"Uncanny X-Men's" Bunn Addresses Psylocke's Racial Identity

[JustAnotherFan]

Psylocke's mind was fully cleared of Kwannon's influence after Kwannon passed.Is it so strange,though,for a Caucasian to be a lover of Japanese culture?

There's nothing wrong with a Caucasian person loving Japanese culture. For example I love it too! But changing your ethnicity because of that is still a bit extreme, LoL.

Okay but seriously, I can see how someone might perceive it as problematic that the most prominent Asian x-character is a bit of a stereotype by being a sexy ninja chick AND is also really just a white girl turned Asian.

[Teek]

And it was done wrong without any research either. lol

An apt description or Remender's writing if there ever was one.

[Complexed]

It's been explored in a couple storylines, but it just needs to be undone. It's ridiculous and was never intended to be permanent. I'd rather her just die and Revanche came back honestly.

[Donna M.]

Does anyone else here remember that when Psylocke first emerged from the Siege Perilous looking completely different that the explanation given was that "Her features were altered to look Asian"? Because that always struck me as miserably racist. When Kwannon and the body swap storyline ran it did kind of clean things up a bit, but for this day and age it may just be time for Betsy to get her original body back. If this happens I then want to see Kwannon brought back as a more fully realised character and not just an explanation for Claremont's horribly misguided attempt to make Betsy "cool".

[DeathCom]

As stated, we already have the explanation. It wasn't just a body swap, she got both memories and muscle memory. (I dont think Revanche's training of Betsy's original body came into play though) The body swap was never meant to be racist at all. It's sci fi, it's something to make her original character more interesting. Guess what, it worked.

Anyway, Psylocke's original body is dead. When Psylocke was killed by Vargas and brought back by Jamie, they had a chance to restore her original body. But that's simply not who she is anymore. Frankly I could care less if she got her original body back or not, as long as she retains her persona and the whole psychic ninja assassin style and trademark costume.

Speaking of Psylocke's trademark costume, it will ALWAYS be the blue halter top leotard and red sash. They have tried time and again to give her a new look, but its just comes off as either boring, unoriginal, or both. I applaud the costume designer and team for X-MEN Apocalypse for their choice to go with something in line the classic costume and Munn looks damn good wearing it (now their work on Apocalypse himself... thats another story).

[LoganAlpha30X33]

I thought this was addressed back during Nicieza's run? I haven't re-read those issues in a minute, but I could swear there was a storyline focused on the body change, what it all meant, and how it affected Betsy, Kwannon, etc.

It had been dealt with, and more since that she's perfectly happy in her current body as far as the whole bodyswap part goes...just like how as bad as Austen was he finished off by having Black Tom suck out the last bits of what Apocalypse did to Warren...only to then have Kyle and Yost dredge it back up so that they could put Warren on their X-Force team, Betsy has been in her Asian body for how many decades now...probably longer than she was in her old English body, I don't expect them to change anything.

[Zhaxra]

In 1989's "Uncanny X-Men" #256, a new version of Psylocke was introduced when the white, British-born Betsy Braddock underwent a body swap with the Japanese assassin Kwannon.

*sigh*
UXM #256 is not the introduction of Kwannon or the body swap. It is however, when Betsy's body was converted into an Asian one.

The actual body swap occurred later in Nicieza's run of X-Men (vol.2) starting with issue seventeen.

[primetime21]

The whole thing would have been so much better easier if they hadn't tried to over-complicate the story. Psylocke could have simply just been originally the half-british, half-asian daughter of Sir James Braddock. She could have grown up in British high society and been a model and seen as exotic and all that while all the time being able to know what people really thought of her. An Asian who identifies mostly as a British woman gives you all the same self-conflict without the silliness of a body-swap story. Even the body-swap story itself could have been done better with maybe their minds just merging

[Tazirai]

I was glad he spoke to me and gave me some answers. I do hope they get this thing done one day. Popularity aside. She needs to get things adjusted, and we need REAL asian women characters, NOT appropriated ones.

[Kuwagaton]

for some reason she still has some kind of "british accent" because fictional bodyswap shenanigans seem to swap voices too despite real life biology. If Marvel really wanna stick it to Fox, they should totally do it.

An accent has everything to do with personality and very little to do with anatomy, so that holds true.

I think Bunn is wise not to dive into the body swap thing. At least not yet. Some people love who she was, some love who she is, others like or hate both.

[Ambaryerno]

Is it so strange,though,for a Caucasian to be a lover of Japanese culture?

You've just described a pretty sizable US demographic.

[Tazirai]

Does anyone else here remember that when Psylocke first emerged from the Siege Perilous looking completely different that the explanation given was that "Her features were altered to look Asian"? Because that always struck me as miserably racist. When Kwannon and the body swap storyline ran it did kind of clean things up a bit, but for this day and age it may just be time for Betsy to get her original body back. If this happens I then want to see Kwannon brought back as a more fully realised character and not just an explanation for Claremont's horribly misguided attempt to make Betsy "cool".

Yep. When people say the old body is burned, destroyed, disintegrated, etc. This is comics, where people come back from the dead CONSTANTLY. It can be done, even her brother was burned to a CRISP. And he came back.

Fury killing Captain Britain. There was almost nothing left. Merlyn put him back together.

As stated, we already have the explanation. It wasn't just a body swap, she got both memories and muscle memory. (I dont think Revanche's training of Betsy's original body came into play though) The body swap was never meant to be racist at all. It's sci fi, it's something to make her original character more interesting. Guess what, it worked.

Anyway, Psylocke's original body is dead. When Psylocke was killed by Vargas and brought back by Jamie, they had a chance to restore her original body. But that's simply not who she is anymore. Frankly I could care less if she got her original body back or not, as long as she retains her persona and the whole psychic ninja assassin style and trademark costume.

Speaking of Psylocke's trademark costume, it will ALWAYS be the blue halter top leotard and red sash. They have tried time and again to give her a new look, but its just comes off as either boring, unoriginal, or both. I applaud the costume designer and team for X-MEN Apocalypse for their choice to go with something in line the classic costume and Munn looks damn good wearing it (now their work on Apocalypse himself... thats another story).

Psylockes mind is FULLY purged of Kwannon. She is a new body all together when Jamie recreated it.

[DDD]

*sigh*
UXM #256 is not the introduction of Kwannon or the body swap. It is however, when Betsy's body was converted into an Asian one.

The actual body swap occurred later in Nicieza's run of X-Men (vol.2) starting with issue seventeen.

Chris explained it clearly. The Siege Perilous granted her a new life in a "Japanese woman body" her own body.
Nicieza and the same editor who approved 256 complicated that.
Now it's even more convoluted everytime they bring this back.

It should be: She's a Brit in a Japanese body. Deal with it. On with the show.

[LPF]

I would love to see a Psylocke solo series where something causes her and Kwannon to revert back to their former bodies. The idea of Betsy going on a journey of re-discovery (maybe training to get her martial skills back, or maybe to become more psychically capable now she has her full power back from Kwannon), visiting old friends, foes and lovers, getting used to being who she once was again or finding after all this time she's even more lost... a the right writer/artist creator team up could push out a killer 6-12 issues and bring in a lot of new and interested readers.

Betsy's original body was destroyed by matsuo or whatever his name was in her last mini.....
Also, how much of the original swap idea was Jim Lee's and how much was CC's?

[Sardorim]

Psylocke is one of (if not THE) most racist characters in comics.

If readers really like the idea of an Asian X-Man, then why not give them one instead of 'white girl wrapped in Asian body yet acting in every way like a walking stereotype of 'Asian-hot-girl'?

As an Asian myself, well half I guess, she is pretty offensive but I try not to make too much noise as she had many fans and I like her character personality.

Though what I hate is when many non-readers assume she's actually asian.

That AoA movie isn't helping as many movie watchers assume she's Asian and it gets on my nerves.