Captain Britain is Forced To Face The X-Men’s Most Controversial Moment

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Excalibur #17

Few X-Men have experienced as convoluted a history as Betsy Braddock, the psychic martial artist formerly known as Psylocke. Currently leading the recently-reformed Excalibur, Betsy has been given a new lease on life as the new Captain Britain, officially taking the mantle from her twin brother, Brian. However, her tenure as the new protector of Otherworld has had a bit of a rough start. Ever since taking the Amulet of Right—the source of Captain Britain’s power—from Brian, Betsy has consistently been the victim of sabotage from her new boss, and the Guardian of the Marvel Omniverse, Opal Luna Saturnyne. As seen during the events of X of Swords, Saturnyne has taken her hatred of Betsy to the next level and banished her to an alternate dimension. And whether Saturnyne knew it or not, the world in which Betsy wound up finally forces her to face the biggest loose end from her past.

Initially conceived as a Caucasian woman, Betsy’s time on the X-Men eventually resulted in her consciousness possessing the body of an Asian woman, an assassin named Kwannon. With her mind in Betsy’s original body, Kwannon succumbed to the deadly Legacy Virus and effectively eliminated any chance of Betsy returning to her true self. It wasn’t until nearly three decades after the body swap, in 2018’s Hunt For Wolverine: Mystery in Madripoor #4 that Besty was able to psychically reconstitute herself into her original body. With a resurrected Kwannon—who has taken the codename ‘Psylocke’ for herself—residing on Krakoa, and field-leading Mr. Sinister’s team of Hellions, Betsy has thus far gone out of her way to avoid a confrontation with her.

Excalibur #17 finds Betsy waking up on alternate Earth somewhere in the Omniverse in which she’s treated as royalty and mutants have found a safe haven in England. Urged by this reality’s native Captain Britain to return to her own Earth at once, Betsy is accompanied by none other than Kwannon to guide her toward an inter-dimensional nexus point. Confronted with a version of Kwannon whose body she never inhabited, Betsy finally comes face-to-face with the life she inadvertently stole for so many years. And though for the most part, the two don’t exactly get along, Betsy finally is able to say the words “I’m sorry” to Kwannon before leaving the alternate dimension.

The body swap of Psylocke was initially intended to be a temporary change for the character. Yet with the overwhelmingly positive fan reaction to Jim Lee’s design for Asian Psylocke, Marvel editorial was committed to keeping the change, long after series writer and character creator Chris Claremont first left the title. In time, Psylocke developed into one of Marvel’s most recognizable Asian superheroes, despite the fact that, as far as her mind was concerned, she wasn’t technically Asian. With Kwannon killed off early in her publication history, the issues of bodily autonomy, race, and consent regarding the body swap went largely ignored.

Returning Betsy to her original body and giving her the title of Captain Britain has been a step in the right direction, particularly with Kwannon proving to be a fascinating character in her own right within the pages of Hellions. Yet, there’s a lot that needs to be addressed between these two X-Men. And the cover of March’s Excalibur #19 promises fans won’t have to wait long for their next confrontation.