)
First appearance: (U. K.) CAPTAIN BRITAIN (Vol. 1) #8, (U. S.) NEW MUTANTS ANNUAL #2

History: Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock is the daughter of Dr. James Braddock, who was once a denizen of Otherworld, an other-dimensional realm. A being who called himself Merlin (but who may not actually be the wizard of Arthurian legend) sent Braddock to Earth to father the champion who would be known as Captain Britain.

Living in England, Dr. Braddock became one of the United Kingdom's leading research scientists. He married a woman named Elizabeth and they bought the mansion they renamed Braddock Manor. There Dr. Braddock created a highly advanced computer complex called Mastermind (which is not to be confused with the two mutants of the same name).

Dr. and Mrs. Braddock's three children, the eldest, Jamie, and the twins, Brian and Elizabeth (nicknamed "Betsy"), inherited genes from their father that endowed them with superhuman powers. The children's powers, however, remained latent for many years.

Dr. and Mrs. Braddock were killed in an explosion in Dr. Braddock's laboratory at Braddock Manor that was caused by the malfunctioning computer Mastermind.

Brian Braddock eventually became the costumed champion known as Captain Britain. Betsy developed the psychic ability which she used in the service of S.T.R.I.K.E., a British division of the international law enforcement agency S.H.I.E.L.D. Betsy also developed a highly successful career as a fashion model. She knew of Brian's double identity, and the two siblings took up residence in Braddock Manor.

Members of a British government agency called R.C.X., knowing that Brian Braddock was Captain Britain, attempted to recruit him to work with them. Refusing to be exploited by the government, Brian Braddock gave up the role of Captain Britain. The R.C.X. agents then persuaded Betsy to become the new Captain Britain, working with them. Betsy used a costume taken from an otherdimensional counterpart of Brian, which magnified her strength to superhuman levels when she wore it and enabled her to fly. Another other-dimensional hero, Captain UK, trained Betsy to become a crimefighter, and the two acted as partners on missions together for many weeks.

Finally, Betsy launched her solo career as the new Captain Britain, which came to a quick end when she went into battle against two of the original Captain Britain's arch foes, the Vixen and Slaymaster. Wearing a battle suit that amplified his own strength, Slaymaster savagely beat Betsy nearly to death and blinded her. Sensing her telepathic cries of agony, Brian Braddock rushed to his sister's rescue and fought and killed Slaymaster. Realizing he could not forsake his responsibilities, Brian resumed his role as Captain Britain.

Betsy went to Switzerland to recuperate. While there she was taken prisoner by the other-dimensional creature known as Mojo. Mojo took control of Betsy and gave her new, artificial eyes, thereby restoring her sight. Betsy was rescued through the intervention of the New Mutants, a team of adolescent mutants. Having regained her free will, Betsy chose to remain at the New Mutants' home, Professor Charles Xavier's mansion in Westchester County, New York, which also served as the secret headquarters of the mutant adventurers called the X-Men.

Betsy proved her courage to the X-Men by resisting the attack of their enemy Sabretooth when he broke into the mansion. As a result she was accepted into the ranks of the X-Men, becoming a costumed adventurer once more under the code name Psylocke.

Later, Psylocke was captured by the crime lord Matsu'o Tsurayaba. Seeking to save the life of his lover, the female assassin Kwannon, Tsurayaba oversaw a process through which the minds of Kwannon and the X-Man Psylocke switched bodies. In the process Kwannon's mind melded with that of Psylocke, endowing each of them with the same memories and telepathic abilities. Tsurayaba brainwashed Psylocke and turned her over to one of Earth's most dangerous men, the Mandarin. Under the name of Lady Mandarin, Psylocke briefly served the Mandarin, but ultimately Psylocke regained her free will and returned to the X-Men.

Later Kwannon, in Psylocke's body, became an ally of the X-Men, calling herself Revanche. For a time there was confusion among the X-Men as to who was the "real" Betsy Braddock. Finally, Revanche learned that she was dying from the Legacy Virus and had Tsurayaba kill her. Thus Betsy's original body died, but she lived on as Psylocke in Kwannon's original body.

Recently, Psylocke and her fellow X-Man, Angel, have fallen in love with each other. Psylocke was nearly killed by Sabretooth, but was healed by magical forces from a mystical dimension called the Crimson Dawn. However, Kuragari, a sinister being who had conquered the Crimson Dawn, attempted to corrupt Psylocke's personality through a mystical ring. Kuragari planned to make Psylocke his queen and through her father a genetically powerful bloodline. However, together Angel and Psylocke thwarted Kuragari, and Psylocke's mind is now free of Kuragari's influence.

A life-saving encounter with the other-dimensional energy source called the Crimson Dawn resulted in a more subtle, though no less meaningful, metamorphosis. Psylocke's fighting skills and telepathic talents were enhanced, and she acquired the ability to transport herself and others through shadows, as well as become one with the shadows. Also, the mark of the Crimson Dawn, a blade-like, red tattoo, appeared over her left eye. Betsy later sacrificed her psychic powers to forever imprison the telepathic criminal called the Shadow King in her astral shadow form, but subsequently acquired a range of telekinetic abilities.

Soon after, Betsy left Xavier's mansion with a small strike force of fellow X-Men in search of the diaries of the blind mutant seer known as Destiny, which map out human history for the next thousand years. While in Valencia, Spain, the team was captured by the Action Force of the Guardia Civil, that country's national police. Subjected to a battery of tests, the X-Men were released into a technologically fortified maze to gauge the their fighting abilities and mutant powers. Psylocke, the blue-furred Beast and the ability-absorbing Rogue found them selves in the headquarters' control center, separated from their teammates. There, they encountered Vargas, a criminal claiming to be the first manifestation of the next authentic generation of humanity, the pure and legitimate Homo sapiens superior. Her teammates wounded, Betsy engaged her opponent in a duel to the death, which ended when Vargas speared his sword through her abdomen. Psylocke's sudden demise left her teammates, and her lover, Thunderbird III, to balance the scales and complete the quest for Destiny's missing diaries.

Height: (both bodies) 5 ft. 11 in.
Weight: (both bodies) 155 lbs.
Eyes: (original body) Violet, (current body) Blue
Hair: (original body) Blonde, (current body) Black (dyed purple)
Other distinguishing features: Red tattoo over her left eye

Strength level: Psylocke possesses the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.

Known superhuman powers: Psylocke possesses many telepathic abilities, enabling her to read minds, communicate mentally with others over long distances, stun the minds of others with "mental bolts," control the minds of others, and create illusions in the minds of others. Psylocke can intensely focus her psionic powers into her "psychic knife," with which she can stun or kill an adversary.

Other abilities: Psylocke is highly skilled in Far Eastern martial arts.