Betsy Braddock: Psylocke Appreciation 2018

[CRaymond]

so how does Betsy's TK compare to Jean, Rachel, or the constructs of Sue Richards?

I was always led to believe Betsy's TK was more inline with Sue Richards' forcefields constructs, in that they were usually in the shape of weapons. It was loose. I'm sure she could do all sorts of TK feats, but like Cable, she never flew.

[nightw1ng]

I was always led to believe Betsy's TK was more inline with Sue Richards' forcefields constructs, in that they were usually in the shape of weapons. It was loose. I'm sure she could do all sorts of TK feats, but like Cable, she never flew.

Actually, when Betsy first got the TK from Jean, she did fly. They just downplayed it over the years to emphasize her ninja skills instead. It's kind of like how Warpath can fly, but he rarely uses it.

[Psy]

so how does Betsy's TK compare to Jean, Rachel, or the constructs of Sue Richards?

It's been all over the place. At first it was used to fly short distances and augment her skills. Then she could barely focus. Then she could smash mountains but not pick up a dime. She was shown during UXM to be more powerful than Rachel. However since her return from exiles. It's been downgraded. In fact when she got her TP back it was more like she is a powerful battery. When she is pulling on TP she has less resources for TK and vice versa.

[Drey]

And though if Kwannon was aware of the body even being available then it would mean that she would have had some knowledge of what was going on

It's possible but the key word is some. She may have needed to ask questions to fill in some gaps.

and course the how would Betsy even know that she could make a body out of thin air in the first place, let alone how to actually do it...

Instincts combined with adrenaline, fear, and unimaginable power like how humans have been known to do amazing feats instinctually in the face of say a mother lifting something beyond her capacity to save her child.

Hypestyle- Psy is right. Her TK is all over the map. During Revolution it was the same power level as Jean's because she acquired it from Jean. Jean in turn acquired Betsy's telepathy, psychic affinity for shadows, and the ability to create a physical manifestion of the focused totality of her telepathic powers. I had to say it lol.

When she came back to life, her telekinesis was even stronger and no one could match her. She might've been Stryfe level at that point. Fraction toned it down, Remender refused to use it, focusing solely on her returned telepathy and expanding it so she'd be an Omega level TP strong enough to be a match for Shadow King, Warpocalypse, and later Cassandra Nova, penned by Humphries who only had her use TK once as a barrier to keep herself and Puck safe until help arrived.

Wood came up with all the TK weapons she'd use and other writers in the same book ignored it. The latest does seem to be the battery analogy where she's super powerful but only as to how much power she's using and whether she's focusing on TP or TK. The latest run from Soule had her not being able to access TK when she was keeping some of her teammates on the astral plane but when Xavier shared some of his power she was able to use TK to protect them on the physical plane from OML.

I'm ok with the battery explanation . I don't need her to be all powerful in everything.

[Havok83]

I was always led to believe Betsy's TK was more inline with Sue Richards' forcefields constructs, in that they were usually in the shape of weapons. It was loose. I'm sure she could do all sorts of TK feats, but like Cable, she never flew.

That’s not true. Betsy and Cable have both flown

[Celestialbodies]

Actually, when Betsy first got the TK from Jean, she did fly. They just downplayed it over the years to emphasize her ninja skills instead. It's kind of like how Warpath can fly, but he rarely uses it.

While, I'm staunchly in the Psylocke telepathy/precognition flashes only group, I still attest the coolest thing she ever did with telekinesis is catch either a space station, or small plane. I don't remember which but I always liked it for no other reason than wonder as I saw a scan, when did Bets get Tk, then again it made X-men Dimension make more sense to my young mind back then.

[Tazirai]

In the Psychic butterfly group on Facebook I started to post my Psylocke Inktober pieces based around the Inferno event.

Attachment 72922

Attachment 72923

Attachment 72924

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1565296733722818/

[Izanami]

Izanami, I love that design by Accuracy0. Thanks for sharing! (Kind of reminds me of June from ATLA, though obviously it's very much it's own thing.The Sokka hair on the second one is great too, and the eleganza look really works.

I would love if they put Kwannon in a more "traditional" Japanese inspired look like this. All black with black hair. Or short dark purple hair.

I would love to see a similar redesign for Kwannon as well. There were so many opportunities to do it with Elizabeth but nobody cared to make an interesting portrayal of it. She was always stuck with a variation of the thong. Not sure if I should post this in the Kwannon thread since we were speculating costumes a while back. This will be a great costume to cosplay in and pays homage to japanese anime and its cultural roots. Would like to see more of a decorated Obi wiht a butterfly charm or knot. Would both of you enjoy any other Shinobi like designs or do you guys want something more animeish but warrior like?
Also, Jumpyshark have you heard of ATLA being a live action tv series? Maybe future costume design inspiration?

Um Iz, Betsy hasn't worn the thong as her uniform/outfit for like a decade now. I never said anything about how long she wore it.

You are misunderstanding the point of the coversation. Sadly any critique made on Betsy no matter how justifiable will always be negative for you because it does not fit in your criteria of the nostalgic 90's. If you stop and read through the conversation without going on attack and defend mode you would have seen that my critique was on her swimsuit and the fact that they couldn't put her in somehing else until quite recently. She has worn a variation of it starting from Dec 1989 until the end of UXF Dark Angel Saga in 2012. Not only is that a long time but every merchandise item of hers only has the thong. You want a statue or action figure of Betsy. Thong. You want a Outback era or her first X-Men costume. Nope sorry Thong. Want the awesome UXF post Archangel Saga costume, Captain Britain, Exiles, or Kris Anka. Its only the thong. The biggest reason why... Cheese Cake. Like seriously we find her sexy in other costumes too you guys. Even her trophy boyfriend has way more variety in design than her and its super depressing. That is why I personally disliked certain elements of 90's Asian Psylocke because it takes elements of The Dragon Lady. Overtly sexual... check, physically aggressive... check, mysterious... check, knows martial arts... check, uses a stabby or slashing weapon... check, fought to get a male member of the team as her lover... check, and exotic but not too exotic... YMMMV. That is some serious issue and in some way they continue to persist. If they had done this a few years earlier where they took out that thong and put her in something more functional I wouldn't be complaing but sadly that boat has passes a long time ago...

[WallStreeter]

It's been all over the place. At first it was used to fly short distances and augment her skills. Then she could barely focus. Then she could smash mountains but not pick up a dime. She was shown during UXM to be more powerful than Rachel. However since her return from exiles. It's been downgraded. In fact when she got her TP back it was more like she is a powerful battery. When she is pulling on TP she has less resources for TK and vice versa.

It was explictly said the return of her telepathic powers lead to a decrease in her tk. So no smashing mountains. That's been consistent. She's a low level telekinetic. Skilled no doubt, but she can't really fly. These days are tk is just for throwing things and enhancing her fighting abilities.

[WallStreeter]

Um Iz, Betsy hasn't worn the thong as her uniform/outfit for like a decade now. I never said anything about how long she wore it. Though Kwannon died with Revanche, which left Betsy alone in the more Asian body, and if Kwannon could have gone into the Asian body then so could Betsy just have gone back to it, and how would Kwannon even know that the body was available, and if Kwannon did take over the body then she'd probably understand to some degree where she was given the language as before she got mixed up with Betsy she wasn't exactly a shut in...

Betsy didn't want to go into it, as she had the power to remake a British body for herself. So Kwannon saw the opportunity to retake her body.

[Jumpyshark]

I would love to see a similar redesign for Kwannon as well. There were so many opportunities to do it with Elizabeth but nobody cared to make an interesting portrayal of it. She was always stuck with a variation of the thong. Not sure if I should post this in the Kwannon thread since we were speculating costumes a while back. This will be a great costume to cosplay in and pays homage to japanese anime and its cultural roots. Would like to see more of a decorated Obi wiht a butterfly charm or knot. Would both of you enjoy any other Shinobi like designs or do you guys want something more animeish but warrior like?
Also, Jumpyshark have you heard of ATLA being a live action tv series? Maybe future costume design inspiration?

I think that depends on in what direction they take Kwannon in, but I am glad that Betsy's new costume is representative of her past, and would hope that Kwannon would get similar consideration, rather than just a throwaway costume that's a variation on what's come before. She would likely want to establish her own identity, after all. (Also, some practicality would be nice.)

I have seen the news about the ATLA live-action series, and I am eagerly awaiting further info!

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Actually Iz, I was ONLY talking about the outfit, not being nostalgic about anything and a lot of the 90's stuff was later revealed to have been Kwannon's influence...

But WallStreeter, that still doesn't explain how she even knew that she had the power or ability to make a new body, so unless she knew before hand or suddenly became aware she would just have gone back into the old body...and then couldn't she have just changed that body anyway rather than make an entirely new one out of thin air...

[MechaJeanix]

I always found it weird to see Psylocke levitate. It just didn't feel right for me, but that is because she wasn't a flyer for much of her history. I prefer TK's to look like they are levitating as opposed to full on flying. I recall the days in X-factor where Jean usually was shown standing up in the air and not zooming around like Superman.

I kind of feel that just levitating a few feet in the air is a cooler visual for a TK than being shown as a full fledged flyer.

[danielsan52]

Give this flying/levitation thing to Kwannon

[Havok83]

Um Iz, Betsy hasn't worn the thong as her uniform/outfit for like a decade now. I never said anything about how long she wore it. Though Kwannon died with Revanche, which left Betsy alone in the more Asian body, and if Kwannon could have gone into the Asian body then so could Betsy just have gone back to it, and how would Kwannon even know that the body was available, and if Kwannon did take over the body then she'd probably understand to some degree where she was given the language as before she got mixed up with Betsy she wasn't exactly a shut in...

It hasnt been that long. Someone can correct me if its appeared since, but the last time she wore it that I recall was Uncann X-Force in 2011

I always found it weird to see Psylocke levitate. It just didn't feel right for me, but that is because she wasn't a flyer for much of her history. I prefer TK's to look like they are levitating as opposed to full on flying. I recall the days in X-factor where Jean usually was shown standing up in the air and not zooming around like Superman.

I kind of feel that just levitating a few feet in the air is a cooler visual for a TK than being shown as a full fledged flyer.

Lower level and inexperienced TKs sure, but Im perfectly fine with Jean flying.