Uncanny X-Men #256 Dec 1989
"The Key that Breaks the Locke!"
In Hong Kong,
Matsu'o Tsurayaba approaches
the Mandarin with an offer of
an alliance between his organization and
the Hand, a ruthless clan of assassins.
Matsu'o's deal is for the Hand to help the Mandarin build an empire unparalleled by any in the past,
in exchange for gainful employment in its service.
To begin their alliance, Matsu'o offers a gift; that of an ultimate assassin.
This assassin is
Psylocke.
What follows next is a surrealistic "dream" sequence as Betsy relives details of her life,
undergoes a physical transformation from British
to Japanese at the hands of the Body Shoppe
with nightmarish versions of Spiral and Mojo causing the transformation
and her being set against her teammates, who she murders in order to obtain each of the Mandarin's ten rings.
In the end, Psylocke defeats the Mandarin himself
who takes the form of Slaymaster
and it is revealed that the "dream" was a sensory deprivation brainwashing experiment
that the Hand used to finalize their assimilation of Psylocke into their organization.
In the end, she returns the rings to the Mandarin, to whom she pledges her undying loyalty.
NOTE: First appearance of the ninja Psylocke.
Story by Chris Claremont.
Art by Jim Lee and Scott Williams.