History:
Betsy Braddock was the daughter of Dr. James Braddock -- once a denizen of Otherworld, an interdimensional kingdom positioned at the nexus of reality, where science and sorcery exist as one. James Braddock was sent to Earth on a quest to father the champion who would come to be called Captain Britain. His first child, Jamie, seemingly did not inherit the genes that would result in superhuman powers. But Braddocks' next children, the twins Brian and Betsy, helped their father fulfill his mission.
As Captain Britain, Brian became his country's foremost defender, fighting alongside the world's greatest heroes. Betsy developed psychic powers, which she used in service of the British law-enforcement agency known as S.T.R.I.K.E. -- a counterpart of S.H.I.E.L.D., a global intelligence and peacekeeping organization. By day, she was a "face." She dominated the covers of the world's fashion magazines, just as she ruled the runways from Milan to New York. By night, however, she lived a secret life -- serving her homeland as a special agent.
When Brian stepped down as Captain Britain, his sister was persuaded to take up the mantle. But Betsy's career as England's preeminent costumed champion came to an untimely end when one of her brother's foes, Slaymaster, savagely beat her until she lay near death and blind. Realizing that her telepathic abilities compensated for her lack of sight, Betsy traveled to Switzerland to recuperate. There, she became a prisoner of the other-dimensional creature called Mojo, who took control of Betsy's will and gifted her with artificial eyes. Ultimately, she was rescued by Professor Charles Xavier's second generation of students, the New Mutants.
Now known as Psylocke, Betsy continued her evolution as a member of the X-Men, Xavier's outlaw band of heroic mutant adventurers. Her most significant transformation took place when the Chinese crime lord called the Mandarin and the other-dimensional sorceress known as Spiral transplanted her psyche into the body of Kwannon, a Ninja assassin. Likewise, Kwannon's essence came to dwell in Betsy's form. The two women maintained their own distinct personalities, while acquiring each other's memories and skills. For a time, a brainwashed Betsy adopted the guise of Lady Mandarin -- the top assassin for the Hand, a clan of Ninja dedicated to world domination. When Kwannon succumbed to the lethal mutant plague known as the Legacy Virus, Betsy became trapped forever in her new form. |
