Betsy Braddock -- Psylocke

Name: Elizabeth 'Betsy' Braddock

Alias: Psylocke. Formerly Captain Briatain.

First appearance: Captain Britain

Friends: Angel, Wolverine, Cyclops, Captain Britain (Brother)

Enemies: Shadow King, (fomerly) Jean Grey, with whom she had a rivalry going for Cyclops. And she and Kwannon's lives were twisted together horribly.

Fact: Psylocke was body swapped with an asian assasin, Kwannon, by Spiral, transforming Betsy into the radical ninja warrior we all know and love today.

Best battle: Versus Sabretooth. Sure, she got gutted, but hey! ya can't win 'em all. Besides, it led to her getting her Crimson Dawn powers, which I thought were very cool.

Powers: Telekinesis, a psychic knife that is 'the focused totality of my psychic powers'. She also pocesses ninja skills of a high order, and due to her exposure to the Crimson Dawn, she has a red tatoo over her left eye and shadow teleportation.

Occupation: Betsy is an accomplished model.

Least favorite storyline: That whole Lady Mandarin body-swapping thing. Not because it was a bad story, but because it was so dang confusing!

Fact: Psylocke, for a time, had her blind eyes replaced with bionic eyes that sent images of her life and teammates back to Mojoworld. I believe those eyes have been lost now that Kwannon (in Betsy's body) is dead.

Favorite quote: "I thought my past had made me hard. As deadly in my own way as Wolverine. But I was born this way." -- Elizabeth Braddock, the Uncanny X-Men Annual #11.

I heard her father was an alien!: Betsy, Brian, and Jamie's father was indeed an Otherworld alien, a Captain Britain.

Okay, so it sounds cool and all, but what does 'Psylocke' mean?: I'm not positive, but someone once put forth the intriguing theory that she 'locks the mind'. queenB has suggested that it's a play on 'Psyche'. Get it? 'Psy-key'? 'Psy-lock'?

Created by: Alan Davis? Well, I think the original, blonde, caucasion Psylocke was anyway.

Nationality: British. Her mind is, anyway. Her body is Japanese, which is unusual, considering she's about 5'8 and not exactly petite. But hey...

What was the Crimson Dawn, and what does it have to do with her?: After being gutted by Sabretooth, Betsy was nearly dead. Wolverine and Angel managed to hunt down a potion called the Crimson Dawn and exposed her to it. It healed her, and granted her unusual, unexplained powers. Slowly, Betsy Braddock's original personality is erroding away.

Where can she be seen?: The two main X-Titles, and formerly in Captain Britain.

Psylocke links: The Inner Psyche, the best Psylocke page on the 'Net in my humble opinion. Absolutely gorgeus.