SDCC | Psylocke slices + dices her way into an ongoing series by Alyssa Wong + Vincenzo Carratù

Alyssa Wong and Vincenzo Carratù have some “super dark” plans for Psylocke, a.k.a. Kwannon, the X-Men’s resident telepathic ninja. The character will break out into her first ongoing solo series this November, as part of the X-Men: From the Ashes publishing initiative.

Kwannon, who appeared in several of the Krakoa-era titles, was the Hand assassin whose mind was swapped with Betsy Braddock in the early 1990s, which initially led to the X-Men having a psychic ninja on the team. Both women have since died and been resurrected, because comics, and are back in their original bodies — with Betsy Braddock taking up the mantle of Captain Britain and Kwannon keeping the Psylocke name.

Psylocke is currently dating John Greycrow, the former Marauder who gained amnesty on Krakoa, and he’ll appear in the title as well. Psylocke’s back story with the ninja assassins known as The Hand will be explored, and she’ll encounter a new villain called the Taxonomist.

“Everything in her history points her to the path of a villain,” Wong said. “Her background is so full of tragedy—so why does she choose to be a hero?”

Here’s how Marvel describes the series:

She was made for violence! Trained to be an assassin since birth, Kwannon chose to be an X-Man. But there are still some jobs too dirty for the X-Men. And some paths have to be walked alone.

When the mission is brutal, Psylocke unsheathes her blades to punish those who prey on mutants. Exploding out of the pages of X-MEN, join Psylocke into the underbelly of the Marvel Universe, carving out her own place in a world that would rather see her under control!

“This is a dark emotional character story,” Wong said. “But it will also be a ton of fun as well. I’m excited to do something super dark.”

The main cover for the first issue, shown above, is by Mahmud Asrar. It’ll also come with several variants by Rickie Yagawa, Hicham Habchi and Artgerm:

The first issue will arrive Nov. 13.