S T A T I S T I C S
Real Name: Illyana Nikolievna Rasputin (anglicized from Rasputina, the correct feminine form of her last name in Russian)
Former Aliases: Darkchilde, Magik
First Appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1 (as child), Uncanny X-Men #160 (as adolescent)
Last Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #303
Cause of Death: Legacy Virus
Known Relatives: Nikolai Rasputin (father, deceased), Alexandra Rasputina (mother, deceased), Piotr Rasputin (Colossus, brother, deceased), Mikhail Rasputin (brother), Peter Jr (nephew)
Group Affiliation: Formerly New Mutants
Known Allies: Colossus, Shadowcat, Lockheed, X-Men
Major Enemies: Belasco, S'ym, N'astirh
Powers: Stepping Disks (natural mutation), Sorcery
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 120 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
B I O G R A P H Y
Illyana Rasputin was the younger sister of Piotr "Peter" Rasputin, who left their home at the Ust-Ordynski collective farm in Siberia when Illyana was quite young to become Colossus, one of the team of mutant adventurers known as the X-Men. (Giant-Size X-Men #1)
A few years later, Illyana was somehow abducted from the Soviet Union through the machinations of the woman known only as Miss Locke, the assistant to the eccentric assassin, Arcade. Arcade was being held captive by one of Doctor Doom's robotic duplicates, and Miss Locke took Illyana and other people dear to the X-Men hostage in order to force the X-Men to go to Arcade's rescue. The main team of X-Men battled the Doom robot and obtained Arcade's release, and a team of reserve members of the X-Men freed Illyana and her fellow captives from Miss Locke. (Uncanny X-Men #145-147)
Unwilling to risk the dangers as a defector returning to the Soviet Union to bring the now seven-year-old Illyana back to her parents, Peter Rasputin decided to have Illyana stay with him at the X-Men's Westchester Headquarters. Some months later, the sorcerer Belasco brought Illyana and the X-Men to his extra-dimensional realm, which he called Limbo, but is also known as Otherplace. A group of X-Men from a divergent Earth had come to Belasco's Limbo earlier, but most of them had been killed there. The sole survivors had been Kitty Pryde, who had become an adult there named Cat, and Storm, who had also grown older, lost her power to control the weather, and become a sorceress. As the X-Men of our Earth escaped back to Earth, Belasco seized Illyana`s arm. The Kitty Pryde of our Earth seized Illyana's other arm, but Belasco ripped Illyana from Pryde's grasp, and held her captive in Limbo. (Uncanny X-Men #160)
Belasco turned a portion of Illyana's soul demonic in nature, giving that part of her a strong tendency towards what humanity considers evil. This part of her soul was what Illyana called her "darksoul.” In the process, Belasco also conjured a "bloodstone" from Illyana's soul and placed it within the so-called Beatrice Medallion. If and when Belasco conjured five bloodstones for the medallion, Illyana, who would then be the Darkchilde, entirely demonic in nature, would serve as the means by which Belasco's masters, the demonic Elder Gods, would invade and conquer the Earth and its entire universe.
Belasco's spell also gave Illyana's darksoul considerable sorcerous power. The sorceress Storm took Illyana under her wing, hoping to teach her how to combat Belasco's evil influence. Storm gave Illyana her first lesson in how to utilize magic. However, Cat feared that the more Illyana learned of magic, the easier it would prove for Belasco to corrupt her. Therefore, Cat took Illyana from Storm, and taught her how to fight. Years before, Belasco had transformed Cat, giving her certain inhuman catlike physical characteristics. When Illyana was physically nine years old, Belasco transformed Cat even further, giving her a catlike consciousness and putting her under his control. Belasco then made Illyana his apprentice in sorcery.
The demonic side of Illyana's soul reveled in serving Belasco, and his influence over her grew continually stronger, no matter how hard she resisted. But her true, good personality remained in control, and as she studied Belasco's magic books, she searched for a means to destroy him. Years after becoming his apprentice, Illyana discovered her own mutant power to create energy discs by which she could teleport herself through space and time.
Storm finally fought Belasco in an attempt to save Illyana, but Belasco had Cat wound Storm. Horrified, Illyana tried to keep Cat away from Storm, and Belasco, displeased, ordered Cat to attack Illyana. Illyana found herself forced to kill Cat to save herself.
Belasco had already conjured a second bloodstone from Illyana's soul. He now conjured the third and intended to sacrifice Storm's soul to the Elder Gods. Illyana killed Storm as the only means of saving her from this dreadful fate. Finally, Illyana, who had mastered the magic in Belasco's books, did battle with Belasco himself. She used her weapon, her newly formed Soulsword, the ultimate expression of her mystical power. As the two battled, Illyana grew mentally and physically more demonic, while Belasco reverted to human form, losing much of his power. Illyana nearly killed Belasco with the Soulsword, but decided instead to let him live, and not to give in to her demonic side. She drove Belasco from Limbo and regained her human form. (Magik: Storm & Illyana #1-4)
Illyana then returned to Earth at long last, at a point only seconds after the X-Men's escape from Limbo. However, whereas only seconds had passed for the X-Men, Illyana had aged seven years in Limbo, time having passed more quickly for her there than it did on Earth due to Limbo's unknown temporal laws. (Although Illyana aged seven years in Limbo, it is unclear whether she actually spent the equivalent of seven years there. Illyana herself has stated that she had difficulty keeping track of time there.) Illyana was now fourteen years old, and turned fifteen shortly afterwards. Belasco's principal demon servant, S'ym, followed Illyana to Earth but Illyana defeated him in battle and demanded he renounce Belasco. S'ym did so and from that time forward Illyana was the undisputed master of Belasco's Limbo. However, Illyana preferred to live on Earth, where she became a member of the New Mutants, a group consisting of mostly adolescent mutants being trained in the use of their powers. Illyana took the code name Magik and, over the years she served with the team, became the best friend of X-Man Kitty Pryde.
S'ym later seized control of Otherplace and headed a demonic invasion of Earth which became known as the Inferno. In helping to thwart the invasion, Illyana somehow reverted to the age she had been before she first went to Limbo. In the process she lost her magical abilities and her soul was no longer partly demonic. (New Mutants #73)
However, sometime later Illyana contracted the Legacy Virus and she eventually died from it despite the X-Men's greatest efforts. This was the tragic event that sent her brother, Colossus, into the folds of Magneto and the Acolytes. (Uncanny X-Men #303)
It was later revealed that Illyana's eldest brother, Mikhail, had actually given her the Legacy Virus after the New Mutants traveled forward through time to the future and met their present-day counterparts. (New Mutants: Truth Or Death #1-3)
Magik was both a superhumanly powerful mutant and a highly trained sorceress. Magik's mutant power was the ability to teleport herself and others through time and space by creating "stepping discs" of an unknown form of energy. If she teleported herself or someone else from one place on Earth to another, the person being teleported passed through Magik's Limbo in the process. Magik could also teleport herself or someone else into Limbo or out of it. Apparently she could mentally scan Limbo while on Earth in order to locate whomever she wished to teleport to Earth from it. Magik succeeded in teleporting herself and another person across a continent on one occasion, and across centuries in time on another.
Magik was the supreme sorceress of her Limbo dimension. The extent of her powers there has yet to be defined, but she could possibly cast any magic spell that Belasco could, having had access to his store of sorcerous knowledge. For unknown reasons, Magik's magical abilities were far more limited in Earth's dimension. On Earth she could perform astral projection and sense mystical presences. However, her magical powers on Earth were primarily limited to the use of her Soulsword, which was the ultimate embodiment of her mystical might. The Soulsword had no physical effect on a non-supernatural creature; it would pass right through such a creature as if it were intangible. However, the Soulsword could release a non-supernatural being from any magic spell that it was under. Moreover, the Soulsword could physically injure and even kill a supernatural being, such as a demon.
Note: The word "limbo" is frequently used to describe inter-dimensional voids. Magik's Limbo, also known as Otherplace, was not such a void, but rather a small pocket dimension that is tenuously connected to True Limbo, where time does not pass in a physical sense and, as a result, no one can age or die. Time does pass in a physical sense in Magik's Limbo. The matter within Magik's Limbo could be shaped and transformed by the thoughts and emotions of the sorcerer who is its master.
Since Illyana's death, the title of Magik has been passed to its new bearer - sorceress Amanda Sefton. (X-Men: Black Sun #1-5)
A P P E A R A N C E S
Avengers Vol. 1, 299
Classic X-Men 29
Excalibur 8
Fallen Angels 1
Fallen Angels 2
Firestar 2
Giant-Size X-Men 1
Magik: Storm & Illyana 1
Magik: Storm & Illyana 2
Magik: Storm & Illyana 3
Magik: Storm & Illyana 4
Marvel Fanfare Vol. 1 55
Marvel Graphic Novel 5
Marvel Super-Heroes Vol. 3, 1
Marvel Team-Up Vol. 1, 135
New Mutants Vol. 1, 1
New Mutants Vol. 1, 3
New Mutants Vol. 1, 14
New Mutants Vol. 1, 15
New Mutants Vol. 1, 16
New Mutants Vol. 1, 17
New Mutants Vol. 1, 18
New Mutants Vol. 1, 19
New Mutants Vol. 1, 20
New Mutants Vol. 1, 21
New Mutants Vol. 1, 24
New Mutants Vol. 1, 25
New Mutants Vol. 1, 28
New Mutants Vol. 1, 29
New Mutants Vol. 1, 30
New Mutants Vol. 1, 31
New Mutants Vol. 1, 32
New Mutants Vol. 1, 33
New Mutants Vol. 1, 34
New Mutants Vol. 1, 35
New Mutants Vol. 1, 36
New Mutants Vol. 1, 37
New Mutants Vol. 1, 38
New Mutants Vol. 1, 39
New Mutants Vol. 1, 40
New Mutants Vol. 1, 43
New Mutants Vol. 1, 44
New Mutants Vol. 1, 45
New Mutants Vol. 1, 46
New Mutants Vol. 1, 47
New Mutants Vol. 1, 50
New Mutants Vol. 1, 51
New Mutants Vol. 1, 52
New Mutants Vol. 1, 53
New Mutants Vol. 1, 54
New Mutants Vol. 1, 55
New Mutants Vol. 1, 56
New Mutants Vol. 1, 57
New Mutants Vol. 1, 58
New Mutants Vol. 1, 59
New Mutants Vol. 1, 60
New Mutants Vol. 1, 61
New Mutants Vol. 1, 62
New Mutants Vol. 1, 63
New Mutants Vol. 1, 64
New Mutants Vol. 1, 65
New Mutants Vol. 1, 66
New Mutants Vol. 1, 67
New Mutants Vol. 1, 68
New Mutants Vol. 1, 69
New Mutants Vol. 1, 70
New Mutants Vol. 1, 71
New Mutants Vol. 1, 72
New Mutants Vol. 1, 73
New Mutants Vol. 1, 74
New Mutants Vol. 1, 75
New Mutants Vol. 1, 76
New Mutants Vol. 1, 77
New Mutants Vol. 1, 81
New Mutants Vol. 1, 82
New Mutants Vol. 1, 83
New Mutants Vol. 1, 84
New Mutants Vol. 1 Annual 1
New Mutants Vol. 1 Annual 2
New Mutants Vol. 1 Annual 3
New Mutants Vol. 1 Annual 4
New Mutants Special Edition 1
New Mutants: Truth or Death 1
New Mutants: Truth or Death 2
New Mutants: Truth or Death 3
Nightcrawler Vol. 1, 1
Nightcrawler Vol. 1, 2
Nightcrawler Vol. 1, 3
Nightcrawler Vol. 1, 4
Power Pack 40
Rom Annual 3
Secret Wars II 1
Secret Wars II 8
Secret Wars II 9
Special Edition X-Men 1
Spellbound 4
Uncanny X-Men 146
Uncanny X-Men 148
Uncanny X-Men 153
Uncanny X-Men 154
Uncanny X-Men 158
Uncanny X-Men 160
Uncanny X-Men 164
Uncanny X-Men 165
Uncanny X-Men 167
Uncanny X-Men 168
Uncanny X-Men 171
Uncanny X-Men 179
Uncanny X-Men 183
Uncanny X-Men 188
Uncanny X-Men 189
Uncanny X-Men 190
Uncanny X-Men 191
Uncanny X-Men 192
Uncanny X-Men 194
Uncanny X-Men 200
Uncanny X-Men 201
Uncanny X-Men 210
Uncanny X-Men 211
Uncanny X-Men 225
Uncanny X-Men 230
Uncanny X-Men 231
Uncanny X-Men 303
Uncanny X-Men 365
Uncanny X-Men Annual 7
Uncanny X-Men Annual 8
Uncanny X-Men Annual 9
Uncanny X-Men Annual 10
Web of Spider-Man Annual 2
X-Men Vol. 2, 17
X-Men Vol. 2, 18
X-Men Vol. 2, 19
X-Men Vol. 2, 20
X-Men & Alpha Flight 1
X-Men & The Micronauts 1
X-Men & The Micronauts 4
X-Men Unlimited 29
X-Men Unlimited 30
X-Terminators 4
Source: ComiX-Fan