More than a few people in some of the comics fandom circles I follow raised an eyebrow when Psylocke: Ninja was announced. It was described as a series set within Chris Clairmont’s run, after Logan and Jubilee had rescued Betsy Braddock, now transformed from a white woman into the body of a Japanese woman named Kwannon (though that identity hadn’t been introduced at this point on the original comics) by Mojo and Spiral messing with the process of the Siege Perilous, from The Hand. This was problematic when it occurred originally in the story, and that was a question on why to do this team-up now. Well, I can’t say if the reason is ultimately good, but I do appreciate it for what it is.

In short – at this point in continuity, Elektra Nachios was also being resurrected. So, this story exists to do a team-up book that didn’t happen contemporaneously – to have Psylocke and Elektra team-up to fight The Hand, while also dealing with their own resurrections, and while they come to terms with who they are now. In particular, while there are male antagonists in this story (particularly Matsu’o Tsurayaba), this is also a story where the heroic men in either of their lives are not present – no Daredevil, no Captain Britain, no Wolverine. The two co-leads in this story and the audience perspective supporting character are all women – Elektra, Psylocke, and Jubilee.

This doesn’t mean it totally works. Jubilee is in a good position to call retroactive bullshit on the mind of a white lady getting put in a Japanese woman’s body, that doesn’t really happen. On the other hand, it does manage to, while still sexualizing the character, give a bit of an explanation for why Psylocke is wearing this particular outfit – one that didn’t come across in the original story if you weren’t looking at both characters outfits at the same time – The Hand wanted a replacement for Elektra, one that through being a Mutant would be better than Elektra – stronger than she could ever be. Considering that Psylocke’s ninja outfit is a match to Elektra’s, putting them on the page together makes the comparison clear. Doesn’t make either character not sexualized, but it makes Psylocke not uniquely sexualized in a way that Elektra or other female superhero characters aren’t.

Is there a better way they could have done this? Absolutely. A modern Psylocke (with Kwannon in control of her body) story with her teaming up with Lady Daredevil would be great, and I hope we get that story in the future (hell, just give me more Lady Daredevil).

Otherwise, I did enjoy the story, but with full knowledge that I’m dealing with a version of this character that is absolutely problematic, and while the current incarnation of this character is less so, this story is not going to handle the concept any more than the books this is set between did. Consequently, while I liked it with that knowledge, I can’t fully endorse it without dropping a bunch of asterisks on it.

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