If there’s one thing that will get X-Men fans, Daredevil fans, or anyone who likes comics to pick up Psylocke: Ninja #2, it’s the cover featuring a battle between Psylocke and Elektra. Indeed, the lovely yet lethal warriors come to blows as Psylocke was tasked by the Hand to eliminate Elektra. In the process, she winds up helping her target… and further blurs the lines between Betsy Braddock and Kwannon.
Apart from the continuity beautifully lining up to make this matchup possible, Tim Seeley understands, on a metatextual level, why the idea of a fight between Psylocke and Elektra is intriguing. Both have been transformed into warriors by outside forces. Both underwent a kind of “death”; in Psylocke’s case, it’s Kwannon’s mind that died while her body became a vessel for Betsy Braddock to inhabit, while Elektra literally died at the hands of Bullseye. Both of them were also being piloted by a malevolent force beyond their control – for Psylocke, it’s the Hand; for Elektra, it’s the Beast, the demonic figure that the Hand serves.
Elektra isn’t the only person that Psylocke ends up fighting. She also has to battle the Caste, the Hand’s opposite number, and they’re quite formidable. Whether it’s Wing, who can levitate others with a mere touch, or Flame, summoning fire to burn the guilty, each member has their own unique ability that makes them more than a match for Betsy. Nico Leon is clearly having a blast drawing the battle between Psylocke and the Chaste, with whole panels featuring kicks that slice through the air and a variety of weapons being brought to bear.
Marvel
Leon’s best work, though, comes when he gets to draw the emergence of Psylocke’s famed “psychic knife”. Worry not, X-fans, as there’s a snippet of dialogue about “the focused totality” of said knife. It takes a while for her to actually form this weapon, and the botched results bring forth a wave of pure psychic energy that nearly blows up the Chaste’s fortress. It’s a reminder that psychic powers are some of the most dangerous in the Marvel Universe, as the sheer force of someone’s mind can turn them into a living weapon.
The artwork in Psylocke: Ninja #2 wouldn’t hit nearly as hard as it does without Dono Sanchez-Alamara’s color art. Sanchez-Alamara utilizes a simple set of colors: warm tan and yellows for the Chaste’s fortress, white for the Chaste’s robes, and bright red whenever Elektra is concerned. Obviously, purple is the most prominent colors: a bright, vibrant violet representing Psylocke’s psychic powers, and different shades of purple seeping into Ariana Maher’s lettering, representing the two minds that make up Psylocke’s whole.
While the battle between Psylocke and Elektra ends in a stalemate, there’s a series of pages teasing that the two will cross paths again. It also confirms that Psylocke is still at war on the psychic landscape, which is becoming the key conflict of the book. Psylocke: Ninja #2 continues to feature great action and solid scripting, while also pitting Psylocke against a deadly new enemy in Elektra.
You must be logged in to post a comment.