—Matsu'o Tsurayaba[source]A guild of assassins needs employment. Just as a great lord, Mandarin, needs spies to seek out his enemies. And executioners to deal with them.
History
Early Life[]
Matsu'o Tsurayaba hailed from Japan. From a young age he was exposed to violence, secrecy, and discipline, eventually finding his way into the organization of assassins known as the Hand. Under the instruction of his mentor Kirichiwa, Matsu'o was taught not only in the killing arts of the ninja: stealth, blades, poisons, unarmed combat but also indoctrinated into the sect's traditions and codes. Chief among these was their brutal motto: "Kill or be killed".[3] Matsu'o excelled in his studies. His adaptability and calm ruthlessness marked him as a prodigy within the Hand. Over years of service, he steadily rose in rank until he attained the prestigious station of "jōnin". To his superiors he was both a loyal soldier and a valuable strategist, one whose blend of pragmatism and ambition made him indispensable to their expanding influence. [4][5]
Kwannon[]
It was during these years that he met and fell in love with fellow assassin Kwannon. She had been raised by a traditional clan within the Hand itself, molded into an assassin from girlhood and nicknamed "Butterfly" as a symbol of transformation.[6] Their love was forbidden, for Kwannon served the crimelord Lord Nyoirin, a rival of the Hand. Nonetheless, they pursued a clandestine romance, exchanging intimate nicknames Matsu'o was "Matta", Kwannon was "Butterfly". Kwannon disdained the delicacy of her nickname, but it spoke to Matsu'o's tenderness beneath his hardened surface. Despite their deep bond, both were warriors bound by oaths to their masters. They made a grim vow: should their paths ever cross in battle, they would fight each other to the death rather than betray their duty. That day came when Nyoirin's operations clashed with the Hand. In the heat of combat, the lovers were forced to cross blades. Their duel was fierce and evenly matched, but tragedy struck when Kwannon slipped on a wet ledge and plummeted into the sea. Matsu'o pulled her from the waves only to find her broken body and oxygen-deprived brain leaving her near death.[7] As he clutched her, Nyoirin confronted him. Rather than continue their feud, Nyoirin offered peace if Matsu'o allowed the Hand to attempt to save Kwannon. For the first time, Matsu'o realized his rival also loved her. He accepted the deal, but despite the Hand's resources, Kwannon remained in a permanent vegetative state.[8] To the Hand, she was lost, but to Matsu'o, her life was a wound he carried with him.[9]
Psylocke and Kwannon[]
With Kwannon seemingly lost, Matsu'o became obsessed with restoring her. Fate intervened when Betsy Braddock the telepathic mutant Psylocke emerged from the mystical Siege Perilous. Washed ashore near his island, she was stripped of memory and identity. To Matsu'o, she appeared as a perfect vessel: a healthy body that could be used to save Kwannon's mind.[10] Matsu'o approached the crimelord Mandarin, offering Psylocke as a potential assassin if he would help restore Kwannon. Mandarin agreed, intrigued by the prospect of a telepathic ninja under his command. Matsu'o also secured the aid of Spiral, whose twisted mastery of genetics and sorcery allowed her to attempt the transfer.[10] The procedure was far from clean. Spiral merged their psyches and even altered their genetic codes, splicing features and abilities. When it was done, neither Psylocke nor Kwannon remained whole. Kwannon’s body now contained more of Psylocke's essence, while the Asian body held a diminished mind that resembled Kwannon. Matsu'o kept the woman who looked like Kwannon, though she was but a shadow of his beloved. He gave Kwannon's original body, now largely Psylocke, to Nyoirin, who molded her into Revanche.[11]
Meanwhile, Matsu'o personally trained the amnesic Psylocke, drilling her in the ways of the Hand and the assassin’s art. She excelled, combining telepathy with martial prowess, and quickly became one of Mandarin's prized operatives. Under Matsu'o’s direction, she slaughtered Hong Kong crime lords and ultimately subdued Wolverine, delivering him to the Hand.[12] But when she attempted to psychically break Logan, his mind reignited her true self. Psylocke remembered who she was, turned on Mandarin, and returned to the X-Men leaving Matsu'o with neither Kwannon nor Psylocke, his elaborate plan in ruins.[13] Matsu'o's reach extended beyond the X-Men. During a Madripoor gathering of international powers, he represented the Hand in dealings with the Fenris Twins, marking his rise as both a political and criminal power.[5] While the X-Men were occupied abroad battling the Soul Skinner and Omega Red in Russia, tensions surrounding Psylocke and the woman later calling herself Revanche began to mount back in Japan, setting the stage for their confrontation and the revelations to come.[7]
Omega Red and the Carbonadium Synthesizer[]
Matsu'o remained a power player in the Hand. He allied with Fenris and the Upstarts, a cabal that earned points by hunting mutants. Their scheme required the resurrection of the Soviet super-soldier Omega Red. With Hand rituals and Soviet technology, they succeeded in reviving him. [14] Omega Red's mutant death-spores proved unstable without the Carbonadium Synthesizer, a device lost years earlier. Only Wolverine's memories contained its location. Matsu'o had him captured and bound in a mnemonic extractor, forcing him to relive Cold War missions.[15] He also activated a latent hypnotic suggestion he had implanted in Psylocke, briefly turning her against the X-Men. When the X-Men freed themselves, Wolverine tracked Matsu'o to a graveyard. Rising from a coffin, Logan ambushed him in a brutal duel. In vengeance, Wolverine severed Matsu'o's right hand.[16] The wound marked the beginning of a cycle of mutilation that would define the rest of Matsu'o's life.[17]
Wolverine's Vengeance[]
Seeking to expand the Hand's influence, Matsu'o turned his attention to Clan Yashida, led by Mariko Yashida Wolverine's former fiancée. He plotted her downfall both to destabilize the clan and to strike at Wolverine's heart. Through his agent Reiko, Matsu'o presented Mariko with a ceremonial blade coated in deadly blowfish toxin. When she pricked herself, the poison spread quickly. Mortally afflicted, Mariko chose an honorable death, asking Wolverine to end her life swiftly rather than suffer. [18] For Wolverine, the loss was devastating. He swore that Matsu'o would suffer not by death, but by endless pain. On the first anniversary of Mariko's death, Wolverine ambushed him and slashed out his left eye.[19] On each following anniversary he returned, maiming him further severing ears, nose, and limbs. The once-proud Hand jōnin was reduced to a scarred husk, living in dread of the anniversary of Mariko's death.[20]
Legacy Virus[]
While Matsu'o endured Wolverine's punishments, Kwannon lived on in Psylocke's original body as Revanche. Contracting the Legacy Virus, she suffered power flares and degenerating health. The disease clarified her identity, and she confronted Matsu'o one final time. Matsu'o confessed the truth and the role he had played in her fate. He admitted that he had believed restoring her through Psylocke would return his Butterfly, but instead had condemned her to confusion and torment. Kwannon, knowing her death was near, begged him to grant her a warrior’s mercy. With sorrow, Matsu'o stabbed her through the heart.[8] Her dying telepathic burst left fragments of her power with him. Later, he transferred this psychic gift to Psylocke, restoring her telepathy and clarity of mind.[21] For once, Matsu'o acted with a measure of redemption, though his guilt was unrelenting. Psylocke and Revanche's search for truth had begun earlier, when they confronted Nyoirin and later Matsu'o himself. Matsu'o appeared in Shinobi Shaw's penthouse, declaring that the Gamesmaster had granted him the right to kill Psylocke.[22] Though absent when Nyoirin gave them a forged diary, he was later directly attacked by Psylocke and Revanche in Japan, engaging them with Hand guards before refusing to give them clarity.[23]
Crimson Dawn[]
Even after Revanche's death, Matsu'o continued to haunt Psylocke's life. While she recovered from Sabretooth's near-fatal attack, Psylocke confronted her fears in training simulations. She deliberately programmed a holographic version of Matsu'o into her combat routines, forcing herself to face the man who had twisted her life and stolen Kwannon. The simulation taunted her throughout.[24]
Decline[]
Scarred, weakened, and disgraced, Matsu'o's position within the Hand diminished. In a bid to regain influence, he allied with Hydra in Madripoor. Believing Wolverine crippled by Sabretooth, he captured Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Shadowcat, intending to corrupt them into Hand assassins. Instead, they broke free, shattering his plans.[25]
In Madripoor, Matsu'o orchestrated a Hand operation that ensnared Black Widow, drawing Captain America and Wolverine into direct conflict with his faction once more. The trio fought to derail the Hand's ultimate warrior initiative and the Saiko-Jōnin program at the heart of Matsu'o's plot.[26]
Hercules[]
_resurrected_by_the_Hand_(Earth-616)_from_Wolverine_Hercules_Myths,_Monsters_%26_Mutants_Vol_1_4.jpg){kind=link}
Matsu'o resurrected by The Hand
At some point, Matsu'o was approached by the minotaur Achelous and the disembodied head of the long-dead king Eurystheus, who sought the Hand's dark sorcery for their own ambitions. In exchange for allegiance and shared spoils, Matsu'o agreed to employ the Hand’s resurrection rituals to restore a host of mythological beasts once slain by Hercules. The Hand successfully conjured forth a number of these ancient monsters, unleashing them upon the modern world to hunt both Wolverine and Hercules. However, this unholy pact quickly destabilized the Hand’s own ranks. Matsu'o’s alliance with alien gods of Greece splintered his faction from other ninja leaders, inciting a violent schism within the organization. As chaos spread across Japan’s streets, Wolverine and Hercules confronted the rampaging creatures and cut a swath through both monster and ninja alike, rescuing countless civilians from the devastation. In the climactic battle, the heroes struck directly at Matsu'o. Hercules and Wolverine combined their ferocity to bring an end to his schemes, with Wolverine ultimately severing Matsu’o’s head in combat. His corpse was soon reclaimed by his followers, and through their necromantic rites he was once again resurrected, cursed to return from death.[27]
Final Death[]
_and_Matsu%27o_Tsurayaba_(Earth-616)_from_Psylocke_Vol_1_4_0001.jpg){kind=link}
Psylocke killing Matsu'o
Attributes
 |
Powers
Abilities
- Expert Martial Artist: Matsu'o is a highly trained ninja of the Hand, proficient in ninjutsu, unarmed combat, and numerous martial arts disciplines.[11]
- Master Swordsman: Skilled in the use of katanas and other bladed weapons, capable of dueling Wolverine on even footing.[12]
- Tactical Strategist: Demonstrated command of Hand factions and ability to organize complex operations, such as his partnership with Achelous and Eurystheus.[29]
- Stealth & Assassination: Trained in infiltration, poisons, and silent killing methods, often employing ambushes against Wolverine and Psylocke.[30]
- Multilingual: In addition to English, Matsu'o speaks Chinese and Japanese.[11]
Weaknesses
- Cycle of Resurrection: His dependence on the Hand's dark rituals left him vulnerable to repeated death and psychological erosion.[2]
- Progressive Injuries: After annual duels with Wolverine, Matsu’o was repeatedly mutilated—losing fingers, ears, and other body parts until he was a shadow of his former self.[31][32]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Armored battlesuit used in select conflicts.[33]
Weapons
Transportation
See Also
- 35 appearance(s) of Matsu'o Tsurayaba (Earth-616)
- 2 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Matsu'o Tsurayaba (Earth-616)
- 3 minor appearance(s) of Matsu'o Tsurayaba (Earth-616)
- 6 mention(s) of Matsu'o Tsurayaba (Earth-616)
- 3 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Matsu'o Tsurayaba (Earth-616)
- 15 image(s) of Matsu'o Tsurayaba (Earth-616)
- 5 quotation(s) by or about Matsu'o Tsurayaba (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ Psylocke #3
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wolverine/Hercules: Myths, Monsters & Mutants #4
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wolverine (Vol. 2) #55
- ↑ Wolverine: Origins #46
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Uncanny X-Men #268
- ↑ Fallen Angels (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 X-Men (Vol. 2) #18
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 X-Men (Vol. 2) #31
- ↑ Fallen Angels (Vol. 2) #2
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Uncanny X-Men #255
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Uncanny X-Men #256
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Uncanny X-Men #257
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #258
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 2) #2
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 2) #4
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 2) #7
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 2) #5
- ↑ Wolverine (Vol. 2) #55–57
- ↑ Wolverine (Vol. 2) #60
- ↑ Wolverine (Vol. 2) #175
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 2) #32
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 2) #21
- ↑ X-Men (Vol. 2) #23
- ↑ Psylocke and Archangel Crimson Dawn #1
- ↑ Wolverine (Vol. 2) #127–128
- ↑ Wolverine: Madripoor Knights #4–5
- ↑ Wolverine/Hercules: Myths, Monsters & Mutants #1–4
- ↑ Psylocke #1–4
- ↑ Wolverine/Hercules: Myths, Monsters & Mutants #1
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #256–257
- ↑ Wolverine (Vol. 2) #87
- ↑ Wolverine (Vol. 2) #118
- ↑ Wolverine/Hercules: Myths, Monsters & Mutants #3
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 12