Illyana Rasputina/Magik Appreciation 2024

[sunofdarkchild]

X-MEN: BLOOD HUNT – MAGIK #1
Written by ASHLEY ALLEN
Art by JESÚS HERVÁS
Cover by ROD REIS
On Sale 6/26

Magik raises hell! Illyana Rasputina has returned to her homeland to search her soul and steel it for what comes next. But how will she protect her first home when a vampire army descends on Russia, seeking to turn it into a living hell? She may have been forged in the fires of Limbo, but has it prepared her for the Blood Hunt?


https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...ocke-wolverine



Bit of an awkwardly written solicit with the 'search her soul and steel for what comes next' part, but definitely exciting to see Illyana get a rare solo story.

[Havok83]

Reis is the best modern artist for Illyana so its a pleasure to see another piece drawn by him especially that new costume

[NOCTPHOENIX]

X-MEN: BLOOD HUNT – MAGIK #1
Written by ASHLEY ALLEN
Art by JESÚS HERVÁS
Cover by ROD REIS
On Sale 6/26

Magik raises hell! Illyana Rasputina has returned to her homeland to search her soul and steel it for what comes next. But how will she protect her first home when a vampire army descends on Russia, seeking to turn it into a living hell? She may have been forged in the fires of Limbo, but has it prepared her for the Blood Hunt?


https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...ocke-wolverine



Bit of an awkwardly written solicit with the 'search her soul and steel for what comes next' part, but definitely exciting to see Illyana get a rare solo story.

Magik fighting vampires.....never have known I needed something so badly until now.

[Andru]

Reis is the best modern artist for Illyana so its a pleasure to see another piece drawn by him especially that new costume

This is fact!

[sunofdarkchild]

Here's the preview for next week's X-Men 32, the Illyana-Kate teamup.

https://www.cbr.com/x-men-fall-x-kit...review-marvel/


So we're basically pretending Realm of X never happened while simultaneously calling out that Illyana was 'off-world' the whole time.

[Fokken]

Here's the preview for next week's X-Men 32, the Illyana-Kate teamup.

https://www.cbr.com/x-men-fall-x-kit...review-marvel/


So we're basically pretending Realm of X never happened while simultaneously calling out that Illyana was 'off-world' the whole time.

Yes, I'm confused, bothered and bewildered.

[sunofdarkchild]

Yes, I'm confused, bothered and bewildered.

This makes most sense if we assume Illyana's been back for a little while already and has been fighting Orchis non-stop off-panel until now. She's burning the candle at both ends like she's done since the start of Krakoa, but now that she can't teleport it's finally catching up to her, hence her exhaustion.

The gun thing bothers me not so much because it's a problem for Illyana to use a gun, but because the idea that Illyana is not holding back this time would be better presented and mean more for her character if she was CASTING SPELLS. If there was any time for Magik to use MAGIC, this is it. But Duggan doesn't seem to know that she's a trained sorceress. And with the character development she supposedly got in Realm she should be far more comfortable casting spells than ever before.

[Thirteen]

From the X-MEN 32 preview thread...

Odd to see the Soulsword used as a physical weapon/tool - especially that panel of Illyana using it to slide across the wire - and what's up with her speech bubbles? I'm hearing Tara Strong's TEEN TITANS Raven as I read her spoken dialogue now.

[Fokken]

You're absolutely right, sunofdarkchild. Where them spells at? If Illyana is going ham on Orchis, and teleportation is off the table, let's see some Hoary Hoasts or some Winding Winds of Watoomb or something.

As for the Sword's density -- its been "solid" and functioning like a traditional blade since the Bendis era.
Personally not my cup of tea, but it is what it is, and its been for a while now.

[Thirteen]

Cuteness

[sunofdarkchild]

Twitter thread I just posted on why I think Illyana was lying when she used to say her powers didn't work on earth.

https://twitter.com/sunofdarkchild/s...94965225451613

While I, like many fans, am often frustrated by Marvel's refusal to let a character named Magik do magic, I do believe there is an in-character explanation for this most of the time, that also explains why she was said to not be able to do magic on earth back in the 80s.

In my opinion, Illyana was always lying about her powers not working on earth, because she was afraid to use them. There were simply too many times when she did use spells on earth for it to be otherwise. It was too inconsistent.

In the issue where she joins the New Mutants, she could have cast spells that reduced S'ym to dust, and did cast at least 3 different spells, an energy blast, mystic chains, and rewriting Stevie's memories, all on earth.

Something important to note is when fighting S'ym, she notes how good it feels to use her magic, something which I believe factored into her decision to stop using said magic not long afterward.

In the following issue, she casts a spell to send her astral form to check on Kitty, and it is this going wrong that causes everyone to realize she's a witch. If her spells did not work on earth, they would never have found out her secret and this issue wouldn't have happened.

She continues to cast spells on earth during the following story, the Demon Bear Saga, where she casts protective wards around Dani's operating room on earth.

Her explanation for not using spells when fighting the Demon Bear is not that her spells won't work, but that she did not have 'time to be fancy,' meaning spellcasting in the heat of battle would take too long. This is also the moment her armor first appeared.

The next issue, we get the first mention of her sorcery being limited on earth, something that had never been hinted at beforehand, but which would be mostly the standard going forward.

What I believe happened is that the unexpected appearance of her armor so soon after she began using spells regularly on earth frightened her, as did her enjoyment of her spellcasting. So she came up with the lie that her spells didn't work on earth as an excuse to stop using them. And she would continue to use spells on earth sporadically despite claiming that she couldn't do any spells, such as when she reclaimed her power after the Beyonder took it away.

When all the heroes' memories were overwritten by Kulan Gath, she had no objection that her powers didn't work when Captain America ordered jer to cast a cloaking spell on earth. She did it without problem.

During the Mutant Massacre, she claimed she needed to go to Limbo to heal Kitty, but a few issues later, she was more honest about the real reason she couldn't, because of her inner darkness, the cure could be worse than the disease. She also cast a spell in her room.

What we see is someone who could cast spells and use magic on earth, but refuses to because she is afraid of that power. This is probably what Dr. Strange meant when he said he had little to teach her and what she needed was the growth of her spirit.

To some extent, this fear has remained even as she has gained true control over her powers. Since her return in 2007, no one has said her powers don't work on earth, but she still prefers not to use them if she doesn't have to. But she can if the need arises.

If Realm of X had a point, it was to finally reconcile Illyana to her identity and power as a sorceress, overcoming those fears. This is why it is so disappointing to see her getting 'serious' represented by er using a gun, something that is comparatively meaningless.

What I would like to see is an exploration of how her newfound character development affects how she acts in battle, and perhaps a reflection on all the fights she could have won and tragedies she could have stopped had she not been deliberately holding herself back.

[SturdyMike89]

From the X-MEN 32 preview thread...

Odd to see the Soulsword used as a physical weapon/tool - especially that panel of Illyana using it to slide across the wire - and what's up with her speech bubbles? I'm hearing Tara Strong's TEEN TITANS Raven as I read her spoken dialogue now.

I know it's been a long crossover already but damn does Noto have to draw every character with bags under their eyes?

[Fokken]

Twitter thread I just posted on why I think Illyana was lying when she used to say her powers didn't work on earth.

https://twitter.com/sunofdarkchild/s...94965225451613

Excellent post and I fully support the "Illyana was lying" about her out-of-Limbo-spell-casting" theory.

I know it's been a long crossover already but damn does Noto have to draw every character with bags under their eyes?

The dialogue explains Illyana's fatigue affected eyes.

[sunofdarkchild]

The issue is just ok. It does make more sense why Illyana is so drained she has to resort to using a gun, at least/

[sunofdarkchild]

Excellent post and I fully support the "Illyana was lying" about her out-of-Limbo-spell-casting" theory.

The dialogue explains Illyana's fatigue affected eyes.

I can just imagine Dani seeing through it and being completely exasperated with her every time the New Mutants had to really work because Illyana wouldn't use spells to end the fight in seconds. I'd love to see a story where Dani says she's glad Illyana's stopped pretending her magic doesn't work.