Thoughts

Illyana Rasputin (aka Magik) remains one of the most interesting creations of the Claremont run.

In part that’s because it’s an original idea and also because the character got their story told within the run. They have subsequently returned to the franchise, rehashing elements of the Claremont tale while also frequently sporting a cheesecake sexy look, a mutant Demon Girl Vampirella.

But the fact that, unlike so many others, Magik gets an in-Claremont run ending means that there’s scope to look at that whole story.

Which comes back to the original tale – and why it lasts. Because it’s dark. Not “I’m going to kill a lot of people in a grim n gritty way” dark that was to define a lot of the era (and is still, depressingly, the easy way for comics to play dark). But dark in the sense that it tells a tale of lost childhood. Of an abusive adult taking a small child away from her family and using her for his own ends.

The older I get, the darker this reads. The speech bubbles where Magik talks of wanting to do anything to please Belasco are genuinely chilling.

This mini-series is pretty much the Magik origin story. It sets up storylines that will run for some years and gives us all the essential details about the character. Indeed most of that is covered by the end of this issue. An unsettling re-read.

Fun Panel

Any Googling

Inevitably with the growing franchise of comics, the question of reading order comes up. Where should mini series like this one be placed in any chronological reread.

One of the problems is that these things never quite fit perfectly. There’s no *right* answer. A lot of complete lists I found on the internet put this series right next to the issue of X-men where Illyana enters limbo.

However that doesn’t fully satisfy me. There are a few times in subsequent issues where they play with the mystery of what happened to her. This works well as the build up to this mini.

Also the framing sequence in this mini seems to fit perfectly with New Mutants 14. Which is why i placed it just before that issue in this blog. It might not be the “right” answer. But it works for me.

It was a Product of its Time

More Naked Storm. It must be double figures by now.