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Insomniac Games has cleared the air after a new trailer for Marvel's Wolverine had fans confusing Lady Deathstrike for Psylocke.
If you thought the launch trailer for the PlayStation 5-exclusive video game would come and go without controversy, I've got bad news. Despite coming in at a little less than a minute and a half long, Marvel's Wolverine managed to kick up a storm of confusion online after fans spotted what they believed was a new character wielding a familiar-looking purple energy sword.
In comments across YouTube, Instagram, X/Twitter, and other social media platforms, you don't have to look too hard to find watchers questioning if the sneering villain featured in the launch trailer was Psylocke. Psylocke is an energy-wielding mutant who's been known to show up across various X-Men stories in the past, so when a glowing sword showed up in Marvel's Wolverine, many believed it to be a grand character reveal.
Well, it's not, and Insomniac has done its best to make that clear.
The post above was published earlier today and labels the sword user as Lady Deathstrike. The PlayStation developer didn't outright say it's trying to quiet the noise that's emerged in the days following the trailer's reveal, but judging by the comments, many are shocked any clarification was needed in the first place.
"The fact it has to be stated is so crazy to me," one user said. "Larp monsters are everywhere."
"No that’s Psylocke, some guy told me and he’s for sure right," another user joked.
It really does seem to be the purple sword that's to blame here because, as some have noted, Lady Deathstrike looks nothing like Psylocke. The version of the character featured in Marvel's Wolverine doesn't exactly have a comic-accurate design, but her vest and hair do more to link her to Lady Deathstrike than the character many were making her out to be.
There's also the fact that Insomniac has talked about Lady Deathstrike being in Marvel's Wolverine before, with the launch trailer also being far from the first time we've even seen her in the game. For example, one early look at her new design arrived in July's Ain't No Hero trailer, while a GIF the studio posted on social media showed her looking down on viewers.
These aren't clips of her doing anything you'd expect Psylocke to do either. This version has been shown attacking Logan with Lady Deathstrike's instantly recognizable finger claws on full display multiple times. Why she's using that sword or where it came from remains a mystery, but whatever the reason, it's not because she's actually Psylocke. That's not to say that character isn't in the game at all; other X-Men regulars like Jean Grey and Sabretooth are confirmed to make an apperance. If Psylockie is in the game, though, Insomniac hasn't publicly said a thing about her.
Logan will at least take on Lady Deathstrike – not Psylocke – when Marvel's Wolverine launches for PS5 September 15, 2026. Meanwhile, the launch trailer actually arrived as part of a recent State of Play presentation from Sony, which you can catch up on here. For more, you can check out IGN's last full preview and our breakdown for the game's many, many suits.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
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