Marvel Rivals from NetEase Games may be aiming to release in December, but the reveals just keep coming for the incoming playable characters that will be available for the roster.
Several Marvel heavy hitters like Captain America, Hulk, and Iron Man have been revealed for the game, but Rivals isn’t shy about including obscure characters from the comics. They’ve already included X-Man Magik early in the game, but they’ve also just revealed their version of Psylocke, a.k.a. Betsy Braddock.
Psylocke in Marvel Rivals
Though teases of Psylocke may have come out earlier, the official Marvel Rivals account has dropped a look at her gameplay, and she looks like a cross between Overwatch’s Genji and Sombra.
“She was ripped from her reality by the Timestream Entanglement. Now, the formidable feudal warrior Psylocke is ready to strike in Marvel Rivals!
“With her psionic energy, Sai manifests a wide array of weapons, from crossbows to shurikens, while skillfully hunting down her enemies. Only the butterfly's wingbeat can be heard when the last of her foes falls to her odachi.”
The earlier previews had hinted that Psylocke was capable of teleportation, but it does seem like she has a dash ability that will allow her to flit about the battlefield. Just like Sombra, she also has the power to turn invisible, which is one of her newer abilities from the comics.
When it comes to her ultimate, it looks like she’ll be able to move swiftly around a group of enemies, slashing them all one by one, and dealing critical damage. The description does say that she has a bunch of other weapons like crossbows and shurikens, but she isn’t seen using them in this gameplay preview.
Which Psylocke is This Version Based On?
Admittedly, the most popular version of Psylocke is one from the 90s with her skimpy one piece and red sash, but this Psylocke for Marvels looks to be based on an original comic take that came out in the 2020s.
Artist Peach Momoko’s Demon Days was a new take on the Marvel Universe where everything was based on Japanese folklore. Psylocke was a travelling warrior named ‘Sai’ and she also wandered around the country with her pet wolf “Logan”.
One of the first enemies that Sai takes on in Demon Days was actually a version of Venom referred to as Orochi, the Great Snake—the same character that Orochimaru is based on for the Naruto nerds.
Though Betsy Bradock was originally English in the comics, the iconography of Psylocke with an odachi has managed to stick to her character over the course of her many adaptations. With Marvel Rivals embracing the concept of the multiverse, Sai would be the perfect character to represent the unique reality of what some fans refer to as the ‘Momo-verse’.
X-Men Characters in Marvel Rivals
So far, Psylocke is only one of several X-Men who have been announced for Rivals. Besides Magik, the game has also given fans a look at Magneto and Storm. The Scarlet Witch isn’t considered an X-Man, but she’s still a mutant and the daughter of Magneto.
No doubt the game is setting up for more X-reveals down the line, but Psylocke, like Magik, is definitely a fan-favorite pick that a lot of players weren’t expecting.
Marvel Rivals is set to launch for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on Dec. 6.
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