"Blood Hunt" Pits Psylocke Against Folklore Monsters, As Well As Vampires
As darkness descends on Japan, Kwannon is left to grapple with something far more disturbing than blood drinkers, when monsters from folklore emerge.
In X-men: Blood Hunt - Psylocke #1, night descends on Osaka, Japan, and Psylocke is one of the few heroes ready to come to the city's defense, after a powerful psychic signal alerts her to nearby distress and sends her racing into the city, where a bloodbath awaits.
Across the world, other heroes are already fighting off a cascade of vampires, but Kwannon and John find themselves face-to-face with serpentine beasts and legendary monsters whipping the populace into a frenzy. Though they manage to fend off the first wave, Psylocke makes it her personal mission to continue protecting the city.
While Psylocke defeating the Slit-Mouthed Woman serves a practical purpose, since she carved a bloody path through Osaka that had to be stopped, the battle is also deeply symbolic for Kwannon. She has overcome her own inner struggles and the pain inflicted on her. She didn't just survive; she became a better person and chose that path for herself when it would have been so easy to go the way of Kuchisake-onna instead.
The legend of the Slit-Mouthed Woman is one of victimhood, whether she's a maimed courtesan, prey, or forgotten beggar. She twists the wrongs of the world into fuel to hurt others, but Kwannon doesn't sympathize with giving into that drive. After losing control of her own body and mind in the swap with Betsy Braddock, Kwannon knows the pain of betrayal and manipulation and has learned to move beyond it. Rather than put more pain into the world, she turned herself into a guardian and protector. The Slit-Mouthed Woman is a reminder and image of all the urges she overcame.
