Warning: includes preview for Hellions #11!
The X-Men's Psylocke just spent thirty years killing her worst enemy. A new preview for the upcoming Marvel Comic Hellions #11 reveals what is in Psylocke's personal psychological torture room. Her past has come back to haunt her, but she's not going down without a fight - even if that fight spans three decades.
Kwannon, also known as Psylocke, and Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock, the current Captain Britain, have a long history together. The two swapped bodies back in the 1980s, with Kwannon seemingly dying soon after. Only recently have they each returned to own bodies and lives. However, this swap hasn't come without difficulty, emotional and psychological scars, and some mutual resentment between the two.
Now, X-Men foe Mastermind, on orders from the villainous Arcade, has trapped the Hellions and is torturing each of them using their worst fears and the darkest parts of their past. In a preview from Marvel Comics, it's revealed that the dark illusion Psylocke has been trapped in by Mastermind involves killing the one person she is in some ways closest to - again and again and again. All this to get Mr. Sinister (the team's overseer, if not exactly leader) to do Arcade a major favor. This new issue from Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia, David Curiel, and Ariana Maher will highlight the scars of the most dysfunctional mutant team in comics. Check out the summary and preview pages here:
SOMETIMES A FANTASY… PSYLOCKE vs. BETSY BRADDOCK in a 30-year-long battle! EMPATH’s misdeeds come back to haunt him! And MR. SINISTER’s teeth hurt. What IS going on here?!
Locked within Mastermind's illusion, Psylocke has spent three decades facing the ghost of her past - her personal body snatcher. Excalibur #19 recently saw Captain Britain and Psylocke finally making peace with what happened to them. Betsy still struggles with intense guilt for stealing Psylocke's life, while Kwannon is going to great lengths to restore her sense of identity and place in the world. While Betsy is rebuilding her life as Captain Britain - a moniker she wore previously - Psylocke is reliving the emotional and mental damage of being replaced in the world, her identity assumed by someone who didn't always use it wisely. Thanks to Mastermind, Psylocke has lived through thirty years of being hunted by Betsy. "Every day," she explains, "she came to take me. To make me nothing once more."
Depending on when this event occurs compared to the recent Excalibur #19, the perspective of the struggle can vary. If Betsy and Psylocke have already made peace with one another, this illusion proves that Psylocke's pain and confusion still persist. However, if they haven't, this shows how far Psylocke had to travel before reaching a stage of acceptance. She has literally spent thirty years cutting down versions of Betsy, even going so far as to string up her corpses. She's been fighting a long battle that could lead her to realize how pointless holding onto her anger is. Whether this illusion takes place before or after the heroes' recent confrontation, Psylocke has a lot to work through, and with the arrival of John Greycrow, she's not the only one.
Greycrow enters Psylocke's illusory life after she called for him back in Hellions #10. He has scars of his own that he is fighting, as he tries to come to terms with a past that turned him into a murderer, even if that wasn't what he wanted. Greycrow's personal hell - revealed last issue - was being thrown back into the battlefield where his killing made him appear as a hero to everyone but himself. If he is genuinely able to reach Psylocke, then he has found a way to escape his own torture and may be the only person who can help her escape hers. When Hellions #11 hits retailers May 5, the X-Men's most damaged heroes will continue to face their personal hells. Hopefully, Psylocke will be able to leave her fears behind long enough to rescue her team.