‘X-Men ’97’ Officially Confirms Which Psylocke Is in the Series

Image via Marvel Animation Published Aug 13, 2026, 3:42 PM EDT Hannah has been writing about horror, sci-fi, and all things nerdy since 2021. At Collider, she covers news and conducts interviews, along with contributing features that dive deep into genre storytelling and why it works. If there’s something lurking in the shadows, she’s probably already writing about it if she's not too busy watching a tape from her VHS collection. Sign in to your Collider account Psylocke has one of the most complicated histories of any member of the X-Men, which is saying something for a franchise where death, resurrection, clones, alternate timelines, and body swaps are practically occupational hazards. For decades, the name Psylocke was synonymous with Betsy Braddock, but the character fans knew under that name eventually became the center of one of Marvel's messiest retcons. Today, Betsy Braddock and Kwannon are firmly established as two separate characters. Kwannon took over the Psylocke mantle after the women were restored to their respective bodies, while Betsy eventually became Captain Britain. It seemed like Marvel had finally found a way to let both characters exist independently after decades of tangled continuity, but recent X-Men stories have started complicating that distinction all over again. Maximum X-Men reopened the debate surrounding Betsy and Kwannon when Marvel revealed Betsy would once again operate as Psylocke. That was already surprising considering Kwannon's modern association with the mantle, but X-Men '97 Season 2 presented fans with another version of Psylocke at almost exactly the same time. The animated series had plenty of history to draw from. Psylocke appeared in the original X-Men: The Animated Series, at a time when Betsy was the character comic readers knew by the name. However, decades of subsequent retcons made it possible for X-Men '97 to reinterpret that history, especially because the original series never explicitly called Psylocke "Betsy" on screen. Season 2 didn't immediately make things any clearer. The series brought Psylocke into a much more prominent role and cast Torchwood star Naoko Mori to voice her, but still stopped short of explicitly naming the woman behind the psychic blade. That left fans debating whether the revival was sticking with the original intent and treating her as Betsy, or establishing the character as Kwannon. Now, we finally have an answer. ‘X-Men ’97’ Finally Confirms Psylocke’s Identity Image via Disney+ A fan took the question directly to X-Men '97 episodic director Chase Conley, asking on X whether Season 2's Psylocke is Betsy Braddock or Kwannon. Conley didn't leave much room for interpretation. His response was just one word: "Betsy." That officially puts an end to the debate surrounding the character's identity in X-Men '97. The Psylocke fighting alongside Marvel's mutants in Season 2 is Betsy Braddock, preserving the identity associated with Psylocke during the era that inspired the original animated series. The confirmation is especially interesting because modern Marvel has spent years separating Betsy from the Psylocke identity. Betsy's transformation into the Japanese version of Psylocke eventually became tied to Kwannon, a Japanese assassin whose body and mind had become intertwined with hers. Marvel finally untangled the characters in 2018, restoring each woman to her own body and allowing Kwannon to develop into a character independent of the infamous body-swap storyline. Now, Betsy is suddenly Psylocke in two different corners of Marvel. Maximum X-Men is bringing her back to the identity in the comics, while X-Men '97 has confirmed that the Psylocke introduced in Season 2 is Betsy as well. Whether that overlap means anything for Marvel's larger plans for the character remains to be seen, but the timing certainly makes Betsy's renewed association with Psylocke worth watching. Release Date March 20, 2024 Network Disney+ Directors Jake Castorena, Emi Yonemura, Chase Conley Writers Charlie Feldman, Anthony Sellitti, Beau DeMayo, JB Ballard Franchise(s) X-Men Creator(s) Beau DeMayo