Illyana Nikolievna Rasputina: MAGIK appreciation 2021

[ZephyrSurf]

The definition of 'outside the multiverse that seems to apply to the Utopian Parallel also applies to Limbo and many other dimensions. It's just another dimension that's outside of normal space-time but can still interact with the regular multiverse. Teleporting to and from there seems to be no more impressive than teleporting to and from Limbo. Unless you mean something else that isn't readily available online. I can't even find an example of her teleporting to or from the Utopian Parallel since she actually came to earth as a child before her powers manifested. Teleporting out of a literal void of nothing after erasing Limbo from existence and back from wherever Eternity lives would seem to be much more impressive feats or at the very least closer to what I'd call being outside the multiverse. If it's something else that isn't on any wiki please let me know.

And then again, since her powers seem to come entirely from Wiccan in his Demiurge form, I don't think she counts any more than a Phoenix-powered person would count against Jean. I wasn't aware of the source of her powers until right now. My reading is that such outside interference disqualifies a person which is why I'm saying Limbo might give Illyana a boost in order to disqualify her.

That's not at all what I'm talking about. Nice try thinking so.

But I'm referring to the Ultimates run when i spoke of her teleportation feat.

[sunofdarkchild]

Ok. That narrowed it down. I don't like these unspecific feats that are a pain to try to confirm. When you start throwing out terms like 'outside the multiverse' that really needs some specifics because that's the sort of thing that needs to be defined or else there's no point of reference to talk about.

Heck, even with the specification of the run I still would have gotten it wrong and assumed you were talking about the jump into the Superflow and not realized there was a jump outside the omniverse in a later issue. It seems that they mean the omniverse as the mutliverse and not the omniverse as what includes the Marvel DC, image, and Dark Horse universes, and even our real universe. I also don't know why it seemed to hurt America so much to make those jumps, as as far as I can tell she doesn't have that problem otherwise. And I guess there's a place where even she can't survive.

On the one hand, the feats are impressive, on the other, they required going to a point in space where the dimensional walls were 'thinner,' and then making multiple stops before arriving where they actually meant to go. She doesn't seem to be able to just do it. In terms of the superflow I think Illyana could go there without needing to find a place with thinner walls first like America did, so there's some evidence there that Illyana is the better teleporter even in terms of range, but then, it doesn't make sense to me that America should need that help in the first place given what I know about her powers unless the kicking open the door is more literal than I thought. In terms of the void beyond the multiverse where they needed to be rescued by Galactus, I dunno. There's her appearance at the edge of the cosmos when standing before Eternity in Dr. Strange The End. And there's her being in a literal void after absorbing Limbo. Both are similar but most likely considered 'inside' the multiverse. It's a matter of if the stepping disks can be manifested there. If they can then she can do it better than America. If not then she can't at all. There's no place in the multiverse where the stepping disks can't be summoned, but perhaps outside is indeed different. There's no way to know without a reason to go out there, so this would be something that can't be measured.

I'm still not seeing it. Even if her power was entirely her own and not drawn from Wiccan's cosmic form, America's still got nothing on Illyana's portal numbers and their size or her time travel, and it's unclear about her range since she needed weaker dimensional walls and multiple jumps to do the one thing she might or might not have over Illyana.

[sunofdarkchild]

Here's a little something I whipped up to fill in the gaps from last week's New Mutants. I wasn't happy that Illyana didn't get to talk to anyone other than the no-name who was hitting on her. It seemed like the captain, leader, and person who just saved the world deserved a little more. It's probably not as good as my other work since I didn't spend as much time on it and there's less of an emotional connection with some of these characters.



It was hard to miss Illyana even among the myriad of extravagantly-dressed mutants at the Gala. The horns of fabric which floated over her head made her appear much taller than those around her.

"For once I'm underdressed compared to you."

Illyana turned and smiled at him. "Stephen, glad you could make it."

It was only natural that Strange be the first Avenger to approach Magik. He was her former teacher and understood her more than any of her other friends, even among the X-Men and New Mutants. As a result it was easier for him to forgive and forget some of her actions when the Avengers and X-Men were at odds than some of his other colleagues and he felt more comfortable around her than any Avenger besides Captain Marvel.

"this is quite the party," he observed,

"Is that new Ghost Rider here?" she asked.

"No. He didn't get an invitation."

"Too bad," Illyana said with a mischievous expression which made him shake his head.

"I understand there's going to be an election for the new X-Men. Are you running?" he asked.

This time it was Illyana who shook her head. "No. I'm busy enough. If I did that I'd probably have to give up teaching at the school."

Strange nodded. "I see. And you're not just afraid you'll lose."

She laughed. "Are you kidding? I'm one of the most popular mutants here. I'd win in a landslide."

It was no mere boast. Dr. Strange had helped Illyana set up X-Haven during the terrigen crisis and knew of her work bringing mutant refugees there. For hundreds of mutant civilians, Magik was their introduction into the world of the X-Men, and while he did not know all the details, he knew she was one of the most important people on this new island nation.

He saw her raise her hand make the motion for a simple, familiar spell. All sound around them seemed to cease as the spell took effect. More importantly, no one who was listening in could overhear what they would now say.

Illyana's countenance and voice grew serious. "Are we ready to take on Gath?"

"No," he answered, matching her tone. "There's still more preparation that needs to be done, and I still haven't figured out a plan of attack. When I figure something out you'll be the first to know"

Illyana nodded gravely and waved her hand, removing the enchantment. The sound of the party returned, and Illyana motioned at her friend, the Valkyrie Dani Moonstar, to come talk to Dr. Strange.

Later, Illyana made her way to where Captain America, Captain Marvel, and Iron Man were standing. It wasn't something she wanted to do, but she felt her station demanded she mingle with the most prominent representatives of the Avengers.

"Greetings, fellow captains!"

Captain America looked at her with a confused expression. "I beg your pardon?"

"Oh, come on. I know you're not ignorant of our military structure."

Captain Marvel nodded. "I guess they'll make anyone a captain on Krakoa."

Illyana grinned. "It seems so."

Captain America relaxed, any tension he felt broken by the realization that Illyana was joking with them.

Captain Marvel was the only one of the three who didn't have a problem with Illyana. She was closer to the X-Men and was not around during the Phoenix Five debacle. Captain America actually had a longer history with Illyana. They first met during Kulan Gath's invasion of New York when she was instrumental in saving the world. They met twice afterwards, once when the Beyonder set her on the captain, Thor, and the Black Knight, and once when she stole his shield when the Avengers attacked Magneto in Massachusetts.

She had no such history with Iron Man before the Avengers and X-Men had become enemies, but Tony Stark had an extreme dislike of magic and sorcery born of his focus on science above all else.

A year earlier they might have all been her enemies. But now things were different. Their true enmity had always been reserved for Scott Summers, and now they were willing to let bygones be bygones with him.

"Thanks again for pulling our butts out of the fire the other day," Iron Man said. "If you and Storm hadn't shown up..."

"Seeing your portals really gave people hope," Captain Marvel added.

Illyana nodded. It was only a few days since the Man-Thing's pollen and demons had nearly wiped out the human race. Her stepping disks appearing over all the major cities which had been under siege to teleport all of the pollen into the sun had been the best publicity Krakoa had received recently. It was not the only time mutants had saved the world in the last few months, but it was by far the most visible.

"I wanted to ask," Captain America said, "how did you get through to Dr. Sallis?" It did not surprise Illyana that he was more impressed with her convincing the man behind the Man-Thing to finally help than with her feat of power. Inspiring others to do the right thing and be the best they could be was what he was all about.

"I know a thing or two about deals with the devil," Illyana explained.

The others nodded. While they would have liked a more detailed explanation, they knew enough about her past not to pry any deeper.

"Well, I'm glad this time we were on the same side. I hope we'll never again find ourselves on opposite sides of a conflict.

"And I as well." She raised a glass of wine. "To new friendships."

After the toast, Captain America and Iron Man walked off, but Captain Marvel stayed to talk to Illyana some more.

She leaned in close and asked softly: "Have you reconsidered what I asked?"

"I haven't changed my mind."

"Please. That future I saw-:

"Carol," Illyana said, cutting her off, "do you have any idea how many apocalyptic futures I've seen and prevented? You can't let yourself become obsessed with this or let it dominate your life. Believe me, I've been there."

Captain Marvel scowled, and Illyana continued. "Ask yourself, do you want more power because you really need it to beat this guy, or because you're scared and traumatized from what happened?"

"You've been there too?"

"Spent most of my life there. You're Captain Marvel. You can harness the power of stars. There's very little in this universe you can't handle. Ove seems tough, but without his mother holding his hand he's not anywhere near as dangerous."

Captain Marvel looked to the side in thought. Now that she thought about it, most of the danger Ove had posed had come from the Enchantress. She was the one who who mind-controlled so many heroes and even bound Carol. Ove seemed to take more after Namor in the power department.

"If you need me, just give me a shout and I'll be there in an instant. But you can't let him stop you from living. Sometimes it's ok to not be in control."

Carol winced. With that remark, Illyana had gotten to the heart of what was truly bothering her. She needed to be in control. It was a fault she had begun to recognize in herself after her battle with Iron Man over the use of the powers of Ulysses to predict the future. And in the future, Amora's magic had left her helpless to help her friends, helpless to free herself, helpless to stop Ove from going to the future, helpless to save Jess... Her desire to learn magic stemmed from not wanting to feel that helpless again.

"You can't control what anyone else will do..."

"But I can control how I react," Carol finished. "I think I see what you're saying."

"No problem. There was something I wanted to ask you, actually."

"What?"

Illyana's mischievous grin returned. "You're an experienced woman, and there are some things I have no experience whatsoever in."

Carol rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh, boy."

[sunofdarkchild]

Illyana plays wingman to Karma in yesterday's Marvel Voices Pride issue and pushes her to ask her crush out. Pretty much every word she says to Karma she could have said about herself.

"You've done things you aren't proud of, that's true, and we aren't in the business of pretending bad things didn't happen. But you are a good person and you are in control of yourself. You've fought long and hard for it. And just as important, you have to be truthful about the fact that others did evil to you. Being vulnerable in any way brings that up to the surface too."

[G0RM]

Captain Marvel was the only one of the three who didn't have a problem with Illyana. She was closer to the X-Men and was not around during the Phoenix Five debacle. Captain America actually had a longer history with Illyana. They first met during Kulan Gath's invasion of New York when she was instrumental in saving the world. They met twice afterwards, once when the Beyonder set her on the captain, Thor, and the Black Knight, and once when she stole his shield when the Avengers attacked Magneto in Massachusetts.

Actually, during AvX, Magik-Phoenix trapped Carol in a hell-like personal nightmare in the fragment of Limbo she brought to Earth to imprison (and torture) the captive Avengers and others who opposed the Phoenix Five. (X-Men Legacy #270ish)

Good summary of her interactions with Captain America. (I think Cap also has a splash-page journal entry about her at the end of one issue of TNM v1, but I can't seem to find the issue number on Marvel Unlimited.)

[sunofdarkchild]

Actually, during AvX, Magik-Phoenix trapped Carol in a hell-like personal nightmare in the fragment of Limbo she brought to Earth to imprison (and torture) the captive Avengers and others who opposed the Phoenix Five. (X-Men Legacy #270ish)

Good summary of her interactions with Captain America. (I think Cap also has a splash-page journal entry about her at the end of one issue of TNM v1, but I can't seem to find the issue number on Marvel Unlimited.)

Thanks for the correction. Seems I misremembered what she said when the X-Men and Avengers confronted each other at Eva Bell's house in the Bendis run when she tried to play peace-maker.

Professor X has a splash page journal entry about Illyana at the end of the Slumber Party issue.

[G0RM]

Thanks for the correction. Seems I misremembered what she said when the X-Men and Avengers confronted each other at Eva Bell's house in the Bendis run when she tried to play peace-maker.

Professor X has a splash page journal entry about Illyana at the end of the Slumber Party issue.

Thanks, sunofdarkchild; recall of these details is often distorted, and quite hard to research. I thought I went through every issue of TNM, and each Seinkeiwicz twice, but I couldn't find that one for some reason.

That's close, and perhaps I'm completely misremembering, but the way I recall, in some series, Captain America specifically reviewed Magik, and mentioned how in addition to Illyana, several other Mutant children were taken as children to grow up elsewhen (like Kylun, Cable, Hope... Plus all those children in soap operas who leave one scene as infants, and walk downstairs as teens.)

I've tried to be essentially completist in collecting Illyana appearances in comics, but I haven't indexed them, so I can't really look up specific scenes, Google being kind of frustrating to use, with very spotty results.

I'm also often completely shocked when I DO find a scene that's totally 'Mandela Affected', like when Illyana teleported to the Shi'ar Galaxy. I clearly remembered her teleporting directly into the Starjammer ship, whereas in the actual comics, she ended up in a slave market in a really skeezy scene.

[sunofdarkchild]

There was a 1-page blurb recounting Illyana's origins in 2010. For some reason I also thought it was a Captain America file on her, but it was part of the book 'Origins of Marvel Comics: X-Men.' It's the one where with the blurb 'she has since returned as Magik.'

I don't recall ever seeing anything from Captain America about mutant children who were raised elsewhere, and if Cable and Hope were mentioned then it would have had to have been a very late addition, decades after New Mutants vol. 1 ended and after Second Coming.

[G0RM]

There was a 1-page blurb recounting Illyana's origins in 2010. For some reason I also thought it was a Captain America file on her, but it was part of the book 'Origins of Marvel Comics: X-Men.' It's the one where with the blurb 'she has since returned as Magik.'

I don't recall ever seeing anything from Captain America about mutant children who were raised elsewhere, and if Cable and Hope were mentioned then it would have had to have been a very late addition, decades after New Mutants vol. 1 ended and after Second Coming.

I'm not completely certain which other child mutants were listed, but I specifically recall it as a Captain America file which I always thought was strange for a second reason.

An odd part about Cap and Magik is that in the 80s each time they met, he never seemed to remember meeting her before.

In Secret War II it's explained by the Beyonder having erased them from reality and reanimating them, but there were other meetups back in the 80s when he didn't recognize her, after their first meeting in the Kulan Gath 'temporalspacial claudication' incident, including the Massachusetts Academy issue among others.

Perhaps he made a file on her so he wouldn't forget again, given that she stole his shield!

[sunofdarkchild]

Yeah. His not recognizing her was pretty strange. They spent a good chunk of time together in the Kulan Gath arc talked quite a bit, plus her remaking the timeline to save all of those lives should have left a string mark in his memory. He should have recognized her in Secret Wars 2 # 1 when they first gathered to fight the Beyonder, but it wasn't long after he arrived that she teleported out because the Beyonder turned her into the Darkchild, which was another reason he should have remembered her after that. Then again, in that issue Wolverine forgot all about her stepping disks and thought the Beyonder had done something to all the people she teleported with her. His not remembering her when she stole his shield in New Mutants is laughable since they'd met 3 times by then, the first in the Kulan Gath arc and the third time when she gave him and Thor a hard time. But again, none of the Avengers remembered the kids the Beyonder sent to fight them even though Emma mentioned how being sent to battle the Avengers was part of their trauma.

There is another file on Illyana from the early 90s, but it's not something from Captain America. Stryfe's Strike Files has an entry on her and how she'd seen more of time than he could ever hope to, but its primary purpose was to foreshadow her death by the legacy virus.

[G0RM]

I'm reading something by Dhalpin3, which pointed out that due to the Fox Disney Marvel merger, and Anya Taylor-Joy's character in The New Mutants movie, that Magik is now a Disney princess!

(technically, so is the Xenomorph Queen of the Alien franchise, as well as Princess Leia, so Illyana is in good company despite The Mouse.)

[Peace]

Cap America talks to illyana in heroic age and remember her and kulan ghat issueAttachment 111001

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[rcaguy]

I'm reading something by Dhalpin3, which pointed out that due to the Fox Disney Marvel merger, and Anya Taylor-Joy's character in The New Mutants movie, that Magik is now a Disney princess!

(technically, so is the Xenomorph Queen of the Alien franchise, as well as Princess Leia, so Illyana is in good company despite The Mouse.)

How do you figure this when New Mutants Magik and the Anya Taylor-Joy's character in The New Mutants movie have absolutely nothing in common? They're not the same person.

[sunofdarkchild]

Cap America talks to illyana in heroic age and remember her and kulan ghat issueAttachment 111001

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Thanks. I don't know if I ever saw this.

We can only hope that Disney has another go at Magik and this time they do it right. The true pity if the New Mutants film fiasco is that she's actually really easy to write well. Boone was just too stupid to do it.

[sunofdarkchild]

Illyana features in today's Cable. There's also a Belasco connection and a hint about her future.