Illyana "Magik" Rasputin Appreciation

[yanapryde]

Illyana's time travel answers why we saw Ink present during the riots in San Fran, pre-Utopia, when he was supposed to be in a coma.

All hands on deck, means ALL HANDS ON DECK. Illyana took the initiative to acquire all available soldiers, comatose or otherwise.

[sunofdarkchild]

This conversation has got me wanting to write something, so I thought I'd try my hand at making a story for that Magik videogame I thought of a while back. Don't be too harsh.

Black screen. A female voice speaks.

"My brother is a hero, an X-Man."

Image of an armored Colossus with a small, blonde girl on his shoulders, laughing.

"When I grow up, will I be shiny like you?" the girl asks.

"Is that what you want to be?" Colossus asks.

"I think I would look funny." The girl responds.

The image of the siblings slowly fades, and the female voice returns.

"I thought he could protect me from anything. That was before…"

Black screen. Sounds of a struggle. A little child screaming. Colossus yelling "Illyana!"

The sounds stop. An image of a face appears: a blonde teenage girl, with reddish skin, glowing white eyes, fangs, and two small horns on the forhead.

A male voice, like Christopher Lee, speaks softly as the face comes into view.

"My beautiful…Darkchild…"

The face disappears. Dramatic music. Titles appear.

X-MEN

MAGIK

The music stops as a scene begins.

The blonde woman hits the ground with a loud thump. She struggles to lift her head up. She is severely injured.

"Belasco…" she whispers, her face barely off the ground.

The camera pans around the brimstone room to the demon man sitting on a throne. He looks similar to the demonic female face from before and speaks with the same deep voice as before.

"Did you really think you could defy me, sorceress?" he spits in disgust.

The woman grunts painfully as she tries and fails to rise.

A large, purple dragon-like figure appears behind the throne.

"Shall S'ym dispose of her?" it asks.

"Not yet." Belasco answers. "I can think of a few uses for her before then."

Belasco looks beyond the sorceress. "You have done well, my apprentice."

The camera moves behind the sorceress, where a young man, normal looking except for his red medieval cloak, stands. He bows.

"I live to serve you, my lord."

Belasco smiles.

"The time is almost right for you to learn the darkest secrets of the arts arcane and achieve power beyond mortal comprehension. But first you must complete one final task."

"Name the challenge, my lord." the young man says eagerly. "I will be more than equal to it."

Belasco's smile widens.

"Destroy the sorceress Magik."

The young man looks incredulously at the woman on the floor.

"That would be an absurdly easy task at the moment, my lord."

Belasco begins to laugh.

"You believe this is Magik? This is a faker, an imposter, at best a fill in!

"No," Belasco says in a serious tone, "to prove yourself worthy of being my new apprentice, you must slay my old apprentice, the true Magik."

The young man smiles and bows. "Consider it done, my lord."

The camera closes in on the woman's face, which is worried.

"Illyana…" she whispers.

[jamgut]

2 things.
1) It can certainly be argued that defeating the Elder Gods and Saving the X-Men/world go hand in hand. Given the threat they pose. Defeating the Elder Gods = Win for Everyone. Unless of course defeating them means everyone dies with them.
2) Illyana said she came back to save the world. That's what she told Emma Frost. But...she DID do a whole lotta of lying along the way, so who can say if she was being honest during that specific exchange...?

Could Illyana have prevented the EG's from escaping? Possibly.
Does it seem she actively manipulated events in order for someone else to set them free? Yes..
The big issue is the stakes: Win: Kill the Elder Gods. Lose: Reality is torn apart.
And again: Could she have prevented their release and the risk to reality? The bigger question: Would she have?

Maybe I'm having recall issues, but I thought when Emma asked Illyana if she traveled back in time to save them, Illyana responded with something like "No, I came back to make you stronger for what's to come." That would be truthful if her definition of stronger meant make sure all the pieces are in place (Karma, Legion, etc.) so that the X-Men could win the battle.

[244]

This conversation has got me wanting to write something, so I thought I'd try my hand at making a story for that Magik videogame I thought of a while back. Don't be too harsh.

Black screen. A female voice speaks.

"My brother is a hero, an X-Man."

Image of an armored Colossus with a small, blonde girl on his shoulders, laughing.

"When I grow up, will I be shiny like you?" the girl asks.

"Is that what you want to be?" Colossus asks.

"I think I would look funny." The girl responds.

The image of the siblings slowly fades, and the female voice returns.

"I thought he could protect me from anything. That was before…"

Black screen. Sounds of a struggle. A little child screaming. Colossus yelling "Illyana!"

The sounds stop. An image of a face appears: a blonde teenage girl, with reddish skin, glowing white eyes, fangs, and two small horns on the forhead.

A male voice, like Christopher Lee, speaks softly as the face comes into view.

"My beautiful…Darkchild…"

The face disappears. Dramatic music. Titles appear.

X-MEN

MAGIK

The music stops as a scene begins.

The blonde woman hits the ground with a loud thump. She struggles to lift her head up. She is severely injured.

"Belasco…" she whispers, her face barely off the ground.

The camera pans around the brimstone room to the demon man sitting on a throne. He looks similar to the demonic female face from before and speaks with the same deep voice as before.

"Did you really think you could defy me, sorceress?" he spits in disgust.

The woman grunts painfully as she tries and fails to rise.

A large, purple dragon-like figure appears behind the throne.

"Shall S'ym dispose of her?" it asks.

"Not yet." Belasco answers. "I can think of a few uses for her before then."

Belasco looks beyond the sorceress. "You have done well, my apprentice."

The camera moves behind the sorceress, where a young man, normal looking except for his red medieval cloak, stands. He bows.

"I live to serve you, my lord."

Belasco smiles.

"The time is almost right for you to learn the darkest secrets of the arts arcane and achieve power beyond mortal comprehension. But first you must complete one final task."

"Name the challenge, my lord." the young man says eagerly. "I will be more than equal to it."

Belasco's smile widens.

"Destroy the sorceress Magik."

The young man looks incredulously at the woman on the floor.

"That would be an absurdly easy task at the moment, my lord."

Belasco begins to laugh.

"You believe this is Magik? This is a faker, an imposter, at best a fill in!

"No," Belasco says in a serious tone, "to prove yourself worthy of being my new apprentice, you must slay my old apprentice, the true Magik."

The young man smiles and bows. "Consider it done, my lord."

The camera closes in on the woman's face, which is worried.

"Illyana…" she whispers.

Sounds like something you can pitch to Chris Yost. He and Craig Kyle had worked on the animated movie "Hulk VS" and the way he described Magik from his "Quest for MAgik" interview was spot on.

[Darkchild]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't there supposed to be an animated show for The New Mutants?

[244]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't there supposed to be an animated show for The New Mutants?

I did a quick google search but no announcements and such in regards with it.

[NielsVanEekelen]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't there supposed to be an animated show for The New Mutants?

No animated show, but there's rumours of a live-action movie using the title. (Which may be no more closely related to the characters than First Class was to the First Class comics, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up.)

Alternately, you could be thinking of the fact that Magik was confirmed for an appearance in Wolverine and the X-Men Season 2, only then there was no Season 2?

[Darkchild]

I saw that picture on Tumblr and it was like an ad for that New Mutants show but it could be fan-made.

ETA: It wasn't this one but check this fan made ad http://th06.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/...87-d3ds1xe.jpg
oh and i also found this amazing fan art! http://www.tencentticker.com/project...f9fe8e9_o.jpeg i wish 'Yana would wear something like this (with or without the mask)

[yanapryde]

Maybe I'm having recall issues, but I thought when Emma asked Illyana if she traveled back in time to save them, Illyana responded with something like "No, I came back to make you stronger for what's to come." That would be truthful if her definition of stronger meant make sure all the pieces are in place (Karma, Legion, etc.) so that the X-Men could win the battle.

Emma asks if Illyana came back to save them, but her response was more "To make you stronger for what's to come."
So she didn't affirm Emma's assumption, or deny it. Brilliant on the Wells's part to leave it just open-ended enough to leave for some wiggle room.

[Silent Sigh]

By looking at Magik's facial expression and what to expect from her fight with Black Widow, I take it Chris Yost is using the pre "Fall/Rise of the New Mutants" Magik. I say this because from the first page of AvX: VS #1, it says there's no continuity connected to anything.

I think that facial expression is accurate, just like the way she was looking to Nate Grey or to the demons that tried to released her, that's the Magik I love, a little snarky.

Well, whether I'm jumping the gun or not, I'm going with what Kieron Gillen said in his interviews and formspring about Illyana being a different person as a result of regaining her soul and "coming out the other side", and Danger's assessment about her from UXN #9 from the opening scene. I mean, with that, there's a lot of new territory that can be explored with her.

He never said she was human now or that she regained her whole soul, he said she was a "construct", what we all know is that she has no regrets about what she did, but she wants to learn to be human and regain the trust of the X-Men, but that doesn't mean she is going to be a polite and good girl now, she is on her way.

Admit it, was anyone else upset when they saw Strange carrying a passed out Illyana in AvX3? It pissed me off at first till we saw the twist 2 pages later

I dont see it happening in UXM, bc the most recent issue of Uncanny takes place during and after the fight is over. Maybe Avengers v4?

One of my friends told me on facebook "you're going to love this issue" and then when I saw that scene I was like "stupid Strange, stupid Avengers, etc." but later I was like "fuck, yeah!!, that's my girl!!" LOL

I'm OK with not seeing the fight, I loved the way everything happened.

Ooooh Kitty and Illyana stare down.

I love Bachalo's art but that Illyana could be better, I love that Emma, though.

I hope Illyana ignores Kitty.

When asked on Formspring: Magik has been incredible useful so far, since fear itself she's been a great soldier showing iniciative and good strategies, will Cyclops see this someday?

Gillen responded: He appreciates Magik just fine. The problem is that he doesn't trust her.

This has been a tricky one to really get across - it's a case where the distant nature of a superhero universe separates us from the real meaning of a decision. The fact her plan worked and "destroy reality" seems distant hides the core ethical transgression. What Magik did was lie to her friends so she could be near a button which launched every nuke on earth... and then flipped a coin. If it was heads, she pressed it and if she was tails, she got a sweetie she wanted.

It was tails. We were very lucky. How could you *ever* trust someone who'd do something like that ever again? I wouldn't.

"But what about Magneto/Emma/Whatever?"... well, Magneto never risked blowing up reality for a selfish desire and lied to everyone to achieve it. Magneto's was a terrorist on earth, for a specific cause. Even if you hate and disagree with Magneto, he's a known quantity. He's easier to trust than Magik.

The fact that Magik flipped that coin, for someone who has to plan and trust, makes Magik incredibly tricky. That Magik seems fine with the situation is something else that also mitigates it a little. It may change eventually, but it really is a lot of trust she has to re-earn.

ALSO: Sadly, Gillen will not be writing a scene depicting Yana's defeat of Strange. He confirmed that on Formspring as well. That brilliant battle will only live in our imaginations, I'm guessing.

I hope Scott releases Illyana and then she fucks it up XD

[Silent Sigh]

It seems everyone is intent on forgetting what actually happened. Illyana did not wake up one day and decide she wanted revenge. She found the Elder Gods already released and went back intime to stop them. She had two options, prevent their seal from being broken altogether, keeping the threat alive, or attempt to destroy them utterly at great risk to existence. Because of her desire for revenge she opted for the latter, but the universe would have been destroyed had she not acted at all.

2 things.
1) It can certainly be argued that defeating the Elder Gods and Saving the X-Men/world go hand in hand. Given the threat they pose. Defeating the Elder Gods = Win for Everyone. Unless of course defeating them means everyone dies with them.
2) Illyana said she came back to save the world. That's what she told Emma Frost. But...she DID do a whole lotta of lying along the way, so who can say if she was being honest during that specific exchange...?

Could Illyana have prevented the EG's from escaping? Possibly.
Does it seem she actively manipulated events in order for someone else to set them free? Yes..
The big issue is the stakes: Win: Kill the Elder Gods. Lose: Reality is torn apart.
And again: Could she have prevented their release and the risk to reality? The bigger question: Would she have?

I always assumed that what we saw in Wells' run was one of the many attempts of Illyana to kill the Elder Gods, but the succesfull one. She said that she did a lot of time travelling, we knew about one reality where Emma kills Legion, so... I think that in that reality Magik released him too but everything went wrong, maybe then she realised that she would need Shan to control him and then she jumps again to the past, etc.

This conversation has got me wanting to write something, so I thought I'd try my hand at making a story for that Magik videogame I thought of a while back. Don't be too harsh.

Black screen. A female voice speaks.

"My brother is a hero, an X-Man."

Image of an armored Colossus with a small, blonde girl on his shoulders, laughing.

"When I grow up, will I be shiny like you?" the girl asks.

"Is that what you want to be?" Colossus asks.

"I think I would look funny." The girl responds.

The image of the siblings slowly fades, and the female voice returns.

"I thought he could protect me from anything. That was before…"

Black screen. Sounds of a struggle. A little child screaming. Colossus yelling "Illyana!"

The sounds stop. An image of a face appears: a blonde teenage girl, with reddish skin, glowing white eyes, fangs, and two small horns on the forhead.

A male voice, like Christopher Lee, speaks softly as the face comes into view.

"My beautiful…Darkchild…"

The face disappears. Dramatic music. Titles appear.

X-MEN

MAGIK

The music stops as a scene begins.

The blonde woman hits the ground with a loud thump. She struggles to lift her head up. She is severely injured.

"Belasco…" she whispers, her face barely off the ground.

The camera pans around the brimstone room to the demon man sitting on a throne. He looks similar to the demonic female face from before and speaks with the same deep voice as before.

"Did you really think you could defy me, sorceress?" he spits in disgust.

The woman grunts painfully as she tries and fails to rise.

A large, purple dragon-like figure appears behind the throne.

"Shall S'ym dispose of her?" it asks.

"Not yet." Belasco answers. "I can think of a few uses for her before then."

Belasco looks beyond the sorceress. "You have done well, my apprentice."

The camera moves behind the sorceress, where a young man, normal looking except for his red medieval cloak, stands. He bows.

"I live to serve you, my lord."

Belasco smiles.

"The time is almost right for you to learn the darkest secrets of the arts arcane and achieve power beyond mortal comprehension. But first you must complete one final task."

"Name the challenge, my lord." the young man says eagerly. "I will be more than equal to it."

Belasco's smile widens.

"Destroy the sorceress Magik."

The young man looks incredulously at the woman on the floor.

"That would be an absurdly easy task at the moment, my lord."

Belasco begins to laugh.

"You believe this is Magik? This is a faker, an imposter, at best a fill in!

"No," Belasco says in a serious tone, "to prove yourself worthy of being my new apprentice, you must slay my old apprentice, the true Magik."

The young man smiles and bows. "Consider it done, my lord."

The camera closes in on the woman's face, which is worried.

"Illyana…" she whispers.

Great!!!, I loved it.
I actually imagined it all.
I always thought that she would have been a great addition to Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.

[244]

I have been meaning to ask about Illyana from UXN #171, when she told Kitty that she remembered about her time with Belasco, was that part of her memory blocked? If so, it's not uncommon for PTSD survivors to have no memory about traumatic events in some cases but maybe she blocked them with magic on the other hand?

[sunofdarkchild]

I have been meaning to ask about Illyana from UXN #171, when she told Kitty that she remembered about her time with Belasco, was that part of her memory blocked? If so, it's not uncommon for PTSD survivors to have no memory about traumatic events in some cases but maybe she blocked them with magic on the other hand?

There was never any other indication of the sort. She remembered Cat earlier and how the alternate X-Men died, and always carried the medallion around.

It seems that that scene was designed to set up a plot point that Belasco might have emplanted a trigger in her to turn against the X-Men at the sight of him. If that were the case case I'd assume Claremont hadn't finalized the plot to the Magik ls.

[NielsVanEekelen]

Claremont still figuring things out is a perfectly rational explanation (and probably the true one), but in-universe...

I'd expect that Illyana, like anyone would, did her best not to think about her traumatic experiences too much. It wasn't that she didn't remember it, simply that it was painful to think about. So then, when faced with a Danger Room simulation of her nightmares, she had a flashback bringing all her memories back to the surface, and she freaked out.

[sunofdarkchild]

Claremont still figuring things out is a perfectly rational explanation (and probably the true one), but in-universe...

I'd expect that Illyana, like anyone would, did her best not to think about her traumatic experiences too much. It wasn't that she didn't remember it, simply that it was painful to think about. So then, when faced with a Danger Room simulation of her nightmares, she had a flashback bringing all her memories back to the surface, and she freaked out.

Before that she was the one most comfortable one bringing the subject up. "Yeah, my demon was hard to kill too." "Stop complaining, Kitty. At least you didn't spend half your life in a demonic Limbo." "I can do things, just like Peter." She was not about to go into specifics for obvious reasons (that last one is DEFINATELY before Claremont knew what he was going to do with her) but that doesn't sound like someone who's repressing anything.

Freaking out at the sight of Belasco doesn't have to have anything to do with repressing or avoiding memories. Her freezing up when S'ym attacked was after she'd spent the whole day remembering what had happened over the seven years.