Psylocke's past is apparently coming back to haunt her as evidenced in the just-released cover for May's Hellions #11.
While at first glance it might appear as if Betsy Braddock is once again taking over the Psylocke garb to attack the current Psylocke (Kwannon), there are hints around her eyes that point us down this more figurative route - even if these memories are being brought back to life.
"The HELLIONS are at the mercy of ARCADE as they face his new psychological MURDERWORLD," reads Marvel's synopsis for Hellions #11.
This Arcade-centric Hellions arc is slated to begin in March 3's Hellions #10.
A "new psychological MURDERWORLD" sounds like a ripe place for a villain such as Arcade to attack an enemy such as Psylocke/Kwannon given all she's gone through.
Kwannon was originally an assassin based in Japan who, in the line of work, suffered a tragic fall leaving her brain-damaged and comatose. The Mandarin and the Hand decided to swap her mind with that of Betsy Braddock (without either of their permissions), hoping for an assassin with telepathic abilities. They get that, but Betsy (in Kwannon's body) rebelled and eventually rejoined the X-Men - while Kwannon (in Betsy's body) was left adrift in this new situation.
Eventually Betsy and Kwannon come to terms with the situation and switch bodies once again, with Betsy going off to become Captain Britain in the current Excalibur ongoing series and Kwannon (now operating as Psylocke) being a part of the Hellions book.
As for the eyes comment mentioned above, the markings in the Hellions #11 cover around Betsy/Psylocke's eyes are the distinctive handiwork of Mojo and her Body Shoppe - who did significant body-altering work to both Betsy AND Kwannon on separate occasions. For a time, Betsy's eyes were replaced with cybernetic implants that would secretly record video of her X-Men activities to be sent back to Mojo for prime reality-show-esque television inside MojoWorld.
And in fact, the name 'Psylocke' was one originally given to her by Mojo.
Zeb Wells and Stephen Segovia's Hellions #11 goes on sale this May. Look for Marvel's full May 2021 solicitations later this week on Newsarama.
You don't need bionic eyes to know what's going on with the X-Men - keep track of what's coming with our constantly-updated list of all the new X-Men comics, graphic novels, and collections coming in 2021 and beyond.
