Psylocke Psaturday #25: Then all this stuff happened

Yikes! We haven't pspent Psaturday night with Psylocke for a longgggg time. Maybe it's because I've been psrocratinating this era in our purple-haired heroine's life because it's all just hanging around in Australia waiting for the inevitable reboot. So why don't we take a rapid recap approach to Ms. Elisabeth Braddocks' life by quickly summing up all the stuff that happened in X-Men #240-251, inclusive! I may have left our your favorite part, and if so, let me know. Note: Jubilee's original costume does not count as anyone's favorite part.

Also, I sure hope you like Marc Silvestri's artwork if you're gonna study this period!

Let's recap! During this period Psylocke posed a la Rose Dewitt-Bukater for Colossus. I'm not quite certain why Peter is drawing while armored up and in his underwear, but hey! Put your legs together, Peter! we don't sit like that around here!


Panel from Uncanny X-Men #240 (January 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski



She got a splitting headache during the events of "Inferno" (the only Marvel crossover event that smells like burnt mutants!), courtesy of Miss Hulk Polaris-turned-into-Malice!


Panels from Uncanny X-Men #241 (February 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Psylocke also allowed her sister-in-psionics Jean Grey to temporarily once again experience Jean's lost telepathic powers. Hey, remember that point in X-Men history where the team just disappeared for six months and when they returned Thunderbird II had joined and Betsy and Jean's powers had swapped for no apparent reason and they never explained why? Yeah, we'll be getting up to that some day.


Panels from Uncanny X-Men #242 (March 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Then she fought Sabretooth (again) and won (again). Geez, Betsy, Wolverine's gonna be ticked when he finds out you've been hogging his trademark nemesis. Get your own archvillains!


Panel from Uncanny X-Men #243 (April 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Hilary Barta, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Joe Rosen
She also took a bath with Storm.


Panels from Uncanny X-Men #244 (May 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Let's all look again at that page for a few more minutes.







Okay. And in the same issue, she mugged Wilma Flintstone and stole her trademark dress.


Let's all look again at those panels for a few more minutes.







Right! On we go.

Betsy got a perm...


Panels from Uncanny X-Men #246 (July 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Joe Rosen
...and went swimming in her lingerie. You know, I'm pretty sure you can buy swimsuits in Australia, Betsy.


Panels from Uncanny X-Men #248 (September 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Jim Lee, inks by Dan Green, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski
In the following issue, she goes roaming around the hallways in her lingerie GEEZ PUT SOME CLOTHES ON FOR ONCE MIZ BRADDOCK


Panels from Uncanny X-Men #249 (Early October 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Then, the X-Men have an all-out multi-issue brawl with the Savage Land Mutates and the Reavers and then Storm dies and Polaris is still a baddie and oh yeah we totally forgot about Gateway, the Mutant who Creates Personal Computers Out of Thin Air™.


Panels from Uncanny X-Men #250 (Late October 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Steve Leialoha, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Joe Rosen
'Round about that time, those Duke Boys X-Men were havin' a mess o'trouble and pretty much winnowed down to four heroes. And as everyone knows you cannot have a superhero team in the Marvel Universe that only has four members without paying royalties to Reed Richards, they're basically up a Dawson's Creek without one of those cool paddle-ball toys which, if you can get it going really fast, is pretty cool, until the rubber band breaks and the ball flies through a window and you get sent to the naughty step for playing with your paddle ball inside. Ahem, not that I know anything about that.


Panels from Uncanny X-Men #251 (Early November 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski
So they all say the heck with it and step through the Siege Perilous. Thus ends the adventures of the X-Men forever.


Oh! I almost forgot: the era of the Australian X-Men ends with one of the most iconic comic book covers of the age! Hey, Wolverine! How's it hangin'?


Cover of Uncanny X-Men #251 (Early November 1989), pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green
Just like Psylocke Psaturday, I haven't done an entry in my Separated at Birth feature for quite some time, so why not fulfill that need here with a pair of comics that will make you cross!

Left: Uncanny X-Men #251 (Early November 1989); pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green
Right: Witchblade #170 (October 2010); pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Sunny Gho
(Click picture to cruci-size)
All we need is twenty-four more covers just like this, from Aquaman to Zatanna, and we've got ourselves the world's greatest font!

So, in conclusion, let's take our last look at purple-armored Psylocke, shall we?

from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #6 (Mid-November 1989); text by Peter Sanderson; Psylocke main image: pencils by Mike Harris, inks by Josef Rubinstein
(Click picture to psuper-psize)
Yep! I'm pretty darned pleased with myself after that marathon recap-fest. Yes, I'm pretty certain that nobody else could sum up those busy and hectic issues of X-Men so succinctly and with the verve and flair which I, a little stuffed bull, have done!



Panels from Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe (February 2009); script, pencils, inks, and letters by Bryan Lee O'Malley
NOW CUT THAT OUT, SCOTT PILGRIM!

Ahem! Next time: the All-New, All-Different Psylocke!


Panels from Uncanny X-Men #255 (Mid-December 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Marc Silvestri, inks by Dan Green, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Michael Heisler
DAH DAH DAHHHHHHHHHHHH