Would Psylocke still have become or remained popular without the Asian body switch and Jim Lee costume change?

[The S0/\/\@7ic Si/\/\[]Dl370n]

What would have happened to her character, real-world/publishing-wise (and in turn, in-universe wise), both in and outside of comics if neither of the two had taken place?

[CraigTheCylon]

Confident prediction: Tazirai will come in here and kick the ass of anyone who says 'no'. :P

So I'm gonna say 'yes', natch. I don't know if she'd be as popular with the hormonal crowd as she was, but if she'd stayed Caucasian during the '90s she'd still have gotten sexed-up pretty heavily, because, hell, everyone did. She might not have been all thong'd up like a sleazy apartment fantasy wrestler*, but she'd get a new, more 'daring' outfit and get stuck in broken-spine Liefeld poses and her cheekbones would be sharp enough to cut granite, etc. Plus, classic Psylocke often had a certain...fascination with her own body, and was in no way shy about it. That point of character would likely be exploited in less than savoury ways by the writers of the time, and would make her a big deal for the teenage boy market.



* - Not that I'd know what that sort of woman would dress like, of course, cough cough

[ChildOfTheAtom]

She would have been boring to me if she stayed in that original body

[Wiccan]

Depends. If she had Jim Lee costume without becaming Asian I think she would still became popular, the same if she became asian and had another outfit, so I think one of these "elements" would be enough lol(but that pink fluffy costume wouldn't make her much appealing, anyway)

[JustAnotherFan]

Tough question but I think that she could have become as popular even without the bodyswap if everything else was done the same (Jim Lee's redesign, making her a hot ninja chick).

I would have preferred that actually. Why did she have to become physically asian to be good at martial arts? She couldn't just learn martial arts or ninjutsu without bodyswap? And of course the asian woman she swapped bodies with just so happened to be a deadly ninja chick. Because of course she is. She couldn't just be a regular asian woman who didn't know martial arts. Because as we all know asians are natural born martial artists and learn kung fu and ninjutsu while they're in their mothers' wombs

LoL

[Arya]

She's a strong enough character to not need the body switch. I think it needs to go.

[Fordel]

Wasn't the entire reason they used her in the body swap plot line because she was already struggling to gain any foothold popularity wise?

I'm not even sure on what her powers and abilities were before that body swap honestly. The Psychic Ninja thing is pretty ingrained on Psylocke for me, kind of like a Mutant Jedi almost.

I'm sure the bathing suit helped bring in the eye-balls at the time, but I don't feel like it as crucial as the new status quo ended up being.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

She's a strong character true however I'm not sure that writers after the bodyswap would have been as eager to write her had the swap not taken place, so it could go either way I guess...

[Jackraow21]

She would have been boring to me if she stayed in that original body

Agreed. The ninja aspect made her popular IMO.

[MYCMTSC]

I think she'd still be around (at probably Dazzler's level of popularity as a cult favorite), but it was the "exotic" T&A in a bathing suit that was right in line with 90's gratuitousness and American culture's obsession with ninjas.

[Project Initiative Cascada]

Psylocke still would be around no doubt, but I do not think she would be as popular and iconic as she is today. Back in her Caucasian body, her telepathic powers were interesting visually but it wasn't really anything that groundbreaking. Her powers were really nothing different from others such as Rachel, Jean, Emma or Xavier. Not to mention her personality was pretty shallow and snotty. She didn't really get any in depth character development until the body change.

At least with the body swap, she was somewhat unique with her using her telepathic ways in a new and innovative way with the psychic knife. Not to mention she added some good combat to to the roster.

[Moriarty]

Confident prediction: Tazirai will come in here and kick the ass of anyone who says 'no'. :P

i had the same thought.

anyway, i voted no. like Project Initiative Cascada said, she was pretty snotty and IMO kinda wimpy and unlikable. the body swap and new costume added a certain appeal to the character. without it she would have faded away or, more likely, been killed off in a crossover.

[dragonmp93]

Well, she would be lumped together with the rest of telepaths.

[Kuwagaton]

Ninja in 1990: popular
Non ninja in 1990: unpopular to less popular

I think that goes well beyond the topic of Psylocke.

[Nimrod]

soon they will make her black because Asian minorities in America just isn't popular at the moment.