Marvel Officially Announces X-Men Hero's Permanent New Codename After 50 Years

Published Oct 24, 2026, 8:23 AM EDT

Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words.

Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II.

Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno.

Betsy Braddock Is Officially 'Butterfly'

According to a recent post on social media, X-Men's Betsy Braddock, formerly known as Psylocke, will take the new codename 'Butterfly.' The change will happen in the upcoming Maximum X-Men #1, coming December 2 from Christopher Yost, Tony S. Daniel, Mark Morales, Leonardo Paciarotti and Clayton Cowles.

This is Marvel's first official confirmation that Betsy will take the new codename, but it's not news to fans. In a recent blog post, X-Men section editor Tom Brevoort seemingly let the name change slip ahead of time, writing:

The team includes Bishop, Colossus, Iceman, Betsy Braddock (formerly Psylocke and Captain Britain, and here called Butterfly), Firestar and Justice.

The name change refers to a unique glowing light that surrounds Betsy's face when she uses her telepathy, taking the form of a glowing pink butterfly. The butterfly can also detach and travel around as a representation of Betsy's invisible astral projection ability. Despite this relevance, some fans don't like the choice...

Why Some X-Men Fans Hate The New Codename

There are two main reason that some Betsy Braddock fans don't like the new name. First, it's a relatively slight moniker for a character with immense telekinetic powers, world-class telepathic skill and the fighting abilities of a trained ninja.

Second, some fans believe Betsy should still be called 'Psylocke.' Betsy swapped bodies with another character named Kwannon, aka Revanche, in the late '80s. The two permanently swapped back in 2018, with Kwannon keeping the 'Psylocke' name. It was a move that didn't make a great deal of sense in-world, but a necessary one for Marvel, given that the name had become irreovacly tied to Kwannon's design.

While the 'Butterfly' name feels delicate, Maximum X-Men is likely to tie it to the Mike Tyson quote that the boxer used to describe his fighting style: "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

In the aftermath, Betsy took the 'Captain Britain' codename from her twin brother Brian Braddock, but the conclusion of X-Men comics' Krakoan Era saw her retire from the role, leaving her without an official identifier. Now, as a member of the Avengers-class Maximum X-Men team, she'll become 'Butterfly.'

This is a developing story, more will be added shortly...