One of the most powerful — and convoluted — mutant heroes of all time is rediscovering just how dangerous she really is.

After being relegated to the sidelines by X-Men team leader Cyclops, the titular mutant hero of Psylocke #1 takes it upon herself to find trouble elsewhere rather than resting up as recommended. To that end, Psylocke uncovers and attends an A.I.M. auction that features five budding young mutants as its premiere item. As expected, Psylocke is more than willing to shed her guise and leap into overtly lethal action against the obvious villains at hand. And, while that might not be the least bit surprising, the fact that Psylocke doesn’t feel anything of note regarding her actions is enough to shock even her.

• Written by ALYSSA WONG
• Art by VINCENZO CARRATÙ
• Colors by FER SIFUENTES-SUJO
• Letters by VC’s ARIANA MAHER
• Design by JAY BOWEN
• Main cover art by MAHMUD ASRAR & MATTHEW WILSON
• Variant covers by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU, HICHAM HIBACHI, TRAN NGUYEN, YASMINE PUTRI, and RICKIE YAGAWA & ALEX SINCLAIR

Kwannon, better known as Psylocke, is a powerful mutant telepath and assassin who just so happens to have one of the most complicated backstories in the entirety of Marvel Comics, if not all of pop culture. Originally, the code name of Psylocke was taken up by Betsy Braddock, whereas Kwannon wouldn’t make a proper appearance until years later in the pages of 1992’s X-Men #17 by Fabian Nicieza and Andy Kubert. This in and of itself isn’t all that complicated, yet the fact that Kwannon’s first full appearance introduced her in the body of Betsy Braddock and under the mantle of Revanche is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of her convoluted history.

Thanks to a plot masterminded by the six-armed mutant sorceress known as Spiral, Kwannon and Betsy Braddock’s consciousnesses were swapped into one another’s physical forms without their knowledge. While this led others to believe that each of them were the other, it also deeply impacted Kwannon’s psyche. Soon enough, Kwannon believed that she was Betsy Braddock, which created a great deal of tension when the two were each working alongside each other as part of the X-Men.

Over the decades that have followed Kwannon’s debut, she and Betsy Braddock have each died and been reborn, and even in their appropriate bodies. Since then, both Kwannon and Betsy have continued to fight on behalf of mutants everywhere. While Psylocke has taken up arms alongside the rest of the primary X-Men team in Alaska, Betsy, better known as Captain Britain, has joined forces with a band of fellow mutants as a member of Forge’s X-Force, who have focused their efforts around following cataclysmic premonitions provided by their leader’s latest invention, the Analog.

Psylocke #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics

X-Men

Since their debut in 1963, Marvel’s X-Men have been more than just another superhero team. While the team really hit its stride as the All New, All Different X-Men in 1975, Marvel’s heroic mutants have always operated as super-outcasts, protecting a world that hates and fears them for their powers.

Key members of the X-Men include Professor X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Wolverine, Iceman, Beast, Rogue, and Storm. Often framed as the world’s second strongest superheroes, after the Avengers, they are nonetheless one of Marvel’s most popular and important franchises.