Betsy Braddock

Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe, she first appeared in Captain Britain #8 (1976). Introduced as the precognitive twin sister of Brian Braddock, Betsy is later established as a mutant, a subspecies of humans in the Marvel Universe born with an "X-gene" that grants superhuman abilities. Possessing telepathic and telekinetic powers, Betsy joins the X-Men in 1986 as the first incarnation of Psylocke. Betsy was redesigned in a 1989 story written by Claremont and illustrated by Jim Lee as a Japanese assassin with ninja skills and the ability to manifest her telepathy in the form of various weapons, most notably a "psychic knife", and this revamp proved so popular with fans that it was made permanent. In 1993, writer Fabian Nicieza retroactively revealed that this change in appearance was the result of a body swap with the newly-created character Kwannon. Following nearly 30 years of publication history, both women were returned to their original bodies, and Betsy took up the mantle of Captain Britain from her brother while Kwannon became the new Psylocke. A new series about Betsy's time as Psylocke, Psylocke: Ninja – Rise from the Fall, was published in 2025. The character has been adapted in various media incarnations, including films, television series, and video games.