In the world of the Uncanny X-Men, there are bound to be at least a handful of odd decisions to go around. Sometimes, those odd decisions involve character names and there’s one major character whose name I’ve always thought didn’t quite fit. As iconic as she is, I’ve never understood why Marvel gave Psylocke her name. Betsy Braddock was originally created by Chris Claremont in the late 70’s in the pages of Captain Britain. Ironically enough she currently holds her brother’s title at present. She was, at the time, just his younger sister. Fast forward eight years she returns in New Mutants Annual #7 to join the X-Men lineup as the superhero Psylocke, a name given to her by the intergalactic threat Mojo. Looking at the powers Betsy possesses it’s very clear how she got her name. With telepathic abilities that help her in battle as well as communicate with the X-Men it makes total sense of paper why that’s her name. There’s just one issue: there are two characters that would make way more sense with that name.
Why aren’t Doug Ramsey and Warlock called Psylocke?
Doug Ramsey and Warlock are both members of The New Mutants first appearing in issues #13 and #18 respectively. Doug was introduced with the ability to translate any language he would hear and became known as Cypher. Whilenot having powers that could help out in a fight against someone like the Juggernaut, Doug was a valuable member to the team in many ways. Meanwhile, Warlock is a sentient robot-like alien who came to Earth to flee from his father, Magus. Warlock possessed unique shape altering abilities to transform into anything in sight. Whether it be posing as a human or common household items. With the two members joining around the same time they both became very quick “selffriends” as described by Warlock and became a powerful duo. More often than not Doug would help Warlock interact with different species like Bird-Brain of the New Mutants while Warlock would transform into a set of armor and or weapons for Doug. After a good while the two would later be referred to as Douglock.
That begs the question, shouldn’t Doug and Warlock be called Psylocke? Spelled as Cylock, it would only make sense in theory. While Betsy appeared a full five years before the two did in 1983 and 1984, Betsy was given the name Psylocke in 1986. Leaving the team up and combo of Cypher and Warlock to be referred to by their teammates as Douglock. This isn’t the biggest issue of all time and not even close to the surface of weird things in the grand scheme of the X-Men. It just seems like they should be the ones to have claim to the name as a frequent duo.
While Psylocke’s name works for the fact that she can link her teammates minds and lock onto people, why didn’t they call her “Psylink” instead? Especially given as that’s the term Betsy would say herself to establish mental communications between the team. While this naming situation isn’t a serious issue, it’s just one of those weird quirks of Marvel that one can’t help but ponder. If this wasn’t enough Psylocke for you, you’re in luck, as Kwannon goes solo and Betsy remains in X-Force at the moment. If you’re wanting more of the duo called Douglock, you can check those two in the upcoming X-Men #19 by Jed McKay due out in a few weeks.
Do you agree or disagree on who should have the name Psylocke? Let us know in the comments down below.
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