X-Men #40: Psylocke You Betta Don’t

As the events of DNX continues to roll through, Jed MacKay and Lukas Werneck dedicate takes this issue and delves into Psylocke, fleshing out her role on the team in the post-Age of Revelation era. It’s a mostly introspective issue, one that really fleshes out who she is as a character, and the level of growth she’s seen since becoming a part of this team. So let’s get into the meat and potatoes of the issue, shall we?

Jed MacKay’s X-Men has been the guiding force of the X-Men line since the beginning of the Brevoort era, and it’s safe to say that it’s been an enjoyable ride. Has it been groundbreaking? No, but it’s been enjoyable. I’d say the quality is equal to what we had while Duggan was writing the book after Hickman left as head of X. While the book has kinda been dragging its feet during crossovers, this issue is an exception, but for an unconventional reason. It’s a deep dive into Kwannon, aka the current Psylocke. For those not in the know, I’ll give you a breakdown just who Kwannon is in the next paragraph, so keep reading!

Kwannon has quite the convoluted past, but she arrived right around the time I was the most fervent of X-Men fans, so I’ll always love her. Kwannon was the brainchild of former X-Men scribe Fabian Nicieza, and X-Men premier artist Andy Kubert, who was a resurrected Betsy Braddock, still in her Aussie Outback armor, but wait! How can this be? Betsy was already here, albeit in a totally brand new body. She was now the stealthy, Japanese ninja, and former Hand assassin, who showed up during the Acts of Vengeance crossover a few years back?! How can this be? Well, it involves Matsu’o Tsurayaba, Mojo, Spiral, and a whole bunch of…stuff. Essentially, Kwannon was in a coma after an accident, Matsu’o went to Spiral to fix her, but she was beyond Spiral’s abilities, so she took the brain from the switched brains, and melded their minds/souls together, making them spiritual twins.

They both shared Psylocke’s telepathic abilities, which explained why her abilities were so diminished after her emergence from the Siege Perilous. The twins would go on, and her addition to the team was a plus Unfortunately someone of the higher ups, or Fabian himself, decided to get rid of her, and gave Kwannon the Legacy Virus, killing her off in a sad send off, where she committed seppuka, leaving us with a fondly remembered fan favorite who was constantly asked about until 2018 in the Mystery in Madripoor mini (25 years after her death). Back to the review!

Back to the issue! After the shocking events of DNX #3, Cyclops sends Psylocke to hunt down the remaining members of 3K, and we get a story that explores Psylocke, and her past. One that involves a life surrounded by pain, death, violence, and it almost feels like Jed’s trying to say that Kwannon can be more than the tempered steel she’s been honed to over the course of her life. Marvel has really started to develop and push Kwannon since her resurrection as well as taking on the codename Psylocke, beginning with her time on Hellions. With a character like Psylocke, she’s essentially a blank slate, so it’s nice to see Marvel committed to develop her, and make her an integral part of the mutant mythology.

Lucas Werneck is on art here, and he does best. The set is lush, and it flows  like water up a stream. His Psylocke is beautiful, and her movements are effervescent. You can always tell when Werneck is at digging his work, because he pulls out all the whistles. The two full page splash pages are just gorgeous, and the beast looks like it came from a storyboard from the Stranger Things, while Psylocke is a formidable force who will do what it takes to complete her mission. This was a good showing for Werneck.