
Thoughts
This issue is as much a fifth issue of the Magik mini-series as it is another New Mutants comic. It brings her flashback story up-to-date and into the now. Illyana is a New Mutant from this issue on, and her set-up pretty much finalised.
She is the Ruler of Limbo, with the Mutant Power of creating Teleportation Circle but also armed with the Soul Sword. Belasco has been thwarted but not killed, and his henchman S’ym now serves Illyana. At least for now.
That’s a great character set-up and it could probably have supported a full-on Magik solo title. At least in terms of the scale of the narrative possible with the character, if maybe not sales. But instead she’s added to the roster of the New Mutants where, understandably, her story will take a back seat. If only for a while.

This issue also sees the start of a trend that’s going to run for a while now between the titles. They will feel muich more closely intertwined, with plotlines from one title carrying over into the other a few weeks later.

Since this isn’t being done under the umbrella of a “crossover”, the titles never get republished in collected editions that maintain this reading order. It is very much the definition of a first world problem but this does make things slightly annoying for the completist re-read like that. Having to drop one fancy reprint to pick up another just to do a completist reread is annoying. It’s probably too late to suggest to Marvel that they consider the “Complete Claremont” Omnibus collection.
Fun Panel

It’s a shame that Sal Buscema has not had much chance for visual scale or humour during his run as the title’s artist. But this moment does make me smile.






