The Krakoan Era of the X-Men has finally, after 30 years, separated Captain Britain and Psylocke's bodies and minds from one another, and new fan art by Valentine Smith depicts the two powerful, independent women fighting side-by-side. Correcting the blending of Betsy Braddock and Kwannon, which saw the white Braddock usurping the body of East Asian Kwannon and becoming Psylocke, was a long time coming, and Valentine's art celebrates the new destinies of the women in stylized glory.

The long and complex story of Betsy and Kwannon is difficult to parse out for any casual reader of the X-Men, but the main gist is that Kwannon, an assassin and member of the Hand, and Betsy Braddock, the telepathic sister of Captain Britain, had their bodies and minds swapped by the Mandarin and Spiral for incredibly convoluted reasons. This problematic plotline lasted for decades with Betsy, a wealthy white British woman, taking on the name Psylocke and immediately adopting East Asian cultural interests. Meanwhile, Kwannon was stuck in the body of Betsy, took on the name Revanche, and joined the X-Men before her truly tragic death in 1994. As the most popular and recognizable East Asian character in Marvel at the time, it a problematic that, in reality, she was essentially a white woman cosplaying as an Asian lady! However following the 2019 Hunt For Wolverine: Mystery In Madripoor series Kwannon was FINALLY resurrected so she and Betsy were restored to their original bodies, settling an offensive story that last for three whole decades.

Related: X-Men's Psylocke Cosplay Brings Classic Costume To Life

Recently, artist Valentine Smith created a beautiful piece of art that features both amazing women. Smith, a wildly talented queer illustrator who co-created and does the art for the lesbian fantasy adventure comic Blade Maidens, often creates stunning X-Men art that they post on their Twitter. Their latest Captain Britain/Psylocke portrait is made in collaboration with the popular X-Men podcast Cerebro - created and hosted by massive X-Men fan Connor Goldsmith - as part of their merchandise store.

The gorgeous piece by Valentine highlights the continued connections between Betsy and Kwannon, who have struggled to reconcile their history in the Dawn of X and beyond but have finally been able to accept their complex place in each other's lives. Both of them share Psylocke's signature pink butterfly effect, signifying the use of their telepathy or telekinesis, which Betsy uses for her psychic Captain Britain sword and shield, while Kwannon fights with their classic psychic knife. Smith titled the piece "Focused Totality," a reference to how Betsy has always described the power of the psychic knife that Kwannon now wields, warning her enemies that the weapon is "the focused totality of all my psychic powers." The bodily autonomy that Jonathan Hickman's X-Men relaunch has given to Kwannon is truly a beautiful thing to see, and Smith's art vividly depicts the strength of the woman finally freed from the white body she was trapped within.

Betsy Braddock and Kwannon's current stories are some of the best, if not the best, ones that either character has ever had, and it is truly a blessing to see them separated and living their individual lives. Although some long-time X-Men fans miss Betsy as Psylocke, the reversal of the body swap truly needed to happen because it was unnecessary, especially since Betsy as Captain Britain and Kwannon as Psylocke are both already iconic.

More: X-Men's New Medieval Costumes Finally Give Mutant Icons Their Due

Source: Valentine Smith