Illyana Rasputina is no stranger to dark forces, demons from other dimensions, and fiendish foes who wish to manipulate and control her. Before she was known as the mutant named Magik, Illyana was a little girl living with her parents and brother, Piotr, on the Ust-Ordynski Collective farm in Siberia. Illyana was then brought to the United States in a scheme orchestrated by the eccentric assassin, Arcade. Shortly after being rescued from Arcade, Illyana was abducted again, this time by the demon Belasco, who took Illyana to the Hell dimension of Limbo.
During Illyana’s time in Limbo, she was abused and tortured by Belasco, who intended to corrupt Illyana’s soul to free himself from Limbo and take over the Earth. Eventually, Illyana was able to depose Belasco and become the new ruler of Limbo. She also created a Soulsword, her signature weapon, and gained the ability to teleport using stepping discs that allowed for interdimensional travel. With Illyana’s soul connected to Limbo, she could only teleport while making stops in Limbo between each destination. After escaping Limbo Illyana returned to Earth and the X-Men. Although no time had passed since her disappearance, Illyana returned a decade older, having been caused by the time displacement while she was imprisoned in Limbo.
After her return from Limbo, Illyana became a prominent member of the New Mutants, later joining the X-Men. During her publication history, Illyana has also taken on the role of teacher at Doctor Strange’s Sorcerer School in the Strange Academy series, served as a War Captain on the mutant island nation of Krakoa, and was one of their Swordbearers during the tournament “X of Swords”. Illyana was also regressed to seven years old during the events of the “Inferno” event and later contracted and died from the Legacy Virus. During the events of Krakoa, Illyana relinquished control of Limbo to the Goblin Queen aka Madelyne Pryor, stating that she no longer wanted to be bound and defined by Limbo’s hold over her. Throughout Illyana’s publication history, she has also struggled with her Darkchild persona. This demonic side of Illyana must be kept in check, otherwise she may lose herself entirely to her darker nature.
Much of Ashley Allen’s Magik series is concerned with Illyana confronting and reconciling with her past and her Darkchild side. In this first arc of the series, we see Illyana being challenged by the demon Liminal, an entity who was trapped with five magical seals centuries ago. Illyana saves a boy named Callen Isaacs from Liminial’s minions. Cal is descended from the magical bloodline that trapped Liminal with the magical seals. Cal’s grandmother is distrustful of Illyana because of her connection to Darkchild. Cal is also hesitant to fully trust Illyana, fearful of what Darkchild will do if she is unleashed.
We first see Illyana come face to face with Liminal in Magik #3, where Liminal presents an enticing deal to Illyana. If she can resist turning into Darkchild and defeat Liminal in three weeks, Liminal will accept defeat and permanently purge Darkchild from Illyana If she fails, then Illyana will belong to Liminal, and Darkchild will rule by his side. Liminal makes this offer believing that Illyana will join him of her own free will. In this series, we see Darkhild manifested as a separate persona or personality that speaks directly to Illyana, a literal devil on her shoulder begging to be set free, one that Illyana is suppressing and holding back. Dark forces trying to seduce Illyana are a recurring motif throughout her entire publication history. We’ve seen this play out while Illyana was a captive of Belasco and we’ve only seen this dynamic with Illyana and Darkchild. This series poses the question of whether Illyana can ever truly resist Darkchild, and what might happen if Illyana is unable to resist and gives in to the temptation of ultimate demonic power that Darkchild represents. Allen also suggests that Darkchild is a fundamental and permanent part of Illyana that cannot be excised.
Dani Moonstar aka Mirage joins the book in Magik #4. Illyana and Dani have a history together, as both were teammates on the New Mutants. In this issue, we learn that Dani has joined an organization called “The Society of the Eternal Dawn”, a group whose primary goal is to prevent impending apocalypses such as Liminal benign set free. Dani has been outfitted with a magical bow called Dawn Piercer, which transforms Dani’s psionic arrows to repel demons. There’s a lot of tension between Illyana and Dani, which culminates in Illyana overhearing a conversation between Dani and Cal where Dani tells Cal that she must have a contingency plan in place in case Illyana becomes Darkchild again. Feeling heartbroken and betrayed, Illyana questions whether she can trust Dani ever again.
Illyana and Dani Moonstar face off against demons together. There is tension between the former teammates and friends
In Magik #5 Illyana continues her battle against the fiend known as Liminal, as she tries to resist her demonic dark side, Darkchild, from taking control of her body and soul. She also knows that if she fails not only will Liminal have dominion over Darkchild, but her friends and allies, such as Cal and Dani, will be in danger as well. That is the risk that succumbing to Darkchild poses and Illyana does not want to be responsible for harm coming to innocent lives. Illyana must resist Darkchild because she knows that she is the only one who can prevent Darkchild from being unleashed. With one seal remaining and the stakes higher than ever, Illyana struggles to defeat Liminal once and for all without turning into Darkchild.
In the issue we see Illyana acknowledging that “Darkchild must be destroyed if I’m to have any chance at normalcy”. Illyana’s connection to Limbo and Darkchild has haunted her for most of her life. Limbo has been Illyana’s home, her domain, and her prison. It is a place of power for Illyana as well as the site of her greatest traumas. Her relationship and history with Limbo is a complicated one, as it is where she came into her power for the first time, and also one where she encountered unimaginable terrors that she is frequently forced to revisit and can never truly escape from. Illyana is more than a badass warrior with a giant sword. She is also a survivor of trauma, and for so long her trauma has been a point of shame for Illyana. In many ways this series is about Illyana realizing that her past does not define her, nor does it determine her future. Illyana is terrified that she will become just like Belasco, a soulless demonic entity that inflicts harm on innocents who are powerless to fight back. Another lesson that Illyana learns from this issue is that her past is only one aspect of her identity that she must confront and accept to heal from her trauma. Illyana must also come to understand that her qualities such as her compassion, empathy, loyalty, and willingness to protect others are what make her who she is, not the trauma that she has been burdened with all of her life. Magik is a thoughtful examination of what trauma does to a person, and what one can do to overcome their trauma and begin the healing process. Illyana is also forced to accept that she does not have to bear the weight of her trauma alone and that leaning on others for support does not make her weak, it makes her human.
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