The new Super Bowl spot for "X-Men: Apocalypse" just debuted one of the most highly-anticipated characters in the "X-Men" universe.
Olivia Munn has been cast as Psylocke, the first on-screen appearance of the popular "X-Men" character. Anticipation for Psylocke's debut was so high that Munn cemented her role in the film after sending director Bryan Singer and producer Simon Kinberg fan-creations where she was styled to look like the character.
Psylocke is part of a new generation of characters debuting in "Apocalypse," including younger versions of Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler. But she also brings in a complex comic backstory and a large number of longtime fans ready for her to make her mark on the cinematic universe.
Not familiar with the character? Here's what you should know about Psylocke before her appearance on the big screen this summer.
Who is Psylocke?
Psylocke, real name Betsy Braddock, is a trained ninja and assassin with powerful telepathic abilities. She can read minds and use telekinesis like Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), but she's also a lethal swordswoman.
She's first seen in the new Super Bowl spot casually slicing through a car in mid-air.
Using her telepathic powers, she can create a blade made of pure psychic energy. Munn told Collider the weaponry adds to the psychology of the character.
"She can kill from afar, like Magneto or Storm," she said. "But she chooses to create a sword, which is a very intimate way to kill someone. She experiences it.”
She wields her psychic knife with extreme skill and it both physically and mentally devastates her enemies. Personality-wise, she's a cold, but determined and highly-experienced warrior.
Where did she come from?
Psylocke first appeared in 1976's "Captain Britain #1" with blue eyes and blonde hair.
There, she was a pilot and Captain Britain's sister. In the late '80s, she was brought into the X-Men universe and radically redesigned with purple hair and prominent Japanese features. While the comics used a complicated series of mind control and body swapping plotlines to explain this, Kinberg said they'll be much more straightforward in "Apocalypse."
"Anything can happen in these films, but no. We’re not attempting that," he told Collider. "She’s pretty consistently the same character throughout the movie."
Mind control is an important recurring theme in Psylocke's comic book history and may play a major part of her role in "Apocalypse."
How does she tie into the events of "X-Men: Apocalypse?
In "X-Men: Apocalypse" the X-Men will face off against the mutant Apocalypse. He's known as the first mutant, thousands of years old, and wants to destroy and remake the world. In keeping with the biblical story of the apocalypse, he has four horsemen: powerful allies that the X-Men will have to fight as well. Psylocke is one of his four horsemen, meaning she's going up against Xavier and his school for gifted children.
It's likely she's being manipulated somehow, in keeping with the character's backstory. How will the mutants fare against this psychically superpowered samurai?
Hopefully, better than the car.
"X-Men: Apocalypse" comes to theaters May 27.
