History ComicBook / Magik

* SixthRanger: The miniseries ends with her watching the NewMutants playing in the snow, and she joins the team in the next issue of that series.

* YearOutsideHourInside: When she took her as her apprentice, Storm and Illyana used astral projection for some first teachings in magic. Just some minutes... and when they returned to their normal bodies, a whole year had passed.

* DemonicPossession

* SendMeBack: All that poor Illyana wanted all the time was to go back home [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou in Soviet Russia]], with her farmer parents. And, with one of the discs, she could... but, [[YearInsideHourOutside being much older than she was supposed to be]], they did not recognize her, and shut the door in her face.

"Magik" was a 1984 limited series of 4 comic books, featuring the AscendedExtra Illyana Rasputin (sister of the X-Man Colossus). At X-Men 160 the team was trapped in AnotherDimension ruled by the dark lord Belasco, and escaped. When they left the portal Belasco grabbed Illyana, and Kitty took her from the real universe. Kitty lost her for a second, got her back, and returned her to her home dimension... seven years older. For the X-Men it was a moment, for Illiana it was seven years.

The limited series tells what had happened in those years. Because of a time travel paradox, there was a second group of X-Men in that dimension, who got trapped while their Illyana was saved. Storm, now an old woman, became a sorcerer, and helped the newly arrived X-Men (including her younger self) to return to Earth, but could not prevent Belasco from getting Illyana and making the first of five power stones that would allow Belasco's gods to break the dimensional barriers. Storm was easily defeated, and then rescued by "Cat" (Kitty Pryde, with feline traits added by Belasco). They took her to Storm's garden, who wanted Illyana to be her apprentice, but Cat offered her to learn to use the sword and physical fight, unrelated to magic. In Belasco's castle Cat kills Nightcrawler, Belasco's servant, but fails to kill Belasco himself. He changes her even more, turning her into a complete cat, with an animal mind, and Illyana accepts Belasco's guidance, becoming his apprentice.

Some time later, Illyana's mutant power awakens: she can control the teleporting discs that are all around limbo. But, initially, she can not control the destiny, which could be anywhere and anytime. She falls into limbo's past and saw and old battle of Belasco and Storm: she killed him, and became a demon like him. It was not actually him, but a figure of him, and by his murder she became a demon (it would take her several years, up to her old age, to be good again). Another disc, and Illyana returns to the castle. There, Storm fights again against Belasco, but Cat kills her from the back. Illyana kills Cat, and foils Belasco's plan with the dying Storm. This time she could summon a teleporting disc at will, and take Storm's corpse to her garden, to bury her. But then, it becomes cold and the plants begin to die: it was a magic garden, and without Storm to mantain it, it is left to become one with the rest of Limbo. To punish her, Belasco removed Illyana's power over the discs, and left her in the wild, alone. She tries, on her own, to repeat Storm's magcal feats, but failed each time. Then, she changes her mind: rather than life, she tries to create a weapon. She returns to Belasco's castle and began to fight him; during the fight she became red, with horns and a demoniac tail, while Belasco gets human again.

* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: Fans spent years speculating on what became of the original Illyana who escaped back to her own time.

* ImpliedRape: It's implied a couple times--once in this series and later in ''NewMutants''--that S'ym was sexually abusive to Illyana.

* TheDragon: Sym

* AscendedExtra: Before this story, Illyana Rasputin was just Colossus' sister who was playing in the farm, just about to be crushed by a runaway tractor, and then saved by the mutant who can turn his body into steel. She came to live with them when Ms. Locke, TheDragon to villain Arcade, kidnapped the X-Men's loved ones to blackmail them into rescuing her boss from DrDoom. After all that was dealt with, the political climate in Russia would have made things awkward if they just dropped Illyana back off.

* AscendedExtra: Before this story, Illyana Rasputin was just Colossus' sister who was playing in the farm, just about to be crushed by a runaway tractor, and then saved by the mutant who can turn his body into steel. Just a supporting character in Colossus origin story, and nothing else.

* YearInsideHourOutside: Worse than that. A mere moment in reality equals seven years in limbo.

* TheDarkSide: The comic book is contemporary of the Star Wars films, and it is highly influenced by them. See the first fight to the death of Storm and Belasco: did anyone remembered Luke?

* MagicIsEvil: Pointed by Cat. All magic in Limbo comes from Belasco.

* AscendedExtra: Before this story, Illyana Rasputin was just Colossus' sister who was playing in the farm, just about to be crushed by a runaway tractor, and then saved by the mutant who can turn his body into steel. Just a supporting character in Colossus origin story, and nothing else.

And then, she realizes that she was about to become like him. She tossed the sword, and refused to go on fighting. Neither one being a demon anymore, Belasco left limbo, and Illyana did so as well. At that point, she reunites with the X-Men, in the scene described at the begining.