Claremont is famous for rehabilitating Carol Danvers in the wake of a character assassination from Avengers #200, but he actually does something quite similar for Psylocke, after a similarly contentious narrative depiction in a Captain Britain story. 1/7 #xmen @LetsTalkBetsy

Claremont created Betsy in Captain Britain #8 (1976), and made her a pilot (C’s Mom was a pilot and inspired a lot of his strongest character portrayals). When he left the book, Betsy fell into the capable hands of writers such as Jamie Delano, Alan Moore, and Alan Davis. 2/7

But, in one notable story from Captain Britain vol. 2 #13 (1986), written and drawn by Alan Davis, Betsy would briefly take on the mantle of Captain Britain herself, only to be brutally beaten and have her eyes gouged out by a villain called Slaymaster. 3/7

The story is titled “It’s Hard to Be a Hero,” and is the first writing credit for Davis on Captain Britain (a title he’d been illustrating for some time). Davis would go on to become a very talented and accomplished writer, but this is a textbook example of fridging. 4/7

Betsy takes on a traditionally masculine role and is immediately humiliated and put in place. Her maiming is used at the narrative level to incentivize her brother, and the brutal violence that Betsy is subjected to ultimately leads to her depowering. 5/7

Claremont reclaims and rehabilitates Psylocke less than a year after this. In New Mutants Annual #2 (illustrated by Davis), Psylocke is given back her sight, her sense of purpose, and even allowed to outshine her brother (who appears) before finding a place in the X-Universe. 6/7

From there, Claremont establishes Betsy as a 100% valid and legitimate hero – if anything, she’s seen to have an excess of the heroic spirit, and the character is then able to move beyond a rough turn in her history to become an elite Marvel superhero. 7/7