Since literally every other comic focused channel is doing Venom stuff, any content I make regarding it would be drowned. Why waste my time and energy when I could make something a lot more interesting and fun?
Honestly, every other comic channel I’ve watched has been dreadfully fake-enthusiastic, overproduced, and basically just paraphrasing a Wikipedia page via teleprompter. Comic Drake is the only one that feels actually passionate and thoughtful.
I don't really mind the change since it kinda restores something lost about her character, but it does suck that we have one less Asian superhero in comics.
Hard to say as there's no signs of Kwannon in the upcoming Uncanny X-Men event and she may appear again somewhere down the line. This now pretty much restores the status quo to some extent though getting there was the hard part.
Kwannon isn't a mutant, she is just part of The Hand, so she obviously wouldn't be part of the X-Men. She might reappear as an enemy for Daredevil or Elektra.
+Ziko577 Kwannon was a Hand ninja. So most likely she is being brought back as a villain. Because that is what those that (retroactively) have a problem with Psylocke's body swap clearly wanted, more Asian *Villains.* The half-hearted pandering of this era does make you laugh at times.
Well ... I don't like starting a sentence like this ... but, speaking as an Asian, I don't feel like I've been robbed of representation in this case. She was originally British, and the fact that she was changed to Japanese later does not make her feel like she is a good example of Asian representation. She is literally a white person wearing an Asian skin, so that part of her identity almost plays no impact on her as a character, and I personally don't really care for representation that is forced and ultimately meaningless for a character. However I do recognise that for a lot of Asian people born in western cultures, that a lot of them don't really feel that connected to their parents' country of origin, I speak for myself and a few of my friends in this case as I am an Australian born Vietnamese and know a few others with similar backgrounds to mine. I do identify as Asian, but put me on the spot and ask me anything about Vietnam, and I'd be giving you a blank stare in response. This is a weird case in comic books and I will admit I'm not the biggest X-men comic book reader, so all this is actually pretty new information for me. If you had not informed me of her original character backstory, I might of been singing a different tune, but knowing that she was originally British and white actually puts a different spin on it for me. I don't feel like there's one less Asian character in Marvel now, because simply put, she was never Asian to begin with. If this situation had been reversed and there was an Asian character walking around as a Caucasian for years and suddenly reverted back to Asian, I wouldn't think of that character as a white person regardless of how long they were white. At least that's my two cents on the matter. I obviously don't speak for all Asians, just speaking as a casual comic book fan.
Considering how long Wolverine stayed in Japan, I'm surprised the writers didn't use that as an excuse to give him a bunch of ninja/Japanese superhero friends if they were that starved for Japanese representation. Wolverine is probably the most iconic X-man, so just that alone should be enough to get people interested in the boys he hung out with while training with Samurais in Japan.
6:55 fighting style=muscle memory and it has been shown in Marvel and DC that when you loose your memory’s you can still speak ANY language you use to know (Bucky or Wolverine for example)
Drake, I realize this video predates the current Hickman status quo, but I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on the current handling of Psylocke and Betsy. I personally think it solves the problem really well. Betsy is Captain Britain, Kwannon is Psylocke. Anyway, great video man!
I kinda like the idea of two Psylockes. If Spiderman can be Peter, and Miles, and Gwen, and Ben, and Noir, and Ham, etc., why can't Psylocke be Elizabeth and Kwannon? Sometimes there are many souls in one body. Sometimes it's one soul in many bodies. Many minds. Many times. Welcome to the multiverse ;)
at one point, not long ago, there were 3 Spider-men(mans?) running around modern NYC at the same time, Peter Parker, Miles Morales and Miguel O'Hara(2099). There were also 3 Captain Americas Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson and Roberta Mendez
@@felixmartinez1100 she appeared in the last Spider-man 2099 series where Miguel was trapped in "our" time. She's from Miguel's timeline. She originally appeared, as far as I know, in one of the Secret Wars tie-ins
not gonna lie, the bod swap was a lot more convoluted than I thought, also, is it really withe-washing if the character has technically always been white?
For a long time as a kid, I always thought Psylocke was mixed-Asian. It wasn't as easy to dig up the history of a comic book character back then as it is right now. And back then, I wasn't really familiar or rather concerned about the nuances of minority representation in comics. But when I found out that Betsy was this British chick whose mind was transplanted into the body of an Asian woman, even with my limited understanding of minority representation, I understood that Betsy was not Asian. And as an Asian myself, this realization stirred some weird emotions of disappointment within me. In the near the 3 decades Betsy has spent in Kwannon's body, Betsy was never Asian. And I think this is the fact that should be addressed here, Betsy was never Asian, she was always White. You simply cannot change your race especially through the circumstances that unfolded during Betsy's convoluted and messy storyline. And I think her writers understood this as Betsy, in her many years as Psylocke, never once affirmed that she was Asian. I suppose she remained this way because she was far more popular as a ninja as opposed to being the usual, vulnerable damsel in distress she was when she had her own body. I understand that this is a relatively old video. But I'm sure, at the time, that it was a bizarre and bold move to return Betsy to her original body. But to provide a retrospective assessment of the decision to separate Betsy and Kwannon, it was the right move. Betsy is rightfully back to her old mantle as Captain Britain, taking with her many of the design aspects that made her super popular as Psylocke. Kwannon is, for the first time, receiving meaningful characterization as she takes up Betsy's old mantle--Psylocke. In my opinion, Kwannon has been extremely interesting as the new Psylocke as she's living imposter's syndrome as a reality. And her characterization in Fallen Angels was pretty rich (despite the miniseries being rather rushed). She's also leading her own suicide squad in Hellions, and the series itself is looking rather spicy and promising. Dawn of X essentially gave us the Betsy as she was always meant to be with Kwannon to uphold the Psylocke mantle. Psylocke fans literally get the best of both worlds, it was the right move in my opinion.
Even knowing Psylocke’s backstory and actually buying the Revanche comic new, I still consider Psylocke in the Asian body to be what I prefer, even as a female. Although I totally see the appeal to the male audience. Again body Besty has been the one I have always known. And personally, I thought the Kwannon/Besty Story was super interesting. People get their feeling hurt to easy now a days, and companies making changes to characters bc people are offended is a problem. If things keep going in this direction, things are going to be very boring. A little bit of controversy is interesting and interesting sells comics...🧐
I hope if the Braddock's ever appear in the MCU they're portrayed as biracial British-Asian (mostly because I'd rather they not give me headaches with the incredibly strange, kinda discomforting, Kwannon body swap)
@@wesleywyndam-pryce5305 No. I am a lifelong fan of the Braddocks who's followed them for 46 years and wants to see them depicted as the characters they are meant to be. Who are you, exactly, to criticise my opinion?
Betsy was never an Asian woman. She’s an English woman with an English accent with most of her history being tied to that fact. Her bodies ethnicity is Asian. It always bothered me how there was no adjustment period. However i think they should have had it revealed that the ninja Psylocke was always Kwannon just with Bestys memories and powers. Use the Crimson Dawn to separate the two and have Kwannon stay as Psylocke with telepathy, psychic knife and shadow porting powers and remain with the X-Men as all of the character development, relationships, etc that has happened since the 90s has been with Kwannon (who was also a mutant) resulting in an actual Asian character. Have Betsy return in her original body with telepathy and the ability to create psychic weapons from swords, to bow and arrows to shields and even whips and call her Britannia Sorted
I'm glad Betsy is back to her old body, this design looks really good. Like you said, she's more than just skin color, and Betsy was never really asian, just having an asian body. It's not the body that matters, it's the culture. If we want asian representation, we should gravitate more towards X-Men characters that actually are asian.
@@pongo9177 I still dislike her as a white woman! I do like Kwannon but she is not the same without those psychic powers! I really do prefer them as one. ones' mind and others body!
I think they should keep her asian, since it's the version of the character that seems to have stuck with readers for the longest time. Is it controversial yeah but honestly these days what isn't.
I feel that they might bring back Asian Psylocke because of all the action figures, video games, and models from the 1990s. Look at Archangel, he went back to his original form before Apocalypse turned him blue with metal wings and now he is back to that form again.
I will just say this... Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, or what have you. They could simply make a entity that jumps from body to body and her actual body could be in a coma. That would solve the problem wouldn't it... I remember her being anglo when I first saw her in the comics. I loved her character and that of her brother. The whole omniverse thing was a bit of a twist. But that is why Brian Braddock was a Champion in England.
Since they brought back Kwanon, I'm okay with making her white again, especially since both are back in their respective bodies. If you think about it, Betsy Braddock went through a LOT of hell due to men messing with her mind and body and...I'm not comfortable with that. Especially the rape part, that wasn't necessary.
Great recap of the character...and to answer your question... personal opinion...no, she just looked right in the Asian body...but you know, comics will just be that...comics... she's bound to return to her Asian look sooner or later
Speaking as an old guy, who was reading X-men in high school before Psylocke joined the team or even lost her eyes, her suddenly waking up as a half dressed Asian ninja never felt right, because I read everything I could find on her as a British hero, before she ever became a Japanese anti-hero. So for those of us old enough to remember her, she never looked "right" as an Asian woman, she just looked wrong.
Personally, I always thought it was weird that one of the most recognizable Asian characters wasI actually Caucasian... So I’m happy she’s back to her real self
I always wondered why revanche just came up out of no where. I will admit I love me some ninja psylocke I am ultimately conflicted on this because even though it's her OG body ninja psylocke is just so iconic.
Personally marvel should have kept Betsy as body swapped Psylocke, that was when she was at her best. Writers have now made her a Jean Grey light, though admittedly this process began before Mystery in Madripor and Betsy's new (but old) body. Kwannon is around taking up the mantle of Psylocke but doesn't have the character building and fan base to carry through. It's just odd. To top it off, Betsy is now Captain Britain (I'm behind with x-books) so she still doesn't have a unique identity or power set of her own. Tragedy.
When you say psylock, the 90's version pops into my mind eye. I know about her past and everything (even applaud her relationship with sabertooth) but it will be strange not seeing an Asian psylock. It doesn't matter to me what the character looks like and I even look forward to changes but this is a big one that I will complain about because she isn't Asian in the first place.
I didn't change the format. This has been the opening of Because Comics for the beginning. It just goes to show that you haven't watched the previous episodes. ;)
@@ComicDrake come on now. I've heard you say "welcome to Comic Drake where we talk about comics and my name is Drake" so many times. That's your catch phrase.
I really think the MCU Psylocke needs to dump her convoluted and problematic origin and just make her a Japanese woman that use to work with captain Brittan for a long time that he thinks of her like a sister. You can still do versions of the drama in her backstory but it doesn't have to be as crazy and might work better if they are going to go this "spy" angle with the UK heroes like what they seem to be doing with Jessica Drew as Spiderwoman.
I think the body swap can be played well. Just make it less convoluted. Rather than all the intricate scheming, maybe play it like a Rogue scenario. She used her psychic powers on a hand ninja and some accident forced their minds to switch.
+IOUT Alternatively, just make the entire body swap the machinations of Spiral and Mojo. Play up to the sexualisation etc of the Ninja Girl angle, instead of decrying "outrage".
PathsUnwritten please, use a translator, thanks. Spiral hizo un intercambio de los genes de Betsy y Kwanon. Después se conoció que Kwanon originalmente era psíquica de bajo nivel. Por ello Betsy en el cuerpo asiático mostraba al inicio menor nivel de poderes psiquicos, y se enfocaba más en el combate fisico; en cambio Kwanon en el cuerpo británico mostraba más nivel de poderes psíquicos. Tanto así que cuando enfermó del virus Legacy, pudo descubrir la verdad de la manipulación de Mojo, Spiral y Matsuo y dejó sus ojos que funcionaban como cámaras de video a Betsy y supiera esa verdad. Antes de morir le pidió a Matsuo que la matara antes que el virus lo hiciera. Pero le pidió un favor. Después Matsuo absorbió todo resto de la personalidad de Kwanon en el cuerpo asiático y Betsy recuperó todo su nivel de poderes psíquicos, siendo una en mente y cuerpo como siempre quiso. Gracias y disculpe pero no tengo un buen nivel de escritura en inglés.
This is my opinion from someone who has followed her since the early 90s. Rewriting her story would alienate old fans, and just make things confusing for new fans who might take interest in reading her backstory. I do feel making her Asian was problematic to begin with, but that is only bc it's like not real representation... it just made her confusing. Claremont should have just made her telepathically suggest to people that she was Asian in that whole story arc and non of this would have been an issue. I also feel they shouldn't have made her white again bc now there is this whole debate. Yes her sexy new bod and costume are iconic, but to me it wasnt what made her interesting. She doesn't really use her sexuality like Emma Frost does. I would have been more interested in her journey as a telepath who learned martial arts as a necessity...there were times when she was awesome with her powers and other times when she fumbled and that was more compelling to me. I feel like just giving her a new bod and ninja skills was too easy to begin with. Now that kwannon is back maybe she can be written as a whole new entity or somehow they both get combined and she just becomes this post racial person/racially ambiguous. Like people can't tell whether she's Asian or British and she just comes across as whatever ethnicity people perceive her to be. I know that is also problematic but hey controversy sells and is part of life? Idk.
Did she not use her sexuality like Emma Frost? To cater to the teenage male demographic? It's so odd to see people discussing the subject of the appropriateness of her race when at her core she is just a sex object.
The loss of only memories of what happened but not memories how to do things is perfectly normal and she simply lost her declarative memory meaning. One example is if you solve the maze then lost your declarative memory of solving that may hurt and say you have short-term memory loss then you’ll still be able to redo the maze as long as you haven’t lost your other kind of memory which I’m forgetting the name of. If you lose your declarative memory of all instances of riding a bike you will still be able to ride the bike perfectly fine but you won’t have remembered anything you did on the bike or how to ride it you will just be able to.
I only know pyslocke through Claremont era and a little afterwards, so I always thought of her as a British woman, with a British accent in a asian (Japanese) woman’s body. That’s the best version of Betsy Braddock.
no I really do agree and like that psylock, has her original body again. I feel now we can get to know who keannon is once and for all. and it would really be cool is Psylock and Kwannon got their own comics or movies! this could all really play out good in a movie!
I personally think they should have kept her Asian, not just because of the whole representation thing, but because that’s how everybody knows her, including herself which is why her being white makes no sense, so if you get rid of the look of Psylocke it just hurts her brand because most people just know her as that Asian psychic ninja X-Man
@@hybridvigga yeah but that's not even close to the weirdest origin in comics so why not just leave it how everyone knows because people get confused easy
You wish she had been kept Asian cuz that's where she was when you discovered her, I knew she was a Brit and personally this representation thing is being stressed on too much, they change a character instead of giving us a new one to love different and distinctive in his/her own way..... that's the issue
Then why not keep Dr Octopus in Spiderman's body? Its the exact same thing, if you like the Asian character design Kwannon is back in her own body as part of the Hand and is still out there, the same way Spiderman and Dr Octopus are both back now.
That's the thing. Psylocke has been in the "Kwannon" body for longer than her duration in her original. It actually made no sense at all to back peddle on that. In light of this, she still remains the most convoluted X-Man.
Honestly a mcu psylocke casting a mixed race white/Asian actress like a 2nd chance with Olivia Munn with a better storyline or maybe an Asian race but British nationality actress would be great too
The new introduction is so much better than the "I have two thumbs and I'm gonna use them" old intro. Good move ! ... and this episode was very interesting. Keep on the good work ! ;)
I like the recent change that Marvel made. To me Psylocke isn't Asian. She's a white person inside of an Asian person. This always rubbed me the wrong way because it felt less like representation and more like exploitation (sexy outfit and all). Now that Kwannon is back, it feels like we finally have proper Asian representation. That's just my take though.
That's a fair point. I figure that her character will be like in the past when she's sometimes a villain, sometime a hero, whichever the writer feels like at the moment. Also in X-Men Apocalypse (most people's exposure to the character), Psylocke is a villain, so it's not that far off base.
+The Kraken Experiment She was a Hand ninja. So that's _just_ villain until: (A) She is killed off, again. (B) Has one story arc before fading into complete obscurity.
Reintroducing Kwannon would be fantastic, honestly. Psylocke could stand to have an opposite number to play off, and who better than the woman with whom she shared both a body and mind?
I love that Psylocke is back in her real body and same for Kwannon. Now the ninja fans who just cant get over the shallow sexy ninja have Kwannon and those that appreciate Psylocke for her history and backstory have the real version back in her true form.
The fact that this is an issue at all when talking about a comic book, speaks to how far we've fallen. As geeks and comic book fans, we were the first ones on the diverse and inclusive bandwagon. We were there for strong female characters since Wonder Woman and loved when characters of color first showed up to amaze us like Black Panther. We understood the message behind the X-Men and how it was an allegory for race and being different and we not only embraced that, but we sought more from it and used it as a guide for our real lives. But now we are being lectured to that we're not inclusive enuff and that something as simple as Psylocke getting her old body back, has become a controversy. I loved the video but it's sad that part of the reason u felt u needed to make it was to combat the "Triggering" of so many people out there that got upset about it based on race, when out of everyone, it is geeks like us who have been the most diverse and inclusive groups of individuals for decades.
Uh, yeah. Not to be that guy but comic fans are among the first to throw a hissy fit at the topic of diversity. Sam Wilson's run as Captain America was shat on by comic "fans" so much so they included this controversy in-universe. Miles Morales was a widely disliked character when he first showed up despite being an alternate universe successor not even a main earth one.
I'd love to see you do a video on Knight and Squire. I found a graphic novel in my local library a few years ago and really enjoyed it. They're basically a British version of Batman and Robin. My favourite part is that there's a British Joker but he's too nice to actually commit a crime and mostly sticks to harmless pranks. Knight even has a Texan butler who dons a cowboy hat. I'd love to learn more about them!
I've been reading comics for years and was there for the Psylocke body swap and i'm happy things are back to "normal". Psylocke rebuilding her original body from atoms just shows how skilled she is in the use of her abilities an having Kwannon back gives Psylocke a enemy. The future story telling for her looks good from where i'm sitting.
I remember both Sue & Psylocke's "new outfits", back when I was a teen. It would've been simpler if Mandarin just used his rings to disguise Betsy. While I like the idea of 2 Psylocke's I think it should be a "fusion". She has the Asian body, but can split into Betsy & Kwannon when needed. Betsy can be the armored telepath/telekinetic, while Kwannon is the more skilled martial artist armed w/ psi-weapons that can do physical/psi-damage.
I think characters like Armor and Sunfire would make great Asian X-Men representation if they were brought more into the mainstream and fleshed out a bit more (e.g. in movies and TV series). Either that or retcon any portrayals of Psylocke to have always been of Asian descent to avoid sticky issues like this.
Sup man! So mad I missed you at Retropalooza this past weekend. I walked past you a few times but you looked so much like my buddy Devin I was sure that wasn’t you. Oh well, maybe next time. Either way, fantastic video as usual! Keep em coming!
Man, sorry I missed you as well. I had a dedicated panel and I was on both of the all guests panels. I'll be there next year so hopefully see you then!
That was a great video thanks I've always thought psylocke is one of the best characters in the x-men and I've always followed her history and it's been really crazy
That issue when Betsy walked into the Blackbird repair bay and frenched a greesed up Scott with Jean looking on was gold ...Also lets not forget all the pain Psylock has suffered over the years dont sweep her history under the rug marvel
Thanks for the run-down. I have collected comics where Psylocke appears for 26 years and have every one (to my knowledge), however her story arc details still confuse me. Regarding her race I like the half-asian look as it's clearly the one that resonates as her the most. Even when she took Kwannon's body, she looked half-white/half-asian, this look is her iconic identity. The Jim Lee / Andy Kubert Psylocke of the 90's will always be her, and that's a great thing.
I love psylocke regardless! This video gets straight to the point. I love all your videos. I was one of the few people to realize the body swap shenanigans. It makes me love her more actually 😂
I remember reading this storyline when it came-out. It was every bit as weird as you say. In fact, all the "X" titles were really weird between the late 80's and early 90's.
I had no idea. I have even seen Psylocke 5:42 but I thought it was just her hair looking diffrent not that it was a completely diffrent person. Really wierd but cool. I whould not mind stuff like this. Body switches and changes can create intresting stories like Wonderman, Rouge and many others.
Let me first preface this by saying that I am not asian, so I don't have a lot of the sociocultural perspective that an asian person may have on asian representation. Personally, I feel like Psylocke should be left white. Particularly because she was originally white and was only put into an asian body to fit the writer's stereotypes at the time. I don't feel that she delivers good asian representation for that fact as well as falling into the asians=ninjas/karate/kung-fu stereotype that so many other asian characters fall into. In my opinion, pigeon holing characters into stereotypes about their race isn't good representation, it's tokenism. (And Psylocke borders in a weird way on yellow face)
This is the kind of thing that kind of turns people like me off of comic books. A character like Psylocke has such a convoluted backstory and such ambiguous superpowers that I would have never expected her to become popular if you pitched her current iteration to me, and yet she not only has a following, but has practically become the quintessential Asian representation for X-men, or even Marven heroes as a whole. This is a character that you won't understand unless you're REALLY into the lore, but you're probably going to see a lot of her. It's sort of like the reason why I'm hesitant to get into certain animes like, Naruto and One Piece; it will just take so much time to understand it all.
I know this is an old vid and I’m impartial on the subject but the fact people are bringing up representation and not debating on whether the new race change affects the character on a deeper level irks me. I’m a minority and never really got the whole representation craze people have about things. I love Halo, I don’t care if none of the playable Spartans are the same race as me. I don’t care that neither Luke Skywalkern or Rey aren’t portrayed by people whose ancestors evolved on a different chunk of dirt from me. Miles Morales is half the same race as me but I still prefer Peter. A character should be judged based on their actions, development, and story alone in my opinion. Period. It is hilarious seeing people trying to use some sort of representation tape measure to see if the ground gained by Asian Psylocke is worth the insensitivity, however. Reminds me of the issue with the MCU Ancient One or Mandarin. Btw I am a sporadic watcher but I love your content, Drake. I am amazed how well you condense so much information from different time periods and media in a coherent way.
Comic book readers come different places all over the world. It’s important for people to see different representations, races, genders, nationalities, zodiac signs, etc. Bad storytelling will always be bad. However, variety is the spice of life.
The ancient one thing was always going to be an issue tho. The director changed him to a white person cause if he didnt people would have complained about the asian stereotype but since he changed the character now he's taking a role away from an Asian person, people were gonna be mad no matter what.
I just came into comics when she turned Asian. and I think that's what drew me to her. There weren't that many Asian heroes... and especially one that was in the forefront of a main comic. to see her turn back to white.. I guess makes sense as a character from the origin. but it's kind of a loss to the Asian community. She's just cooler Asian. and she brings more the table as a character (ninja/martial arts/stealth. and opens the readers to Asian culture). I guess you could say the next is Jubilee. but she's not as big of a character as Psylocke
@@conradojavier7547 actually that's true too. It's like the new tmnt where April is now black. Can't please anyone I guess. But I actually the direction that the new tmnt is going. But I guess you can't win the race card. Someone is always going to be unhappy changing characters nationality
@TurboTaj Well. I am curious how you felt and what was worth keeping. hilariously in the OTHER adaptation I know her for (Wolverine and the Xmen) she was just an asian chick who was british (no iconic stripper ninja look) just so. What did you like? What does it make you think? What change, if any want? Should just.. stayed?
Olivia Munn who played psylock is of white european and asian decent (mix raced) so she is kinda is a good balance for on screen representation
I agree 👍🏾
Yep.
It doesn't matter she's still European.
And no she's not a good balance on screen.
Agreed
Psylocke is what I think of when I think "because comics".
I think of Jean Grey the same way... Because Comics...lol
And ass
For me it's Hawkman
Same for Black canary and the whole shes her own daughter and mother
> Every other media outlet: Venom facts, trivia, reviews.
> Comic Drake: Let's talk about the ninja ass-ass-in of the X-Men.
Man I love this channel!
Since literally every other comic focused channel is doing Venom stuff, any content I make regarding it would be drowned. Why waste my time and energy when I could make something a lot more interesting and fun?
And that is why you're one of the few comic related channels I'm subbed too. Keep up the great work!
oh hey big fan of your work
Honestly, every other comic channel I’ve watched has been dreadfully fake-enthusiastic, overproduced, and basically just paraphrasing a Wikipedia page via teleprompter. Comic Drake is the only one that feels actually passionate and thoughtful.
White, Asian, whatever. I think the only thing I can agree on is THICC
she lookin like a SNACC
Thick
@@poisonskin80 Thick and Thicc aren't the same my dude.
@@poisonskin80 thick isn't good my guy. Thicc is good
Faxxxxxxx
I think it turned out ok now that both Betsy and Kwannon get to remain as X-Men, and Kwannon even got to keep the Psylocke name.
1:48 Daredevil you have some competition
Lol
Rhett M what a great comment
I don't really mind the change since it kinda restores something lost about her character, but it does suck that we have one less Asian superhero in comics.
I agree but Kwanen was also brought back. Doesn't that mean no was representation was lost?
Hard to say as there's no signs of Kwannon in the upcoming Uncanny X-Men event and she may appear again somewhere down the line. This now pretty much restores the status quo to some extent though getting there was the hard part.
Kwannon isn't a mutant, she is just part of The Hand, so she obviously wouldn't be part of the X-Men. She might reappear as an enemy for Daredevil or Elektra.
+Ziko577 Kwannon was a Hand ninja. So most likely she is being brought back as a villain. Because that is what those that (retroactively) have a problem with Psylocke's body swap clearly wanted, more Asian *Villains.* The half-hearted pandering of this era does make you laugh at times.
You bring up a very valid point. Nice take on this issue :)
Well ... I don't like starting a sentence like this ... but, speaking as an Asian, I don't feel like I've been robbed of representation in this case.
She was originally British, and the fact that she was changed to Japanese later does not make her feel like she is a good example of Asian representation. She is literally a white person wearing an Asian skin, so that part of her identity almost plays no impact on her as a character, and I personally don't really care for representation that is forced and ultimately meaningless for a character.
However I do recognise that for a lot of Asian people born in western cultures, that a lot of them don't really feel that connected to their parents' country of origin, I speak for myself and a few of my friends in this case as I am an Australian born Vietnamese and know a few others with similar backgrounds to mine.
I do identify as Asian, but put me on the spot and ask me anything about Vietnam, and I'd be giving you a blank stare in response.
This is a weird case in comic books and I will admit I'm not the biggest X-men comic book reader, so all this is actually pretty new information for me. If you had not informed me of her original character backstory, I might of been singing a different tune, but knowing that she was originally British and white actually puts a different spin on it for me. I don't feel like there's one less Asian character in Marvel now, because simply put, she was never Asian to begin with. If this situation had been reversed and there was an Asian character walking around as a Caucasian for years and suddenly reverted back to Asian, I wouldn't think of that character as a white person regardless of how long they were white.
At least that's my two cents on the matter. I obviously don't speak for all Asians, just speaking as a casual comic book fan.
@TurboTaj Damn I wish I could bronze and share this far and wide
Considering how long Wolverine stayed in Japan, I'm surprised the writers didn't use that as an excuse to give him a bunch of ninja/Japanese superhero friends if they were that starved for Japanese representation. Wolverine is probably the most iconic X-man, so just that alone should be enough to get people interested in the boys he hung out with while training with Samurais in Japan.
A little late but do you know vietnamese
@@nguyentandung42 I know very basic Vietnamese
As an Asian, she thicc
"Kinda like that time when the Punisher became black."
Wait, what?
Comics be weird, yo.
Yeah you know stuff like Asian hulk,black Superman, and Latina ghost rider
@@spacetacos7574 *latino
@@Carbon-cringe-human no there’s a Hispanic female ghost rider
@@spacetacos7574 oh wow
@@spacetacos7574 i didn't know
6:55 fighting style=muscle memory and it has been shown in Marvel and DC that when you loose your memory’s you can still speak ANY language you use to know (Bucky or Wolverine for example)
Interesting to see where they go with that in her "new" original body... That had next to no fighting ability.
Plus she got psychics power all she needs is to read peoples minds and learn any language she wants is the same with the fighting skill
People didn't know Psylocke was ever white? Hahahah omfg I'm old.
Same here lol
Right. This made me feel old.
XD
All that has to be said to solve most of this generation of comic fandom's issues is..
GODDAMNIT READ A BOOK!!!
problem solved.
Asian Psylocke is her iconic form.
I loved her BUTTERFLY effect when she reared her MENTALITY.
Awesomeness!
Drake, I realize this video predates the current Hickman status quo, but I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on the current handling of Psylocke and Betsy. I personally think it solves the problem really well. Betsy is Captain Britain, Kwannon is Psylocke.
Anyway, great video man!
Psylocke’s story is so tragic, yet it’s so inspiring to see the character so strong and tenacious. That backstory was rough.
Olivia Munn is actually half Asian which was basically the movies way of avoiding this complicated af and controversial issue
You Nailed it!
I kinda like the idea of two Psylockes. If Spiderman can be Peter, and Miles, and Gwen, and Ben, and Noir, and Ham, etc., why can't Psylocke be Elizabeth and Kwannon? Sometimes there are many souls in one body. Sometimes it's one soul in many bodies. Many minds. Many times. Welcome to the multiverse ;)
at one point, not long ago, there were 3 Spider-men(mans?) running around modern NYC at the same time, Peter Parker, Miles Morales and Miguel O'Hara(2099). There were also 3 Captain Americas Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson and Roberta Mendez
@@ranwolf7650 ok I don't that was a Captain America named Roberta Mendez, can you elaborate on this if you don't mind?
@@felixmartinez1100 she appeared in the last Spider-man 2099 series where Miguel was trapped in "our" time. She's from Miguel's timeline. She originally appeared, as far as I know, in one of the Secret Wars tie-ins
not gonna lie, the bod swap was a lot more convoluted than I thought, also, is it really withe-washing if the character has technically always been white?
No, it isn't.
For a long time as a kid, I always thought Psylocke was mixed-Asian. It wasn't as easy to dig up the history of a comic book character back then as it is right now. And back then, I wasn't really familiar or rather concerned about the nuances of minority representation in comics. But when I found out that Betsy was this British chick whose mind was transplanted into the body of an Asian woman, even with my limited understanding of minority representation, I understood that Betsy was not Asian. And as an Asian myself, this realization stirred some weird emotions of disappointment within me. In the near the 3 decades Betsy has spent in Kwannon's body, Betsy was never Asian. And I think this is the fact that should be addressed here, Betsy was never Asian, she was always White.
You simply cannot change your race especially through the circumstances that unfolded during Betsy's convoluted and messy storyline. And I think her writers understood this as Betsy, in her many years as Psylocke, never once affirmed that she was Asian. I suppose she remained this way because she was far more popular as a ninja as opposed to being the usual, vulnerable damsel in distress she was when she had her own body. I understand that this is a relatively old video. But I'm sure, at the time, that it was a bizarre and bold move to return Betsy to her original body. But to provide a retrospective assessment of the decision to separate Betsy and Kwannon, it was the right move.
Betsy is rightfully back to her old mantle as Captain Britain, taking with her many of the design aspects that made her super popular as Psylocke. Kwannon is, for the first time, receiving meaningful characterization as she takes up Betsy's old mantle--Psylocke. In my opinion, Kwannon has been extremely interesting as the new Psylocke as she's living imposter's syndrome as a reality. And her characterization in Fallen Angels was pretty rich (despite the miniseries being rather rushed). She's also leading her own suicide squad in Hellions, and the series itself is looking rather spicy and promising. Dawn of X essentially gave us the Betsy as she was always meant to be with Kwannon to uphold the Psylocke mantle. Psylocke fans literally get the best of both worlds, it was the right move in my opinion.
It’s a fictional character.
@@BB-ed4om A British fictional character.
She also ended up as Captain Britain.
agree!
Even knowing Psylocke’s backstory and actually buying the Revanche comic new, I still consider Psylocke in the Asian body to be what I prefer, even as a female. Although I totally see the appeal to the male audience. Again body Besty has been the one I have always known. And personally, I thought the Kwannon/Besty Story was super interesting. People get their feeling hurt to easy now a days, and companies making changes to characters bc people are offended is a problem. If things keep going in this direction, things are going to be very boring. A little bit of controversy is interesting and interesting sells comics...🧐
Please do an episode on Captain Britain as i love him and I'm British!
Lmao!
I liked her asian appearance. Aesthetically It looked cooler to me.
How? If you put them in the same costume the only difference is her eye shape, theres basically no difference.
@@cr1mz075 just personal preference really. I don't have any deeper reason for preferring the Asian look. I just like it.
me too giggidy giggidy
H
Her bottty doe❤️❤️
"Kind of like the time The Punisher become black-" uhm, wait, what!?
I hope if the Braddock's ever appear in the MCU they're portrayed as biracial British-Asian (mostly because I'd rather they not give me headaches with the incredibly strange, kinda discomforting, Kwannon body swap)
Captain Britain is not Asian. He is British.
@@tonyingram1337 oh you're just a reactionary whining in the comments.
@@wesleywyndam-pryce5305 No. I am a lifelong fan of the Braddocks who's followed them for 46 years and wants to see them depicted as the characters they are meant to be. Who are you, exactly, to criticise my opinion?
^ Other than the out of touch boomer that hasn't had a creative bone in their body? Plenty
@@krystalmoss7390 I don'tsee anything particularly creative in making a perfectly good character unrecognisable.
Betsy was never an Asian woman. She’s an English woman with an English accent with most of her history being tied to that fact. Her bodies ethnicity is Asian. It always bothered me how there was no adjustment period.
However i think they should have had it revealed that the ninja Psylocke was always Kwannon just with Bestys memories and powers. Use the Crimson Dawn to separate the two and have Kwannon stay as Psylocke with telepathy, psychic knife and shadow porting powers and remain with the X-Men as all of the character development, relationships, etc that has happened since the 90s has been with Kwannon (who was also a mutant) resulting in an actual Asian character. Have Betsy return in her original body with telepathy and the ability to create psychic weapons from swords, to bow and arrows to shields and even whips and call her Britannia
Sorted
I agree, they should had done this, long time ago.
I'm glad Betsy is back to her old body, this design looks really good. Like you said, she's more than just skin color, and Betsy was never really asian, just having an asian body. It's not the body that matters, it's the culture. If we want asian representation, we should gravitate more towards X-Men characters that actually are asian.
I am not, I honestly like her in Japanese body! She was both a telepath and a ninja
@@lordronn472 she can be a ninja as a white woman too, yknow? changing her race doesn’t add much to the character besides a different look
@@pongo9177 I still dislike her as a white woman! I do like Kwannon but she is not the same without those psychic powers! I really do prefer them as one. ones' mind and others body!
@@lordronn472 She was created as a white British woman, that's who she's meant to be.
@@tonyingram1337 I know but I like the body swap thing
I think they should keep her asian, since it's the version of the character that seems to have stuck with readers for the longest time.
Is it controversial yeah but honestly these days what isn't.
I feel that they might bring back Asian Psylocke because of all the action figures, video games, and models from the 1990s. Look at Archangel, he went back to his original form before Apocalypse turned him blue with metal wings and now he is back to that form again.
The psylocke I know and like is the sexy Asian ninja girl. So I say keep her Asian, plus there is already a shitload of white superheroes anyway.
There was no reason to change her, not that many people knew about all this convoluted shit anyways. Most people thought she was just asian.
I will just say this... Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, or what have you. They could simply make a entity that jumps from body to body and her actual body could be in a coma. That would solve the problem wouldn't it...
I remember her being anglo when I first saw her in the comics. I loved her character and that of her brother. The whole omniverse thing was a bit of a twist. But that is why Brian Braddock was a Champion in England.
@sean bowman *feelings*
Is it sad that as a 8 year old I knew more about Psylocke than most people that like comics. I'm 14 now.
Now I know why Psylocke's skin was yellow in a handful of games
Psylocke is one of the coolest X-men character.. i actually find her to be cooler than Emma is she is written well...
Yes! I would very much like a "Captain Britain" video!
Make it the whole family. Jamie gets so little attention. Much like the most powerful (and forgotten) of the Rasputin family, Mikhail.
Psylock and Kwannon are very underrated characters! let's see more of the two in comics!
Since they brought back Kwanon, I'm okay with making her white again, especially since both are back in their respective bodies. If you think about it, Betsy Braddock went through a LOT of hell due to men messing with her mind and body and...I'm not comfortable with that. Especially the rape part, that wasn't necessary.
It’s not a real person.
@@BB-ed4om what a worthless comment to justify your bad writing nihilism really
Having never known this convoluted mess, I always just assumed British Hong Kong played some part here.
Nice umm... thumbnail, Drake...
Great recap of the character...and to answer your question... personal opinion...no, she just looked right in the Asian body...but you know, comics will just be that...comics... she's bound to return to her Asian look sooner or later
Nah, those days are done. This age people want REAL Representation.
Speaking as an old guy, who was reading X-men in high school before Psylocke joined the team or even lost her eyes, her suddenly waking up as a half dressed Asian ninja never felt right, because I read everything I could find on her as a British hero, before she ever became a Japanese anti-hero. So for those of us old enough to remember her, she never looked "right" as an Asian woman, she just looked wrong.
Personally, I always thought it was weird that one of the most recognizable Asian characters wasI actually Caucasian... So I’m happy she’s back to her real self
Someone needs to make a Psylocke TV series!!!!
Would make a great show
Psylocke was British until THE HAND got a hold of her.
She was one of my favorite X-MEN. Dazzler was my all time fave.
I always wondered why revanche just came up out of no where. I will admit I love me some ninja psylocke I am ultimately conflicted on this because even though it's her OG body ninja psylocke is just so iconic.
Personally marvel should have kept Betsy as body swapped Psylocke, that was when she was at her best. Writers have now made her a Jean Grey light, though admittedly this process began before Mystery in Madripor and Betsy's new (but old) body.
Kwannon is around taking up the mantle of Psylocke but doesn't have the character building and fan base to carry through. It's just odd.
To top it off, Betsy is now Captain Britain (I'm behind with x-books) so she still doesn't have a unique identity or power set of her own. Tragedy.
When you say psylock, the 90's version pops into my mind eye. I know about her past and everything (even applaud her relationship with sabertooth) but it will be strange not seeing an Asian psylock. It doesn't matter to me what the character looks like and I even look forward to changes but this is a big one that I will complain about because she isn't Asian in the first place.
Welcome to Comic Drake where we talk about comics and my name is Drake! Don't try to change the format on me now, Drake.
I didn't change the format. This has been the opening of Because Comics for the beginning. It just goes to show that you haven't watched the previous episodes. ;)
@@ComicDrake come on now. I've heard you say "welcome to Comic Drake where we talk about comics and my name is Drake" so many times. That's your catch phrase.
Right, it is for videos that are not Because Comics. This is a seperate show and has always had its own intro.
@@ComicDrakeAh. I didn't even realize that. ok. you're off the hook with me. Lol
Psylocke has to be one of my favorite Xmen characters
I really think the MCU Psylocke needs to dump her convoluted and problematic origin and just make her a Japanese woman that use to work with captain Brittan for a long time that he thinks of her like a sister. You can still do versions of the drama in her backstory but it doesn't have to be as crazy and might work better if they are going to go this "spy" angle with the UK heroes like what they seem to be doing with Jessica Drew as Spiderwoman.
Them being twins plays into the whole telepathic link they have. It is the only Mutant ability that Captain Britain has.
Maybe Psylocke was adopted by Captain Britain's family?
I think the body swap can be played well. Just make it less convoluted. Rather than all the intricate scheming, maybe play it like a Rogue scenario. She used her psychic powers on a hand ninja and some accident forced their minds to switch.
+IOUT Alternatively, just make the entire body swap the machinations of Spiral and Mojo. Play up to the sexualisation etc of the Ninja Girl angle, instead of decrying "outrage".
They could be foster siblings.
Out of all superheroes im familiar with psylocke has the most confusing back story I've ever read up on
I dare say Rachel Summers are more confusing .... or Nathan Summers, for that matter.
Mutant powers come from a person's physiology. So how could Betsy keep her powers in a body that doesnt have her same mutant gene?
PathsUnwritten please, use a translator, thanks. Spiral hizo un intercambio de los genes de Betsy y Kwanon. Después se conoció que Kwanon originalmente era psíquica de bajo nivel. Por ello Betsy en el cuerpo asiático mostraba al inicio menor nivel de poderes psiquicos, y se enfocaba más en el combate fisico; en cambio Kwanon en el cuerpo británico mostraba más nivel de poderes psíquicos. Tanto así que cuando enfermó del virus Legacy, pudo descubrir la verdad de la manipulación de Mojo, Spiral y Matsuo y dejó sus ojos que funcionaban como cámaras de video a Betsy y supiera esa verdad. Antes de morir le pidió a Matsuo que la matara antes que el virus lo hiciera. Pero le pidió un favor. Después Matsuo absorbió todo resto de la personalidad de Kwanon en el cuerpo asiático y Betsy recuperó todo su nivel de poderes psíquicos, siendo una en mente y cuerpo como siempre quiso. Gracias y disculpe pero no tengo un buen nivel de escritura en inglés.
This is my opinion from someone who has followed her since the early 90s.
Rewriting her story would alienate old fans, and just make things confusing for new fans who might take interest in reading her backstory. I do feel making her Asian was problematic to begin with, but that is only bc it's like not real representation... it just made her confusing. Claremont should have just made her telepathically suggest to people that she was Asian in that whole story arc and non of this would have been an issue.
I also feel they shouldn't have made her white again bc now there is this whole debate. Yes her sexy new bod and costume are iconic, but to me it wasnt what made her interesting. She doesn't really use her sexuality like Emma Frost does. I would have been more interested in her journey as a telepath who learned martial arts as a necessity...there were times when she was awesome with her powers and other times when she fumbled and that was more compelling to me. I feel like just giving her a new bod and ninja skills was too easy to begin with. Now that kwannon is back maybe she can be written as a whole new entity or somehow they both get combined and she just becomes this post racial person/racially ambiguous. Like people can't tell whether she's Asian or British and she just comes across as whatever ethnicity people perceive her to be. I know that is also problematic but hey controversy sells and is part of life? Idk.
How about her and Kwannon becoming a pair that can fuse into one character with the abilities and mind of both?
Did she not use her sexuality like Emma Frost? To cater to the teenage male demographic? It's so odd to see people discussing the subject of the appropriateness of her race when at her core she is just a sex object.
@@Rhythmicons haha that was me 5 years ago opinions have changed drastically.
The loss of only memories of what happened but not memories how to do things is perfectly normal and she simply lost her declarative memory meaning. One example is if you solve the maze then lost your declarative memory of solving that may hurt and say you have short-term memory loss then you’ll still be able to redo the maze as long as you haven’t lost your other kind of memory which I’m forgetting the name of. If you lose your declarative memory of all instances of riding a bike you will still be able to ride the bike perfectly fine but you won’t have remembered anything you did on the bike or how to ride it you will just be able to.
I feel like this is the bill nie the science guy of comics
I only know pyslocke through Claremont era and a little afterwards, so I always thought of her as a British woman, with a British accent in a asian (Japanese) woman’s body. That’s the best version of Betsy Braddock.
no I really do agree and like that psylock, has her original body again. I feel now we can get to know who keannon is once and for all. and it would really be cool is Psylock and Kwannon got their own comics or movies! this could all really play out good in a movie!
I personally think they should have kept her Asian, not just because of the whole representation thing, but because that’s how everybody knows her, including herself which is why her being white makes no sense, so if you get rid of the look of Psylocke it just hurts her brand because most people just know her as that Asian psychic ninja X-Man
But she wasn't Asian, she was British and white like her twin brother is. Her mind was swapped into an Asian character who was part of The Hand.
@@hybridvigga yeah but that's not even close to the weirdest origin in comics so why not just leave it how everyone knows because people get confused easy
You wish she had been kept Asian cuz that's where she was when you discovered her, I knew she was a Brit and personally this representation thing is being stressed on too much, they change a character instead of giving us a new one to love different and distinctive in his/her own way..... that's the issue
Then why not keep Dr Octopus in Spiderman's body? Its the exact same thing, if you like the Asian character design Kwannon is back in her own body as part of the Hand and is still out there, the same way Spiderman and Dr Octopus are both back now.
That's the thing. Psylocke has been in the "Kwannon" body for longer than her duration in her original. It actually made no sense at all to back peddle on that. In light of this, she still remains the most convoluted X-Man.
I think it would be better if Psylocke(Betsy) was an adopted Japanese sister of the Bradocks.
Honestly a mcu psylocke casting a mixed race white/Asian actress like a 2nd chance with Olivia Munn with a better storyline or maybe an Asian race but British nationality actress would be great too
The new introduction is so much better than the "I have two thumbs and I'm gonna use them" old intro. Good move ! ... and this episode was very interesting. Keep on the good work ! ;)
I like the recent change that Marvel made. To me Psylocke isn't Asian. She's a white person inside of an Asian person. This always rubbed me the wrong way because it felt less like representation and more like exploitation (sexy outfit and all). Now that Kwannon is back, it feels like we finally have proper Asian representation. That's just my take though.
You're assuming of course they don't just make Kwannon a straight up rival/villain to Psylocke now? Which seems the most likely outcome.
That's a fair point. I figure that her character will be like in the past when she's sometimes a villain, sometime a hero, whichever the writer feels like at the moment. Also in X-Men Apocalypse (most people's exposure to the character), Psylocke is a villain, so it's not that far off base.
+The Kraken Experiment She was a Hand ninja. So that's _just_ villain until:
(A) She is killed off, again.
(B) Has one story arc before fading into complete obscurity.
Reintroducing Kwannon would be fantastic, honestly.
Psylocke could stand to have an opposite number to play off, and who better than the woman with whom she shared both a body and mind?
I always wanted Kwannon to join X-Factor. Her personality would have been great with Alex's team. Maybe some how this can come true...because comics.
That thumbnail tho
Hey thanks for featuring my tweet!
Thanks for tweeting at me and helping inspire the video!
That moment when you finally realise Psyloche was created by Alan Moore. Really interesting thanks. :)
I just loved how Olivia Munn played her. 💖
2:18 pause....Marvelous.
I love that Psylocke is back in her real body and same for Kwannon. Now the ninja fans who just cant get over the shallow sexy ninja have Kwannon and those that appreciate Psylocke for her history and backstory have the real version back in her true form.
Win-win!
The fact that this is an issue at all when talking about a comic book, speaks to how far we've fallen. As geeks and comic book fans, we were the first ones on the diverse and inclusive bandwagon. We were there for strong female characters since Wonder Woman and loved when characters of color first showed up to amaze us like Black Panther. We understood the message behind the X-Men and how it was an allegory for race and being different and we not only embraced that, but we sought more from it and used it as a guide for our real lives. But now we are being lectured to that we're not inclusive enuff and that something as simple as Psylocke getting her old body back, has become a controversy. I loved the video but it's sad that part of the reason u felt u needed to make it was to combat the "Triggering" of so many people out there that got upset about it based on race, when out of everyone, it is geeks like us who have been the most diverse and inclusive groups of individuals for decades.
Uh, yeah. Not to be that guy but comic fans are among the first to throw a hissy fit at the topic of diversity. Sam Wilson's run as Captain America was shat on by comic "fans" so much so they included this controversy in-universe. Miles Morales was a widely disliked character when he first showed up despite being an alternate universe successor not even a main earth one.
Sounds like an awesome thriller or comedy waiting for the big screen. Make it happen overlord Feige!
I'd love to see you do a video on Knight and Squire. I found a graphic novel in my local library a few years ago and really enjoyed it. They're basically a British version of Batman and Robin. My favourite part is that there's a British Joker but he's too nice to actually commit a crime and mostly sticks to harmless pranks. Knight even has a Texan butler who dons a cowboy hat. I'd love to learn more about them!
I've always liked Psylocke. She's an awesome character.
I've been reading comics for years and was there for the Psylocke body swap and i'm happy things are back to "normal". Psylocke rebuilding her original body from atoms just shows how skilled she is in the use of her abilities an having Kwannon back gives Psylocke a enemy. The future story telling for her looks good from where i'm sitting.
“After walking through a plot device”
God that’s just the explainatiin for everything
I had a bunch of xmen cards as a kid that i didn't understand or recognize every character, but I loved her card.
Marvel: turns Psyloke into a sexy ninja lady
Teenage marvel fans:(like said sexy ninja lady)
Marvel: well I certainly was not expecting that
4:36 get out of my head
I've been watching these videos for a couple of days, just getting more and more in tune to start reading comics, and I.. Never tought she was Asian.
I remember both Sue & Psylocke's "new outfits", back when I was a teen. It would've been simpler if Mandarin just used his rings to disguise Betsy. While I like the idea of 2 Psylocke's I think it should be a "fusion". She has the Asian body, but can split into Betsy & Kwannon when needed. Betsy can be the armored telepath/telekinetic, while Kwannon is the more skilled martial artist armed w/ psi-weapons that can do physical/psi-damage.
I think characters like Armor and Sunfire would make great Asian X-Men representation if they were brought more into the mainstream and fleshed out a bit more (e.g. in movies and TV series). Either that or retcon any portrayals of Psylocke to have always been of Asian descent to avoid sticky issues like this.
Chocolate mountain Charlie! Chocolate mountain!
Sup man! So mad I missed you at Retropalooza this past weekend. I walked past you a few times but you looked so much like my buddy Devin I was sure that wasn’t you. Oh well, maybe next time. Either way, fantastic video as usual! Keep em coming!
Man, sorry I missed you as well. I had a dedicated panel and I was on both of the all guests panels. I'll be there next year so hopefully see you then!
3:30 Psylocke also uppercuts real good in the Marvel vs Capcom games
very nice!!
That was a great video thanks I've always thought psylocke is one of the best characters in the x-men and I've always followed her history and it's been really crazy
That issue when Betsy walked into the Blackbird repair bay and frenched a greesed up Scott with Jean looking on was gold ...Also lets not forget all the pain Psylock has suffered over the years dont sweep her history under the rug marvel
Thanks for the run-down. I have collected comics where Psylocke appears for 26 years and have every one (to my knowledge), however her story arc details still confuse me.
Regarding her race I like the half-asian look as it's clearly the one that resonates as her the most. Even when she took Kwannon's body, she looked half-white/half-asian, this look is her iconic identity.
The Jim Lee / Andy Kubert Psylocke of the 90's will always be her, and that's a great thing.
I had a thing for psylocke back in the day...good times.
I'm glad now both Betsy and Kwannon are on their own bodies and both with their own identities as Captain Britain and Psylocke
I love psylocke regardless! This video gets straight to the point. I love all your videos. I was one of the few people to realize the body swap shenanigans. It makes me love her more actually 😂
Tera Patrick would make a great Psylocke cosplay
I remember reading this storyline when it came-out. It was every bit as weird as you say. In fact, all the "X" titles were really weird between the late 80's and early 90's.
I would love it if you do a video on Captain Britain.
I had no idea. I have even seen Psylocke 5:42 but I thought it was just her hair looking diffrent not that it was a completely diffrent person. Really wierd but cool. I whould not mind stuff like this. Body switches and changes can create intresting stories like Wonderman, Rouge and many others.
Psylocke is my favorite X-Men character of all time. 😁
Let me first preface this by saying that I am not asian, so I don't have a lot of the sociocultural perspective that an asian person may have on asian representation. Personally, I feel like Psylocke should be left white. Particularly because she was originally white and was only put into an asian body to fit the writer's stereotypes at the time. I don't feel that she delivers good asian representation for that fact as well as falling into the asians=ninjas/karate/kung-fu stereotype that so many other asian characters fall into. In my opinion, pigeon holing characters into stereotypes about their race isn't good representation, it's tokenism. (And Psylocke borders in a weird way on yellow face)
The only thing crazier is Valeria Richards parentage(father wise)!
Betsy is currently Captain Britain, and Kwannon is now psylocke, so problem solved.
I still remember the description in the Marvel collectors cards about "her body was physically altered by ninjas." Priceless!
I see you have a very interesting thumbnail
This is the kind of thing that kind of turns people like me off of comic books. A character like Psylocke has such a convoluted backstory and such ambiguous superpowers that I would have never expected her to become popular if you pitched her current iteration to me, and yet she not only has a following, but has practically become the quintessential Asian representation for X-men, or even Marven heroes as a whole. This is a character that you won't understand unless you're REALLY into the lore, but you're probably going to see a lot of her.
It's sort of like the reason why I'm hesitant to get into certain animes like, Naruto and One Piece; it will just take so much time to understand it all.
I know this is an old vid and I’m impartial on the subject but the fact people are bringing up representation and not debating on whether the new race change affects the character on a deeper level irks me.
I’m a minority and never really got the whole representation craze people have about things. I love Halo, I don’t care if none of the playable Spartans are the same race as me. I don’t care that neither Luke Skywalkern or Rey aren’t portrayed by people whose ancestors evolved on a different chunk of dirt from me.
Miles Morales is half the same race as me but I still prefer Peter. A character should be judged based on their actions, development, and story alone in my opinion. Period.
It is hilarious seeing people trying to use some sort of representation tape measure to see if the ground gained by Asian Psylocke is worth the insensitivity, however.
Reminds me of the issue with the MCU Ancient One or Mandarin.
Btw I am a sporadic watcher but I love your content, Drake. I am amazed how well you condense so much information from different time periods and media in a coherent way.
Comic book readers come different places all over the world. It’s important for people to see different representations, races, genders, nationalities, zodiac signs, etc. Bad storytelling will always be bad. However, variety is the spice of life.
The ancient one thing was always going to be an issue tho. The director changed him to a white person cause if he didnt people would have complained about the asian stereotype but since he changed the character now he's taking a role away from an Asian person, people were gonna be mad no matter what.
wolverine did not even have to do anything. He literally gets stab and that helps others. Hilarious!
Im here for the plot...definitely
If The MCU would cast Psylock, Just make Kwannon Psylock, No mention of Besty, meaning They can cast a Japanese Actress for the role.
Maybe with a posh British accent
I didn't know Psylocke was Marvel's Hawkman.
I just came into comics when she turned Asian. and I think that's what drew me to her. There weren't that many Asian heroes... and especially one that was in the forefront of a main comic. to see her turn back to white.. I guess makes sense as a character from the origin. but it's kind of a loss to the Asian community. She's just cooler Asian. and she brings more the table as a character (ninja/martial arts/stealth. and opens the readers to Asian culture). I guess you could say the next is Jubilee. but she's not as big of a character as Psylocke
Seeing a British turned into an Asian is Contraversial in Today's Standards.
@@conradojavier7547 actually that's true too. It's like the new tmnt where April is now black. Can't please anyone I guess. But I actually the direction that the new tmnt is going. But I guess you can't win the race card. Someone is always going to be unhappy changing characters nationality
@TurboTaj Well. I am curious how you felt and what was worth keeping. hilariously in the OTHER adaptation I know her for (Wolverine and the Xmen) she was just an asian chick who was british (no iconic stripper ninja look) just so.
What did you like? What does it make you think? What change, if any want? Should just.. stayed?