Psylocke

Psylocke
Psylocke
	Textless variant cover of Excalibur (vol. 4) #19, featuring both characters associated with the codename Psylocke: Betsy Braddock (left) and Kwannon (right).; Art by Mahmud Asrar and Matthew Wilson.
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Earth-616: Betsy Braddock:; Captain Britain #8; (December 1976); Debut as Psylocke:; The New Mutants Annual #2; (October 1986); Kwannon:; X-Men #17; (February 1993); Debut as Psylocke:; Fallen Angels #1; (November 2019); Earth-6160: Sai:; Demon Days: X-Men #1; (March 2021); Kanon Sainouchi:; Ultimate X-Men #7; (September 2024);
Created by	Chris Claremont (writer); Herb Trimpe (artist)
Characters	Earth-616:; Betsy Braddock; Kwannon; Earth-6160:; Sai; Kanon Sainouchi;
Psylocke
	Psylocke #1 (2009) featuring the body-swapped Betsy Braddock version of the character, art by David Finch and Jason Keith.
Series publication information
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Limited series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	Nov. 2009 - Feb. 2010
Number of issues	4
Main character(s)	Psylocke (Betsy Braddock)
Creative team
Writer(s)	Christopher Yost
Penciller(s)	Harvey Tolibao
Inker(s)	Paul Neary
Colorist(s)	Jay David Ramos

Psylocke is the alias of two connected characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Both characters are depicted as mutants, a subspecies of humans born with an "X-gene" that grants superhuman abilities.

In the primary continuity of the Marvel Universe, the first and best-known incarnation of Psylocke is Betsy Braddock (created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe), a British telepath who was introduced as a supporting character for her twin brother Brian in 1976. Betsy adopts the codename "Psylocke" upon joining the X-Men in 1986, and three years later takes on the appearance of a Japanese woman and the abilities of a ninja in a story written by Claremont and illustrated by Jim Lee. This redesign was retroactively revealed in 1993 as the result of a body swap with the ninja assassin Kwannon (created by Fabian Nicieza and Andy Kubert). Following 29 years of publication history, both women were returned to their respective bodies, and Betsy assumed the mantle of Captain Britain from her brother while Kwannon became the second Psylocke.

The Ultimate Universe features two original versions of Psylocke: Sai and Kanon Sainouchi (both created by Peach Momoko).

In addition to their presence in numerous X-related team titles over the decades, both iterations of Psylocke have been featured in various limited series and one-shots. In 1997, Betsy Braddock, as Psylocke, appeared in the 4-issue team-up series Psylocke and Archangel: Crimson Dawn. Additionally, she starred in the one-shot X-Men: Sword of the Braddocks #1 in 2009 and the solo 4-issue series X-Men: Psylocke in 2010. During the Krakoan Age, Kwannon as Psylocke appeared in various team books such as the Hellions (2020) and Marauders (2022) and then starred in the one-shot X-Men: Blood Hunt – Psylocke #1 in 2024. As part of the X-Men: From the Ashes relaunch, Kwannon as Psylocke starred in a new solo ongoing series starting in November 2024.

The character has been adapted in various media incarnations, including films, television series, and video games, having most notably been portrayed by Olivia Munn in the film X-Men: Apocalypse.