Sunday, November 6, 2011

Great Moments :: Betsy Braddock Returns


Everyone seemed to be cool with it: After the events of "Dissolution and Rebirth" the X-Men who had entered the Siege Perilous had returned one by one with a new chance at life; but none had returned as changed as Psylocke.  X-Men and readers alike were content to see that their favorite telepath had become an Asian ninja wielding a psychic blade; no one asked why, no one asked how, and so everyone moved on without questioning the matter, until one night an unexpected visitor arrived at the mansion.

Jean Grey and Psylocke were having differences regarding Cyclops' affections; the discussion got a little out of hand and both telepaths got into a fight.  Suddenly an armor-wearing, brittish-talking, hooded woman showed up and attacked Psylocke.  When her teammates came to the rescue, the mysterious woman revealed her identity in one of the most shocking moments in X-Men History:

"I am Betsy Braddock!  This woman is and always has been an impostor!"

Wow! this led to a one-year storyline in which it was revealed that upon emerging from the Siege Perilous, Elizabeth Braddock's mind and body had been intertwined with that of a Ninja named Kwannon by Spiral and The Hand.  Kwannon eventually joined the X-Men as Revanche, but later on died victim of the Legacy virus.  As confusing as all this may sound, it was an awesome time to be an X-Men fan.  It all started in X-Men #20 "Digging in the dirt" (1993) by Fabian Nicieza and Andy Kubert.

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