Psylocke in the MC2

 

Gee, that X-Men ’97 Season 2 sure is shaping up to be a phenomenal bit of television. Among the multitude of mutant plotlines, teams and characters vying for screentime is none other than Psylocke. While there’s some confusion of which incarnation of the character is appearing in animation, today we are going to look at a Psylocke who never appeared at all: Psylocke in the MC2.

 

Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Braddock first appeared  in the pages of Marvel UK’s Captain Britain #8 in 1976 before briefly assuming her sibling’s eponymous mantle in Captain Britain (vol. 2) #12 in 1985. Betsy would make the jump to Marvel’s American comics line with the New Mutants Annual #2 in 1986, taking on the codename Psylocke for the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I am not dipping into the ocean of X-Men retcons that surrounds the whole body-swap narrative. Perhaps at another time for a deep dive? Let’s jump into the MC2, shall we?

 

As I mentioned above, Psylocke doesn’t appear on-panel in the MC2. Heck, she doesn’t even get name-dropped -not directly at least- but she is referenced. In Rina Logan’s aka Wild Thing’s debut in J2 #5 where, during a scrap with J2, Rina reveals her ability to manifest psychic claws which she was taught by her godmother. The whole ‘manifest pink-purple psychic energy in the form of a weapon’ modus operandi certainly suggests Psylocke, doesn’t it?

 

Wild Thing co-creator Tom Defalco did throw some doubt into the mix in the pages of the Wizard Magazine Wolverine Special 1999:

 

One familiar X-Character readers will definitely be seeing in the near future is Wild Thing’s mysterious godmother, the mutant who taught her to wield her psychic claws. Only problem is, the powers-that-be can’t agree on who she is. Most people -including Hama- think it’s Psylocke. But Defalco thinks otherwise.

“Everyone’s guessing Psylocke mainly because the claws are purple,” says the cagey Defalco. “I think Psylocke would be a boring choice now.”

 

While the article also mentions Rina’s godmother’s identity would be revealed soon, as we all know by now, the Wild Thing series was cancelled prematurely with #5. All future storylines remain unpublished and unresolved.

 

However, in the pages of both the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #12 and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #13 Hardcover, the profile for Wild Thing has this to say:

 

‘Rina Logan was trained to be a hero from a young age by her parents. She was also taught how to manifest psychic claws by her godmother, Betsy Braddock (Psylocke).’ 

 

 

 

Whatever the truth is, it remains tucked away in a Marvel office drawer under psy-lock and key. Psylocke. Psyche. You get it.

 

Until those unseen MC2 issues see the light of day, I remain

 

frogoat