Of all the X-Men, I've always felt that Psylocke has had the most interesting and extreme design changes. The fact that she was quite literally body-swapped in the 1990 Acts of Vengeance storyline just increased her number of unique appearances. Prior to 1990, Betsy Braddock was a lavender-haired British psychic telepath. But then she was brainwashed by The Hand and body-swapped with the East Asian assassin Kwannon and refined her powers to now present as her signature "psychic knife", a pink dagger-like energy spike emanating from her fist that can scramble someone's brain. Her first appearances with her new body and powers were costumed in this Lady Mandarin battle armor. She only used that name and costume for a few issues, but they were featured on the first two covers of the iconic Jim Lee run on X-Men (issues #256-257). Even though this is my least desired Psylocke design to have in the Marvel Legends line, I can't deny how iconic it is. Let's check out Armored Psylocke below!
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Psylocke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psylocke. Show all posts
Saturday, April 6, 2024
Marvel Legends - ARMORED PSYLOCKE!
Friday, June 30, 2023
Marvel Legends - PSYLOCKE!
With all the amazing classic Marvel Legends coming out in 2023 (Outback Rogue, Mojoverse Dazzler, Mockingbird, Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel, updated Tigra, Moonstone, Vertigo, etc), I have been reassessing my wish list. And one character I keep coming back to is Psylocke, specifically in her various 1980's costumes. She was a blur of multi-tonal purples and pinks and I loved it. I would love to see both the lavender-haired, puffy-sleeved outfit, as well as the hooded and masked version. But when all these variations were released in Mini-Mates form over the years, it made me desire a complete representation of Psylocke's many looks. And to me, a key example is those few months around 1991's Uncanny X-Men #275 when she donned this modern homage to the original X-Men uniform. The X-Men characters seem to thrive on individuality, both in personality and appearance, but it was cool for a brief moment to see them unified in matching costumes. Let's check out X-Men #275 Psylocke below!
Monday, December 14, 2020
Uncanny X-Force PSYLOCKE!
This Psylocke was a very unexpected purchase. When the Amazon exclusive three-pack was first announced last Summer, it was an easy pass for me. I don't know who Fantomex is, I'm not a huge fan of Nimrod, and I always felt the X-Force versions of Psylocke was always too similar, yet less interesting, than her classic ninja look. But then the set showed up as a Cyber Monday deal and I suddenly became covetous. Once I had the set in hand, I really appreciated it though. I imagine the Nimrod figure looking great with the upcoming Omega Sentinel, and the Psylocke figure looks sleek and intimidating in all black with bright pink accessories. Her outfit is new to me. The previous X-Force outfits were just a black versions of the 90's Jim Lee look, but this one has unique cutouts and a more sporty feel. Turns out it's specifically from the Uncanny iteration of the book. If I was going to get any black-suited version of her, I'm glad it was this one. Let's check out Psylocke below!
Monday, June 15, 2020
X-Men Ninja Force - PSYLOCKE!
I've always had a fascination with Betsy Braddock. I was a huge New Mutants fan as a kid and when she made her debut as Psylocke in Annual #2, her purple hair and superhero lineage had me hooked. However, by the time I actually read this issue she was already sporting several new costumes in the pages of X-Men, so I had multiple versions of Betsy to fall in love with. Her monochromatic purple outfits and her butterfly-pattern telekinetic powers were everything to me. So I was the one nerd on the planet who hated her sexy ninja transformation. I just thought it was a cliche makeover of a previously weird and cool character. The one brief phase where I really started to dig this sleek look, though, was during the Crimson Dawn storyline when she was brought back from near death after an insane battle with Sabretooth with new teleportation powers, a cold demeanor, and a crimson dagger tattoo on her face. I think it adds the smallest detail that somehow makes the overall costume more interesting.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Marvel Select - PSYLOCKE!
I've always loved Betsy Braddock. There was something about her early appearances that really appealed to me. The lavender-haired, pink-garbed psychic never really got her proper dues. However, the Jim Lee / Chris Claremont run on X-Men in the early nineties changed her look (race), attitude, and costume and suddenly she became one of the most popular mutants out there. I was happy to see her finally get that well-deserved recognition, but it was a bit of a bummer that she had to transform so much to get there. But in the past few years her character has been reverting to her pre-ninja past in the comics. And in October I believe she is reclaiming the mantle of Captain Britain in the new Excalibur title. I do really love the 90's ninja look and all the toys we get of her, but for a character that has had many different looks over the years, I want some of that variety reflected in plastic. My fingers are crossed for a good retro figure. In the meantime, I think this Marvel Select Psylocke is the best so far. Let's check her out!
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Marvel Legends X-Men - PSYLOCKE!
In the early 90s I was in middle school and I was obsessed with The New Mutants. I had been reading and collecting back issues for years, but I knew that it was drawing to a close shortly so I began my first forays into reading Uncanny X-men. Psylocke and Rogue instantly stood out to me as fascinating characters (this was well into the Jim Lee era). Soon I read somewhere that New Mutants Annual #2 was the first appearance of Psylocke. I scrambled through my back issues only to discover strikingly different Betsy Braddock. This sent me on a journey trying to piece together Psylocke's past and various transformations, and I've been obsessed with her ever since. For those unaware, this version of Psylocke we know today was introduced after her mind and powers were implanted into the body of the Japanese ninja, Kwannon. Prior to this, she was the somewhat mousy British sister of Captain Britain with dyed lavender hair and telepathic powers. It's quite a dramatic change. Let's check out Psylocke below!
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