X-Men comics are notorious for intricate and complicated continuity that isn’t always easy to understand or keep track of. Perhaps one of the most convoluted continuity snarls in the X-Men comics involves the characters of Betsy Braddock and Kwannon, who have a thorny history together. Betsy Braddock, created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe for the Marvel UK series Captain Britain, is the mutant twin sister of Brian Braddock aka the British superhero Captain Britain. The character of Betsy Braddock was officially integrated into the X-Men franchise by Claremont in New Mutants Annual #2, a story in which Betsy is abducted and taken to Mojovers and outfitted with bionic eyes. After the New Mutants rescue Betsy, she is invited to join the X-Men. Betsy accepts the invitation and adopts the codename “Psylocke”, which was a nickname Mojo gave Betsy while she was his prisoner.
Fast forward to Uncanny X-Men #251, the X-Men are attacked at their base in Australia by the cybernetic terrorists the Reaver. To escape the Reavers, Betsy telepathically commands the X-Men to enter an extra-dimensional teleportation device called Siege Perilous. In Uncanny X-Men #255 an amnesiac Betsy appears in Hong Kong where her body is taken by the crime organization known as the Hand, who brainwash Betsy and alter her appearance to give her East Asian features. Betsy’s transformation is fully seen in the next issue, Uncanny X-Men #256. Now going by the name “Lady Mandarin”, Betsy acts as an assassin for the Hand until the X-Men free her from the Hand’s brainwashing. No longer under the influence of the Hand, Betsy continues to serve the X-Men under her original codename “Psylocke” in her current body. This ninja version of Psylocke, primarily drawn by Jim Lee, became instantly iconic and would prove to be very popular with the X-Men fandom.
This already confusing plotline is further complicated in X-Men #17 by Fabian Nicieza in which Kwannon is first introduced as an unnamed ninja seeking revenge on the X-Men. In X-Men #20 Kwannon as “Revanche” arrives at the Xavier mansion claiming to be Betsy Braddock, and accuses the X-Man Psylocke of being an imposter. Nicieza then reveals Kwannon’s origins in X-Men #22, and how Betsy Braddock’s consciousness came to inhabit Kwannon’s body. This story directly contradicts the events of Uncanny X-Men #255 and Uncanny X-Men #256 by establishing that Betsy was not simply transformed into the body of an Asian woman, but rather that her consciousness was swapped with that of Kwannon. This body swap resulted in Kwannon and Besty Braddock both claiming to be Psylocke until Kwannon eventually was killed by her former lover Matsuo Tsurayaba after contracting the devastating Legacy Virus. The body swap plotline was not resolved until the 2018 limited series Hunt For Wolverine: Mystery In Madripoor #4 when Betsy and Kwannon were put back into their original bodies. If you want a comprehensive deep dive into the Besty/Kwannon body swap I would suggest listening to the Kwannon or Betsy Braddock episodes of the “Cerebro” podcast hosted by Connor Goldsmith.
Once the body swap had been reversed, great efforts were made to establish Kwannon as a unique character distinct from the Betsy Braddock version of Psylocke. Betsy Braddock became the new Captain Britain and went on to be a lead in Tini Howard’s run of Excalibur, while Kwannon was given the codename Psylocke and was featured in books such as Bryan Edward Hill’s limited series Fallen Angels, Zeb Wells’ Hellions, and Steve Orlando’s Marauders. After the “From the Ashes” relaunch of the entire line of X-books, Kwannon became a member of Cyclops’ Alaskan X-Men team in Jed MacKay’s X-Men. For the first time, the character is also leading her ongoing series written by Alyssa Wong. This run features Kwannon in a central role and affirms Kwannon as an X-Men character worthy and deserving of their solo series.
The most recent issue of Psylocke finds Kwannon plagued by haunting visions of a ghostly woman brought about by a hallucinogenic drug that she was exposed to. After consulting with the mutant Deathdream, who is featured in the pages of Uncanny X-Men by Gail Simone, Kwannon learns that the visions might be connected to her former life working with the Hand. Kwannon then goes off on her own to find the source of these visions. Meanwhile, John Greycrow and Devon suspect that all is not well with Kwannon and want to know what has been going on with her.
Kwannon continues to be haunted by visions from her past. Courtesy of Marvel Comics
In Psylocke #8 there are three major plots going on. In the A-plot we see Kwannon traveling to Japan in search of the home of her former mentor, Master Hayashi, who trained Kwannon and her friend Mitzuki as assassins for the Hand. Kwannon is also plagued by haunting visions of a ghostly woman brought about by a hallucinogenic drug that she was exposed to. The B-plot is a flashback to Kwannon’s childhood, in which we learn more about her friendship with Mitzuki and her relationship with Hayashi as one of his trainees. Finally, the C-plot follows John Greycrow and Devon in pursuit of clues that will help them identify the mysterious mark that appeared on Kwannon’s wrist in Psylocke #7. The duo begins their quest by tracking down Shinobi Shaw, who they hope can provide them with some answers so they can discover the truth about the secrets that Kwannon has been keeping from them since Psylocke #6.
This issue is filled with lots of great action sequences beautifully drawn by Moisés Hidalgo with superb coloring by Fer Sifuentes-Sujo. Mahmud Asrar and Matthew Wilson’s body horror-esque cover is truly disturbing as we see Kwannon splitting off into two forms. Alyssa Wong’s writing gives Kwannon a distinct voice and personality that further asserts that Kwannon is a fully autonomous individual with a unique backstory that sets her apart from Betsy Braddock. Psylocke is beginning to emerge as a signature and definitive run for the character of Kwannon as she is finally able to truly come into her own as Psylocke without the burden of her past with Betsy weighing her down.
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