Note to self: Do not piss off Wolverine.
MATSU'O TSURAYABA
Created By: Chris Claremont & Marc Silvestri
First Appearance: The Uncanny X-men #255 (Dec. 1989)
Role: Criminal Kingpin, Star-Crossed Lover (with Kwannon/Revanche)
Group Affiliations: The Hand, The Yakuza
PL 7 (97)
STRENGTH 2
STAMINA 3
AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9
DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2
AWARENESS 3
PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Acrobatics 1 (+5)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 5 (+8)
Expertise (Yakuza Gangster) 7 (+9)
Insight 4 (+7)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Perception 3 (+6)
Persuasion 4 (+7)
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Benefit (Elite Hand Leader), Contacts, Equipment (Katana), Improved Critical (Sword), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3
Equipment:
"Katana" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical) (4)
Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Katana +9 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +5
Complications:
Motivation (Greed & Power)- Like most criminals, Matsu'o's primary motivation is about personal wealth, respect and power.
Relationship (Kwannon)- Matsu'o was desperately in love with Kwannon, the primary assassin for a rival, Lord Nyoirin. Her death utterly broke him.
Enemy (Wolverine)- Note to villains everywhere: don't kill Wolverine's love interests.
Total: Abilities: 62 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 11 (97)
-Matsu'o is leader of The Hand, and part of the ludicrously-complicated Psylocke/Revanche storyline (one of those things that is an absolute BLAST to explain to non-comic book fans, reflecting the weirdness of the medium)- he was the lover of Kwannon, a ninja working for the rival, Lord Nyorin. He accidentally killed Kwannon while trying to kill Nyorin, and the heartbroken Matsu'o went to Spiral, who combined her DNA and brain-patterns with those of a comatose Betsy Braddock (who'd fallen through the Siege Perilous), putting most of Betsy's psyche in Kwannon's Japanese body (and vice-versa), as Kwannon's mind was shattered beyond all repair.
-Matsu'o, apparently pretty shallow despite the efforts he went through to save his love, was more into the "Kwannon" body, and abandoned the "Betsy" body (now named Revanche) to Lord Nyorin. He then trained Betsy into being Psylocke, and made her the top assassin for The Mandarin (who was now inexplicably in the
X-Men book). However, Betsy's mind took hold fully, and she eventually abandoned her employers for the X-Men, becoming the ultimate "Miss Fanservice" superhero of the 1990s.
-Matsu'o spent the '90s as a minor character, often showing up as a "behind-the-scenes" kind of guy. He aided the Fenris Twins in reviving Omega Red, and then had to deal with the return of Kwannon (in Betsy's old body). EVENTUALLY, after one of the most bizarre, confusing stories in comic book history, the truth was revealed behind his deception. He was forced to mercy-kill his old love as she was dying of the Legacy Virus- Psylocke refuses to kill him in turn; suggesting he become the man "Kwannon would have wanted".
-Matsu'o also became a Wolverine villain, and was used by a writer to murder Logan's bride-to-be Mariko Yoshida. This led to one of comics' best "Fitting Revenge" storylines, as Wolverine would slice off one part of Matsu'o's body with every passing year, on the anniversary of Mariko's death. By the end, Matsu'o was lacking an ear, nose, both hands, a gall bladder, and more. He was finally killed, but was immediately revived by The Hand, much to his chagrin- he wanted death more than a lifetime of waiting for Wolverine. When Logan prepares more punishment, Psylocke defends Matsu'o's honor, and engages in a brutal fight with her X-Men ally. Wolverine finally relents, allowing her to give Matsu'o the death he craved.
-All in all, he's more of a bizarre means to two ends than a major character on his own- aside from the "Kwannon" thing, he's not much different than any other crimeboss. What he HAS done, however, is change Psylocke forever (turning her from a purple-haired English Psychic into a Sexy Japanese Ninja Girl), and then killed Wolverine's "One True Love". It appears that various writers having worked on the character have done a number on him, as he's got a pretty back-and-forth kind of backstory.
-Matsu'o is a competent, but not otherworldly, martial artist, being very good with his hands and most weapons- at PL 7, he'd never stand a ghost of a chance against Wolverine, Psylocke, or any other elite, but he's decent enough to be dangerous to most Hand & Yakuza guys.