Illyana Rasputina: Magik Appreciation 2020

[Kingdom X]

Indeed. This and New Mutants have recently had the unfortunate 'Magik is the only competent person around' problem. This was the reason Claremont nerfed her twice by having her magics not work on earth except when he wanted them to, having her not be able to control her stepping disks, and arguably a third time by making her soul sword not harm anything which wasn't magical. Even with all of those limits she was still the most powerful member of the team and could have solved many of the crisis they faced by herself without the others. Now she really has the Superman/Thor problem of being so much more powerful than anyone else there's not much point in others even being around.

This first became an issue during Battle of the Atom, not so much because she was too powerful but because she was literally the only character in the arc that was allowed to have a brain. In the Extraordinary era it was a plot point that she was literally doing everything, from protecting the school to rescuing every single mutant by herself, and the plot began with Iceman telling Storm they couldn't just rely on Illyana to do everything for them because it was too much for just one person.

Rosenberg ironically handled it the best in his New Mutants mini, despite the mess that was his Uncanny run. It was clear that her level of competency was well above everyone else and that they were holding her back, but her inexperience as a leader and the way the others didn't trust her balanced it out.

I'm a little worried about how the New Mutants is going to handle this as well. It's clear that she's way more experienced than the others, and she's really the only one we see in the previews fighting the Demon Bear. What can the others do? Dani and Rahne's powers are useless against the bear, and I doubt the boys can really do much against it either.

The problem is that when she doesn't do much, like in the Hickman chapters of New Mutants, fans are like "couldn't Magik have just solved this!"

[sunofdarkchild]

The problem is that when she doesn't do much, like in the Hickman chapters of New Mutants, fans are like "couldn't Magik have just solved this!"

The issue is common to teams with overpowered characters. Like how Superman wasn't allowed to do much in the first season of the Justice League cartoon. Logically a character like that should be able to solve many of these problems and defeat many of these opponents without the rest of the team. The trick is to find a way to give the other characters something to do without making the team's big gun seem weaker than they should. Bad writers will either make the overpowered character solve everything without the help of anyone else or else worf the character by taking him or her out of play and proving how powerful the bad guy is by having him or her beat the team's big gun so the others have something to do. That's also been a common problem with Magik, and again with Superman in Justice League season 1 where he got KO'd all the time and almost never got to show that he was powerful at all.

[Andru]

Indeed. This and New Mutants have recently had the unfortunate 'Magik is the only competent person around' problem. This was the reason Claremont nerfed her twice by having her magics not work on earth except when he wanted them to, having her not be able to control her stepping disks, and arguably a third time by making her soul sword not harm anything which wasn't magical. Even with all of those limits she was still the most powerful member of the team and could have solved many of the crisis they faced by herself without the others. Now she really has the Superman/Thor problem of being so much more powerful than anyone else there's not much point in others even being around.

This first became an issue during Battle of the Atom, not so much because she was too powerful but because she was literally the only character in the arc that was allowed to have a brain. In the Extraordinary era it was a plot point that she was literally doing everything, from protecting the school to rescuing every single mutant by herself, and the plot began with Iceman telling Storm they couldn't just rely on Illyana to do everything for them because it was too much for just one person.

Rosenberg ironically handled it the best in his New Mutants mini, despite the mess that was his Uncanny run. It was clear that her level of competency was well above everyone else and that they were holding her back, but her inexperience as a leader and the way the others didn't trust her balanced it out.

I'm a little worried about how the New Mutants is going to handle this as well. It's clear that she's way more experienced than the others, and she's really the only one we see in the previews fighting the Demon Bear. What can the others do? Dani and Rahne's powers are useless against the bear, and I doubt the boys can really do much against it either.

This about sums it up. Great Summary!

I would not have been opposed to new limits being placed on her in this new Krakoan era.

They could have easily resurrected Illyana after the events of Rosenberg's Uncanny and started "fresh". It could have actually been an interesting plot point...

Knowing Illyana's powers & magical abilities, Xavier & Magneto could have brought her back with some limitations, so she could not discover Moira's presence & potentially "ruin" what they have built.

[Havok83]

I dont think the problem is that she's too powerful. There is just too much panel time focused on her. In Empyre particularly, they could have scaled back considerably and given more of that to the dozen or so psychics that entered the battle. Monet was knocked out the entire issue. She could have been used in that page where Yana saved the Cuckoo.

[sunofdarkchild]

As I noted in the Empyre X-Men #4 preview thread, Illyana is now not only cleaning up all of the New Mutants' messes, but the messes left behind by other sorcerers like Wanda and Dr. Strange. Being the only competent mutant under the age of 30 as well as the only competent sorcerer must be exhausting.

[G0RM]

As I noted in the Empyre X-Men #4 preview thread, Illyana is now not only cleaning up all of the New Mutants' messes, but the messes left behind by other sorcerers like Wanda and Dr. Strange. Being the only competent mutant under the age of 30 as well as the only competent sorcerer must be exhausting.

Savage Avengers suggests she might go against Kulan Gath, and clean up after Conan, Dr. Doom, and Dr. Strange.

[Woozie]

I dunno how you read the latest Empyre: X and think Magik is resolving this.

She's done a lot of great damage control, but she clearly is not going to be the solution haver.

[gambitxremy]

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[WallStreeter]

This about sums it up. Great Summary!

I would not have been opposed to new limits being placed on her in this new Krakoan era.

They could have easily resurrected Illyana after the events of Rosenberg's Uncanny and started "fresh". It could have actually been an interesting plot point...

Knowing Illyana's powers & magical abilities, Xavier & Magneto could have brought her back with some limitations, so she could not discover Moira's presence & potentially "ruin" what they have built.

She’s tied to Limbo and Dr. Strange. Tampering with her is absolute suicide.

There obviously exists backups of her essence in Limbo as it was how Belasco brought her back. Any new clone of Illyana would eventually link up with these backed up memories and the soul sword and have the full powers she is meant too.

There are very few on Krakoa that could beat an angry Magik. She is someone you definitely want on your side.

And yes she has done more than anyone to save mutants and keep them from going extinct. That should be recognized.

[WallStreeter]

The issue felt too much like a Magik mini which is a shame bc it had so many interesting characters that did absolutely nothing. She's kinda becoming overexposed and Im getting to the point where Im wanting them to limit her appearances bc when she does show up, the writers cant help but have her dominate the space even if its at the detriment of other characters

What’s the problem with it being a Magik limites series? Some characters are simply more popular or better than others and Marvel is likely developing her for the big screen or streaming. A major actress plays Magik in
The New Mutants and because of the other films Anya Taylor-Joy is in, I can see them keeping her for the MCU. Some characters are just meant to be big.

[WallStreeter]

If you look at things that are popular in the Fantasy realm, Magik has so many elements. Literal demons to
Overcome. Apart of the evolution of humanity. Space/time working powers that enable her to travel to any time or place. Not to
Mention her being the student of some of the greatest sorcerers. Belasco, Storm, and Dr. Strange. Plus she is a warrior woman with a sword.

Claremont created a really cool character with her. Bendis made her cooler by having her refine her Magik under Dr. Strange and tying her to the greater Marvel magical community of Marvel.

[WallStreeter]

The issue felt too much like a Magik mini which is a shame bc it had so many interesting characters that did absolutely nothing. She's kinda becoming overexposed and Im getting to the point where Im wanting them to limit her appearances bc when she does show up, the writers cant help but have her dominate the space even if its at the detriment of other characters

What’s the problem with it being a Magik limites series? Some characters are simply more popular or better than others and Marvel is likely developing her for the big screen or streaming. A major actress plays Magik in
The New Mutants and because of the other films Anya Taylor-Joy is in, I can see them keeping her for the MCU. Some characters are just meant to be big.

[WallStreeter]

I dunno how you read the latest Empyre: X and think Magik is resolving this.

She's done a lot of great damage control, but she clearly is not going to be the solution haver.

The XMen are not going to be able to resolve this, outside of talking to her and maybe making her remember human side. They may go that route. Otherwise the Scarlet Witch and Dr. Strange could resolve it, but the XMen won’t be heroes in their own book. So basically I think Magik regains control against her demon side.

[WallStreeter]

Indeed. This and New Mutants have recently had the unfortunate 'Magik is the only competent person around' problem. This was the reason Claremont nerfed her twice by having her magics not work on earth except when he wanted them to, having her not be able to control her stepping disks, and arguably a third time by making her soul sword not harm anything which wasn't magical. Even with all of those limits she was still the most powerful member of the team and could have solved many of the crisis they faced by herself without the others. Now she really has the Superman/Thor problem of being so much more powerful than anyone else there's not much point in others even being around.

This first became an issue during Battle of the Atom, not so much because she was too powerful but because she was literally the only character in the arc that was allowed to have a brain. In the Extraordinary era it was a plot point that she was literally doing everything, from protecting the school to rescuing every single mutant by herself, and the plot began with Iceman telling Storm they couldn't just rely on Illyana to do everything for them because it was too much for just one person.

Rosenberg ironically handled it the best in his New Mutants mini, despite the mess that was his Uncanny run. It was clear that her level of competency was well above everyone else and that they were holding her back, but her inexperience as a leader and the way the others didn't trust her balanced it out.

I'm a little worried about how the New Mutants is going to handle this as well. It's clear that she's way more experienced than the others, and she's really the only one we see in the previews fighting the Demon Bear. What can the others do? Dani and Rahne's powers are useless against the bear, and I doubt the boys can really do much against it either.

There’s nothing wrong if Magik is intended to be the star of the New Mutants film. They picked a well known actress to play her. Plus she obviously has the coolest powers. No one would watch a Cannonball movie or series, but they would a Magik one.

[Anchorsify]

There’s nothing wrong if Magik is intended to be the star of the New Mutants film. They picked a well known actress to play her. Plus she obviously has the coolest powers. No one would watch a Cannonball movie or series, but they would a Magik one.

cannonball was an odd choice since NTW basically had his powerset and she was fine as a character. And arguably more time wouldn't be a bad thing at all. But I also have no problems with Magik being the main draw, as I do like her the most.