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Psylocke
Real
name: Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock Other aliases:
(former) Captain Britain II, Lady Mandarin Identity: Secret Occupation:
(current) Adventurer, (former) Fashion model, operative for S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi Division,
(as Lady Mandarin) Assassin Legal status: Subject of the United Kingdom
with no criminal record Place of birth: Braddock Manor, England Marital status: Single Known relatives: James Braddock, Sr.
(father, deceased), Elizabeth Braddock (mother, deceased), Brian Braddock (Captain
Britain, brother), James "Jamie" Braddock, Jr. (brother) Base of operations:
The Xavier Institute, Salem Center, Westchester
County, New York State, (former) Braddock Manor, England; X-Men headquarters,
Australian outback Group affiliation: X-Men,
(former) S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi Division (British division of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
First appearance: (U. K.) CAPTAIN BRITAIN (Vol. 1) #8, (U. S.) NEW
MUTANTS ANNUAL #2
History: Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock is the
daughter of Dr. James Braddock, who was once a denizen of Otherworld, an other-dimensional
realm. A being who called himself Merlin (but who may not actually be the wizard
of Arthurian legend) sent Braddock to Earth to father the champion who would be
known as Captain Britain.
Living in England, Dr. Braddock became one
of the United Kingdom's leading research scientists. He married a woman named
Elizabeth and they bought the mansion they renamed Braddock Manor. There Dr. Braddock
created a highly advanced computer complex called Mastermind (which is not to
be confused with the two mutants of the same name).
Dr.
and Mrs. Braddock's three children, the eldest, Jamie, and the twins, Brian and
Elizabeth (nicknamed "Betsy"), inherited genes from their father that endowed
them with superhuman powers. The children's powers, however, remained latent for
many years.
Dr. and Mrs. Braddock were killed in an explosion in Dr.
Braddock's laboratory at Braddock Manor that was caused by the malfunctioning
computer Mastermind.
Brian Braddock eventually became the costumed champion
known as Captain Britain. Betsy developed the psychic ability which she used in
the service of S.T.R.I.K.E., a British division of the international law enforcement
agency S.H.I.E.L.D. Betsy also developed a highly successful career as a fashion
model. She knew of Brian's double identity, and the two siblings took up residence
in Braddock Manor.
Members of a British government agency called R.C.X.,
knowing that Brian Braddock was Captain Britain, attempted to recruit him to work
with them. Refusing to be exploited by the government, Brian Braddock gave up
the role of Captain Britain. The R.C.X. agents then persuaded Betsy to become
the new Captain Britain, working with them. Betsy used a costume taken from an
otherdimensional counterpart of Brian, which magnified her strength to superhuman
levels when she wore it and enabled her to fly. Another other-dimensional hero,
Captain UK, trained Betsy to become a crimefighter, and the two acted as partners
on missions together for many weeks.
Finally, Betsy launched her solo
career as the new Captain Britain, which came to a quick end when she went into
battle against two of the original Captain Britain's arch foes, the Vixen and
Slaymaster. Wearing a battle suit that amplified his own strength, Slaymaster
savagely beat Betsy nearly to death and blinded her. Sensing her telepathic cries
of agony, Brian Braddock rushed to his sister's rescue and fought and killed Slaymaster.
Realizing he could not forsake his responsibilities, Brian resumed his role as
Captain Britain.
Betsy went to Switzerland to recuperate. While there
she was taken prisoner by the other-dimensional creature known as Mojo. Mojo took
control of Betsy and gave her new, artificial eyes, thereby restoring her sight.
Betsy was rescued through the intervention of the New Mutants, a team of adolescent
mutants. Having regained her free will, Betsy chose to remain at the New Mutants'
home, Professor Charles Xavier's mansion in Westchester County, New York, which
also served as the secret headquarters of the mutant adventurers called the X-Men.
Betsy proved her courage to the X-Men by resisting the attack of their
enemy Sabretooth when he broke into the mansion. As a result she was accepted
into the ranks of the X-Men, becoming a costumed adventurer once more under the
code name Psylocke.
Later, Psylocke was captured by the crime lord Matsu'o
Tsurayaba. Seeking to save the life of his lover, the female assassin Kwannon,
Tsurayaba oversaw a process through which the minds of Kwannon and the X-Man Psylocke
switched bodies. In the process Kwannon's mind melded with that of Psylocke, endowing
each of them with the same memories and telepathic abilities. Tsurayaba brainwashed
Psylocke and turned her over to one of Earth's most dangerous men, the Mandarin.
Under the name of Lady Mandarin, Psylocke briefly served the Mandarin, but ultimately
Psylocke regained her free will and returned to the X-Men.
Later Kwannon,
in Psylocke's body, became an ally of the X-Men, calling herself Revanche. For
a time there was confusion among the X-Men as to who was the "real" Betsy Braddock.
Finally, Revanche learned that she was dying from the Legacy Virus and had Tsurayaba
kill her. Thus Betsy's original body died, but she lived on as Psylocke in Kwannon's
original body.
Recently, Psylocke and her fellow X-Man, Angel, have
fallen in love with each other. Psylocke was nearly killed by Sabretooth, but
was healed by magical forces from a mystical dimension called the Crimson Dawn.
However, Kuragari, a sinister being who had conquered the Crimson Dawn, attempted
to corrupt Psylocke's personality through a mystical ring. Kuragari planned to
make Psylocke his queen and through her father a genetically powerful bloodline.
However, together Angel and Psylocke thwarted Kuragari, and Psylocke's mind is
now free of Kuragari's influence.
A life-saving encounter with the other-dimensional energy
source called the Crimson Dawn resulted in a more subtle,
though no less meaningful, metamorphosis. Psylocke's fighting
skills and telepathic talents were enhanced, and she acquired
the ability to transport herself and others through shadows,
as well as become one with the shadows. Also, the mark
of the Crimson Dawn, a blade-like, red tattoo, appeared
over her left eye. Betsy later sacrificed her psychic
powers to forever imprison the telepathic criminal called
the Shadow King in her astral shadow form, but subsequently
acquired a range of telekinetic abilities.
Soon after, Betsy left Xavier's mansion with a small
strike force of fellow X-Men in search of the diaries
of the blind mutant seer known as Destiny, which map out
human history for the next thousand years. While in Valencia,
Spain, the team was captured by the Action Force of the
Guardia Civil, that country's national police. Subjected
to a battery of tests, the X-Men were released into a
technologically fortified maze to gauge the their fighting
abilities and mutant powers. Psylocke, the blue-furred
Beast and the ability-absorbing Rogue found them selves
in the headquarters' control center, separated from their
teammates. There, they encountered Vargas, a criminal
claiming to be the first manifestation of the next authentic
generation of humanity, the pure and legitimate Homo sapiens
superior. Her teammates wounded, Betsy engaged her opponent
in a duel to the death, which ended when Vargas speared
his sword through her abdomen. Psylocke's sudden demise
left her teammates, and her lover, Thunderbird III, to
balance the scales and complete the quest for Destiny's
missing diaries.
Height: (both bodies) 5 ft. 11 in. Weight: (both bodies) 155 lbs. Eyes: (original body) Violet,
(current body) Blue Hair: (original body) Blonde, (current body) Black
(dyed purple) Other distinguishing features: Red tattoo over her left
eye
Strength level: Psylocke possesses the normal human strength
of a woman of her age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.
Known superhuman powers: Psylocke possesses many telepathic abilities,
enabling her to read minds, communicate mentally with others over long distances,
stun the minds of others with "mental bolts," control the minds of others, and
create illusions in the minds of others. Psylocke can intensely focus her psionic
powers into her "psychic knife," with which she can stun or kill an adversary.
Other abilities: Psylocke is highly skilled in Far Eastern martial
arts.