Psylocke Psunday #21: Everybody Hates Psylocke

G'day! The X-Men are in Australia, not that you can tell from this week's assortment of panels depicting the X-Men hanging around inside. Perhaps a notable X-inclusion for this period is Madelyne Pryor, evil Goblin Queen clone of Jean Grey, who, prior (see what I did there?) to the events of the "Inferno" crossover was not only accepted by the X-Men but also allowed to fill up very nearly an entire panel with her interior monologue. Among the Claremont mutants of the time, that's a positive boon and certainly allowed her to fit in among them without being detected.


Panels from Uncanny X-Men #230 (June 1988), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Joe Rubinstein, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski
And where is out pink-clad purple-haired Psylocke? She's cooking dinner. Good to know everyone on the X-Men pulls their culinary weight. To be fair, Storm and Dazzler are pulling out plates and Longshot and Rogue are setting the table (careful, Rogue! Don't absorb the power of a stainless steel spork!), but Colossus, Wolverine, Havok, and Madelyne are just standing around doin' nothing. Geez, at least go and wash your hands, dudes! (Especially you, Wolverine.)


And then they all had a very merry Outback Christmas! And finally Dazzler got that new chin she'd been asking Santa for.


Unfortunately, the most interesting thing that happens to Psylocke during this time period is that she gets a new, armored uniform. Here's the intriguing origin story of that exciting new uniform...


Panel from Uncanny X-Men #232 (August 1988), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Exciting, wasn't it?!?

We also see some more...I hesitate to call it evolution, because it only crops up at random moments when Claremont needs some tension...let's call it another instance of Psylocke's bloodthirsty nature, in which she simultaneously threatens the magistrates of mutant island Genosha as well as performing a pretty aggressive back-arch ass-thrust. Yes, it's the beginning of the Psylocke we all know!


Panel from Uncanny X-Men #236 (Late October 1988), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green, colors by Petra Scotese, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Eye color: still blue. Also blue: the white of her eye. I mean, the blue of her eye.

This is not to say that readers all universally loved the emigre from Marvel UK. Here's a handful of representative letters print into UXM #230-232 about Ms. Purple, and they were not fawning.


Next up in Psylocke's psensational psaga: I have no idea. I actually quit reading X-Men* after #236. Why? Because of these scenes:





Really...really? Really? No, Claremont, no.



Anyway, I have no idea what happened next to Psylocke, but I do know that it's not too long off that she'll undergo a major change. Hint? You want a hint? Sure!


Whatever happens, we'll find out together, huh?