2. PSYLOCKEAppeared In: UNCANNY X-FORCE, X-MEN, UNCANNY X-MEN

2011 in Review: As a member of X-Force, Betsy Braddock journeyed to the Age of Apocalypse and back seeking a way to save her lover, Warren Worthington, from permanently transforming into the evil Archangel. When these efforts failed, Psylocke found herself facing off against Warren on both the physical and psychic planes, fighting to save not only him but herself as well, and ultimately needing to sacrifice their love in order to save reality. With the X-Men, Betsy faced off against the survivors of Breakworld and a Serpent-powered Juggernaut before siding with Cyclops after Schism and joining Storm’s team on a mission in Eastern Europe to destroy a private army of Sentinels.

Why She Makes the List: Heroes in the Marvel Universe make sacrifices every day, but Betsy Braddock gave up the man she loved and perhaps any shot she ever had at finding happiness in order to save the world this year, and in our eyes it’s not an action that should be overlooked. It’s first worth noting that Psylocke went to every possible extreme to save Archangel from himself, diving into his treacherous mindscape as well as traversing dimensions to seek a cure, but when the chips came down and all other options fell off the table to the point where even her own life—which she would have gladly given—would not do the job, she killed the person she loved the most. That he returned to her without any memory of their love twisted the knife harder, but also reminded us of Psylocke’s tremendous and thankless heroism.

I'm so proud of Betsy and I'm glad that my favorite heroine is finally getting the recognition she deserves. Now if only this was reason enough for her to be DLC in UMvC3! 2011 was a great year for her under the pen of Rick Remender and I expect greater things to come for her 2012. It is indeed a great time to be a Psylocke fan!

BB

This was definitely a good year for Psylocke. She was the most interesting character in one of the best Marvel titles of the year.

Awesome, I loved Uncanny X-force

@Billy Batson said:

RV

I love Psylocke she deserves it :]

Very nice. Psylocke has brought much to the company for years and more than deserves the recognition for it.

I'm surprised she beat out the more popular Avengers members, and came second only to Spider-Man!

Yay for Betsy! ^___^

@rogue_mar1e: Heh, it's cause for celebration! ...At least for me. :P

Who's first?

@daak1212: Spider-man!

Seriously happy about this the more I think of it. For the reason as I said earlier about not getting the credit she really deserves (would go into greater details but I'm groggy), for the fact that at their home site their was actually some thought put into the process then by seeing a character in the number two slot that one might not actually expect (to be more point, Wolverine wasn't above her, nor even number one), as well by getting this cred right on Marvels site hopefully gives her the chance for more recognition as a fan favorite by Marvel and therefore the greater possibility they will opt to increase the amount of avenues they feature her in during 2012-2013.

@CATPANEXE: That's what I'm hoping! Can never get enough Betsy!

This is sensational. Really good news. The fact that Marvel themselves have noticed how much Psylocke has grown as a character in this one year is a testament to how well Remender's been writing her. As another said, she's was the most interesting character in Marvel's best title. Hopefully she'll get into Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with this recognition by the company itself!

Great news, Psylocke is my favorite female x-men next to Laura.

Saw this on Marvel and couldn't believe it! Such amazing news, I don't understand why Marvel don't push her more in other media!? She's been rated not only as 2011's best female, but 2011's second greatest hero, surely some game, tv and film appearances would be a clever move?

Other than Betty the top 5 where highly predictable, so well done to her.

Congrats to Psy!!!

@Baddamdog: Exactly. She's clearly she got a massive fan base. It's just that they wanted to prove she's not the caricature that everyone labels her as. Now that she's proven to be a very deep and complex character, I hope Marvel decide to use her more (but not too much, maybe the same lines as X-23 if not a little less).

That's awesome! Congrats Betsy for being such a great hero, and the best X-man of 2011! Take that Wolverine!

Yay for Betsy!

Sweet. So happy that she's coming to the forefront, with an awesome writer at the helm.

Yay! I've been a Psylocke fan for literally decades (since I was six years old, to be exact...god I'm old!), and I think that Uncanny X-Force is the best she's ever been written. Rememder had done excellent work with all of the team, but I think especially with Psylocke. And he gave her pants!

@AutodidacticLad: No writer in the past 20 years has been able to achieve that, well played Remender, well played...