Magik Appreciation

[sungila]

Last night I re-read Claremont's UXM #160, Magik (Illyana and Storm) 1-4 and issues #14-#16 of the New Mutants. It's the beginning an Illyana saga read that'll take me through the New Mutants up to Bendis' current run on ANXM & UXM.

The story of her coming into power is incredible. There's nothing like it in the X-Men.

It occurred to me that Illyana is, in part, a culmination of the most formative elements of Claremont's vision for the X-Men. The popularity of the ANAD X-Men was just beginning to fuel the creation of more titles. All of which were amazing! The New Mutants, the first Wolverine solo and the Cockrum's first Nightcrawler solo are all landmark works.

Illyana's 7 years in Limbo, the narrative all her own - as she shares with the reader her intimate story, revealing her fears...her anguish...her incredible isolation and strength of being. She speaks both as a child and a woman. It's amazing really. I'd forgotten how singular Illyana's voice was at the beginning. From UXM 160 on through her early appearances with the New Mutants every time she takes the stage the story is filtered through her. Reading these comics in continuity has been incredible!

The whole story is insane. The scenarios are impossible. But Illyana is so real that the events of her life become believable and necessary.
Nobody could survive this ordeal with her sanity, spirit and soul intact...and while Illyana expresses her misgivings that she has indeed escaped uncorrupted, the reader knows clearly that Belasco did more to unleash Illyana's power than to doom her fate.

She is certainly no snowflake - the possibility that she could yet become truly the pathway for the Dark Ones remains...but that responsibility does not merely haunt Illyana...it also infuses her with purpose.
She is no demon, not yet, and like all the young mutants...she must learn to wield her strength with the humility of its potential consequences.
Illyana's powerset aside...her character and essence of being make her an omega level hero.

And even now, the Illyana we get is this girl/woman...this demon/angel...an indivisible hero who can't be absorbed - she is indelible.

She is the very manifestation of our greatest human capacity of defiance. Defiance is the essence of creation of hope and story itself. Defiance is deeper than acts of revenge or forgiveness...it is stronger than the extremes that mark divisions, schisms, conflicts and struggle...it is the standing in the fire...and Illyana has been standing her ground in that fire nearly her whole life.

her brother may be able to turn his flesh to steel...but Illyana needs no transformation...she is iron in flesh...she didn't 'get' her Magik...she took it...and made it all on her own.

Sorry for interrupting the thread discussion, I hope in it's own way, this post is relevant...and it'd be interesting to hear how well the OG Illyana resonates with Bendis' Magik...does Bendis have the vision to bring Illyana through this long arc of her life into a return of an Illyana who has come out of the fire - changed, vulnerable and knowable again...stronger than ever before...older, progressed and immediate?

[Rzerox21xx]

Remember Marvel swimsuit, you think Marvel should do swimsuit variants like Aspen and Wildstorm, Topcow did. Magik never got to appeared on the 90s issue due to being deaged or dead.

[sunofdarkchild]

Last night I re-read Claremont's UXM #160, Magik (Illyana and Storm) 1-4 and issues #14-#16 of the New Mutants. It's the beginning an Illyana saga read that'll take me through the New Mutants up to Bendis' current run on ANXM & UXM.

The story of her coming into power is incredible. There's nothing like it in the X-Men.

It occurred to me that Illyana is, in part, a culmination of the most formative elements of Claremont's vision for the X-Men. The popularity of the ANAD X-Men was just beginning to fuel the creation of more titles. All of which were amazing! The New Mutants, the first Wolverine solo and the Cockrum's first Nightcrawler solo are all landmark works.

Illyana's 7 years in Limbo, the narrative all her own - as she shares with the reader her intimate story, revealing her fears...her anguish...her incredible isolation and strength of being. She speaks both as a child and a woman. It's amazing really. I'd forgotten how singular Illyana's voice was at the beginning. From UXM 160 on through her early appearances with the New Mutants every time she takes the stage the story is filtered through her. Reading these comics in continuity has been incredible!

The whole story is insane. The scenarios are impossible. But Illyana is so real that the events of her life become believable and necessary.
Nobody could survive this ordeal with her sanity, spirit and soul intact...and while Illyana expresses her misgivings that she has indeed escaped uncorrupted, the reader knows clearly that Belasco did more to unleash Illyana's power than to doom her fate.

She is certainly no snowflake - the possibility that she could yet become truly the pathway for the Dark Ones remains...but that responsibility does not merely haunt Illyana...it also infuses her with purpose.
She is no demon, not yet, and like all the young mutants...she must learn to wield her strength with the humility of its potential consequences.
Illyana's powerset aside...her character and essence of being make her an omega level hero.

And even now, the Illyana we get is this girl/woman...this demon/angel...an indivisible hero who can't be absorbed - she is indelible.

She is the very manifestation of our greatest human capacity of defiance. Defiance is the essence of creation of hope and story itself. Defiance is deeper than acts of revenge or forgiveness...it is stronger than the extremes that mark divisions, schisms, conflicts and struggle...it is the standing in the fire...and Illyana has been standing her ground in that fire nearly her whole life.

her brother may be able to turn his flesh to steel...but Illyana needs no transformation...she is iron in flesh...she didn't 'get' her Magik...she took it...and made it all on her own.

Sorry for interrupting the thread discussion, I hope in it's own way, this post is relevant...and it'd be interesting to hear how well the OG Illyana resonates with Bendis' Magik...does Bendis have the vision to bring Illyana through this long arc of her life into a return of an Illyana who has come out of the fire - changed, vulnerable and knowable again...stronger than ever before...older, progressed and immediate?

I agree. Another thing I said in the old thread is that I consider the 80s Illyana to be the anti-Jean Grey. When faced with having to keep 100% self control 24/7 or risk killing everyone, and knowing that it was a fight that they they would both inevitably lose, Illyana did not choose to end her life right away like Jean did, but decided to keep fighting as long as possible and to do as much good as possible before the end. I'm not sure yet if Bendis is going for something similar with her current mindset, but if he is I'd be thrilled.

[sungila]

I agree. Another thing I said in the old thread is that I consider the 80s Illyana to be the anti-Jean Grey. When faced with having to keep 100% self control 24/7 or risk killing everyone, and knowing that it was a fight that they they would both inevitably lose, Illyana did not choose to end her life right away like Jean did, but decided to keep fighting as long as possible and to do as much good as possible before the end. I'm not sure yet if Bendis is going for something similar with her current mindset, but if he is I'd be thrilled.

I love this consideration and it never dawned on me before. It makes a lot sense and it'd be an incredible story that could really serve to see Illyana progress and begin a meaningful new chapter.

[chisob]

I felt that Animax was behind the creatures that killed Dazzler and destroyed Washington DC. Makes sense since she was introduced in the BotA #1.

I'd hate to think it was Illyana, whether intentionally or not. I'm more concerned about the frequent spoiler dropping by the future Brotherhood and now the Watcher that Illyana is going to die/kill herself.

When did the Watcher say that?

[G0RM]

Last night I re-read Claremont's UXM #160, Magik (Illyana and Storm) 1-4 and issues #14-#16 of the New Mutants. It's the beginning an Illyana saga read that'll take me through the New Mutants up to Bendis' current run on ANXM & UXM.

The story of her coming into power is incredible. There's nothing like it in the X-Men.

It occurred to me that Illyana is, in part, a culmination of the most formative elements of Claremont's vision for the X-Men. The popularity of the ANAD X-Men was just beginning to fuel the creation of more titles. All of which were amazing! The New Mutants, the first Wolverine solo and the Cockrum's first Nightcrawler solo are all landmark works.

Illyana's 7 years in Limbo, the narrative all her own - as she shares with the reader her intimate story, revealing her fears...her anguish...her incredible isolation and strength of being. She speaks both as a child and a woman. It's amazing really. I'd forgotten how singular Illyana's voice was at the beginning. From UXM 160 on through her early appearances with the New Mutants every time she takes the stage the story is filtered through her. Reading these comics in continuity has been incredible!

The whole story is insane. The scenarios are impossible. But Illyana is so real that the events of her life become believable and necessary.
Nobody could survive this ordeal with her sanity, spirit and soul intact...and while Illyana expresses her misgivings that she has indeed escaped uncorrupted, the reader knows clearly that Belasco did more to unleash Illyana's power than to doom her fate.

She is certainly no snowflake - the possibility that she could yet become truly the pathway for the Dark Ones remains...but that responsibility does not merely haunt Illyana...it also infuses her with purpose.
She is no demon, not yet, and like all the young mutants...she must learn to wield her strength with the humility of its potential consequences.
Illyana's powerset aside...her character and essence of being make her an omega level hero.

And even now, the Illyana we get is this girl/woman...this demon/angel...an indivisible hero who can't be absorbed - she is indelible.

She is the very manifestation of our greatest human capacity of defiance. Defiance is the essence of creation of hope and story itself. Defiance is deeper than acts of revenge or forgiveness...it is stronger than the extremes that mark divisions, schisms, conflicts and struggle...it is the standing in the fire...and Illyana has been standing her ground in that fire nearly her whole life.

her brother may be able to turn his flesh to steel...but Illyana needs no transformation...she is iron in flesh...she didn't 'get' her Magik...she took it...and made it all on her own.

Sorry for interrupting the thread discussion, I hope in it's own way, this post is relevant...and it'd be interesting to hear how well the OG Illyana resonates with Bendis' Magik...does Bendis have the vision to bring Illyana through this long arc of her life into a return of an Illyana who has come out of the fire - changed, vulnerable and knowable again...stronger than ever before...older, progressed and immediate?

Since reading your first post, Sungila, I've been reading Illyana's storyline over and over again, admiring the elegance and subtlety of Claremont's unfolding creation. Your original comment on the poignant sketch of her really brought me back to her original "voice", her narrative voice as the hidden outsider, the one so 'beyond' that she couldn't even fit in openly amongst mutants (well, once Dani became a Valkerie, the mutant/mystical overlap held some potential... for that matter, she and Selene never had a meaningful encounter, which was a shame.)

I typically get completely wrapped up in her powerset and her storyline, but I rarely think much about her strength of personality, which is what really attracts me to her. If she were written with the 'voice' of Bobby, Amara, Jean, or most other characters, I simply wouldn't have cared. Her extraordinary maturity and sense of control and responsibility were like a cross of early Storm, but with a touch of something like the tragedy of Dr Doom (especially during Secret Wars I.)

From TNM v1 #14:
"Belasco needs my Medallion to open the Dimensional Gate. Ideally, he needs my life-essence as well to conjure the final Blood-Stones. Sooner or later he'll come for them. And with luck, one of us will die. If it's him, the world will be saved. If it's me... Or is it the other way around? By the time I know for certain, it'll be too late."
"They laugh so easily... While I've forgotten how to cry. I want to play, but I don't know how to ask."

[244]

When did the Watcher say that?

It was alluded from the Colossus and Shadowcat two page comic strip from "All New X-men" #25 (which I find the art by Maris Wicks adorable). There's no telling whether Magik will die or not because the future is full of alternatives.

Since reading your first post, Sungila, I've been reading Illyana's storyline over and over again, admiring the elegance and subtlety of Claremont's unfolding creation. Your original comment on the poignant sketch of her really brought me back to her original "voice", her narrative voice as the hidden outsider, the one so 'beyond' that she couldn't even fit in openly amongst mutants (well, once Dani became a Valkerie, the mutant/mystical overlap held some potential... for that matter, she and Selene never had a meaningful encounter, which was a shame.)

I typically get completely wrapped up in her powerset and her storyline, but I rarely think much about her strength of personality, which is what really attracts me to her. If she were written with the 'voice' of Bobby, Amara, Jean, or most other characters, I simply wouldn't have cared. Her extraordinary maturity and sense of control and responsibility were like a cross of early Storm, but with a touch of something like the tragedy of Dr Doom (especially during Secret Wars I.)

From TNM v1 #14:
"Belasco needs my Medallion to open the Dimensional Gate. Ideally, he needs my life-essence as well to conjure the final Blood-Stones. Sooner or later he'll come for them. And with luck, one of us will die. If it's him, the world will be saved. If it's me... Or is it the other way around? By the time I know for certain, it'll be too late."
"They laugh so easily... While I've forgotten how to cry. I want to play, but I don't know how to ask."

As Jean Grey puts it from "Uncanny X-men" #303, Magik is an outsider among outsiders.

I always felt that Illyana should've connected more with Rahne because they can definitely relate to each other based from their upbringing. Claremont didn't gave that opportunity to happen but at least Louise Simonson did, even though I didn't like her portrayal of Magik (at least in her earlier portrayal of the character).

[nx01a]

When did the Watcher say that?

Nope. I was half-wrong. In All-New X-Men #25, the Watcher shows Beast alternate realities and possible futures. In one, Kitty says that she may have been responsible for Illyana's death. Illyana's possible future suicide was mentioned during BotA.

The 'Death of Magik Saga™' is being foreshadowed.

[chisob]

Nope. I was half-wrong. In All-New X-Men #25, the Watcher shows Beast alternate realities and possible futures. In one, Kitty says that she may have been responsible for Illyana's death. Illyana's possible future suicide was mentioned during BotA.

The 'Death of Magik Saga™' is being foreshadowed.

Hmm..why would they kill her now that a lot of people love her in Uncanny. She's gaining a lot of new fans now. They already turned her into an all powerful threat ala dark phoenix in Inferno, then she depowered herself, then she died. Why not just put her in a new role like those two alternate futures? (The Kitty Magik lesbo romp or her own solo as SS or as a Hell Lord)

There are so many ways to write Magik. She is a force of nature. You can do Thor like stories (A Magical warrior exploring Marvel's mystic realms) Doc strange like stories. (SS) She can have stories as guardian of Limbo and the other Hell dimensions like Amanda ( Magik 2) or she can even be written similar to Constantine ( a crafty, manipulative, magical wild card) She can be on a mystical version of the Annihilators as the team's funny and witty demon lord.

She is a melee fighter/mage/hell Lord/con artist/wild card/funny smart ass who has a knack for dark comedy/the enigma or a noble heroine w/ a tragic past who battles against all odds to keep herself in check. Her powerset isn't the only versatile thing about her.

It's no coincidence that she keeps stealing the show in different titles under different writers. She can be the bad ass, the comedian, the enigma, the wild card and the heroic and vulnerable hero you sympathize with.

[Fokken]

Nevermind, everyone answered my question...

[sunofdarkchild]

What question was that?

[sungila]

Since reading your first post, Sungila, I've been reading Illyana's storyline over and over again, admiring the elegance and subtlety of Claremont's unfolding creation. Your original comment on the poignant sketch of her really brought me back to her original "voice", her narrative voice as the hidden outsider, the one so 'beyond' that she couldn't even fit in openly amongst mutants
From TNM v1 #14:
"Belasco needs my Medallion to open the Dimensional Gate. Ideally, he needs my life-essence as well to conjure the final Blood-Stones. Sooner or later he'll come for them. And with luck, one of us will die. If it's him, the world will be saved. If it's me... Or is it the other way around? By the time I know for certain, it'll be too late."
"They laugh so easily... While I've forgotten how to cry. I want to play, but I don't know how to ask."

I appreciate your thoughtful posts Gorm. Reading her early formative development it's made clear 'Yanna is indeed an outsider. There have always been and continue to be Illyana's amongst us. Individuals who are 'chosen' at a young formative age (sometimes by misfortune, sometimes by circumstance, sometimes for underlying reasons of unique inheritance, sometimes for reasons beyond knowing) to be raised in ways that separate them from their peers, but train them to serve their community with special talents and singular gifts. They're called medicine people, shamans, healers, therapists, councilors, poets, artists...and while many may pursue these positions or imagine themselves to be 'chosen' - it's not exactly something you can 'chose' it's more a matter of being chosen...and as we see with Illyana...being chose doesn't mean **** unless you survive, transcend, rebel, walk away and restore yourself by way of your own essence. The incredible isolation that Illyana experiences throughout her life is repeated by spiritual figures and artists throughout time in their words, works and testimonies. Saints, sinners, rock stars and revolutionaries...they all have this period of upheaval, isolation, struggle, death and resurrection. Many of them look to their childhood and see a hole...just like like Illyana.

As Jean Grey puts it from "Uncanny X-men" #303, Magik is an outsider among outsiders.
I always felt that Illyana should've connected more with Rahne because they can definitely relate to each other based from their upbringing. Claremont didn't gave that opportunity to happen but at least Louise Simonson did, even though I didn't like her portrayal of Magik (at least in her earlier portrayal of the character).

In the early comics Rahne fears Illyana and sees her as a devil no different than Sym or the Demon Bear. Magik tolerates it for a bit - but eventually challenges Rahne to use a psi-link to a dying Dani against Rahne's will...this is part of what I love about Illyana...she gets the fact that her peers can't understand her and that they might even fear or mistrust her...but rather than giving in to it and becoming (as she very well could) the demon they imagine her to be...when she must act she aligns the two conflicting facets of her character naturally - the 'demon' side of her manifests as 'cut the bullshit Rahne' and the 'bright' side of her manifests as 'undaunted courage' - Magik is continuously forging into the unknown...discovering herself by sacrificing her reluctance, innocence and personal misgivings for the sake of others in need.

That's a great quote "an outsider amongst outsiders"
Perhaps Jean more than any character reflects Illyana's singular presence in the X-Men. Still, Jean always had somebody to hold her and she remains the focus of so much devotion from her friends and teammates - the Phoenix Force is not the same as Magik's experienced based sorcery and darkchilde spirit...Illyana is not as innocent as Jean...sounds funny...but I'd say Illyana is an 'older soul' and ten times tougher than Jean.

Rachel however is a different story. I've often thought that Kitty's friendship with Illyana and Rachel was interesting in the fact that the two relationships didn't overlap. Kitty was a best friend to both these women and a sort of anchor of understanding and humanity that both needed in order to hold themselves from slipping away into the shadow of their darkside.

It'd be interesting to see Illyana and Rachel together...maybe that could bring Rachel back from the obscurity of her current role in the X-Men. It's strange to keep such a powerful and important figure out of the core action for so long.

Hmm..why would they kill her now that a lot of people love her in Uncanny. She's gaining a lot of new fans now. They already turned her into an all powerful threat ala dark phoenix in Inferno, then she depowered herself, then she died. Why not just put her in a new role like those two alternate futures? (The Kitty Magik lesbo romp or her own solo as SS or as a Hell Lord)

There are so many ways to write Magik. She is a force of nature. You can do Thor like stories (A Magical warrior exploring Marvel's mystic realms) Doc strange like stories. (SS) She can have stories as guardian of Limbo and the other Hell dimensions like Amanda ( Magik 2) or she can even be written similar to Constantine ( a crafty, manipulative, magical wild card) She can be on a mystical version of the Annihilators as the team's funny and witty demon lord.

She is a melee fighter/mage/hell Lord/con artist/wild card/funny smart ass who has a knack for dark comedy/the enigma or a noble heroine w/ a tragic past who battles against all odds to keep herself in check. Her powerset isn't the only versatile thing about her.

It's no coincidence that she keeps stealing the show in different titles under different writers. She can be the bad ass, the comedian, the enigma, the wild card and the heroic and vulnerable hero you sympathize with.

Great post! For all the reasons you've given and more, it'd be horrible to kill Illyana off now. It's such a lazy dead end 'event' to kill off a character when what's really needed is invested development. Illyana's in a great position right now for her character to progress and possibly grow beyond what it's been. You've given some great ways in which this could expand and I'd love to see her grow in all these ways. Instead of diminishing her multi-faceted, sometimes contradictory nature it'd be great to see her further her confidence and control over these powerfully conflicting forces...from such collisions of spirit there is great power for creation - and it'd be awesome for Magik to really come into her own in regards to her mastery of self.

[sunofdarkchild]

Some more things about the early days-Illyana was treated as a semi-X-Man at times, with Xavier sending her to help fight the Dire Wraiths and Storm bringing her into the Morlock tunnels with the X-Men in Mutant Massacre. In addition she was instrumental in beating Kulan Gath in Uncanny and was one of only 2 New Mutants brought to fight the Beyonder at the beginning of Secret Wars 2. There was a general understanding that she was an asset to the adult teams in a way that the other New Mutants were never considered.

Also, despite having a problem with killing at the time, she was clearly depicted as willing to go farther than the others 9other than Warlock who had no understanding of human morality). She didn't hesitate to shoot that alien in the first annual or to stab Amara and the bystanders in the fight with the Demon Bear. And in the Fat Karma saga, her expression when Dani is saying how she doesn't want to hurt their possessed friends clearly shows she's thinking 'Dani's not willing to defend herself. better get rid of her so she's not a liability.' She decided that it would be safer for Dani to also be controlled instead of hesitating every time the New Mutants attacked.

And yet she took Warlock out of play and left him in Limbo right after he tried to kill Sam. As someone who was immune to Karma, probably the next most powerful on the team after her, and willing to go all out he should have been the perfect ally to go after Karma directly with. While she did not want to be burdened with Dani's inability to fight back, she also refused to start out trying to kill them like Warlock. She and Warlock could have killed them all if she wanted to, but she went for the riskiest plan because it did not involve them hurting the others physically.

Today that problem with killing is gone, though she hasn't been put in a position where she has to fight her friends (other than Colossus who she pwns so much there's no need to kill him) and treated her fight with Black Widow as a game so as not to kill her.

[chisob]

Does anyone else have comments about "Original Sin", the Mindless Ones, and Magik?

Since she absorbed Limbo, the Mindless Ones that were there would be inside her now, but if any were still back in the Dark Dimension, they might have been subverted.

The Hood was empowered by Dormammu for a period, so it's possible he's one of the group of looters commanding the Mindless Ones who stole from the Watcher, even if The Hood wasn't the shooter. (Plus "Eye of Watcher" is probably a more powerful spell component than 'eye of newt'!-)

I assume Magik will appear in the next issue to be questioned about the Mindless Ones, and "What Happened to Dormammu?" will certainly be a topic of conversation...

So what *does* everyone think happened to Dormammu?
Did she try to kill him? Is she keeping his shrunken head in a pocket to use as a lighter?
(She used present tense while speaking to Dr Strange about Dormammu, but that wasn't conclusive, time travel being complicated.)

Magik's first act as Ruler of Limbo was *not* to kill Belasco, which was all that allowed her to keep control of it. Other Storm made the mistake of killing Belasco after he had been defeated and was powerless, which corrupted her further, and put her under his power.

If there is some sort of "No Kill" policy regarding control of Limbo after duels with defeated opponents, there might be convoluted power dynamics going on.

Any other speculations regarding "Original Sin"?
(I ask especially because there is a panel where the Black Panther is looking at a monitor that shows something like Magik riding the dragon she was on during the first iteration of the release of the Elder Gods, although the details are hard to make out even with a magnifying glass.)

So fellow Magik fans, any new leads Magik's role in Original Sin? A lot of mindless ones running around. She's on the cover w/ Thor too. Is she a bit player or is there a chance that she will right in the thick of it ala AVX?

[Andru]

So fellow Magik fans, any new leads Magik's role in Original Sin? A lot of mindless ones running around. She's on the cover w/ Thor too. Is she a bit player or is there a chance that she will right in the thick of it ala AVX?

Tom Brevoort answered on his Tumblr that she will briefly appear in Issue # 2.

Beyond that, we know nothing.