The Rasputins have been through a lot as siblings. Both Magik and Colossus have died, been resurrected, had their minds taken over by other beings, and been in more battles as X-Men than other senior members of the team. With so much in common, it’s been quite the experience to see how Illyana and Piotr Rasputin struggle to reconnect, but with Magik & Colossus #3, the bridges are slowly being rebuilt. It just takes a magic fighting ring, some seedy Russian gangsters, and whole lot of monster blood to get there.
After being abducted by a mysterious sorcerer last issue, Illyana finds herself stuck in a magic fighting ring run by her kidnapper. Blocked from using magic and her soulsword, Illyana has to rely on her wits and her fists to get by, and much to her kidnapper’s chagrin, she’s winning. Meanwhile, Piotr is combing the back alleys of St. Petersburg looking for clues on his sister’s whereabouts, and while he’s not exactly thrilled to be throwing his weight around, if it’s for his sister, he’s more than willing to get shiny and chrome. As the two reconvene in the arena, it comes down to a fight that’s both against Illyana’s captor and the worst aspects of their personalities.
While previous issues had equally shared the narrative for both siblings, Ashley Allen uses Magik & Colossus #3 to really focus in on Piotr and his worldview. Despite all of the trauma in his life, the nobility of Colossus really stands tall in this issue, and the opening flashback with a young Piotr learning that sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in works exceptionally well with the theme of the this issue. Piotr is arguably one of the most purely noble characters in the X-Men books, and Allen finds new and fascinating ways to bring that aspect of Colossus to the forefront in this issue without it feeling overly preachy.
Even though Colossus has a little more page count than his sister, Allen makes a point to show us some really fun character moments for Illyana as well. Seeing her hold her own against the different enemies in the fighting ring is a blast, and her nonchalant way of taking on enemy after enemy is really fun to watch. When the siblings inevitably reunite by issue’s end, it’s refreshing not only because we didn’t have to wait long for them to reunite, but even the small time apart allows the two to start bickering again in a way that only siblings can. I have to wonder if Allen has siblings herself, because her dialogue for the Rasputin siblings is excellent and feels extremely true to life for anyone who’s grown up with a brother or sister.
Marvel
German Peralta, my god! I mean, what else is there left to say about his art on this book? Since the first issue of this series and in the earlier Magik solo series he’s been on fire, and in this issue he’s having a blast stretching his artistic abilities. While this issue doesn’t have quite as many magical moments as issues past, Peralta still delivers some pretty bone crunching action, especially when Colossus crashes the events and uses some of the monsters attacking Illyana as his own personal crash pads (I was shocked more than once at the level of violence dished out to the monsters-maybe cause they’re demons Marvel is cool with it). Peralta’s art has the unique ability to work on an action and emotional level, and this issue is best example of yet, as he brings an extra level of dramatic tension to Magik and Colossus as they argue with each other while taking out their frustrations on their enemies.
At three issues, we’re officially more than halfway through the Magik & Colossus series, and if there was ever a book to get a surprise re-up it would be this one. While I’m a little concerned we won’t have enough time to effectively deal with the threat of the The Immortal in the next two issues, Allen and Peralta are truly working some great magic on this series, and their look into how different and similar Illyana and Piotr are has made this one of the strongest Marvel titles on the shelves. While I’m bummed we only have two issues left, I’m at least happy we can savor the experience a little longer.
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