Kwannon originally appeared as the apparently transformed body of Betsy Braddock in Uncanny X-Men #256 (December 1989), written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Jim Lee.

With the criminal interests of Nyoirin and The Hand quickly coming into conflict, Kwannon elicits a promise from Matsu'o that they will fight to the death rather than betray their respective lords.

During a duel at the estate of Nyoirin, Kwannon eventually falls from a cliff; with her physical injuries and lack of oxygen while underwater causing her to become brain-damaged and comatose.

Nyoirin, who possesses an unrequited love for Kwannon, bids that Matsu'o take her to The Hand to be healed, with the promise that he will not cross their organisation again.

[11] Around this time, The Hand discovers the telepathic Betsy Braddock washed ashore on one of their bases in the South China Sea, suffering complete amnesia after having passed through the Siege Perilous.

[13] The two men are subsequently shown doing so, with a mind-controlled Psylocke, who is now East Asian in appearance, emerging from a sensory deprivation tank at the end of The Uncanny X-Men #256.

[2] In a flashback scene from the same time period, Matsu'o and Nyoirin discuss placing Kwannon's mind in Betsy's body, adding that the transfer will require the use of the Mandarin's rings.

[14] At the same time Matsu'o strikes a deal with the extra-dimensional sorceress Spiral, a begrudging servant of Mojo, to ensure Kwannon's physical body is healed enough to survive the stresses of the procedure.

The two bodies now share genetic traits and mutations such as purple hair and eyes, both possessing true telepathic abilities, and have a physical resemblance to each other despite their different races.

At Nyoirin's behest Kwannon travels to America, infiltrating the X-Mansion and showing enough skill with her telepathy to mask her mind from Jean Grey, Charles Xavier and Betsy.

She confronts Betsy in the Danger Room while wearing a facsimile of her former armor, and is shown manifesting her psychic katana on panel for the first time; using the weapon to incapacitate her.

[19] Confronted by Charles Xavier and multiple X-Men, Kwannon states that she is the real Betsy Braddock, and that the Psylocke they are harboring is an imposter sent by Nyoirin to assassinate them all.

[21] Infiltrating Nyoirin's estate, Kwannon demonstrates intimate knowledge of the buildings and defenses, claiming this is due to being held prisoner there for months.

When the two touched their minds fused, with a confused Psylocke running off and becoming brain-washed by Matsu'o and The Mandarin, while Revanche ended up in a sanitarium, and was eventually found by Nyoirin.

[24][25] With her death approaching Revanche departs the X-Mansion in the middle of the night, leaving behind the bionic eyes that had been implanted in her body and a note confessing her duplicity in attempting to assume Psylocke's identity.

Journeying to Japan Revanche confronts Matsu'o for his part in her ordeal, stating that the Legacy Virus is increasing her telepathic powers as it builds to her death; allowing her to cut through the fog of her memory, and the lies told by Nyoirin, to the truth.

Psylocke watches a playback from the time of her transformation, recorded by the eyes, which answers many questions regarding Matsu'o, Nyoirin, The Mandarin and Spiral's involvement.

Matsu'o presents her with the final truth regarding the body swap, confirming that Revanche was never comfortable with the telepathic abilities she gained and projected that anger and discomfort into the minds around her; and that ultimately she came to respect Psylocke and the X-Men.

He is then able to use the final burst of Revanche's telepathic energy to take away all of Kwannon's memories from Psylocke (thought she retains her martial arts skills and abilities).

Alison defended herself, channeling the ambient noise of San Francisco into an intense laser beam, burning off half of Betsy's face and allowing her to regain control.

Finding out that this Magneto was actually the clone Joseph, Kwannon killed him with her sword, then told the X-Men while speaking in Japanese that she was trying to remember them and that she was nothing as translated by Wolverine.

[31] Soon after, she assumes a leadership role in another team of outcast mutants: the Hellions, alongside Havok, John Greycrow (formerly Scalphunter), Empath, Wild Child, Mister Sinister, Nanny and Orphan-Maker.

[32] When Betsy arrives on Krakoa, she actively avoids Kwannon due to having taken over her body for many years and corrects several people who attempt to refer to her as Psylocke.

In this reality, Kwannon is the ex-wife of Angel, the Queen's lover and she reluctantly helps Betsy find her way to Otherworld so that she can return to her original universe.

[35] Upon inhabiting Braddock's body, she gained telepathic abilities and the power to generate a katana and other bladed weapon constructs composed of psionic energy.

However, she was shown to possess enough skill and power to successfully shield her mind from Jean Grey's telepathic scans and sneak into the X-Mansion undetected.

[38] It was later explained that because of the discomfort of using her newfound telepathy, Kwannon unconsciously projected her frustration and confusion onto the X-Men whenever she was around them, causing them to be more agitated and aggressive in return, and to believe the same lies she herself had been told by Nyoirin.

Once infected with the Legacy Virus, Kwannon's telepathic powers increased to the point where she was able to cut through the fog of her own clouded memories and recall the truth of her origins.

[14] After resurrection in her original body, Kwannon has displayed a wider range of telepathic abilities: the capacity to generate the same 'blades' of disruptive psionic energy that Betsy Braddock manifested while in possession of Kwannon's body, the ability to read and project thoughts, project her astral form into the astral plane or into the minds of others, and to identify and track mental signatures over long distances.

[43] She later appears at the gala celebration held at the X-Mansion, explaining that, after she died, her consciousness migrated to the body of a comatose Japanese girl named Kwannon.