Illyana "Magik" Rasputin Appreciation

[MuhollandDriver]

Events, especially big ones like AvX, come with a certain amount of compromise. This isn't my favorite story with Magik, and I kind of knew it wouldn't be going into it.

I did love her outfit in this. She should rock something similar and less Phoenix-ish in the future.

While I did enjoy the prominence she gained from the event and the Extinction Team, I really think a different direction is needed with her. We have now had two corruption/quasi-villain stories with her, and they are not very far apart.
What is going to happen next? Hopefully not another jail story. I am ready to move on from that also.

Limbo, her darkside, her demons...all those are probably very fun toys for a writer. I understand why one would want to tell stories involving them. However, there is much more to the character than that. In the Uncanny run, Kieron Gillen was throwing in little scenes that hinted at her returning human side: helping her brother, appreciating beauty in life (even if flowers really are monsters!), supporting Cyclops. She retained her mystery and her edge while doing so.

I absolutely loved how Brian Wood wrote her in Adjectiveless. Her intentions were arguably the most heroic of all of them, and she still kept her dark edge!

That's why my feelings were a bit mixed with the event. I was ecstatic and grateful to see her playing such a big role, but it was a giant curveball with how she was being developed in Uncanny X-Men.

Whatever her future holds, I would love to see something beyond a corruption story. A story focusing on her complicated relationship with Kitty, or her encountering her oldest brother. Maybe hanging with Dani and the gang. Fighting the Baba Yaga. Anything really.

This event might put her and the other Phoenix Five members into an odd situation. Hopefully there is a plan for them post AvX.

[Suiciety]

Colossus has already threatened Illyana, the first issue of Gillen's Uncanny Renumbering.
He threatened to snap her neck, if I recall correctly.

Good point. I forgot about that. But Petey was able to check himself before he wrecked him...errr...her(self). :D

[ButterRum]

I believe the simple answer is that these characters are all corrupt. Or corruptable.
From the start, fans acknowledged the "Hey these guys are villains!" of the Extinction Team roster, excluding Storm and Hope.
I believe Magneto was excluded from selection for Host Duty simply because of the irony? The ONE guy who actually WANTS to dominate the planet doesn't get the chance? Let the LOLZ ensue? yea.

They're a plot device. As proven by issue #9 yesterday, they're a plot device that was meant to break down and crumble --- and don't even necessarily deserve proper on-panel treatment. The story needed suitable characters to be the villains. These 5 had the most potential to get rampagey.

Blah.
Its all garbage, mistreatment of some quality X-ers.
Wack.

God, that would be hilarious if Magneto got a portion of the Phoenix Force, but he's been bowing down to Cyclops as well, so who knows.

[sunofdarkchild]

Events, especially big ones like AvX, come with a certain amount of compromise. This isn't my favorite story with Magik, and I kind of knew it wouldn't be going into it.

I did love her outfit in this. She should rock something similar and less Phoenix-ish in the future.

While I did enjoy the prominence she gained from the event and the Extinction Team, I really think a different direction is needed with her. We have now had two corruption/quasi-villain stories with her, and they are not very far apart.
What is going to happen next? Hopefully not another jail story. I am ready to move on from that also.

Limbo, her darkside, her demons...all those are probably very fun toys for a writer. I understand why one would want to tell stories involving them. However, there is much more to the character than that. In the Uncanny run, Kieron Gillen was throwing in little scenes that hinted at her returning human side: helping her brother, appreciating beauty in life (even if flowers really are monsters!), supporting Cyclops. She retained her mystery and her edge while doing so.

I absolutely loved how Brian Wood wrote her in Adjectiveless. Her intentions were arguably the most heroic of all of them, and she still kept her dark edge!

That's why my feelings were a bit mixed with the event. I was ecstatic and grateful to see her playing such a big role, but it was a giant curveball with how she was being developed in Uncanny X-Men.

Whatever her future holds, I would love to see something beyond a corruption story. A story focusing on her complicated relationship with Kitty, or her encountering her oldest brother. Maybe hanging with Dani and the gang. Fighting the Baba Yaga. Anything really.

This event might put her and the other Phoenix Five members into an odd situation. Hopefully there is a plan for them post AvX.

What Illyana is now is a badass chick with a dark side, which is a cliche. She pulls it off better than practically anyone, but it is still a cliche.

In the 80s Illyana was a bundle of contradictions even when not written as a mall girl. "A mystery wrapped within an enigma." Her magic was white and black at the same time, something that was sadly forgotten after it was emphasized very strongly at the beginning. This made her, in addition to being a prime example of imbalance for obvious reasons, a representation of perfect balance at the exact same time. There was the inherent contradiction between trying to do good while there was always an element of evil in every action. There was the fact that she was Belasco and the Elder Gods' greatest enemy and greatest asset at the exact same time.

This led into a fascinating dynamic of choices. Illyana, like Jean Grey in the DPS, was faced with the fact that she had to maintain 100% perfect self control every second of every day for the rest of her life, or they could end all life as we know it while actually enjoying the carnage. Both knew that it was impossible for a human being to maintain that kind of control forever. Jean Grey chose to kill herself. Illyana chose to try to redeem herself through doing good with the evil inside her, and to that end make herself the sworn enemy of everything her darker side represented, clinging to some grain of hope even when logically there was none.

That is to say nothing about the idea that she was a representation of the conflict between good and evil inside all of us taken to an extreme.

I really wish the modern Illyana had half of that complexity. 80s Illyana could still be just as much of a badass who'd do her own thing or things that were morally grey while maintaining all of the above.

[yanapryde]

Shifting topics sort of, I really really wish we could have gotten a down-time issue or a one shot of sorts with a few exchanges between Illyana, Doug and Magneto. So many missed opportunities with those precious interlude moments we would get in the 80's. I'd have loved to see Magneto have a sit-down with the two students he "lost" while acting Headmaster of Xavier's.

Sigh.

[MuhollandDriver]

I really think it comes down to one thing for me. I am ready for her to be a hero again. A hero with dark aspects and sometimes controversial methods, of course. I would love for creative teams to move beyond quasi-villain plots concerning her.

[Sanji]

I love the way she was written in New Mutants v3. If they go back to that (or Uncanny X-men, which isn't very different) I'd love it. The AvX and Legacy tie-ins have been quite horrible for her.

[Omegastorm]

Shifting topics sort of, I really really wish we could have gotten a down-time issue or a one shot of sorts with a few exchanges between Illyana, Doug and Magneto. So many missed opportunities with those precious interlude moments we would get in the 80's. I'd have loved to see Magneto have a sit-down with the two students he "lost" while acting Headmaster of Xavier's.

Sigh.

Please pitch this idea. Please, We need that and I still want a sitdown between her and Storm. They were so close.

o

[MuhollandDriver]

I love the way she was written in New Mutants v3. If they go back to that (or Uncanny X-men, which isn't very different) I'd love it. The AvX and Legacy tie-ins have been quite horrible for her.

Absolutely! Zeb Wells gave us a thrilling story, and Kieron Gillen gave us some downtime with her brother. At first I wanted more from the plot, but showing her human side in subtle ways is very appreciated after this event.

I will also add Abnett and Lanning to the list. While I wasn't a huge fan of their New Mutants run, they wrote a wonderful Illyana.

I assume that solo series we were dreaming of will be put on hold for awhile. I doubt a character that throws Avengers in volcanoes and banishes Rogue to another dimension is a candidate for one. Wahhhhhhhhh!

[244]

What Illyana is now is a badass chick with a dark side, which is a cliche. She pulls it off better than practically anyone, but it is still a cliche.

In the 80s Illyana was a bundle of contradictions even when not written as a mall girl. "A mystery wrapped within an enigma." Her magic was white and black at the same time, something that was sadly forgotten after it was emphasized very strongly at the beginning. This made her, in addition to being a prime example of imbalance for obvious reasons, a representation of perfect balance at the exact same time. There was the inherent contradiction between trying to do good while there was always an element of evil in every action. There was the fact that she was Belasco and the Elder Gods' greatest enemy and greatest asset at the exact same time.

This led into a fascinating dynamic of choices. Illyana, like Jean Grey in the DPS, was faced with the fact that she had to maintain 100% perfect self control every second of every day for the rest of her life, or they could end all life as we know it while actually enjoying the carnage. Both knew that it was impossible for a human being to maintain that kind of control forever. Jean Grey chose to kill herself. Illyana chose to try to redeem herself through doing good with the evil inside her, and to that end make herself the sworn enemy of everything her darker side represented, clinging to some grain of hope even when logically there was none.

That is to say nothing about the idea that she was a representation of the conflict between good and evil inside all of us taken to an extreme.

I really wish the modern Illyana had half of that complexity. 80s Illyana could still be just as much of a badass who'd do her own thing or things that were morally grey while maintaining all of the above.

I think it's safe to assume that Illyana has lost touch with her humanity ever since being resurrected as a demon (despite showing brief moments of her humanity), and I think that was part of the reason why she became darker than usual from Zeb Wells' New Mutants.

Please pitch this idea. Please, We need that and I still want a sitdown between her and Storm. They were so close.

o

It would be nice but I'm not sure if Storm would feel the same way because her and the limbo version of Storm are kind of like two different people in a sense.

[steve2275]

Colossus has already threatened Illyana, the first issue of Gillen's Uncanny Renumbering.
He threatened to snap her neck, if I recall correctly.

i think that more of a cytorrak influence

[steve2275]

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/20...ty-d58wnqc.jpg

[yanapryde]

Daniel Govar rocks the Illyana redesign again, over on Project Rooftop.
Inspired by the Days of the Future Past storyline, he has Kitty atop a full grown Lockheed, immersed in a rescue mission alongside Havok and Illyana, saving Storm, Colossus, Wolverine and Polaris from a detainment camp.

HAWT!!!

[MuhollandDriver]

Daniel Gover is awesome. He did some great New Mutant designs! While I do prefer Magik with longer hair, she looks totally awesome taking center stage like it is no one's business.

I like her hangin' with Kitty. I miss that.

Are there two storms in this image?

Awesome image as well, Steve 2275.

[steve2275]

Daniel Gover is awesome. He did some great New Mutant designs! While I do prefer Magik with longer hair, she looks totally awesome taking center stage like it is no one's business.

I like her hangin' with Kitty. I miss that.

Are there two storms in this image?

Awesome image as well, Steve 2275.

i think one is polaris
thanks