in disguise, something Braddock knew, but kept from her team-mates at Hope's request. Moreover, it was revealed that Cable died and was reborn in a cloned body on an daily basis, something that Psylocke saw as an escape for her tormenting and conflicting feelings when they started a sexual relationship with no strings attached as he had only one night to live.
X-Force briefly met Pete Wisdom's MI13 in Afghanistan, when Psylocke personally handled her sister-in-law Meggan. The two groups joined forces to defeat Volga's remaining forces. Wisdom told Cable and Psylocke about the Yellow Eye, an agency specialized on spying mutants. X-Force chased the Yellow Eye on the track for Volga, but was betrayed by an insane Fantomex driven by his feelings of superiority. Fantomex held a personal grudge against Psylocke, since she rejected and diminished him. Using Volga's technology, he improved his body, easily overpowering Psylocke. As he was about to shoot her dead, he was knocked out by Domino, who had been in Yellow Eye's custody. Psylocke then turned her attention to Yellow Eye's leader, who was revealed to be Mojo. Fantomex, surviving Domino's attack, emulated Archangel's powers to harass Psylocke. X-Force escaped, and, back at their base, Psylocke broke down in tears in front of Domino due to the path of violence she had travelled. Fantomex followed X-Force, and Psylocke used her psychic knife to downsize his ego, the source of his insanity. Once again, Psylocke decided not to claim her opponent's life.
Inhuman War[]
In the wake of a massive anti-mutant uprising due to the discovery that the Terrigen Mists in the atmosphere were harmful to mutants, a desperate Magneto found a mindless Archangel falling from the sky, something he believed to be a sign to reform the X-Men. His first recruit was Psylocke, who not only agreed with a more direct approach to the Terrigen crisis than Storm's X-Haven, but was also interested in keeping track of Magneto's actions and in tending to Archangel. On their first mission, Magneto's X-Men investigated Someday Corporation, that profited from mutants' despair, and fought the Dark Riders, who targeted mutant healers. During their fights, Psylocke telepathically kept this mindless Archangel on a leash, expecting to recover his memories in the process. Psylocke eventually realized Magneto's modus operandi differed drastically from what she was used to, since he kept being overly secretive.
Psylocke got a hint about what had happened to Archangel and asked for Magneto's help to go to Green Ridge, Colorado, where they found a wingless Worthington, kept by Clan Akkaba, now led by Archangel's former lackey, Genocide. As she investigated, Psylocke crossed paths with Fantomex, secretly on Magneto's payroll. As there was still bad blood between them, they engaged in a fight. Psylocke preferred to knock Fantomex out rather than ally herself with him again and learned that a choir of death formed by Archangel's clones had been created. Gravely wounded by the choir, Psylocke called out for Archangel, and he was fused with Worthington again, obliterating the choir. Having Fantomex as a secret X-Man undermined Psylocke's relationship with Magneto even further; nevertheless, she chose to stay with his X-Men to help Archangel.
Dismantling Someday Corporation
During the second super-human war, Psylocke and Magneto had an additional conflict, as Magneto judged the inhuman Ulysses to be a threat to mutantkind and Storm's X-Men opposed his view, supporting Captain Marvel instead. Psylocke briefly left Magneto's X-Men and joined Storm's team. After the fight between the two factions of X-Men ceased, Psylocke confronted Magneto about her being merely one of his pawns rather than a true ally.
The last straw for Psylocke came to be when her team-mate M revealed that she and Magneto were part of the Hellfire Club, asking Psylocke to be their Black Queen. Though furious for being kept in the dark about Magneto's alliances with Fantomex, Mystique and now Sebastian Shaw, Psylocke still helped the Hellfire Club in attacking Someday Corporation, after they started weaponizing mutants. Someday was dismantled, and Psylocke rejected the Hellfire Club's offer and left the X-Men. She warned Magneto that, though she believed in his methods, she would watch his actions as an avenging angel. Acting solo for a while, Psylocke dealt with menaces to mutantkind, such as Omega Sentinels, Sauron, and the Nasty Boys. She was followed by Mystique under Magneto's orders, and her way of defeating and punishing Mystique was restoring her damaged psyche, curing her of her volatile personality. With the ending of the war between the X-Men and the Inhumans, Magneto's team of X-Men disbanded. Psylocke, knowing that Magneto worked to ignite the war, made good on her promise and killed him with her psychic katana after a violent combat in the Savage Land. She walked away alone, feeling the world and the X-Men were better off without both Magneto and her.
A Man called X[]
Psylocke was in London when psychics all over the globe were targeted for death. She resisted the attack and sent a psychic call for help. Fellow X-Men who were relatively nearby went to her rescue, namely Bishop, Angel, Rogue, Gambit, and — though not directly invited — Fantomex, Old Man Logan, and Mystique. These X-Men broke Psylocke free from a psychic trap woven by the Shadow King. She was urgent in sending the X-Men to the astral plane to destroy the Shadow King before he could complete his psychic incursion. On the astral plane, the X-Men found Charles Xavier trapped by the Shadow King. Meanwhile, in the physical world, the Shadow King possessed several people, creating an army of slaves. Psylocke was forced to guide Angel into freeing the Archangel persona, so he could detain the Shadow King's minions. The X-Men seemingly killed the Shadow King on the astral plane and Charles Xavier returned to life in Fantomex's body, calling himself X and greeting a shocked Psylocke upon his return.
Psylocke looked for Fantomex on the astral plane, where he explained that he believed Xavier deserved to be back since he was a nobler man. Psylocke left the astral plane showing tenderness towards Fantomex bearing so much grudge. Back in the real world, the Shadow King's infection did not simply vanish as he died, since Proteus was freed by it. Psylocke and X joined forces to reach Proteus. While Psylocke gave him the benefit of the doubt, X was adamant about killing him. This disagreement allowed Proteus to strike at them, merging their minds and body. Psylocke only recovered herself by having Archangel as an anchor. As the X-Men tried to stop Proteus from bringing the astral plane to the physical world, Psylocke and X telepathically destroyed him. However, it was revealed that the Shadow King had hidden himself inside X's mind, and Psylocke led the X-Men to battle him again. As X recovered, he linked Psylocke's mind to those of all psychics in the world, expanding their telepathy and allowing Psylocke to repair the astral plane as he killed off the Shadow King. X forced the X-Men to forget about his existence, but decided to let Psylocke know he was back and that he had a new dream.
Disassembled[]
Back to her original body
When Wolverine's body disappeared from his final resting place, Kitty Pryde assembled a group of X-Women — including Psylocke — to confront Magneto in his base of operations in Madripoor, since they determined he was a potential suspect. The mutant heroines were ambushed by a local crime ring, Viper's Femme Fatales. The psychic vampire Sapphire Styx absorbed the entirety of Psylocke's soul at once, leaving her body dead. Finding herself inside Sapphire Styx's mind, Braddock fought her way back with assistance from a fragment of Wolverine's soul the villainess had absorbed years earlier. Psylocke destroyed Sapphire Styx from the inside, and used the remaining soul power left behind to recreate her original body, molecule by molecule. Psylocke was finally herself again, no longer attached to Kwannon's destiny. She then rejoined the X-Men, returning to the Xavier Institute.
As a member of the X-Men, Psylocke grew close to Angel again. When the X-Men were caught amidst a riot ignited by Jamie Madrox, Psylocke and Angel helped to control the mob. Angel mysteriously vanished during the conflict, leaving Psylocke confused. Madrox's actions were succeeded by unexplained phenomena the X-Men went to assess. In these missions, Psylocke constantly coordinated with Jean Grey telepathically. Madrox's actions were orchestrated by Legion, who wanted to prevent an insane Nate Grey from rewriting the reality using the Life Seed.
Psylocke recognized Angel was one of Nate Grey's Horsemen of Salvation after they destroyed the X-Mansion. To free Angel from Nate Grey's control, Psylocke did the unimaginable: she once again freed Archangel from the depths of his mind, ruining their relationship forever. Psylocke then sent Bishop to the inside of Legion's psyche to save some of the New X-Men, who were trapped with Nate Grey. However, her actions freed Nate Grey, who now had control over Legion's body and powers. During the fight, Psylocke and a resentful Archangel teamed up to liberate Storm from being a Horseman of Salvation. Then, Psylocke linked a large group of telepaths to down Nate Grey's defenses, allowing Jean Grey to reach him. As a result, he created a pocket reality as he had originally planned, bringing dozens of X-Men with him.
In this new reality, everyone on Earth was a mutant and any intimate relationships were strongly discouraged or illegal. Psylocke was a member of Department X, the police force in charge of investigating and arresting dissident mutants. Psylocke and her team, for example, arrested X-Man Bishop for engaging in a forbidden relationship with Marvel Girl. Some time later, Department X was tasked with capturing love criminals Luke and Nezumi Sen. Nezumi revealed that she was pregnant, something for which they did not have a protocol to follow. Psylocke used her psychic powers to confirm the pregnancy, leaving the group shaken by the situation.
Department X caused the controlled burning of a nearby woodland, giving the X-Men a catastrophe to manage on this fabricated world. Later, while working alone together, Psylocke confronted the Blob about his feelings toward her, offering to erase them, which he refused. Psylocke confronted the Blob at his home where she shared an intimate memory with him as she started to question Department X's activities. When detaining another criminal mutant, she only pretended to wipe his memories being backed by the Blob. They started to share relaxing moments together in secrecy, commiserating over their feelings for one another. With Blob's support, Psylocke released all the trapped love memories of those they had imprisoned, terminating her connection to Department X. When Nate Grey returned all the mutants to their mainstream identities, Psylocke and Blob returned together.
Krakoan Champion[]
Captain Britain, Krakoan Champion
Much radically changed for Braddock with the establishment of the mutant nation on the island of Krakoa, where all mutants were granted citizenship. Eventually, she decided to move to the island, after a period living with her family at the Braddock Academy. Since Braddock learned Kwannon returned to her original body, she gave up her Psylocke identity, as it had been attached to the image of the woman whose body she stole. Kwannon's return was not the only one that shocked Braddock: through Krakoan Resurrection Protocols, her older brother Jamie also came back to the living. Another shadow from the past was Apocalypse, a member of the Krakoan government, who had a special interest in accessing the Otherworld and sought for Braddock's help. Simultaneously, Captain Britain, who was aware that the Otherworld faced a crisis, was contacted. The Braddock twins traveled to Avalon, where they were attacked by Morgan Le Fay. Brian fell under Morgan's control, and Betsy Braddock reassumed the mantle of Captain Britain after claiming her brother's Amulet of Power.
Captain Britain was brought back to Krakoa by a group assembled by Apocalypse, formed by Rogue, Gambit and Jubilee. They went to the ruins of the Braddock Lighthouse, a beacon to the Otherworld. Unsuccessful, the group returned to Earth, without Brian. Upon their return, the British Crown recognized Betsy Braddock as the official new Captain Britain, sending Pete Wisdom to act as her contact. Braddock extended her position to her colleagues, recreating Excalibur as the official liaison between the UK, Krakoa and the Otherworld. As a consequence, Captain Britain became a target to the reformulated Coven Akkaba, now an anti-mutant organization with ties to Morgan le Fay and the Otherworld.
As one of her first actions, Captain Britain had Excalibur to protect Britain from being invaded by beasts from the Otherworld, as its barriers were weakened. With the invasion escalated, Apocalypse completed his ritual to invade Morgan's castle in Camelot. Excalibur realized he had manipulated them to fall into a combat against Morgan, since he had previously planned for a mutant Captain Britain and a mutant-ruled Avalon. Apocalypse ultimately arranged for the conflict to be solved by a duel of champions for the Kingdom of Avalon: Betsy, for Krakoa, versus Brian, for Morgan. In a brutal fight, the new Captain Britain accidentally slew her brother. Triumphant, Apocalypse appointed Jamie as Avalon's monarch. Betsy also demanded that Jamie resurrect Brian. Though Betsy assumed Brian would step back as Captain Britain, he refused to since he had succumbed to Morgan's influence. Betsy Braddock was now the true and only Captain Britain.
Apocalypse then assigned Excalibur to retrieve Warwolf carcasses to complete a ritual that would allow him to spy on the Starlight Citadel. Excalibur tracked the remaining Warwolves, clashing with Cullen Bloodstone, who had bought the beasts, though the Warwolves were eventually claimed by Excalibur. Excalibur reached the Starlight Citadel, and Captain Britain earned the immense aversion of its ruler, her former ally Saturnyne. Saturnyne's priestesses fought back, but Excalibur managed to invade the Starlight Citadel where they planted a Krakoan gateway. In the Starlight Citadel, Saturnyne and Captain Britain discussed the past and the future of the Captain Britain Corps.
Apocalypse's true motivations for opening the gates to the Otherworld were revealed: he wished to be reunited with his wife and children, who long ago had left for the hellish dimension of Amenth with Arakko. Unexpectedly, Apocalypse's children betrayed him and planned to invade and consume Krakoa, being led by Annihilation. Saturnyne, facing an imminent conflict in her dominions, set off a tournament, with ten swords from each land: Krakoa and Arakko. When the prophecy for the tournament was recited, Betsy's name was listed among the Swordbearers of Krakoa. The first phase of the tournament comprised collecting the ten swords, and the three Braddock siblings visited the Starlight Citadel to retrieve Betsy's sword. Saturnyne desired to have Brian back as the champion of a reformed the Captain Britain Corps. Knowing this, Betsy and Brian pretended to fight over Captain Britain's mantle, tricking Saturnyne into crafting the Starlight Sword for Brian after Betsy destroyed the Amulet of Power. Betsy stole the sword and joined the tournament as Captain Britain.
Captain Britain's first and only challenge was against an Arakki opponent, Isca the Unbeaten. Surprisingly, as a result of a spell cast by Saturnyne, Captain Britain was shattered to pieces in the middle of the battle. Saturnyne intended to recreate the Captain Britain Corps with the spell, but when she reassembled Captain Britain's pieces she was horrified to see Betsy instead of Brian as her champion. Her spell brought several alternate versions of Betsy Braddock to help the X-Men fight the forces of Amenth.
Otherworld War[]
With the Corps reassembled, Braddock's spirit bounced between realities, ultimately being switched with an alternate version of herself: Queen Elizabeth III. With that reality's Angel's and Kwannon's help, Captain Britain managed to return to the Othwerworld. At the Braddock Lighthouse, a cloned body created by her brother Jamie was possessed by an unknown usurper, attracting the attention of Excalibur and Psylocke. As her spirit was retrieved by Elspeth Braddock, the Captain Britain Corps sought for Excalibur's help in returning her spirit to her body. As a resurrection ritual performed by Rictor failed, Psylocke set Captain Britain's spirit free and hunted her mind in Avalon. As the two women met, they finally had the opportunity to talk about their sorrowful connection. As Psylocke offered to host her psyche, Captain Britain was fully resurrected. Soon after she returned, Excalibur learned her body had been previously possessed by Malice. Captain Britain and Psylocke, with newfound sympathy for Malice's situation, tracked her down on Krakoa and fought her in a telepathic battle that ended with Malice's death. Malice was revived by the Five in her original body, having a second chance at life.
During the Hellfire Gala, one of Coven Akkaba's highest ranking members, Reuben Brousseau, was revealed to have become an ambassador for the British government, being able to reject Krakoa's sovereignty and Captain Britain's legitimacy as a British representative. With Excalibur no longer welcome in Britain, Rictor reshaped the Braddock Lighthouse as the Braddock Isle, no longer attached to Great Britain. In Otherworld, however, Captain Britain was reluctantly accepted by Saturnyne to take care of diplomatic affairs. Initially sent to the Holy Republic of Fae, Excalibur was tasked to check on Merlyn, who had been acting dangerously antagonistic after losing his position at the Starlight Citadel to Saturnyne. Although briefly imprisoned, Excalibur escaped Merlyn's clutches.
Upon her return to the Braddock Isle, Captain Britain was approached by Doctor Doom, who wished to access Otherworld. In an unusual team-up, Doom was escorted by Captain Britain to the Valley of Wailing Mists, where they found Castle Le Fay missing. The shrunken castle was located in Mad Jim Jaspers' Crooked Market, where Doctor Doom and Excalibur were attacked by an army of mutant-killing Furies. Overcoming the fight and with Doctor Doom's gratitude, Captain Britain started to link the recent hostilities against Avalon to Merlyn's intentions. Her investigation led her to realize that Merlyn had been damaging the opinion about mutants among Otherworld's courts in order to undermine Saturnyne's rule. His plan was made explicit when he approached the Starlight Citadel accompanied with an army led by King Arthur, Avalon's former ruler and father of the erratic mutant Mordred. With no other option, Excalibur went to battle against Merlyn's forces fighting for the right of mutants to be in Otherworld.
Overpowered at first, Captain Britain had Excalibur retreat to Avalon and Krakoa, where she was able to reconnect with her teammates from S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi Division. Returning to the Starlight Citadel, Captain Britain and Excalibur helped the Captain Britain Corps in their war against Merlyn's forces. Negating the Citadel's magics with a spell, Merlyn had Braddock lose her Captain Britain powers. After being victorious in a hand-to-hand combat against King Arthur, Captain Britain escaped to Avalon with Saturnyne. As the Citadel fell under Merlyn's control, Captain Britain and Saturnyne fell through the cracks of the interdimensional rift that had separated them from Merlyn's army. They eventually escaped the trap. Managing to invade Avalon, Merlyn forced the mutants to retreat to Earth in order to protect themselves. After Merlyn, with Coven Akkaba's and Morgan's assistance, destroyed the Braddock Lighthouse and the gateway from Otherworld to Earth, Captain Britain used the Starlight Sword to return by herself and fight in the war, being ultimately trapped in Otherworld.
With Otherworld almost completely controlled by Merlyn, Captain Britain had her Corps secretly survive in the Lavender Keep, hidden in the Floating Kingdom of Roma Regina. The Corps saved mutants who faced danger in Otherworld during the war. Captain Britain then took matters to Roma, asking for an army to resist Merlyn. Roma gifted Captain Britain with a quest instead, a story to be told featuring ten knights. Temporarily able to return to Krakoa through the Voltus Glade, Braddock recruited her champions. Soon returning to Otherworld and striking at Merlyn's army, Captain Britain and the other Knights of X learned that the full objective of their quest was to find the Siege Perilous.
Attributes[]
Powers[]
Betsy Braddock is a powerful mutant psychic, manifesting a vast and ever-changing set of telepathic and telekinetic abilities throughout the years. In addition to being a psychic, she was also granted Captain Britain powers in different moments of her life.
Telepathy: Braddock developed her mental powers to interact with, affect and manipulate the minds of other sentient beings over long distances. When she makes use of her telepathy a large butterfly-like image is usually cast by her.
- Psionic Knife: Described as "the focused totality of her psychic powers", by intensely channeling and focusing her psionic powers to her hands, Braddock creates “psychic blades”, razor-sharp edges of pure mental energy which she plunges into the minds of her targets directly. Braddock often uses them to disrupt the neurons of her foes by driving the glowing blade of mental energy into their skulls. It is able to kill.
- Psionic Blasts: Capable of projecting psionic force bolts which can affect a victim's mind causing them pain, confusion, unconsciousness, or even death. She sometimes uses this alongside her fighting skills against a large number of opponents.
- Astral Projection: Ability to project her astral form from her body onto astral planes or the physical plane. On the astral plane, she can mentally create psionic objects and manipulate the aspects of her environment. Under the effects of the Crimson Dawn her astral form was normally undetectable.
- Psionic Shadow: Ability to mask her presence from others. Her abilities can go undetected and are very difficult to track, even by very powerful telepaths such as Shadow King. She can extend these defenses to others around her as well.
- Telepathic Illusions: Ability to create elaborate illusions to make herself seem to be invisible, look like someone else, or fabricate experiences and events that are not truly happening.
- Mind Control: Capable of controlling the minds of others.
- Telepathic Detection: Enhanced psionic senses enable her to track other sentient beings in her immediate vicinity by their unique psionic emanations, especially if they pose a threat to her well-being. She also can scan large areas and track her vicinity, as well as detect the psyches of the inhabitants of a city to learn of their condition.
- Mental Paralysis: Ability to induce temporary mental and physical paralysis.
- Mental Amnesia: Can erase any awareness of particular memories or cause total amnesia.
- Psionic Immunity: After being resurrected by her brother, Jamie, Betsy Braddock has been shown to have an immunity to certain psionic attacks such as mind reading and illusions.
- Precognition: Braddock's psychic abilities originally manifested as precognitive dreams. She was able to predict her brother Brian would be attacked by Lord Hawk and that the Reavers would kill her and her X-Men teammates. It is unknown if this ability remains in the present.
Telekinesis: Ability to psionically manipulate and control the physical aspects of matter, allowing her to move and levitate objects and living beings. Although she can move objects from a distance and fly as other telekinetics do, she has shown little inclination to do either in combat situations. Her telekinesis are described to be robust, in the sense she found that using her telekinesis in forceful ways was easier than in a delicate, fine manner. However, over time she displayed further control over fine matter.
- Flight: She can personalize her telekinetic abilities in such a way to propel herself through the air at variable speeds.
- Force Fields: Capable of creating telekinetic shields of all sizes to deflect/decelerate incoming attacks. She can also alter their sizes and strengths.
- Concussive Blasts: Psylocke can release extremely powerful blasts or bursts made of telekinetic force that on the lowest level can stun targets but on the highest level can destroy entire mountains.
- Telekinetic Weapons: Braddock's telekinesis has great versatility, as she has used it to construct psionic weapons that damage a target either physically, mentally or both at some point. She showed skill in using creating multiple types of psionic weapons that differ in size and power which she uses in combat.
- Telekinetic Sword/Katana: Braddock can manifest a telekinetic sword composed of raw psi-energy at will, which at its lowest intensity functions to disrupt neural pathways, and at its highest level, her swords can slice an armored opponent and cut through their armor, but leave the attacker physically unharmed. Her telekinetic manifestations produce visible radiance in the physical world, which can be used as a makeshift light source in areas of darkness. Her telekinetic sword is strong enough to harm other beings more powerful than herself. When in Kwannon's body, her sword usually manifested as a katana. After returning to her original body, she produced a sword more similar to a European knight's sword in its fashion, often used with a telekinetic shield.
- Telekinetic Crossbow: As of late, Braddock has been showing even more versatility when it comes to her psionic constructs. She has been seen creating psi-bows and arrows.
- Telekinetic Spiked Flail: She once manifested a psionic spiked flail which she used to destroy a wall.
- Telekinetic Minigun: She once used a minigun made of telekinetic energy
- Telekinetic Spikes: She can create destructive psionic spikes that destroy the physical objects that the spikes come into contact with.
- Telekinetically Enhanced Condition: She can use her telekinesis to enhance her speed, strength, agility, and other fighting skills to superhuman levels.
- Telekinetic Invisibility: She showed the ability to use her telekinesis to render herself invisible by modifying her molecular structure.
Reality Anchoring: Betsy Braddock's brother, Jamie, had altered her at a quantum level in order to make her more resilient to the multiversal entity called The First Fallen. His changing of her personal being gave her immunity to magic, psionics, and alterations to the space-time continuum, as well as imperceptibility to similarly empowered beings.
Otherworlder: As a half-Otherworlder, she manifests powers granted by that status.
Abilities[]
Master Martial Artist: Originally, Braddock had advanced training as a fighter from S.T.R.I.K.E. As an X-Man, she was taught in combat in constant training sessions with Wolverine and other X-Men. After swapping bodies with Kwannon, she acquired all the fighting knowledge the Asian assassin had, being classified as a master martial artist, though the specific fighting arts she had mastered have never been revealed. Presumably, as a ninja, she is skilled in various ninjutsu techniques. Even though she is known as a ninja and worked for The Hand as one, her fighting skills and techniques far surpass those of the average Hand Ninja or Crimson Dawn Undercloak. Her skills have been said to rival those of a ninja grandmaster (10th Dan level black belt or above). As an Exile, Braddock has also received additional training from Sabretooth and Ogun that vastly developed her skills in this area. She is also very well versed in the use of all ninja weapons, stealth methods, silent movement, infiltration, concealment, escape & evasion, covert methods, ninja espionage, and ninja acrobatics.
Master Telepathic Combatant: As a telepath, Braddock takes advantage of her powers in a fight by reading her opponents' movements seconds before they make them, giving her the opportunity to counter-attack faster. She can also use her telepathy to mask her presence from other people, humans and super-humans alike. She can create telepathic illusions to distract her enemies while fighting them and as a ninja, she uses her psychic knife to incapacitate her opponents without killing them, though she has fewer inhibitions about doing so and will if necessary.
Advanced Telekinetic Combatant: As a telekinetic, she often uses her powers to augment her strength and speed, which made her fighting skills so strong that she was able to match and even outmatch other superhumanly strong opponents like a holographic version of Sabretooth in the Danger Room.
Trained Pilot: Braddock worked as a charter pilot, being experienced in controlling airplanes. On several occasions, she was tasked of piloting the X-Men Blackbird.
Paraphernalia[]
Equipment[]
- Captain Britain's Uniform: As Captain Britain, Braddock wears a costume that provides her several abilities. Braddock's uniform appears to be cast only when she is in possession of either the Amulet of Power (currently destroyed) or the Starlight Sword. Braddock's first Captain Britain uniform was originally worn by Kaptain Briton.
- Flight: Captain Britain has the ability to self propel herself through the air.
- Superhuman Strength: Wearing a Captain Britain uniform, Braddock acquires increased strength. The limits of her strength are not assessed and remain unrevealed. As an example of her augmented strength, she was once able to destroy firearms with her bare hands.
- Superhuman Durability: As Captain Britain, it seems Braddock manifests enhanced durability. She was able to jump from the top of the Braddock Lighthouse falling several meters to the ground with no injuries. Assuming she manifests similar abilities her brother did when wearing Captain Britain's uniform, it might be assumed this is due to the uniform emitting a surrounding force field over her body.
Weapons[]
- Starlight Sword: To enter the Otherworld contest, as one of the Swordbearers of Krakoa, Braddock tricked Saturnyne into forging the Starlight Sword, a replacement for the Amulet of Right as the conduit of her Captain Britain's powers. The Starlight Sword was crafted from a piece of the Starlight Citadel, made of an unknown material. The wielder of the sword steps into the role of Saturnyne's champion of the Otherworld.
- Psylocke owned a katana named Shurayuki, that was forged in Japan a thousand years ago and given to her by an unrevealed friend. She used to telekinetically charge her katana with psionic energy. It is unknown if Braddock kept her katana after returning to her original body.
- Various telekinetic weapons
Transportation[]
Formerly Krakoan Gateways, X-Men Blackbird, a flying Bentley roadster, Magik, Gateway (from Earth-295), Gateway (from Earth-616) and her former charter plane.
Notes[]
- Psylocke and Wolverine have shared a psychic bond.
- Psylocke was stated to be the third most powerful telepath on Earth (without counting Stryfe).
Trivia[]
- Creator Chris Claremont once stated that Psylocke was turned Asian for the Acts of Vengeance story arc only, but, after a good response from the audience to Jim Lee's design for Asian Psylocke, he decided to keep going with the redesign.
- Psylocke originally had her own body transformed into an Asian body rather than having her mind transferred to the body of an Asian woman. X-Men writer Fabian Nicieza declared he misinterpreted the original story during his research, resulting in the creation of Kwannon.
- Psylocke's return to her original body could have happened many years prior to her actual comeback. Writer Chris Claremont intended to have her resurrected in her original body in his X-Treme X-Men series, which ended in 2004, but the editorial staff had several restrictions for characters returning from death back then. This would change a few years later, when Joss Whedon was allowed to resurrect Colossus in Astonishing X-Men, paving the way for Claremont to bring Psylocke back. Claremont kept her in her Asian body.
- Uncanny X-Force's writer Rick Remender stated in interview that Psylocke's powerset consisted of her being a "burgeoning Omega-level telepath", with no mention of her telekinetic abilities. In his stories, Psylocke was never seen using telekinesis.
- Curiously, Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul, is usually portrayed with a butterfly hovering over her head, similar to the butterfly effect Psylocke manifests when using her telepathic powers.
- The name "Psylocke" ([ˈsaɪ.lɑːk] SEYE-lok) is assumed by some fans to be a wordplay with the words "psyche", "key" and "lock". As "psyche" is pronouced as "psy-key", "Psylocke" would be pronounced as "psy-lock".