Psylocke Reminds Wild Child She's a Trained Assassin
When Psylocke faces not-so-friendly fire from Wild Child, she brutally reminds her teammate she's a former assassin of the Hand.
At first glance, Psylocke looks like something of a goody-two-shoes on the pages of Hellions. After all, the team is made up of several former enemies of the X-Men, and even the supposed protagonist, Alex Summers, has seen better days. As one of the most consistent heroes in the X-Men, Psylocke might seem like an odd fit, but Hellions #3, written by Zeb Wells with art by Stephen Segovia and David Curiel, shows the ruthless efficiency of the character - and why she has been the ideal team leader all along.
The Hellions team is presently under the leadership of Mr. Sinister, with Psylocke mostly there to make sure the team doesn't get into too much trouble. However, the team is quickly blindsided by Madelyne Pryor, the clone of Jean Grey, who attacks with zombie-like clones of Sinister's Marauders - and quickly succeeds in bringing Havok to her side. Psylocke can't do much to stop this when feral teammate Wild Child literally tears into her.
It's important to note this isn't the Psylocke most fans are familiar with, however. Psylocke's origins are confusingly opaque in the best of times but, long story short, Betsy Braddock switched bodies with the assassin Kwannon to become Psylocke, but now Kwannon has her original body back. The original Psylocke's skills as a former Hand assassin are on full display here as she unleashes several precision strikes into Wild Child before snapping his neck - all while nursing a bloody wound in her side. Wild Child survives the encounter and remarks the beat-down has helped him regain control. The issue ends with the two free members of the Hellions continuing their mission.
Psylocke's backstory is one of the most convoluted in comics, but Hellions #3 shows why Psylocke's return is nothing short of a thrill to watch. Her current predicament almost seems reminiscent of Wolverine's during the X-Men's encounter with the Hellfire Club in the lead-up to the Dark Phoenix storyline. Like Wolverine, Psylocke is the only member not incapacitated by the initial assault, and like Wolverine, she's more than capable of dealing with whatever obstacles are thrown at her. While the issue does little to resolve the return of Madelyne Pryor or her hold over the troubled Alex Summers, it does show why Psylocke might be the most dangerous Hellion of all.
The Hellions are still struggling to survive their freshman encounter, and things are looking pretty dire for multiple team members. However, it seems like Psylocke can definitely hold her own, and with Wild Child now back under her command, the odds might finally be almost even. Hopefully, next issue shows Psylocke going toe-to-toe with a far more capable adversary - the Goblyn Queen!