Unearthing Psylocke's Past in 'Fallen Angels' #2

Warning! This article contains spoilers for today's FALLEN ANGELS #2, so read on at your own risk, True Believers!

“Elizabeth Braddock was the hero. I was the shell.”

It takes some getting used to when thinking of Betsy Braddock and Psylocke as two different characters. During HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: MYSTERY IN MADRIPOOR (2018), Betsy and the assassin formerly known as Kwannon were finally split after sharing years of their lives in a single body. And understandably, neither woman has fully adjusted to that yet. In FALLEN ANGELS #2, writer Bryan Hill and artist Szymon Kudranski reveal that Kwannon was never entirely heartless. But that doesn’t mean she’s ready to call herself a hero...

In a previously unseen glimpse of Kwannon’s past, she was tasked with getting a man safely beyond the reach of his enemies. Instead, she killed the man in an act of mercy; she did it to protect the man’s wife and their unborn child. When Kwannon touched his mind, she was moved by the love he felt for his family. And yet all of that effort was for nothing. The wife was ultimately captured and killed—but she never betrayed Kwannon by revealing her role in their escape.

In the present, Psylocke has an unguarded moment with Sinister in which she admits that she previously lied about her connection with butterflies. Betsy’s psi-signature was a butterfly long before she was put into Kwannon’s body. But Kwannon’s butterflies predated Betsy as well. As revealed in FALLEN ANGELS #1, Kwannon’s daughter was marked by a butterfly on her neck. Unfortunately, the young girl has also come under the sway of Apoth, Psylocke’s new target.

While both X-23 and Cable have had personal ties with Betsy, neither of them really knows Psylocke/Kwannon. The second issue began to change that, as X-23 and Cable made the attempt to connect with her. For X-23, Psylocke represents a rare chance to relate with someone who shares her anger issues. X-23 has shown a great deal of character growth since her introduction, but battling her demons is a never-ending fight. X-23 was noticeably upset by Psylocke’s assertion that she could become the master of her anger—but that the master is also a servant as well.

As for Cable, the battle against Apoth became personal for him when one of his contacts lost their lives to an Overclock island operation. Psylocke, however, was initially unmoved by his request to help him avenge that loss. Caring about people is still something in the abstract for Psylocke. But she eventually caught up with Cable and X-23 and revealed what she wants from their relationship: She needs to learn “goodness” from them.

Psylocke also told Sinister that she wants to find redemption for her past. However, Sinister simply scoffed at her aspirations while lending her his aid. Sinister’s motivation has yet to become clear, but it would be foolish to believe that he’s helping Psylocke and her team simply because she shares uncomfortable truths with him. He’s never been known for having a heart...

The past is always present in the Dawn of X. And for Psylocke, there’s no escape from the person that she once was.

Read this issue for yourself at your local comic shop today!