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Psylocke |

Bishop: "Betsy, could you --"
Psylocke: "Here." (she passes him the salt shaker)
Bishop: "-- Pass the... salt?"
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Mutant Profile |
Real name: Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock
Former aliases:Captain Britain II, Lady Mandarin
Identity: Secret
Occupation: (current) Adventurer, (former) Fashion model, operative for S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi Division, (as Lady Mandarin) Assassin
Legal status: Subject of the United Kingdom with no criminal record
Place of birth: Braddock Manor, England
Marital status: Single
Known relatives: James Braddock, Sr. (father, deceased), Elizabeth Braddock (mother, deceased), Brian Braddock (Captain Britain, brother), James "Jamie" Braddock, Jr. (brother)
Group affiliation: X-Men, (former) S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi Division (British division of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Base of operations: The Xavier Institute, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York State, (former) Braddock Manor, England; X-Men headquarters, Australian outback
First appearance: Captain Britain #8
Personality: Betsy is a mass of contradictions, thanks to repeated mind-altering
experiences and traumas she has suffered. On one hand, she is a gentle, caring woman who is
protective of her friends and family. On the other, she is a ruthless combatant who will often
instigate a confrontation that might otherwise have been avoided. She also shows an increasing
willingness to sacrifice everything, including her life and those of others, in order to bring
about a greater good.
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Physical description and mutant powers |
Height: 5 ft. 11 in.
Weight: 155 lbs.
Eyes: (original body) Violet, (current body) Blue
Hair: (original body) Blonde, dyed purple (current body) Black, has since changed to purple
Other distinguishing features: Red tattoo over her left eye
Strength: Psylocke possesses the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.
Fighting Skills: Psylocke is highly skilled in Far Eastern martial arts and weapons.
She has retained all the fighting skills and abilities of the assassin Kwannon, whose
body she now inhabits.
Special Skills and Abilities: Psylocke is an accomplished espionage agent and model.

Known superhuman powers: Psylocke possesses many telepathic abilities, enabling her to
read minds, communicate mentally with others over long distances, stun the minds of others with
"mental bolts," control the minds of others, and create illusions in the minds of others.
Psylocke can intensely focus her psionic powers into her "psychic knife," with which she can
stun or kill an adversary.
Other abilities: Psylocke is highly skilled in Far Eastern martial arts.
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History |
Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock is the daughter of Dr. James Braddock, who was once a denizen of
Otherworld, an other-dimensional realm. A being who called himself Merlin (but who may not
actually be the wizard of Arthurian legend) sent Braddock to Earth to father the champion who
would be known as Captain Britain.
Living in England, Dr. Braddock became one of the United Kingdom's leading research scientists.
He married a woman named Elizabeth and they bought the mansion they renamed Braddock Manor.
There Dr. Braddock created a highly advanced computer complex called Mastermind (which is not to
be confused with the two mutants of the same name).
Dr. and Mrs. Braddock's three children, the eldest, Jamie, and the twins, Brian and Elizabeth
(nicknamed "Betsy"), inherited genes from their father that endowed them with superhuman
powers. The children's powers, however, remained latent for many years.
Dr. and Mrs. Braddock were killed in an explosion in Dr. Braddock's laboratory at Braddock
Manor that was caused by the malfunctioning computer Mastermind.
Brian Braddock eventually became the costumed champion known as Captain Britain. Betsy
developed the psychic ability which she used in the service of S.T.R.I.K.E., a British division
of the international law enforcement agency S.H.I.E.L.D. Betsy also developed a highly
successful career as a fashion model. She knew of Brian's double identity, and the two
siblings took up residence in Braddock Manor.
Members of a British government agency called R.C.X., knowing that Brian Braddock was Captain
Britain, attempted to recruit him to work with them. Refusing to be exploited by the government,
Brian Braddock gave up the role of Captain Britain. The R.C.X. agents then persuaded Betsy to
become the new Captain Britain, working with them. Betsy used a costume taken from an
otherdimensional counterpart of Brian, which magnified her strength to superhuman levels when
she wore it and enabled her to fly. Another other-dimensional hero, Captain UK, trained Betsy
to become a crimefighter, and the two acted as partners on missions together for many weeks.
Finally, Betsy launched her solo career as the new Captain Britain, which came to a quick end
when she went into battle against two of the original Captain Britain's arch foes, the Vixen and
Slaymaster. Wearing a battle suit that amplified his own strength, Slaymaster savagely beat
Betsy nearly to death and blinded her. Sensing her telepathic cries of agony, Brian Braddock
rushed to his sister's rescue and fought and killed Slaymaster. Realizing he could not forsake
his responsibilities, Brian resumed his role as Captain Britain.

Betsy went to Switzerland to recuperate. While there she was taken prisoner by the
other-dimensional creature known as Mojo. Mojo took control of Betsy and gave her new,
artificial eyes, thereby restoring her sight. Betsy was rescued through the intervention of the
New Mutants, a team of adolescent mutants. Having regained her free will, Betsy chose to remain
at the New Mutants' home, Professor Charles Xavier's mansion in Westchester County, New York,
which also served as the secret headquarters of the mutant adventurers called the X-Men.
Betsy proved her courage to the X-Men by resisting the attack of their enemy Sabretooth when he
broke into the mansion. As a result she was accepted into the ranks of the X-Men, becoming a
costumed adventurer once more under the code name Psylocke.
Later, Psylocke was captured by the crime lord Matsu'o Tsurayaba. Seeking to save the life of
his lover, the female assassin Kwannon, Tsurayaba oversaw a process through which the minds of
Kwannon and the X-Man Psylocke switched bodies. In the process Kwannon's mind melded with that
of Psylocke, endowing each of them with the same memories and telepathic abilities. Tsurayaba
brainwashed Psylocke and turned her over to one of Earth's most dangerous men, the Mandarin.
Under the name of Lady Mandarin, Psylocke briefly served the Mandarin, but ultimately Psylocke
regained her free will and returned to the X-Men.
Later Kwannon, in Psylocke's body, became an ally of the X-Men, calling herself Revanche. For a
time there was confusion among the X-Men as to who was the "real" Betsy Braddock. Finally,
Revanche learned that she was dying from the Legacy Virus and had Tsurayaba kill her. Thus
Betsy's original body died, but she lived on as Psylocke in Kwannon's original body.
Recently, Psylocke and her fellow X-Man, Archangel, have started to fall for each other.
Psylocke was nearly killed by Sabretooth, but was healed by magical forces from a mystical
dimension called the Crimson Dawn, in the form of an Exliquir retrieved by Archangel and Wolverine.
A life-saving encounter with the other-dimensional energy source called the Crimson Dawn
resulted in a more subtle, though no less meaningful, metamorphosis. Psylocke's fighting
skills were enhanced, and she acquired a blade-like, red tattoo, appeared over her left eye.
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