Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock is a fictional

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

, commonly in association with

Captain Britain Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer Ch ...

and the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

. Created by writer

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on '' Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marve ...

and artist

Herb Trimpe Herbert William Trimpe (; May 26, 1939 – April 13, 2015) was an American comics artist and occasional writer, best known as the seminal 1970s artist on '' The Incredible Hulk'' and as the first artist to draw for publication the character Wolve ...

in 1976, she first appeared in the

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Di ...

series ''

''. Betsy Braddock was initially a

supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...

in the adventures of her twin brother,

Brian Braddock Brian Braddock is a fictional superhero appearing in Marvel UK, British and American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created in 1976 by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe, with later contributions from Alan Moore and Alan Davi ...

, as the original Captain Britain, before temporarily becoming the superheroine Captain Britain herself and later joining the X-Men in 1986 as

Psylocke Psylocke is the name of two connected fictional mutant superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The first character to use the Psylocke moniker, Betsy Braddock, was initially a suppo ...

, a codename coined by the villains

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

and

Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:precognitive Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future. There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is ...

in the pages of ''Captain Britain'' and then as a

telepath Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

, she was later established to be a

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

, developing

telekinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

as well as martial arts skills, the latter of which derived from a

body swap A body swap (also named mind swap or soul swap or brain swap) is a storytelling device seen in a variety of science and supernatural fiction, in which two people (or beings) exchange minds and end up in each other's bodies. In media such as telev ...

with the Japanese mutant ninja Kwannon lasting nearly 30 years of publication history. She and Kwannon were returned to their original bodies in a 2018 story, after which, Betsy permanently took up the mantle of Captain Britain, while Kwannon adopted the Psylocke identity. Many alternative versions of the character have also appeared in several comics series of Marvel

Multiverse The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The dif ...

, as well as in various other media and merchandise, notably in numerous video games. The body-swapped iteration of the character has been portrayed by

Meiling Melançon Meiling Melançon (born March 3, 1980), also known as Mei Melançon ( ja, 明依), is an American actress, screenwriter and former fashion model. She has appeared in major feature films as well as indie productions, television shows, and more ...

in the 2006 film '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' and by

Olivia Munn Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress and former television host. After an internship at a news station in Tulsa, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming netwo ...

in the 2016 film '' X-Men: Apocalypse''.

Publication history

Origins

Created by writer

, Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock first appeared in ''

'' #8 (December 1976), with ''Captain Britain'' #10 (December 1976) as her first cover appearance, published by the

' British imprint

. The original spelling of the character's name was "Elizabeth", though relettering of the UK versions for American reprints would occasionally misspell it as "Elisabeth". This led to spelling inconsistencies throughout future publications. The inconsistency was resolved by Claremont 32 years later in 2008 in the series ''

New Exiles New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

'', which reasserted the particular spelling of her name as "Elizabeth". In the ''Captain Britain'' series, Claremont introduced her as a supporting character, the sister of

, the eponymous Captain Britain, and established her career as a

charter pilot ''Charter Pilot'' is a 1940 drama film, directed by Eugene Forde and produced by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. The film stars Lynn Bari, Lloyd Nolan, Arleen Whelan and George Montgomery. ''Charter Pilot'' depicts pilots flying carg ...

. He also established that she had psychic abilities, the full extent of which were unknown, though no explanation is given for these powers. In Marvel UK's ''Super

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...

and Captain Britain'' #243 (October 1977), Betsy Braddock is presented as a professional

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

. In Marvel UK's ''Daredevils'' #3 (March 1983),

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

established that the character has begun to work for the fictional governmental organization S.T.R.I.K.E., who are making use of her psychic abilities. Her lover Tom Lennox is also a S.T.R.I.K.E operative and is later murdered. The story also presents the character as having dyed her hair purple after being originally blonde; this hair color has subsequently become the dominant presentation of the character.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #213 (January 1987) The next major change for the character came in the 1986 relaunched ''Captain Britain'' series, where Betsy Braddock stands in for her brother as Captain Britain, and is rendered blind by the supervillain

Slaymaster Slaymaster is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has appeared in the ''Captain Britain'' series. Publication history The Slaymaster's first appearance was in '' Super Spider-Man and C ...

.''Captain Britain'', (vol. 2) #12–13 (UK); ''Captain Britain'' trade paperback (US)

X-Men

In '' New Mutants Annual'' #2 (1986), Claremont integrated Betsy Braddock into the

franchise. The story sees her abducted to the Mojoverse, where she is subjected to brainwashing, fitted with

bionic Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August ...

eyes, and referred to as "the Psylocke" for the first time. After being rescued by the

New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, subs ...

, she takes up residence at their mutant-training academy, run by

Magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

at the time in the absence of Professor

Charles Xavier Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co- ...

. After aiding the team unofficially, Braddock proves herself by distracting the attentions of the murderous supervillain Sabretooth. Afterward, Braddock is formally invited to join the X-Men and officially adopts the codename "Psylocke", becoming an enduring fixture of the team over the next three decades. Initially written as a pure non-mutant telepath with few fighting skills, Betsy later adopts body armor.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #232 (August 1988) In ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #251 (November 1989), the X-Men flee from the cybernetic terrorists, the Reavers, through the

Siege Perilous In Arthurian legend, the Siege Perilous ( cy, Gwarchae Peryglus, also known as The Perilous Seat, cy, Sedd Peryglus) is a vacant seat at the Round Table reserved by Merlin for the knight who would one day be successful in the quest for the Holy ...

, an extra-dimensional teleportation device. The now-amnesiac Betsy is taken in by the

Hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "h ...

, who brainwash and physically alter her to take on an East Asian appearance so that she can blend in in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. Braddock now believes herself to be "Lady Mandarin", the Hand's supreme assassin. After she is rescued by the X-Men's

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...

and overcomes her brainwashing, the character retains the combat skills granted through the Hand's modification techniques''The Uncanny X-Men'' #256–258 (1989) as well as the ability to manifest her total focused telepathy in the form of a "psychic knife". With the launch of the second volume of ''X-Men'' (later rebranded '' X-Men: Legacy'') in 1991, the team splits, with Betsy joining the team led by

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

. In

Jim Lee Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...

-written issues, the character becomes flirtatious with Cyclops, eventually attempting to seduce him. At this point, Kwannon, a new character with the physical appearance of Betsy prior to the Hand's manipulation, claims to be the original Betsy Braddock, accusing the Japanese-featured Betsy of being an impostor. After Jim Lee and six other creators left Marvel Comics to found

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-o ...

, new scriptwriter

Fabian Nicieza Fabian Nicieza (born December 31, 1961) is an Argentine-American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as ''X-Men'', '' X-Force'', ''New Warriors'', ''Nomad'', '' Cable'', ''Deadpool'' and ''Thunderbo ...

established that Kwannon is the impostor and that Braddock's flirtations with Cyclops were part of a genetic and mental splicing in which the Kwannon impostor was first created, a

having occurred.''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #31–32 In 1994, writer

Scott Lobdell Scott Lobdell (; born 1960) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter known for his work on numerous ''X-Men'' series for Marvel Comics in the 1990s, various work for DC Comics in the 2010s, namely '' Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Tita ...

set up a relationship between Betsy Braddock and her teammate

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #319 (December 1994) The character is severely injured by a crazed Sabretooth in the Lobdell-written ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #328. Her life is saved by the use of a mystic artifact known as the Crimson Dawn, the aftereffects of which granted Betsy the ability to teleport in and out of shadows. Lobdell also temporarily took her out of the X-Men roster this issue. Braddock returns to the team in ''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #77–78, where she uses her Crimson Dawn-enhanced telepathy to trap the

Shadow King The Shadow King (Amahl Farouk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is particularly associated with the X-Men family of comics. His nemesis is the X-Men's leader, Professor X, while he also ...

in the astral plane. Any use of her telepathy would result in his release, so she forgoes the use of her telepathic ability.''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #77–78 (1998) Some time later she would develop telekinesis for the first time instead.''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #100 Betsy's relationship with Archangel ends in the Claremont written ''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #109, where the character embarks upon a relationship with new Indian X-Men recruit Neal Shaara, also known as

Thunderbird Thunderbird, thunder bird or thunderbirds may refer to: * Thunderbird (mythology), a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture * Ford Thunderbird, a car Birds * Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds ...

. In the Claremont-written '' X-Treme X-Men'' #2 (2001), the character dies, her

comic book death In the comic book fan community, the apparent death and subsequent return of a long-running character is often called a comic book death. A comic book death is generally not taken seriously by readers and is rarely permanent or meaningful other ...

lasting until 2005's ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #455; Claremont also wrote this issue, later stating he had always intended to revive her.''X-Treme X-Men'' #2 (August 2001)''The Uncanny X-Men'' #455 (April 2005) Briefly, the character was depicted in ''

Exiles Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

'', a spin-off comic-book series in the X-Men franchise, set in an alternate universe. With the cancellation of ''New Exiles'', Betsy Braddock starred in her first solo book, the ''X-Men: Sword of The Braddocks'' one-shot. Afterwards, the character was brought back to the main

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians o ...

in early 2009 within the pages of ''The Uncanny X-Men''. Beginning in November 2009, Betsy Braddock was featured in a self-titled four issue miniseries, written by

Christopher Yost Christopher Lee Yost (born February 21, 1973) is an American film, television, animation, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe with '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) and '' Thor: Ragnarok'' ( ...

and drawn by Harvey Tolibao;

Matsu'o Tsurayaba Matsu'o Tsurayaba is a fictional character associated with the Hand, and part of the Marvel Comics universe. A member of the Hand, Tsurayaba's first appearance came in ''Uncanny X-Men'' #255 and was directly involved with the "body swap inciden ...

and Wolverine are central characters in the story.

Captain Britain

At the 2019

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...

, Editor-in-Chief

C.B. Cebulski CB and variants may refer to: Places * CB postcode area, British post code for eastern England served by the Cambridge postal sorting office * Cambodia (FIPS Pub 10-4 country code and obsolete NATO digram CB) * Cape Breton (disambiguation) * C ...

and writer

Jonathan Hickman Jonathan Hickman (born September 3, 1972) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for his creator-owned series '' The Nightly News'', ''The Manhattan Projects'' and ''East of West'', as well as his lengthy stints as a writer on M ...

revealed that Betsy would become the new

, leading a reformed

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...

consisting of herself,

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe sim ...

Rogue A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior. Rogue or rogues may also refer to: Companies * Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon * Rogue Arts, a film production company * Rogue Entertainment, a software co ...

Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

Rictor Rapamycin-insensitive companion of mammalian target of rapamycin (RICTOR) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''RICTOR'' gene. RICTOR and mTOR are components of a protein complex that integrates nutrient- and growth factor-derived s ...

and

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

, to protect the Kingdom of

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

, with her former identity of Psylocke being taken by Kwannon, who would lead the ''Fallen Angels'' title. Cebulski compared Betsy's adoption of the Captain Britain mantle to

Carol Danvers Carol Susan Jane Danvers is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gene Colan, Danvers first appeared as an officer in the United States Air Force and a colleague of th ...

's transition to Captain Marvel, indicating that this new status quo would be permanent.

Fictional character biography

Background

Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock was born in England and was raised in the small town of

Maldon, Essex Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produce ...

. Betsy was Sir James Braddock's second child, born minutes before her twin brother

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word me ...

. The twins and their elder brother

Jamie Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and t ...

, who was nearly a decade older, had a very privileged life. By the time she entered college, Betsy had become a charter pilot. After she and Jamie were taken hostage by the

Red Skull The Red Skull is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and its predecessor Timely Comics. The first version, George Maxon, appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 and #4. The main ...

's agents and freed by Captain America and Captain Britain, Betsy learned the latter was her brother Brian. At this time Betsy began to develop precognitive powers. She dyed her hair purple and took up modeling. At the age of twenty-one, her psychic powers fully manifested, which grew to include telepathy. Agent Matthew recruited Betsy into S.T.R.I.K.E.'s Psi Division, and she became fellow psi Tom Lennox's lover. As she had inherited membership to the Hellfire Club from her father, Betsy was sent to infiltrate it, but was warned off by

Tessa Tessa is a feminine given name, sometimes a shortened form of Theresa. It may refer to: People * Tessa Albertson (born 1996), American actress * Tessa Balfour, Countess of Balfour (born 1950), British aristocrat * Tessa Blanchard (born 1994), Am ...

for her own protection. She also met future boyfriend Warren Worthington for the first time during one of the Hellfire Club parties. When the crime lord Vixen hired

to eliminate the Psi-Division, only Betsy, Tom Lennox, and their friend Alison Double were left when Brian defeated him. When reality warped due to James Jaspers' powers, Tom sacrificed himself to give the Braddocks time to escape from a group of superhero hunters. Betsy was in Tom's mind when he died; feeling his death, she was left traumatized. Following the repair of the reality warp, an evil version of Captain Britain from another universe named Kaptain Briton switched places with Brian. The double tried to rape Betsy. In self-defense, she telepathically killed him. The same night, the twins were informed of their father's

Otherworld The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwor ...

origins, and a new intelligence agency called

R.C.X. The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

asked them to billet Warpies, children transformed by Jasper's warp, at the Manor, which led to an argument between Betsy and Brian.

As Captain Britain

When Brian went overseas, Matthew (now codenamed Gabriel) convinced Betsy to become the new Captain Britain, wearing Kaptain Briton's modified costume. Working with Captain UK, the duo became public sensations. After several months, crime boss Vixen lured Betsy into a showdown with Slaymaster. During the battle, Betsy called Vixen a "hag", which angered her. Vixen instructed Slaymaster that she wanted Betsy's eyes, so he brutally beat Betsy, then gouged her eyes out. Brian flew to her rescue and killed Slaymaster as Vixen escaped. Betsy refused R.C.X.'s offer of cybernetic eyes, preferring to rely on her psychic abilities to "see". She and Gabriel went to former S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi co-agent Alison Double's Switzerland chateau for Betsy to recuperate.

As Psylocke

Betsy was kidnapped from the Alps by Mojo, brainwashed, given cybernetic eyes, and, as "Psylocke", became the star of his new show "Wildways". Brian and the

rescued her, after which Betsy moved to the X-Men's mansion to recover, exactly where

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, Guardian of the Omniverse, needed her to be. When the

Marauders Marauder, marauders, The Marauder, or The Marauders may refer to: * A person engaged in banditry or related activity ** Piracy ** Looting ** Outlaw ** Partisan (military) ** Robbery ** Theft Entertainment * ''Marauder'', the second novel in the ' ...

attacked the

Morlocks Morlocks are a fictional species created by H. G. Wells for his 1895 novel,''The Time Machine'', and are the main antagonists. Since their creation by H. G. Wells, the Morlocks have appeared in many other works such as sequels, films, televis ...

, the X-Mansion was used as a temporary infirmary for injured survivors of the massacre. Knowing that the X-Men were away in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the Marauder Sabretooth invaded the mansion. Betsy used herself as bait to lead him away from the injured until the X-Men arrived to help her. While Sabretooth and Wolverine fought, Betsy used her telepathy to gather information about the Marauders and their leader, Mr. Sinister, from Sabretooth's mind. Wolverine, though initially reluctant to involve outsiders in the X-Men's affairs, was impressed by her bravery and nominated her to join the team. As an X-Man she met

Mephisto Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition. Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Méphisto'', a 1931 French film * Mephisto (1981 film), ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German- ...

, Dr. Doom and the Fantastic Four, and the Horde. The X-Men later battled Freedom Force and the

Adversary An adversary is generally considered to be a person, group, or force that opposes and/or attacks. Adversary may also refer to: * Satan ("adversary" in Hebrew), in Judeo-Christian religion Entertainment Fiction * Adversary (comics), villain fro ...

in Dallas, and, in a televised battle, sacrificed themselves to allow

Forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...

to bind the Adversary; Roma secretly restored them to life, and gave Betsy the

, which they could use if they ever wanted to start new lives. The X-Men moved to the Reavers' Australian Outback base, from where they took on the

Brood Brood may refer to: Nature * Brood, a collective term for offspring * Brooding, the incubation of bird eggs by their parents * Bee brood, the young of a beehive * Individual broods of North American Periodical Cicadas: ** Brood X, the largest b ...

, Genoshan Magistrates,

Mister Sinister Mister Sinister (Nathaniel Essex) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont, the character was first mentioned as the employer behind the team of assassins known as the Mara ...

and the Goblin Queen, M Squad, Mr. Jip and the

Serpent Society The Serpent Society is an organization of snake-themed supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The society is a continuation of the original group the Serpent Squad and was later changed into Serpent Solutions. ...

, Master Mold and

Nimrod Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...

,''The Uncanny X-Men'' #246–247 Nanny and the

Orphan-Maker Orphan-Maker (Peter) is a fictional mutant character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in ''X-Factor'' vol. 1 #31. Publication history Orphan-Maker's first appearance was in ''X-Factor'' #31 (A ...

, and

Zaladane Zabu Zadkiel Zadkiel is a former archangel in the service of Heaven and an enemy of the Ghost Rider, named after the mythical angel of the same name. Created by Jason Aaron, the character debuted in '' Ghost Rider'' (vol. 4) #27. Zadkiel wa ...

and the

Savage Land Mutates The Savage Land Mutates is a supervillain group of criminals appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Their creators were writer Roy Thomas and the penciler/inker team of Neal Adams and Tom Palmer. Within the comic books, th ...

. As they were about to depart the

Savage Land The Savage Land is a hidden prehistoric land appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a tropical preserve hidden in Antarctica. It has appeared in many story arcs in ''Uncanny X-Men'' as well as other related books. P ...

, Betsy had a precognitive flash of the Reavers killing the team. To prevent this, she telepathically "convinces" them to abandon the Outback, and subsequently sends them through the Siege Perilous.

Lady Mandarin and body swap

Betsy reappeared amnesiac on an island near China, where the

, a ninja clan, found her.

, their leader, saw a chance to save his brain-dead lover, Kwannon.

Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #32 With some physical and mental conditioning, Betsy—inhabiting Kwannon's body—became the Hand's prime assassin, taking the name Lady Mandarin. She gained highly remarkable fighting skills and learned to focus her telepathic power into a "psychic knife". Lady Mandarin's first mission pitted her against

. Betsy's psychic knife attack revealed Wolverine's memories of who she used to be and allowed her to break free from the Hand's conditioning. Betsy rejected her role as Lady Mandarin and escaped with Wolverine and

, eventually going with them to the island nation of

Genosha Genosha ( or ) is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is an island nation that exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as "Earth 616" in the Marvel Universe and a prominent place in the X-M ...

, where the New Mutants had been kidnapped along with the X-Men's leader,

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

, by

Cameron Hodge Cameron Hodge is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an opponent of the X-Men. Created by writer Bob Layton and artist Jackson Guice, he first appeared as a s ...

. Following Hodge's defeat, the X-Men reunited and returned to New York. Betsy then joined the Blue Team led by

, for whom she displayed an obvious attraction. When

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

found out, the two women fought, but were interrupted by the arrival of Kwannon, now calling herself Revanche, in Betsy's former body, claiming to be the real Betsy. Unable to discern which was truly Betsy, both stayed with the X-Men, maintaining an uneasy coexistence. Learning she had the

Legacy Virus The Legacy Virus is a fictional plague appearing in American comic books featuring the X-Men published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in an eponymous storyline running through Marvel Comics titles from 1993 to 2001, during which it swept thro ...

, Revanche had Matsu'o kill her, restoring Betsy's full personality and telepathic potential. Having become involved with her teammate Angel, the following months saw her fight the

Phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...

, try to reach Jamie's comatose mind, battle

Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

in Israel, and combat

Gene Nation Morlocks are a group of mutant characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters are usually depicted as being associated with the X-Men in the Marvel Universe. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Pa ...

Crimson Dawn

When Sabretooth gutted Betsy, Angel, Wolverine,

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

, and Gomurr the Ancient retrieved a magical liquid from the Crimson Dawn dimension that healed her and gave her the new ability to teleport through shadows, but also marked her with a red tattoo over her left eye. Her personality took on a cold edge, which created distance between her and Warren.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #338 Kuragari, Proctor of the Crimson Dawn, tried to claim Betsy as his bride, but was thwarted with Gomurr and Angel's aid, freeing Betsy of the Dawn's influence. However, Betsy still retained the abilities associated with it. Soon after these events, the couple retired from active duty with the X-Men. Subsequently, she aided Storm against the

, who tricked Betsy into initiating a psychic shockwave that disabled all other telepaths, leaving him unchallenged on the

astral plane The astral plane, also called the astral realm or the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical, medieval, oriental, and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions.G.R.S.Mead, ''The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western Tra ...

. Her own astral form was destroyed, but her exposure to the Crimson Dawn gave her a new shadow form with temporarily enhanced powers, which she used to trap the Shadow King's core. To keep him trapped she was forced to constantly focus her telepathy on him, effectively rendering herself powerless.

Revolution and X-Treme

Jean Grey Jean Elaine Grey is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix and Dark Phoenix. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack K ...

's attempt to help Betsy deal with the Shadow King somehow swapped their powers, leaving Betsy

telekinetic Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

. With her new abilities Betsy fought Belasco, the Neo, the Goth,''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #103 the Crimson Pirates, the Twisted Sisters,''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #105 and the

Prime Sentinel Prime Sentinels are an advanced type of Sentinel which exist in Marvel Comics. They are a human/machine hybrid that uses nanotechnology from the " Days of Future Past" alternate future. Creation The Prime Sentinels were created when Bastion in ...

s, then aided her brother freeing Otherworld from Mastermind's Warpie army. After ending her relationship with Archangel, Betsy joined Storm's X-Treme X-Men team in the search for

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

's diaries.''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #109 In

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, Betsy died in combat with the man known as Vargas while protecting

and Beast, who were badly beaten by the villain. Brian Braddock and Meggan collected Betsy's body from Spain. She was buried at the Braddock family estate and a memorial to her was erected at the X-Mansion by Beast.

Resurrection

One year after her death, Betsy awoke where she had died, unaware of how she had been resurrected, and was soon reunited with the X-Men, helping them against the Saurian Hauk'ka, and Mojo and Spiral. Jamie started to covertly observe his resurrected sister, allowing her to catch occasional glimpses of him. Betsy was reunited with Brian during the

Scarlet Witch Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in ''The X-Men'' #4 (March 19 ...

's "

House of M "House of M" is a 2005 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics, consisting of a core eight-issue comic book limited series written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel and a number of crossover tie-in books. Its fir ...

" reality storm. When the timeline was set right, the memories of their encounter took on a dreamlike state, prompting Betsy and several of the X-Men to visit London to check on Brian's status. Back in the US, Betsy and the X-Men failed to stop Shi'ar Death Commandos from slaughtering the Grey family, targeted for death because of their relationship to

, but helped defeat them before they could kill

Rachel Grey Rachel Anne Summers (also known as Rachel Grey) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-plotter John Byrne (comics), John Byrne. In h ...

. With the First Fallen's servants, the Foursaken, about to make their move, Jamie revealed his part in Betsy's resurrection to the X-Men: sensing the approaching threat of the cosmically powerful First Fallen (a harbinger of frozen, eternal "perfection") and learning of Betsy's demise, an annoyed Jamie resurrected her, reaching back through time to stop her spirit passing into the afterlife. Intending her to be a weapon to use against the First Fallen, Jamie tightened up the " quantum strings" of Betsy's body, rendering her mostly immune to external manipulation, enhancing her telekinetic powers, and leaving her invisible to the First Fallen's senses.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #472 Jamie was abducted by the Foursaken before he could fully inform them of the imminent threat; trying to rescue him, the X-Men were easily captured, except Betsy, who found herself invisible to the Foursaken's senses.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #473 Disrupting their attempt to give the First Fallen full access to Earth, Betsy and the X-Men were pulled into his realm, the Singing City, where Betsy's immunity to his mental control allowed her to free the city's residents, including the Foursaken, from his dominance. As a wrathful First Fallen turned on them, Jamie sent the X-Men home while he held the entity back, apparently sacrificing himself.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #474 Returning to the UK to tell Brian of Jamie's fate, Betsy learned that Shadow Xavier, leader of the Shadow X-Men, had taken over the minds of his jailors in Crossmore Prison, and was demanding to see her. Accompanied by

, Betsy visited the prison, where Xavier revealed his true identity as the Shadow King, and tried to take revenge, having Excalibur attack Brian so that Betsy could witness his death; however, immune to his control, Betsy telekinetically induced a stroke in Xavier's body, freeing Excalibur. Before she could finish him off, Betsy was interdimensionally teleported to the Crystal Palace at the Nexus of All Realities.

Exiles

Appearing at the headquarters of the

, heroes gathered from several realities to protect the Omniverse; both the Exiles' choice of Betsy as latest recruit, and the timing of same, were apparently the result of Roma's manipulations, again moving one of her pawns to where it would soon be needed as part of a greater plan. Her first mission with the Exiles brought Betsy face to face with Earth-1720's

, brutally reminding her of her reality's Slaymaster blinding her. After escaping, Slaymaster-1720 began murdering Betsy Braddock in each reality he visited. Meanwhile, determined to confront her fear, Betsy began rigorous training to prepare herself for their next encounter. She returned to

Earth-616 In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. History of the term The term was first used in "Rough Justice", a story credited to both Alan Moore and Alan Davis ...

to let Brian know she was alive. Almost immediately both the Exiles and Excalibur were called to the defense of Otherworld, under attack by an army of Furies created by a resurrected Mad Jim Jaspers; though the heroes prevailed, the Exiles were left as the Omniverse's primary defenders until the devastated

Captain Britain Corps Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer C ...

could be rebuilt. Choosing to remain with the Exiles, Betsy traveled to several realities. Upon arriving on a certain Earth, Betsy had a mental breakdown due to her counterpart of this world's psyche being at war with Betsy's own psyche in order to control her body. This reality's

Ogun Ogun or Ogoun (Yoruba: Ògún, Portuguese: Ogum, Gu; also spelled Oggun or Ogou; known as Ogún or Ogum in Latin America) is a spirit that appears in several African religions. He attempted to seize the throne after the demise of Obatala, who ...

approached Betsy and offered to train her so she could avenge the death of his apprentice, who was killed by Slaymaster. Betsy eventually tracked him to Earth-616 and killed him. Betsy returned to the Crystal Palace, became involved with teammate Sabretooth, and promised to honor her mission as an Exile.

Return

Somehow, Betsy became trapped between parallel worlds and was rescued by Madelyne Pryor – now calling herself the Red Queen – who controlled her to join the

Sisterhood Sisterhood may refer to: * Relating to sisters, female siblings Film * The Sisterhood (1988 film), ''The Sisterhood'' (1988 film), an American film directed by Cirio H. Santiago * The Sisterhood (2004 film), ''The Sisterhood'' (2004 film), an A ...

. They also stole Betsy's original body, in which Kwannon had died, at a graveyard. A ritual of sorts with both bodies was performed, resulting in Betsy's original body being brought back to life. The Sisterhood, now including a brainwashed Betsy, attacked the X-Men. Dazzler was forced to use her powers on Betsy, blowing half of her face off. Dazzler's attack shocked Betsy back to consciousness, enabling her to overcome the Red Queen's control and return to her Japanese body. After these events, Betsy's powers changed once again; she now possessed both telepathic and telekinetic abilities, but with her psionic potential divided between them, neither ability is as strong as it once was.''Psylocke'' #1–4 The following days saw Betsy travel back in time alongside Beast's X-Club.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #512 Betsy also led the X-Club in a mission to raise

Asteroid M Magneto (; birth name: Max Eisenhardt; alias: Erik Lehnsherr and Magnus) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...

, which was at the bottom of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

, to serve as the X-Men's new base of operations and a haven for mutantkind, called

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island soc ...

. Soon after, Betsy went to Japan with Wolverine to re-inter her former body. Upon arriving, she was ambushed by the Hand, who destroyed her original body at the behest of Matsu'o Tsurayaba. Enraged, Betsy tracked Matsu'o down, finding him terribly disfigured as the result of Wolverine's yearly revenge on Matsu'o for his role in the murder of

Mariko Yashida Mariko Yashida is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as Wolverine's romantic interest. She was portrayed by Tao Okamoto in the 2013 film '' The Wolverine''. Publicat ...

. Matsu'o, now missing both hands and other body parts, desired an honorable death and wanted Betsy to grant him that honor since he could not hold a blade to perform

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

himself. This put Betsy at odds with Wolverine, who felt that Matsu'o's punishment was not over yet. Betsy engaged Wolverine in a brutal fight which ended in a truce. With Wolverine's permission, Betsy finished Matsu'o off mercifully, using her telepathy to project illusions into his mind of his body restored and of Kwannon embracing him. Betsy quickly killed him with her psi-blade. During the

Nation X A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by thos ...

storyline, Betsy, Wolverine, and Colossus were sent down into the sewers under San Francisco to investigate the case of a missing

Predator X ''Pliosaurus'' (meaning 'more lizard') is an extinct genus of thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian stages (Late Jurassic) of Europe and South America. Their diet would have included fish, cephalopods, and marin ...

. They ran into

Fantomex Fantomex is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is commonly associated with the X-Men titles. Fantomex first appeared in '' New X-Men'' #128 (August, 2002) and was created by Grant Morr ...

, who had slain the beast. Betsy battled Sublime's associates with the help of Fantomex and her teammates. During the Necrosha storyline, Betsy joined Rogue's team sent to Muir Island to battle the resurrected

Proteus In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, ''Prōteus'') is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" ''(hálios gérôn)''. ...

. Betsy appeared to have lost her immunity to telepathic attacks and reality alterations, as Proteus easily possessed her. However, her psi-blade was able to break his hold on his hosts. Following the return of

Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

and

Hope Summers Sarah Hope Summers (June 7, 1902 – June 22, 1979) was an American character actress known for her work on CBS's ''The Andy Griffith Show'' and ''Mayberry RFD'', portraying Clara Edwards. Early life Hope Summers was born in Mattoon, Illino ...

, Betsy was selected as part of Cyclops' "Alpha roster" of X-Men sent to locate and protect the two from the forces of

Bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

Uncanny X-Force

In the aftermath of " X-Men: Second Coming", Betsy (along with

Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadpo ...

, Fantomex, and Archangel) was selected by Wolverine to be a member of the new X-Force; the sole condition being that no one could learn of the team's existence. Betsy had been using her telepathy to help Warren control the "Archangel" persona in his mind, which led to the two rekindling their previous relationship. The team's first mission was to locate and kill

, who had been reborn. Upon discovering that the reborn Apocalypse was a child, most of the team decided against killing him, but Fantomex fatally shot the boy.''Uncanny X-Force'' #1–4 With X-Force, Betsy also faced long-time rivals such as the Reavers and the Shadow King. The latter succeeded in freeing the Archangel persona in Warren. In order to prevent Archangel's ascension into Apocalypse, X-Force travelled to the

Age of Apocalypse "Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 comic book crossover storyline mostly published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The ''Age of Apocalypse'' briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616 and had ramifications in the main Marvel Comics ...

to seek a Life Seed, which could cleanse Warren. Betsy's hesitation to kill Archangel led to her transformation into the Horseman of Death at his hands.

of the Age of Apocalypse managed to revert this process, unlocking a previously untapped power in Betsy's mind, who became a full-fledged Omega-class telepath after these events. Betsy stabbed Archangel with the Life Seed, killing Warren and creating a new being in his likeness in the process. After the Schism between the X-Men, while Betsy decided to stay on Utopia under Cyclops' leadership, she secretly remained part of X-Force to help whenever Wolverine requested. Cyclops also placed her in charge of a new X-Men Security team, asking her to be his spy and spy-hunter. Soon after, Captain Britain learned of Betsy's activities with X-Force through their bond and decided to retrieve her to Otherworld, where Jamie Braddock was revealed to be alive, and punish Fantomex for his crimes. Betsy took up the Lady Briton mantle to rescue Fantomex and was ultimately forced to kill Jamie in order to prevent his future self from destroying the multiverse. X-Force faced a new Brotherhood of Mutants, of which the Shadow King was a member. Betsy imprisoned his psyche for good into Omega White, whose ability was to eat psychic energy. After this last mission, X-Force disbanded for good and Fantomex, who had been keeping a relationship with Betsy, but died at the hands of the Brotherhood, was resurrected in three different bodies for each of his brains. As a member of Cyclops' Extinction Team, Betsy dealt with the fallout from Archangel's machinations in Tabula Rasa and sided with the X-Men against the Avengers once the Phoenix Force returned to Earth to reclaim a host. However,

Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superhero ...

made Betsy question her motives, and she joined the Avengers, the X-Men and

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

in the final battle against Cyclops.

Marvel NOW!

After the events of ''

Avengers vs. X-Men ''Avengers vs. X-Men'' (''AvX'' or ''AvsX'') is a 2012 crossover event that was featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The event, consisting of an eponymous limited series and numerous tie-in books, involves the return of the Pho ...

'', Betsy and Fantomex spent weeks in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, engaging in drinking, sex and thieving. While Betsy and Fantomex grew apart, she and

Cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study th ...

– Fantomex' female self – grew closer and more devoted to each other, resulting in a romantic relationship. Feeling jealous about the new couple, Fantomex set Betsy up to be blamed for a crime. Once Cluster sided with him over Betsy, Betsy decided to leave them both for good.''Uncanny X-Force'' (vol. 2) #7–9 Upon returning to New York, Betsy took a teaching position at the

Jean Grey School for Higher Learning The X-Mansion or Xavier Institute is the common name for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the private estate of Charles Francis Xavier, a character in X-Me ...

. Due to Betsy's constant assaulting of the students and aggressiveness, Wolverine was forced to fire her, and instead assigned her a mission to take down Spiral. With the help of Storm and Puck, Betsy faced her longtime rival and

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

, who had returned to the present day. After taking a trip through Bishop's mind, Betsy managed to tame the

Demon Bear The Demon Bear is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been featured in the comic book series ''The New Mutants'' and ''X-Force''. The Demon Bear appeared as the secondary antagoni ...

in his psyche, making an unusual ally of it. She also rescued Fantomex from Weapon XIII at Cluster's request, but left them once more. Bishop's alliance with Betsy's group put them at war with

Cassandra Nova Cassandra Nova is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, Cassandra first appeared in '' New X-Men'' #1 ...

– the Revenant Queen – who wished to unleash her revenants (or mummudrai) on Earth. Betsy ultimately stabbed her to death, breaking her vow not to kill again. Betsy's group also teamed up with Cable's X-Force in order to rescue Bishop and Hope Summers, both kidnapped by

Stryfe Stryfe is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequen ...

. Betsy's posture in this mission impressed

. As a member of the X-Men, Betsy joined an all-female squad led by Storm alongside Rogue,

Kitty Pryde Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The character first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #129 (January 1980) and was co-created by wri ...

and Rachel Summers, and later Omega Sentinel and Monet, taking on villains such as Arkea, the Brotherhood from a future timeline, Lady Deathstrike's Sisterhood and The Future. During this time, Betsy started focusing her powers into different weapons of psychic energy such as a

bow and arrow The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was common ...

, a

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar ...

and a grappling line and a

flail A flail is an agriculture, agricultural tool used for threshing, the process of separating cereal, grains from their husks. It is usually made from two or more large sticks attached by a short chain; one stick is held and swung, causing the othe ...

, mentored a small group of students consisted of Hellion,

Anole Dactyloidae are a family of lizards commonly known as anoles () and native to warmer parts of the Americas, ranging from southeastern United States to Paraguay. Instead of treating it as a family, some authorities prefer to treat it as a subfami ...

, Broo and

Rockslide A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the bedding plane of failure passes through compacted rock and material collapses ''en masse'' and not in individual blocks. Note that a rockslide is similar to an avalanc ...

and kept a relationship with a virtual boyfriend created in the

Danger Room The Danger Room is a fictional training facility appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The facility is depicted as built for ...

All-New Marvel NOW!

In the wake of a terrorist attack known as the Alexandria Incident, which claimed 3,000 lives, Cable re-formed the mutant black ops team X-Force so that mutantkind not only had a continued place in the world, but also had a stake in it. While Cable recruited Fantomex, Marrow and Dr. Nemesis as his teammates, Betsy actually sought Cable because she couldn't bear staying away from X-Force as she admitted she was addicted to killing. Their first mission had the team track and face Volga, a wealthy business man responsible for the abduction and weaponization of several mutants and depowered mutants. As a member of X-Force, Braddock grew more bloodthirsty, self-loathing and broken by the day, admitting that resorting to killing was the only way she could feel anything at all. She also kept a sexual relationship with Cable. X-Force also faced Fantomex, who was driven to the point of insanity and received god-like powers. Betsy ultimately used her mind blade to scramble Fantomex's brain. As a member of the X-Men, Betsy investigated the

Shi'ar The Shi'ar ( ) are a fictional species of aliens appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Shi'ar Empire (or Imperium), is a vast collection of alien species, cultures, and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Emp ...

's Providian Order, while taking on

Skrull The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated fro ...

hybrids, investigated a mysterious natural phenomena in the Blackrock Desert, helped Nightcrawler against a newly returned Shadow King, and joined the X-Men and Avengers in

to fight the clone of

during the ''

AXIS An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

'' storyline. Months later, Betsy and the X-Men took refuge in the X-Nation under Cyclops' leadership, when Earth-616 suffered from an early death as a consequence of the multiversal phenomena known as the incursions.

All-New, All-Different Marvel

The intervention of

Mister Fantastic Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace and ...

in the rebirth of Earth-616 caused the

to be a direct continuation of the previous iteration. As part of the ''

All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline " Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched w ...

'' event, Betsy reappeared in a world where the

Terrigen The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...

released in the atmosphere by the

Inhumans The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...

proved to be deadly to mutants. For this reason, Magneto invited Betsy to be a partner in his endeavors and protect mutantkind. He also offered her the chance to work with a blank slate clone of Archangel he had come across earlier. Although not fully agreeing with Magneto's methods, Betsy remained part of his team, alongside Monet and Sabretooth, for the sake of rehabilitating Archangel, whom she kept under telepathic control. Magneto's X-Men first mission had them face the Dark Riders, who were targeting mutant healers. Following a lead buried in the dormant Archangel's mind, Betsy and Magneto travelled to Colorado, where they found a wingless Warren Worthington brainwashed by the son of Apocalypse, Genocide, and Clan Akkaba, who were harvesting his wings to create an army of Archangel clones. When Warren and Archangel merged, Betsy started working with him to restore the man she once knew and loved. Once Ulysses, an Inhuman with the ability to forecast the future, emerged, Betsy briefly changed alliances, siding with Storm's X-Men in opposition to Magneto's team, who wanted to eliminate the boy. Betsy also found out Magneto had secretly employed Mystique and Fantomex and made an alliance with the Hellfire Club, much to her annoyance. After the X-Men foiled Someday Corporation's plans to weaponize mutants, Betsy quit the team, vowing to keep an eye on Magneto's operations and putting an end to them if he ever crossed the line. On her own, Betsy tracked down and defeated threats to mutantkind such as Omega Sentinels,

Sauron Sauron (pronounced ) is the title character and the primary antagonist, through the forging of the One Ring, of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', where he rules the land of Mordor and has the ambition of ruling the whole of Middl ...

and the Nasty Boys. Betsy also faced Mystique, stabilizing the shapeshifter's psyche once and for all. When Beast discovered that the Terrigen was saturating and would soon render Earth completely uninhabitable for mutants, Betsy joined the rest of the X-Men in their war against the Inhumans, seeking to destroy the cloud while the Inhumans fought to protect it. After the war ended, Magneto's team of X-Men disbanded and Betsy learned that he was working alongside

Emma Frost Emma Grace Frost is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. The character first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #129 (Jan. 1980), and was ...

and knew about her deceptions that led to the war. Making good on her promise, Betsy found Magneto and killed him. She then walked away, feeling like the world and the X-Men were better off without her. When

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

and Hydra took over the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, Betsy and a few mutants relocated to the mutant sovereign republic of New Tian, under the leadership of

Xorn Xorn is the alias of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in '' New X-Men Annual 2001'', he was created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. He is a mutant who has a miniature ...

, who was mind controlled by Emma Frost behind the scenes.

ResurrXion

While the X-Men rebuilt the Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach in the middle of

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

, Betsy decided to return to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. After spending some time in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Betsy found herself under an overwhelming psychic attack by the Shadow King, which caused her to lose control. Betsy called for help and Rogue, Bishop, Archangel, Gambit, Fantomex and

Old Man Logan Old Man Logan is an alternative version of the Marvel Comics fictional character Wolverine. This character is an aged version of Wolverine set in an alternate future universe designated Earth-807128, where the supervillains overthrew the supe ...

came to her rescue. She sent the X-Men to the Astral Plane to deal with Farouk and remained behind to maintain the necessary mental link back to the physical world. Betsy found out the Shadow King was keeping

's soul trapped in the Astral Plane, and under the Professor's guidance, she managed to fight Logan and Gambit, both possessed by the Shadow King, contain the psychic infection in London and protect the civilians. After Xavier killed the Shadow King, Betsy was shocked to learn he had taken over the body of Fantomex, who chose to remain in the Astral Plane. Suspicious of X, as now Xavier started to call himself, Betsy travelled to the Astral Plane herself to make sure Fantomex wasn't fooled into giving up his body. Unbeknownst to the X-Men, X had unintentionally brought someone else with him, a newly resurrected Proteus. Not willing to take a risk with such a powerful being on the loose, the X-Men appointed Betsy as their leader over X and attacked Proteus, ultimately defeating him with a combined effort. However, when Betsy tapped into a psychic network to undo Proteus' reality-bending madness, the Shadow King took the chance to return to the physical world. Betsy and X joined forces to defeat him once more, linking every psychic telepathically and cleansing the world of Farouk's filth. X erased the memories of the other X-Men and told Betsy she would be the only one to remember he had returned. As a member of the X-Men, Betsy also tutored the time-displaced

in the art of creating psychic weaponry and investigated the Phoenix-related phenomenon that led to the resurrection of the adult Jean Grey. Betsy was also selected by Kitty Pryde to join a team with Storm, Rogue, Jubilee and Domino and hunt for a resurrected Wolverine, facing Viper and her Femme Fatales along the way. During this encounter, Betsy was attacked by the psychic vampire,

Sapphire Styx Sapphire Styx is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Fictional character biography At the Princess' Bar on Madripoor, Sapphire Styx is first seen witnessing Wolverine defeating Roche's gang. She po ...

who absorbed her soul into herself. Once inside, Betsy discovered the psychic husks of all the victims Sapphire had claimed over the centuries, including a fragment of Wolverine's soul that she had been unable to purge from herself. Drawing on the strength of all the imprisoned souls, Betsy used her telepathy to destroy Sapphire from within, and emerged in her original body. She later explained to Jubilee that after Sapphire was destroyed, she was able to use the soul energy she left behind to re-create her original body. It was also shown that Kwannon has apparently returned to life in her original body as well, as the new Psylocke.

Disassembled and Age of X-Man

Immediately after reclaiming her original body and legal identity as Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, Betsy returned to the Xavier Institute, where Jean Grey helped her cope with such a major change. Betsy also traveled to England and reunited with Brian and Meggan and met her niece, Maggie. The following days saw the X-Men responding to unexplained natural phenomena across the globe. The X-Men soon found out

Nate Grey Nathaniel Grey (X-Man) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Steve Skroce, the character first appeared in ''X-Man'' ...

was responsible for these disasters in a desperate attempt to enact world peace and remake the world as he saw fit with the help of his Horsemen of Salvation, which included Angel. Betsy engaged Angel head-on and used a massive psychic strike to free Warren from Nate Grey's control, which unintentionally released his Archangel persona. Warren and Betsy had a falling-out, and he blamed her for unleashing the darkness within him. The X-Men responded with force, but were quickly overpowered and subdued. Betsy broke Nate Grey's control over Storm and soon joined forces with Jean Grey and other psychics to defeat X-Man once and for all, but the X-Men were all seemingly killed. Gone from the Prime Marvel Universe, the X-Men were taken to a plane of existence created by X-Man with false memories, where everyone was a mutant and close relationships and love were forbidden. In this world, Betsy acted as a law enforcer for Department X alongside Iceman, Jubilee,

Northstar Northstar may refer to: * Polaris, a star Arts and entertainment * Northstar (band), an emo band from Alabama * Northstar (rap group), a rap group affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan * "Northstar", a 2019 song by XXXTentacion from the album ''Bad Vi ...

and Blob, with whom she developed a special friendship. As the Age of X-Man crumbled down, Betsy returned to Earth-616, where she joined Cyclops and his X-Men to end the threat of Colonel Callahan once and for all.

Dawn of X and return as Captain Britain

In the following six months, Professor X established the island-nation of

Krakoa Krakoa is a fictional living island appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in ''Giant-Size X-Men'' #1 and was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. Initially depicted as an antagonist, Krakoa has since gro ...

, welcoming mutants from all over the world and creating the first mutant society. Betsy had returned to her ancestral home in England, now known as Braddock Academy, but ultimately decided to move to Krakoa as well, only to find that her elder brother, Jamie Braddock, had been resurrected. Apocalypse also enlisted Betsy and Brian to investigate a strange, magically sealed Krakoan gate that opened from the Otherworld to the mutant-island.

Morgan Le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...

, acting as Queen Regent of Otherworld and enraged about mutantkind's reach on her realm, cursed Brian to become her dark champion. In a desperate attempt to save his sister, Brian gave Betsy his Amulet of Right, the source of his powers. As a result, Betsy once again became Captain Britain, a hero of legend.

Characterization

Early powers

In her earliest appearances in ''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X- ...

'', Betsy possessed the power of telepathy. She could read and project thoughts over long distances; control minds; manipulate people's minds and possess them; subdue and tap into other's powers; affect people's memories; project mental illusions;''The Uncanny X-Men'' #217 and generate psi-bolts that could stun,''Fantastic Four Vs. the X-Men'' (paperback, 1991) injure,''The Uncanny X-Men'' #236 or kill others. She could also project her astral self, and the astral bodies of other people, into the astral or physical plane.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #243 She could scan entire towns with her mind, and leaf through the psyches of the inhabitants of a city to learn of their condition''The Uncanny X-Men'' #218 or intentions. She was powerful enough to telepathically "shout" to her teammates in Australia while she was in Washington, D.C. without the aid of any type of power-enhancing machinery such as

Cerebro Cerebro (; Spanish for "brain", from Latin ) is a fictional device appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The device is used by the X-Men (in particular, their leader, Professor Charles Xavier) to detect humans, specificall ...

. She could also probe individuals to check up on their status. When using her

telepathic Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

powers, a butterfly-shaped energy aura would appear around her face. It was never truly made clear in the comic books by the writers whether this was something that could be perceived by others or if this was simply an "effect" to show when Betsy was using her powers to the reading audience (although it was implied that it could be).''The Uncanny X-Men'' #213 This "butterfly" (sometimes depicted as having eyes in its wings) was also the form Betsy usually took when manifesting her astral form, both on the astral plane, and in the physical world, although she occasionally used an illusory image of her physical body. After her transformation, Betsy's psi-form changed accordingly. In addition, Betsy could also use her telepathy to project a focused beam of directed psionic energy called a "psycho-blast" that could incapacitate or kill a living being instantly. This attack was powerful enough to pierce the

Juggernaut A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath. ...

's psi-proof helmet. The psycho-blast was able to affect inorganic material as well as living targets (when directing a psycho-blast at Sabretooth the energy destroyed the metal Cerebro helmet she was wearing). Betsy also possessed limited precognitive powers that occasionally allowed her to envision probable future events, or to see quick flashes of the immediate future.''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #5 These visions were random and infrequent, however, and she had no control over them. While in her original body, Betsy was given bionic eyes by Mojo and Spiral which instantly adjusted to any intensity of light, preventing her from being blinded by brightness. The bionic eyes were also cameras, transmitting to Mojo everything that Betsy saw.''The Uncanny X-Men Annual'' #10 For a time, Betsy took the role of Captain Britain from her brother, using the deceased Kaptain Briton's costume which had been modified by the

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of th ...

computer. This costume gave her superhuman strength and the ability to fly, and restoring her sight after she was briefly rendered temporarily blind.

New powers

After her physical transformation into a Japanese ninja assassin, she gained highly developed fighting skills in addition to her telepathy, which at this stage was not as powerful as it had originally been before her transformation, as half of her psionic potential still resided with Revanche in her original body. After Revanche's death, Betsy's telepathy was restored to its previous strength. The most common usage of her powers was the manifestation of a "psychic knife", which operated in the same manner as her "psycho-blast" ability, but at close range. Described as the focused totality of her psychic powers, she often used it to disrupt the minds and nervous systems of her foes by driving the glowing "blade" of psionic energy into their heads.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #257 At least once, she utilized two psychic knives simultaneously. During this time she chose to fight up-close most of the time, using her new martial arts skills, although she could still utilize distanced telepathic assaults.''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #1 At least once, she experienced a precognitive flash while in her new body. After her exposure to the Crimson Dawn, she also gained the ability to teleport herself and others using areas of shadow as gateways. The teleportation could cover huge distances; on one occasion she transported the X-Men from America to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

in a few seconds. She could also teleport through the shadows of other dimensions. Betsy has not been seen using this ability since her imprisonment of the Shadow King in the astral plane; during a mission against

, she mentioned to Nightcrawler that she no longer possessed this ability.''X-Men Annual'' (vol. 2) 2000

Telekinetic powers

To keep the Shadow King imprisoned in the Astral Plane, Betsy sacrificed the use of her telepathy, but at some point gained Phoenix's telekinesis instead. At first, due to the relative newness of her telekinesis, she could not exercise fine control over her powers. She could blast an enemy through a brick wall, but could not levitate small objects, like a dime, from the floor. As time progressed, Betsy grew more proficient at using her powers and she could use her telekinesis to reshape a pistol into smaller metal projectiles. Instead of her psychic knife, Betsy began to manifest a telekinetic

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge ...

composed of raw psionic energy. At its lowest intensity her katana functions much like her psychic knife once did, short-circuiting the victim's nervous system on impact. At its highest level, the katana can slice through almost any physical matter. Betsy's control over the katana is such that she can slice an armored opponent and cut through the armor, but only leave her opponent stunned or unconscious. Betsy's telekinetic manifestations produce visible radiance in the physical world, and so she can use her psychic katana as a makeshift light source in areas of darkness. The katana can also affect beings that are more powerful than Betsy herself. She can also use her sword to shatter telepathic power-inhibitors imposed on others, despite her own lack of telepathy.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #458 With no telepathy to guide her when performing this task, she must rely on her instincts to give the blade the sufficient strength necessary to break the inhibitors, without doing permanent damage to the subject in question. During the timeline shift known as House of M, Betsy showed the ability to summon two telekinetic katanas at the same time. It is unknown if she is capable of this under normal circumstances. Aside from the blade, Betsy can use her telekinesis to enhance her speed, strength, and fighting skills to superhuman levels. She can also levitate herself and others, or manipulate matter on a molecular level. She can also create telekinetic shields of various sizes and strength, and her telekinesis has been said to be strong enough to shatter mountains.''The Uncanny X-Men'' #463 After her resurrection, Betsy's telekinetic powers have been greatly enhanced. At the time of Betsy's resurrection,

Marvel Girl Marvel Girl is an alias used by at least three fictional Marvel Comics superheroines: *Jean Grey, best known as a founding member of the X-Men *Valeria Richards, daughter of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman (of the Fantastic Four) *Rachel ...

claimed that Betsy's telekinesis was on a level even she could not match. After her resurrection, Betsy was shown to be immune to all forms of psionic manipulations such as mind-reading, mind-control or mental attacks, and attempts of telepathic communication. This is a result of her brother Jamie's manipulation of the quantum strings that comprise her body. She is also immune or at least highly resistant to other psionic-based powers like the Savage Land Mutate Vertigo's disorientation power, or Nocturne's mind possessing abilities. Due to Jamie's alterations, Betsy is also immune to any physical and mental alteration by beings who can radically restructure reality, such as Proteus. She can, however, still be killed in more traditional manners, such as being stabbed or shot. She is also at least partially resistant to magical manipulation. Somehow these various immunities also affect her detectability from higher order technological equipment. For example, all sensor-arrays of the Exiles Crystal Palace are not able to detect her—as if she does not even exist. Beside this immunity, she is able to use her telekinesis to modify her own molecular structure to render herself invisible to at least the naked eye. However, Betsy's telekinetic powers seems to evolve with the return of her telepathy since her encounter with the Sisterhood as, at first, she has rarely been seen using her telekinesis to levitate objects or create her trademark telekinetic katana. It appears also, that she is focusing more on developing her returned telepathic powers and that the various immunities that were granted to her by her resurrection at the hands of her brother seem to have vanished or at least greatly diminished, as during the Necrosha event Proteus was not only able to possess Betsy but also was able to alter her body structure. During the "Second Coming" storyline, Betsy has once more been depicted using her telekinesis for considerable feats: such as making a shield to protect herself and

X-23 Laura Kinney (born X-23; codename Wolverine) is a fictional superhero appearing in media published by Marvel Entertainment, most commonly in association with the X-Men. The character was created by writer Craig Kyle for the '' X-Men: Evolutio ...

from bullets, ripping a

robot in two and even achieving what appears to be a form of flight or levitation.

Returned powers and abilities

The events involving the Sisterhood of Mutants triggered a return of her original telepathic abilities. Upon rejoining the X-Men, Betsy states that while she is still primarily a telekinetic, she has gained the mental ability to telepathically "suggest what people see" (i.e. cast telepathic illusions). In an interview, writer Christopher Yost and editor Daniel Ketchum confirmed that Betsy Braddock now possesses both telekinesis and telepathy. Additionally, she is once again able to focus her telepathic energies into a solid psychic knife and can still manifest her telekinetic katana. As shown in the events of the ''Psylocke'' miniseries, she still appears to be an unusually strong and powerful telepath, with a range of abilities similar to what she possessed at her introduction, as well as manifesting her trademark psychic knife. Betsy is also shown to have levels of telekinesis sufficient to increase the strength and power of her physical blows as well as ward off attacks via force fields and telekinetic "blasts or bursts". During the Utopia storyline, she was seen manifesting her telekinetic katana, but of late she has been seen using a pair of traditional katanas as well. After the events of "Second Coming", Betsy establishes that her psychic abilities fluctuate in strength; if her concentration is divided as a result of a telepathic response to her environment, it has an adverse effect on her telekinesis. During the "Dark Angel Saga", Betsy's full psionic potential was unlocked by Jean Grey from the Age of Apocalypse timeline. She was able to overcome Archangel with her newly strengthened and increased telepathy – a feat that had previously been beyond her power.''Uncanny X-Force'' #18 Writer Rick Remender has stated that she is now an Omega-class/level mutant and telepath on par with Jean Grey and Charles Xavier.

Fighting skills

Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock has been classified as a master martial artist, though the specific fighting arts she has mastered have never been revealed. Psylocke's fighting skills and techniques have been shown to surpass those of the average Hand ninja, or Crimson Dawn Undercloak, and have been said to rival those of a ninja master. In addition to the fighting skills she learned from The Hand, Betsy has recently received training from fellow Exiles teammate Sabretooth''New Exiles'' #11 and from an alternate reality's Ogun, who used science and magic combined to alter the passage of time itself, allowing them to accomplish a lifetime's work in a few short hours, thus improving Betsy's skills once more. As a telepath, Betsy could take advantage of her powers in a fight by reading her opponents' movements seconds before they made them, giving her the opportunity to counter-attack faster. She could also use her telepathy to mask her presence from other people, humans and superhumans alike, e.g. from Wolverine's super-enhanced senses or from Jean Grey's telepathy. She could also create telepathic illusions to distract her enemies while fighting them, and as a ninja, she can use her psychic knife to incapacitate her opponents instead of killing them; although she will kill her opponents if she finds it to be necessary. As a telekinetic, she often uses her powers to augment her strength and speed, making her fighting skills strong enough to match, and even outmatch other superhumanly strong opponents, like a holographic version of Sabretooth in the

. During a training session with Rogue and Thunderbird, Betsy was able to match Rogue's attacks despite the fact that Rogue had greatly enhanced speed and strength at the time.''X-Treme X-Men'' #3

Armor

During the time when the X-Men were based in the Australian outback, Betsy Braddock gained possession of a unique suit of armor. Made of an unknown metal, it was lightweight and form-fitting, yet extremely resistant to physical damage, giving Betsy an added protection to her physical body. The armor was also resistant to projectiles and energy weapons. Wolverine had the armor custom-ordered through a weapons and technology firm named

Landau, Luckman, and Lake Landau, Luckman, and Lake or LLL is a fictional holding company appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, particularly in the pages of the ''Wolverine'', ''Uncanny X-Men'' and ''Deadpool'' comic books. Created by writer Chris ...

for "a colleague". Mr. Chang, an agent of Landau, Luckman, and Lake, loaned the armor to Lindsay McCabe since Wolverine had sent her to him.

Tyger Tiger The Principality of Madripoor or Madripoor is a fictional island located in maritime Southeast Asia appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, mostly associated with stories from the ''X-Men'' series. Based on illustrations, it ...

also wore the body armor for a short time, and she was briefly trapped in the armor due to a built-in security mechanism, which Wolverine managed to free her from. After traveling through the Siege Perilous and trading bodies with Kwannon, Betsy no longer used the body armor. When Kwannon, in Betsy's original body, returned to Xavier's mansion, she was wearing an armor that was similar to the one Betsy used to wear, but it has never been officially stated whether or not this armor had the same capabilities as Betsy's original one.''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #20 The same can be said for the armor worn by Betsy's resurrected original body, after it was brought back during by Madelyne's sisterhood, wearing armor of the same coloring.

Relationships

Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock has been involved in a series of romantic relationships during the years. As a member of S.T.R.I.K.E.'s Psi Division, she was involved with fellow agent Tom Lennox. He was murdered while trying to defend her, during which time she was telepathically linked to him. Telepathically experiencing Lennox's death left Betsy traumatized for a time.''Mighty World of Marvel'' #8–9 After returning to the X-Men in Kwannon's body, Betsy telepathically manipulated

, her team leader, into being romantically attracted to her. After regaining her full personality from Kwannon, Betsy offered a belated apology to Jean Grey, admitting that the flirtation was due to the presence of Kwannon's lingering personality traits in her mind, but that she did in fact find Cyclops attractive. Later, Betsy and

had a romantic relationship, but chose to end it after realizing that the differences between them were too great. After Betsy's death, Archangel suffered anguish from being unable to save her, but eventually made peace with it and moved on to a relationship with

Paige Guthrie Husk (Paige Guthrie) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Guthrie is a superhero associated with the X-Men. A mutant, Husk has the ability to remove one layer of skin—or "husk"—revealing ...

. Betsy and the X-Man

Neal Shaara Neal (Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "hon ...

were romantically involved until her death. After joining the Exiles, Betsy has been flirting with teammate Sabretooth. They passionately kissed each other, eventually leading to both acting on their romantic feelings more intimately.''New Exiles'' #18 Some time later, Betsy and Archangel have been seen to be in the process of rebuilding their romantic relationship. Betsy later had a brief romantic and sexual relationship with both Fantomex and his female counterpart Cluster, after Fantomex was separated into three people.

Other versions

In addition to her mainstream incarnation (known as the Earth-616 Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock), the character has had been depicted in the comics set in many other

fictional universes A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...

and timelines of the Marvel

, including

Days of Future Past "Days of Future Past" is a storyline in the Marvel Comics comic book ''The Uncanny X-Men'' issues #141–142, published in 1981. It deals with a dystopian future in which mutants are incarcerated in internment camps. An adult Kate Pryde transfer ...

Earth X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Uni ...

Marvel Comics 2 Marvel Comics 2 is an imprint (trade name), imprint from Marvel Comics whose comic books depict an alternative future timeline for the Marvel Universe. The imprint was spun off from the events of ''What If (comics), What If?'' #105 (February 1998), ...

Ultimate X-Men ''Ultimate X-Men'' is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The U ...

, and

Age of X "Age of X" is a comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics as part of its ''X-Men'' series. The storyline is set in an alternate reality known as Earth-11326. Running from January to April 2011, it is similar in name and tone to the 1995 " A ...

. These alternative representations usually differ considerably from the details and events of the main story, without affecting that story's narrative continuity.

Age of Apocalypse

The "

" (Earth-295) incarnation of Betsy Braddock was created by

Akira Yoshida (born Kyoto, 13 August 1971) is a former Japanese rugby union player who played as centre. Career Educated at the Keiko Gakuen Junior High School, he served as captain of his college's rugby team during his high school days, finishing second ...

and

Chris Bachalo Chris Bachalo (born August 23, 1965) is a Canadian comic book illustrator known for his quirky, cartoon-like style. He became well known for stints on DC Comics' ''Shade, the Changing Man'' and Neil Gaiman's two Death series. Chris has also illus ...

. She is an Asian ninja (wearing a mask), though no explanation is given as to the circumstances of her ethnicity. She possesses the ability to generate psychic blades (an ability that the Earth-616 Betsy Braddock only manifested after switching bodies with Kwannon) that can affect physical matter as well as living beings. She frees the captured

and has a brief reunion with

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gov ...

, for whom she bears an obvious grudge. Betsy later battles

Dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use def ...

, defeating her quickly, and uses her psychic blades to counteract the brainwashing of some of the X-Men; first on Jean, who is released from Mr. Sinister's influence, and then on Kirika, which allows the young mutant to remember that

and

are her parents. At the end of the series, Betsy and the other Japanese members of the X-Men (

Sunfire Fire is a series of server computers introduced in 2001 by Sun Microsystems (since 2010, part of Oracle Corporation). The Sun Fire branding coincided with the introduction of the UltraSPARC III processor, superseding the UltraSPARC II-ba ...

, Kirika, and

Silver Samurai Silver Samurai is the name of two different supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, both acquaintances of Wolverine. The character has appeared in several X-Men-related animated series and video games before ma ...

) depart for Clan Yashida's refugee colony in New Japan.''X-Men: Age of Apocalypse'' #6 (June 2005)

Age of X

In ''

'' (Earth-11326) storyline of '' X-Men: Legacy'', Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, created by Mike Carey and

Clay Mann Clay Mann is an American comic book artist who has worked for Valiant, Marvel, and DC Comics. He has a twin brother named Seth Mann who works primarily as his inker. Bibliography Interior comic work includes: *''X-Men Unlimited'' vol. 2 #13: "A ...

, is still in her original Caucasian body, having never switched with Kwannon. She is depicted as a member of the Force Warriors, a select group of telekinetics who rebuild the telekinetic shields that protect Fortress X on a daily basis. Prior to the mutant/human conflict she lived a privileged life among the upper class of British society, similar to her Earth-616 counterpart. Along with others (such as Megan Gwynn and Jonothon Starsmore "Chamber") was part of a general expulsion of X-Gene positive families from the United Kingdom. The plan was to exile them on a series of small islands in the Irish Sea, but was foiled when the Irish separatists bombed one of the ships carrying the transportees. The Mutant Liberation Front seized control of the other ship (with Chamber on board) and was ultimately able to berth it at the Canadian port of Saguenay. As a member of the Force Warriors, Betsy used her telekinesis in concert with the other members to rebuild the walls around Fortress X every evening in preparation for the next morning's attacks. She is in a relationship with the Age of X version of Iceman.

Days of Future Past

The dystopian "

" (Earth-811) version of Betsy Braddock was created by John Francis Moore and Joe Bennett. Betsy has not only the Crimson Dawn tattoo over her left eye, but also additional tattoos on the right part of her face. Betsy is first seen as a mysterious hooded female that sneaks up undetected behind Logan and telepathically destroys his consciousness. She is the new Red Queen and one of the Lords Cardinal of the new Hellfire Club. Betsy is seen by

Shinobi Shaw Shinobi Shaw, also known as a Black King of the Hellfire Club, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary of the X-Men and their affiliated teams. Created by ...

’s side as they watch the trapped

. As Shinobi brags about world domination, Betsy reminds him that without her help he would not have been so lucky and he tells her that her name is never far away from his thoughts and that they will rule the world side by side. Suddenly, Betsy cries out in pain and says that

has reawakened and that

is responsible for bringing him back. She summons the female ninja Midnight (Amiko Kobayashi) and instructs her to kill Wolverine, in spite of their past together. Baron Zemo makes his way back to Shinobi and Elizabeth to celebrate their victory, just as

makes his way into their base. Betsy senses betrayal from one of the workers, whom she stuns with her psychic knife and find out to be

in disguise. As she is preparing to kill Jubilee, Synch and

Leech Leeches are segmented parasitism, parasitic or Predation, predatory worms that comprise the Class (biology), subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the Oligochaeta, oligochaetes, which include the earthwor ...

use their combined powers against Betsy to intervene. Wolverine finally knocks her down with one punch, commenting that during the years she has grown a bit “rusty” with her martial arts skills. She is taken back to Emma Frost's base of operation and Emma later tells Jubilee and the rest of the team that Betsy will be transferred back to her brother in England as soon as her recuperation is completed. In ''

'', the Earth-9620 Betsy Braddock has no tattoos at all and her eyes are completely blue, with no visible iris or pupils. One thing that connects these two storylines with each other and with the original ''Days of Future Past,'' is the death of Warren Worthington (Angel). Betsy is a member of the underground resistance against Black Air, the security service that rules Britain. She is first seen as part of the Excalibur team that goes on a mission to rescue Douglock from the Black Air headquarters. Inside the Black Air HQ, Betsy fights off techno-organic

replicas and uses her psychic knife to open up a neural linked brain-lock. Inside the locked room, she finds herself trapped together with the rest of the team. What happens to her afterwards is unknown. This story, "Days of Future Tense," revealed the final fate of the "Days of Future Past" timeline's Excalibur team.

Exiles

Several versions of the character appear in the ''Exiles'' comics: *Earth-1081: This Betsy Braddock, created by

Judd Winick Judd Winick (born February 12, 1970) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer and screenwriter, as well as a former reality television personality. He first gained fame for his stint on MTV's ''The Real World: San Francisco'' in 1994, before f ...

and

Mike McKone Michael McKone is a British comic book artist. Career McKone's first published works for the major companies included ''Justice League of America'' and ''Justice League International'' for DC Comics and ''The Punisher War Zone'' for Marvel Com ...

, is a member of the X-Men and appears to be identical to the one from Earth-616. *Earth-2182: A minor character who is an X-Men affiliate with all-blue colored costume, hair and powers, created by

Jim Calafiore Jim Calafiore is an American comic book penciller and inker, known for his work on Marvel Comics ''Exiles'', and DC Comics' ''Aquaman''. His other work includes ''Faction Paradox'', and writing Marvel's ''Exiles'' and ''Millennium Visions''. Cala ...

. *Earth-7794: A minor character who was murdered by

; created by Chris Claremont and Paul Pelletie. *Earth-51489: A barbarian female warrior killed by Slaymaster; created by Chris Claremont and Paco Diaz Luque. *Earth-72911: Created by Chris Claremont, she was another Betsy Braddock murdered by Slaymaster.''New Exiles'' #11 (November 2008) *Earth-80827: Created by Chris Claremont and Tom Grummett, this version of Betsy Braddock was a Japanese woman affiliated with

and known as Lady Mandarin, who was also killed by Slaymaster when they fought. *Earth-80911: Married to

Victor Creed Sabretooth (Victor Creed) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men, in particular as an enemy of the mutant Wolverine (character), Wolverine. Created by wri ...

and murdered by Slaymaster along with her husband and children; created by Chris Claremont and Paco Diaz Luque. *Earth-89145: In this reality, Braddock was a British pilot, who was murdered by Slaymaster as part of his attempt to kill every version of Betsy Braddock throughout the Multiverse; created by Chris Claremont and Paco Diaz Luque.

Earth X

It is unknown if the Betsy Braddock version of the ''

Earth-X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Uni ...

'' (Earth-9997) future timeline ever switched bodies with the Japanese assassin Kwannon or if the effect was undone somehow, but she was entirely European when she was brought to Otherworld to further hone her telepathic and precognitive powers under

Merlyn Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

and

’s tutelage. Her abilities boosted, Betsy Braddock's telepathic signature, the butterfly image, was much bigger than before and constantly “on,” bathing her head in bright, pink light. Her training completed, she rejoined her brother, King Britain, on Earth at some later point, as she, Merlyn and

used their powers to weaken

, allowing Brian to kill him.

"House of M"

In the alternate reality of the 2005"

" storyline (Earth-58163) created by the Scarlet Witch, Betsy found herself as

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been se ...

named Elizabeth Glorianna Braddock, sister to the monarch of Britain. In fact, Betsy was actually the rightful heir of the throne, being a few minutes older than her twin brother Brian, but she had stepped down in his favor, as she preferred traveling and adventuring with her lady-in-waiting,

Rachel Summers Rachel Anne Summers (also known as Rachel Grey) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-plotter John Byrne (comics), John Byrne. In h ...

. Nevertheless, she still had an Asian body, and possessed the same powers as the Earth-616 Betsy Braddock.

MC2

Although not seen on-panel, Betsy Braddock's counterpart of the

universe (Earth-982) was at least mentioned. Apparently, this Betsy acted as a godmother to Wild Thing, the daughter of Wolverine and Elektra, and she also trained her in the use of her psychic powers. Wild Thing had no real claws but psionic ones that she could use in similar ways to Betsy's psychic katana.

Millennial Visions

Several versions of the character appear in the '' X-Men: Millennial Visions'' comics: *Earth-1003: Created by

John Paul Leon John Paul Leon (April 26, 1972 – May 2, 2021) was an American comic book artist, known for his work on the Milestone Comics series ''Static'', and the Marvel Comics limited series ''Earth X''. Leon also provided artwork for a number of style g ...

, Betsy Braddock is good character affiliated with the X-Men and a member of Professor's Secret Service. She, Magneto and Quicksilver are all murdered at a peace summit.''X-Men: Millennial Visions'' #2000 (August 2000) *Earth-1011: Created by Sean Chen, Betsy Braddock is an evil cyborg affiliated with the X-Sentinels. *Earth-1017: Created by Pablo Raimondi, Betsy Braddock (Code X 11095) is an Asian ninja affiliated with the X-Men, with short spiky hair and a different red tattoo over her left eye. *Earth-3933: Betsy Braddock was bitten by a monster which ate her family in their sleep, and is empowered with super human strength and makes her virtually immortal, though she now hungers for human flesh.

Ultimate Marvel

In the World Tour story arc of ''

'' (Earth-1610), Agent Betsy Braddock was created by

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer and television producer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series '' The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written e ...

and

Adam Kubert Adam Kubert (; born 1959) is an American comics artist known for his work for publishers such as Marvel Comics and DC Comics, including work on ''Action Comics'', '' Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine'', '' The Incredible Hulk'', '' Ultimate F ...

. She was introduced as a colonel for the British

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intellige ...

along with her partner Agent Dai Thomas. As in the mainstream Marvel Universe, Betsy is the twin sister of Brian Braddock, who is now a member of the European Defense Initiative (the European Union's equivalent of the

Ultimates The Ultimates is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics and created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, which first started publication from '' The Ultimates'' #1 (March 2002), as part of the company's Ultimate Marve ...

), code named

. Her father, Professor Sir James Braddock, is still alive in the Ultimate universe, and oversees the EDI's super-soldier program. She is a telepath and, judging by her own assertion, the most powerful in England. The "psychoblast" power she possessed in her British form in the Earth-616 universe was manifested as a "psychic grenade" that she "detonated" in the minds of others. Agents Betsy Braddock and Dai Thomas, were assigned to aid Xavier in his search for his son,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, a powerful mutant who could physically possess the bodies of others and manipulate reality. During the investigation, however, Agent Thomas was killed and Betsy's body was possessed by David, who set about wreaking havoc and killing innocent humans while in her body. She eventually managed to resist his control, albeit briefly, and pleaded with Xavier to kill her. Xavier could not bring himself to do so, but

Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * ''Col ...

dropped a car on her, killing both Betsy and David Xavier. Betsy's consciousness survived, however, somehow moving into the comatose body of a Japanese girl called Kwannon. Kwannon was glad to be able to move on to the afterlife, and willingly gave Betsy her body. Betsy regarded her near-death experience as intensely fascinating. The change has also led her to bear a less formal look, as she was seen after her body-switch with a number of cosmetic piercings. She somehow retained her telepathic powers in Kwannon's body and even gained the new ability to create a blade that can cut through most materials, even a

Sentinel Sentinel may refer to: Places Mountains * Mount Sentinel, a mountain next to the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana * Sentinel Buttress, a volcanic crag on James Ross Island, Antarctica * Sentinel Dome, a naturally occurring gran ...

. She was said to be aiding in the formation of S.T.R.I.K.E., the British division of

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often ...

Later, though, she was revealed to have been working undercover for Charles Xavier as a spy investigating the activities of Fenris. Betsy officially joined the X-Men under the codename Psylocke. Her employment with S.T.R.I.K.E. had ended because the body she currently inhabits is that of a minor, making her too young to serve as a government agent. She was recruited by

into his new X-Men after angrily informing Cyclops that he had turned his back on the X-Men and the good they can achieve after he refused to help a group of mutants being attacked by Sentinels solely because he thought it would make the Xavier Institute look bad. Bishop later referred to Betsy as his wife, when the Fenris twins threatened to kill her. Betsy confronted Bishop about his comments about their future marriage, and from what he says, it is implied that Betsy was killed before Bishop traveled back in time. Eventually, Bishop is stabbed and killed by Wolverine. Xavier returns from the future revealing himself to be alive and Betsy begins living at the Xavier Institute as a student. She is seen again after the Ultimatum wave hits New York. While the main X-Men go after

, she stays at the institute. When Reverend William Stryker attacks the school planning to kill every student, Betsy uses Cerebro to send a telepathic message to any mutant that can help save them. Ultimately, she survives the school massacre alongside

Toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

, and Firestar, though, for some reason, she and Toad are listed among the deceased in the final issue of Ultimatum. Subsequently, a young woman appears claiming to be Betsy Braddock, having "jumped" her consciousness into another body before her death (however, oddly no one recognizes or remembers her). She sides with Mach Two (Nomi Blume) to leave Reservation X, which was given to Kitty Pryde by President Captain America after the fight with the Sentinel, though Kitty wins the vote to stay as the leader of Reservation X. She was then seen manipulating Rogue by using telepathy while she is sleeping, teasing her about Quentin Quire. She eventually leaves with Nomi after the Seed is "destroyed". It is revealed that she has enlisted Warpath (who is in love with her) to betray both Kitty and Nomi. Jean Grey (herself in disguise) unmasked this Betsy as being a fake, revealed her to be Mothervine, who set out to destroy both Utopia and Tian.

Uncanny X-Force

Several versions of the character appear in the ''

Uncanny X-Force ''Uncanny X-Force'' was a comic book ongoing series published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Rick Remender and artist Jerome Opeña, the first volume of the series continued the story of Wolverine and his X-Force team from the series '' X- ...

'' comics: *Earth-11045: In this reality, all superhumans were converted into the cyborgs

Deathlok Deathlok (also referred to as Deathlok the Demolisher) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in '' Astonishing Tales'' #25 (Aug. 1974), created by Rich Buckler. At least three sub ...

s and were converted into a global police force for a global utopia. Betsy Braddock was among them and was sent to the past together with the rest of X-Force in order to secure a high-tech, self-contained research facility known as The World and kill X-Force of the past. *The Earth-12928 version of Elizabeth Braddock, an elderly woman known as Magistrate Braddock, was created by Rick Remender and Julian Totino Tedesco. In this reality, Evan Sabah Nur ascended and became Apocalypse, the greatest threat the Earth had ever faced, which forced Wolverine to create an X-Force composed of various heroes. Together, they managed to defeat Evan and save the world. In order to prevent someone like Evan from threatening the Earth again, X-Force were elected as the new rulers of Earth. Elizabeth, in her Asian body, became the leader of X-Force and the world. They first killed every villain and criminal, and then began killing people preemptively, as soon as they made up their minds to commit a crime. At some point Elizabeth and Logan fell in love. When X-Force from the past came to the future, Elizabeth ordered X-Force to track them down and send them back. The past Elizabeth, horrified with the future, decided to kill herself in order to prevent it from happening. Magistrate Braddock began fading from existence, but the past Elizabeth was saved, which prevented her death. Magistrate Braddock spoke to her past self, talking mostly about their loss of Warren and

, before sending her and the rest of X-Force back to the present.

What If

Several versions of the character appear in the ''

What If What If may refer to: Film * ''What If'', a 2006 TV film starring Niall Buggy * ''What If...'' (2010 film), an American film * ''What If...'' (2012 film), a Greek film * ''What If'' (2013 film) or ''The F Word'', a Canadian-Irish film Telev ...

'' comics: *Earth-957: Appears to be basically the same as the Earth-616 ninja Betsy Braddock in Kwannon's body; created by

Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', '' Thor'', and ''Fantastic Four''. Career While in college, DeFalco "wrote f ...

and

Leo Fernandez Leo Fernandez (born 5 July 1976 in Limerick) is an Irish former professional snooker player. Snooker career Fernandez finished second on the PIOS Order of Merit in 2007 gaining promotion to the Main Tour for the 2007–08 season, although he fai ...

. *Earth-983: Created by

Stefan Petrucha Stefan Petrucha (born January 27, 1959) is an American writer of comics and young adult fiction. He has written graphic novels in the '' X-Files'' and ''Nancy Drew'' series, as well as science fiction and horror. For 13 years, from 1994 to 2007, ...

and Greg Luzniak, this version of Betsy Braddock is very similar to the Earth-616 ninja Betsy Braddock in Kwannon's body, but with a modified costume. *Earth-34922: When the X-Men were attacked by Sentinels, Betsy Braddock (postbody swap), along with the other members, reluctantly attempts to wake up Wolverine in order to battle them. *Earth-77995: Created by

Benny Powell Benny Powell (March 1, 1930 – June 26, 2010) was an American jazz trombonist. He played both standard (tenor) trombone and bass trombone. Biography Born Benjamin Gordon Powell Jr in New Orleans, Louisiana, he first played professionally ...

and

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...

, this Betsy Braddock is an evil version the Earth-616 ninja Betsy Braddock from ''X-Men: Legacy''. Three months after the deaths of Charles Xavier and Apocalypse, Betsy Braddock joined the Followers of Apocalypse after they were nearly destroyed by Phoenix. *Earth-89721: An armored and cloaked version of Elizabeth Braddock in her original body, created by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly ...

and Ron Wilson. Due to the Evolutionary Bomb she is now able to read the thoughts of everybody around her. *Earth-95169: This Elizabeth Braddock appears to share her body, power and costume with the Earth-616 ''X-Men: Legacy'' version. *Earth-98193: Captain Britain is briefly seen in an interview with

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

as a member of the X-Men. This version of Elizabeth Braddock appears to still be in her blonde, British body. Betsy Braddock of Earth-21993 was created by

Kurt Busiek Kurt Busiek ( ) (born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer. His work includes the ''Marvels'' limited series, his own series titled '' Astro City'', a four-year run on '' The Avengers, Thunderbolts'' and '' Superman.'' Early life ...

and Tod Smith. Her history mirrors that of her Earth-616 counterpart until just after she crossed through the

. After Charles Xavier escaped

activity and returned to Earth, she is among the many teams of X-Men gathered by Xavier, who express his disapproval with the state they had left human/mutant affairs in his absence. This meeting erupts into violence due to an argument between

and Xavier over what direction to take. Betsy joins the other X-Men in attempting to incapacitate Cable and the

, but the New Mutants flee. Following Cable's assassination of Xavier, Betsy joins a group of X-Men led by Wolverine in tracking the New Mutants down to their new headquarters, where, as she battle the remaining New Mutants, Wolverine kills Cable. Wolverine then leads his team of X-Men on a mission to slay all their enemies. After killing Mr. Sinister and his Nasty Boys, Betsy has enough with the mindless killings and defects over to another team of X-Men led by

. By this point, the U.S. government unleashed the Sentinels in response to Magneto taking over Washington. Betsy comes across Storm just as most of the X-Men on her side either defected over to Magneto, or found themselves killed or captured by the Sentinels. Realizing that current events might lead up to the nightmare future (Earth-811) where mutants have been either enslaved or wiped out by the Sentinels, Storm and Betsy seek to try and talk Magneto into stopping his aggressions. Breaking into the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

, Betsy and Storm attempt to warn Magneto of the possible apocalyptic future ahead of them, but he scoffs at the idea and attempts to destroy another attacking squad of Sentinels. Mentally detecting that one of them carried a nuclear warhead, Betsy attempts to warn Magneto, but she is too late. The bomb goes off, killing them all.

Other versions

*Earth-161 (''

X-Men Forever ''X-Men Forever'' is the name of three comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring the mutant superhero group the X-Men. The first is a 2001 miniseries, unrelated to the others. The second and third are the work of writer Chris Clarem ...

''): Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock in an Asian body, based on Chris Claremont's original story where she was transformed by Spiral to look Asian, but was not bodyswapped with anyone. created by

and Paul Smith. *Earth-597 (''

Marvel Graphic Novel ''Marvel Graphic Novel'' (''MGN'') is a line of graphic novel trade paperbacks published from 1982 to 1993 by Marvel Comics. The books were published in an oversized format, 8.5" x 11", similar to French albums. In response, DC Comics establi ...

''): In this universe, where the Nazis won World War II, an evil Elizabeth Braddock, created by Michael Higgins, Tom Morgan and Justin Thyme, is a Nazi agent affiliated with the Reichsmen. *Earth-2107: Created by

Robert Kirkman Robert Kirkman (; born November 30, 1978)Löchel, Ingo"The Walking Dead: Die Comic-Serie – Robert Kirkman" Zauberspiegel. Retrieved February 17, 2013. is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and television producer. He is best known ...

and

Yanick Paquette Yanick Paquette is a Canadian comic book artist. He has worked for Antarctic Press, Topps, Marvel, and DC Comics and since 1994. Career In 1996 Paquette drew two miniseries adapted from the TV series '' Space: Above and Beyond'', written by Ro ...

, Elizabeth "Psylocke" Braddock was Bishop's wife in the future Ultimate universe, seen during a flashback when she got killed. *Earth-2301 ('' Marvel Mangaverse''): Created by

and

Jeff Matsuda Jeff Matsuda (born 1970) is an American animator and concept and comics artist who served as the chief character designer for both '' Jackie Chan Adventures'' and ''The Batman'' and is the president and creative director of X-Ray Kid Studios. Mats ...

, this version of Betsy Braddock appears to be of Indian ethnicity. X-Men and has the ability to project numerous green telepathic gremlins by gesturing with her arms. They are able to pass through solid matter and cause severe physical pain to those they struck, but if interrupted, Elizabeth herself seems to experience severe headaches. *Earth-2319 ('' New Avengers'' vol. 3): Created by

and Simone Bianchi, this Elizabeth "Beth" Braddock is, like her brother

, using the identity Captain Britain. They are both members of the Illuminati and are killed by Mapmakers during an incursion. *Earth-9921 (''

''): Created by

and

, this Betsy Braddock is an X-Men affiliate similar in appearance to the Earth-616 Asian Betsy Braddock but with a different costume. *Earth-8101 (''

Marvel Apes ''Marvel Apes'' is a four-issue limited series by comics publisher Marvel Comics which started publication in October 2008. The series is written by Karl Kesel with art by Ramon Bachs and covers by John Watson. The Marvel Apes reality is designat ...

''): A

simian The simians, anthropoids, or higher primates are an infraorder (Simiiformes ) of primates containing all animals traditionally called monkeys and apes. More precisely, they consist of the parvorders New World monkeys (Platyrrhini) and Cat ...

version of Betsy Braddock. *Earth-11080 (''Marvel Universe Vs Wolverine''): Jonathan Maberry, Goran Parlov During a mission with Wolverine, Betsy Braddock was attacked by Angel, who had developed the same cannibalistic hunger as

did earlier. All he left behind was her right arm, but using his tracking skills, Wolverine soon found her remains. After samples of Betsy Braddock's DNA were studied, Wolverine tracked down Angel and killed him. *Earth-41001 (''X-Men: The End''): The only apparent difference between this version and the ninja Betsy Braddock of Earth-616 is a different costume; created by Chris Claremont and Sean Chen. *Earth-70105 (''Bullet Points (comics), Bullet Points''): Betsy Braddock lived virtually the same life as she did on Earth-616, and helped defend the Earth from Galactus. *Earth-95126 (''Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe''): An Asian version, killed by the Punisher along with every other mutant. *Earth-807128 (''Wolverine (comic book), Wolverine''/Dark Reign (comics), Dark Reign): Betsy Braddock was one of the X-Men Logan was tricked into murdering by Mysterio when the villains got organized and attacked the heroes at once. *Earth-TRN037 (''

''): A male version of Betsy Braddock exists on Earth-TRN037. He is a muscular Asian male in a similar costume and powers as the Earth-616 Betsy Braddock. *Earth-TRN150 (''5 Ronin''): Created by Peter Milligan and David Aja. In 17th-century Japan, Elizabeth Braddock is the half-Japanese orphan daughter of a local Japanese woman (who died when she was a baby) and an English expat trader (who committed suicide when she was a child after his business failed), who is forced into the yoshiwara in order to survive and grows up to become the top-ranked prostitute (codenamed "Butterfly") in a high-end brothel. She crosses paths with this Earth's version of Wolverine (who is also reimagined as a 17th-Century Japanese samurai, along with Punisher, Deadpool, and Hulk), who becomes her regular customer. *Earth-TRN192 (''Astonishing X-Men''): Created by Tommy Lee Edwards, this Betsy Braddock is a young Asian ninja character affiliated with the evil Mutant Monarchy. She has a shorter hair and is apparently younger, and fights blindfolded with twin daggers. *Earth-TRN716 (''Age of X-Man''): Created by Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler, this Betsy Braddock is a clerk for Department X, maintaining community relations and standards.

In other media

Betsy Braddock has made many appearances in media other than comic books as both Captain Britain and Psylocke. These include television series, films, and numerous video game adaptations and crossover titles. Betsy has been voiced by Grey DeLisle, Heather Doerksen, and Tasha Simm in cartoons, and by Laura Bailey (voice actress), Laura Bailey, Kimberly Brooks, Catherine Disher, Melissa Disney, Kim Mai Guest, Erica Lindbeck, Junk Luk, Masasa Moyo, and April Stewart in video games. In X-Men (film series), the film series, she was portrayed by

and

In merchandise

Several statuettes of Betsy Braddock as Psylocke were produced by various manufacturers, including by Bandai in 2005, Hasbro in 2008 (Marvel Super Hero Squad Wave 7), Kotobukiya in 2010 (redesigned in the Japanese bishōjo style by Shunya Yamashita) and 2011, Bowen Designs in 2010, and Sideshow Collectibles in 2010 and 2011. A diorama of Psylocke and Spiral was also created by Sideshow Collectibles in 2009. Mini-bust statuettes of Psylocke were made by Bowen Designs in 2005, and by Diamond Select Toys, which also released several regular statuettes. Psylocke figures were also released as part of The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection by Eaglemoss Publications and the ''HeroClix'' collectible miniature game by National Entertainment Collectibles Association, NECA (Experienced – Giant-Size X-Men, Veteran – Armor Wars and Veteran – Xplosion. Three Betsy Braddock "Psylocke" action figures were produced by Toy Biz in 1996, including one as part of the Marvel Legends line which was later picked up by Hasbro. Two other action figures were released by Hasbro, one as part of the Marvel Universe (toyline), Marvel Universe toyline in 2011. Diamond Select Toys released three different Betsy Braddock "Psylocke" Minimates between 2009 and 2011, in the series Wave 7, Wave 28, and the Uncanny X-Force Box Set.

Reception

The character has achieved a significant critical praise and popularity following the 1989 redesign. According to UGO, "Basically, Marvel gave a third-rate character a makeover, hence, creating one of the most popular female mutants in ''X-Men'' history." Betsy Braddock was included in IGN's "Battle of the Comic-Book Babes" contest in 2005, winning the first two rounds against Aspen Matthews and then Natsumi Tsujimoto, Natsumi and Miyuki Kobayakawa, Miyuki, before losing to

(the eventual champion of this edition). Betsy, however, emerged victorious from the following year's "Battle of the Comic-Book Babes" in 2006, winning the consecutive rounds against Powers (comics), Deena Pilgrim, Rachel Summers and Black Cat (Marvel Comics), Black Cat. In the final round, she managed to get almost two-thirds of the votes (64%) when pitted against video gaming's female icon Lara Croft. In 2006, IGN also rated Betsy Braddock as the 22nd top ''X-Men'' character, comparing her to Rogue" and calling her "a born leader" whose "abilities make her one of the most potent fighters to ever wear the X", and also placed her third on their list of top 'X-Babes' for her being an "Asian gal with incredible body and a British accent". Marvel themselves declared her their own second most favorite hero of 2011, citing her "tremendous and thankless heroism". That same year, UGO ranked her ninth of their list of "superhero power upgrades that kicked complete ass" and also featured her among 25 "hot ninja girls" and called her an "eye candy that's less lollipop and more atomic warhead". In 2011, IGN included Betsy Braddock among the eight mutants IGN wished to see in the sequel to ''X-Men: First Class'', stating that "mentally, she can go toe-to-toe with fellow telepaths like Emma Frost, and physically, she can kick as much ass as Wolverine when the situation calls for it", and adding that they would prefer to see her appearing as an Asian and a ninja, while disregarding her prior appearances in ''X2 (film), X2'' and '' X-Men: The Last Stand''. In 2013, WhatCulture ranked Betsy Braddock as the sixth most underrated ''X-Men'' character, and included her on the lists of ten mutants they would like to see in the film ''X-Men: Days of Future Past'' and in the future sequels. In 2014, WhatCulture also included her among the ten female superheroes who deserve their own film spin-off, opining she should be played by Zhang Ziyi. ''Days of Future Past'' writer and producer Simon Kinberg said Betsy Braddock is a favourite of his, and said the director and producer Bryan Singer "thinks she’s a neat character so there’s certainly a chance she’ll be in an ''X-Men'' movie some day". In 2015,

was cast as Betsy Braddock / Psylocke in Singer's '' X-Men: Apocalypse'', which was released the following year. Some of the praise was directed especially for her many video game roles, including in a series of 2D fighting games by Capcom wherein she was noted as a particularly well animated character. In 1996, ''MAXIMUM'' reported Betsy Braddock as being possibly the most popular ''X-Men'' character in Japan, where Capcom games have introduced the franchise to general public, "due to her Japanese appearance...and ninja-esque martial arts moves". Betsy Braddock was chosen as one of the 20 "muses" of video games by Brazilian magazine ''SuperGamePower'' in 2001. In the 2009 Marvel poll asking who is the better fighter in ''Marvel vs. Capcom 2'', Betsy Braddock got over two-thirds of the votes (68%) against the ''Street Fighter'' series icon and the fighting game genre female symbol Chun-Li. UGO ranked her as fifth on their 2011 list of fighting games' finest female fighters for her appearances in Capcom titles, stating that "the only thing more confusing than Psylocke's backstory is what exactly her powers are [but] all you really need to know is this: Psylocke is a sexy Asian lady ninja sporting the most obscene butt-floss this side of Linda Kozlowski in ''Crocodile Dundee''".Aubrey Sitterson
Fighting Games' Hottest Women – Psylocke
, UGO.com, 14 January 2011. ''Complex (magazine), Complex'' included her in their 2012 list of the most humiliating victory quotes in fighting games.Obi Anyanwu
The 100 Most Humiliating Video Game Victory Quotes
Complex.com, November 14, 2012.

Publication history

Origins

X-Men

Captain Britain

Fictional character biography

Background

As Captain Britain

As Psylocke

Lady Mandarin and body swap

Crimson Dawn

Revolution and X-Treme

Resurrection

Exiles

Return

Uncanny X-Force

Marvel NOW!

All-New Marvel NOW!

All-New, All-Different Marvel

ResurrXion

Disassembled and Age of X-Man

Dawn of X and return as Captain Britain

Characterization

Early powers

New powers

Telekinetic powers

Returned powers and abilities

Fighting skills

Armor

Relationships

Other versions

Age of Apocalypse

Age of X

Days of Future Past

Exiles

Earth X

"House of M"

MC2

Millennial Visions

Ultimate Marvel

Uncanny X-Force

What If

Other versions

In other media

In merchandise

Reception

See also

References

External links