|
Magik Illyana Rasputin is the younger sister of Piotr (Peter) Rasputin, who left their home at the Ust-Ordynski collective farm in Siberia when Illyana was quite young and became Colossus, one of the X-Men. When she was seven years old, Illyana was abducted from the Soviet Union in a ploy to force the X-Men to go to the eccentric assassin Arcade's rescue. The main team of X-Men battled a Doctor Doom robot and obtained Arcade's release, while a team of reserve members of the X-Men freed Illyana and her fellow captives. Unwilling to risk returning to the Soviet Union to take Illyana back to her parents, Peter Rasputin decided to keep Illyana with him at the X-Men's Westchester headquarters. Some months later, the sorcerer Belasco brought Illyana and the X-Men to his extradimensional realm, which he called Limbo. There Illyana met Kitty Pryde, with Storm the only survivor of a group of X-Men from a divergent Earth who had come to Belasco's Limbo earlier. Kitty had grown to adulthood there and become known as Cat, especially for the inhuman catlike physical characteristics Belasco had given her. As Earth's X-Men escaped from Limbo, Belasco seized Illyana's arm. The Kitty Pryde of our Earth seized Illyana's other arm, but Belasco ripped the young girl from Pryde's grasp. Holding Illyana captive in Limbo, Belasco turned a portion of her soul demonic in nature. This part of her soul, which humans call "evil:' Illyana calls her "darksoul." Belasco also conjured a "bloodstone" from Illyana's soul and placed it within the so-called Beatrice Medallion. If and when Belasco conjures five bloodstones for the medallion, Illyana, who would then be the demonic Darkchilde, would serve as the means by which Belasco's masters, the Elder Gods, would invade and conquer Earth and its entire universe. Belasco also gave Illyana's darksoul considerable sorcerous power. Storm, herself a sorceress, took Illyana under her wing and taught her enough magic to combat Belasco's evil influence. However, Cat feared that the more Illyana learned of magic, the easier it would be for Belasco to corrupt her. So Cat took Illyana from Storm and taught her how to fight. When Illyana was physically nine years old, Belasco made her his apprentice in sorcery. The demonic side of Illyana's soul reveled in serving Belasco, and his influence over her grew stronger, although her true, good personality remained in control. 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. Finally, in an attempt to save Illyana, Storm fought Belasco, but the sorcerer 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. Finally, Illyana, who had mastered the magic in Belasco's books, did battle with Belasco himself, using 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 not to give in to her demonic side, and she let him live. She drove Belasco from Limbo and regained her human form. At long last Illyana returned to Earth, arriving at a point only seconds after the X-Men's escape from Limbo. Belasco's principal demon servant, S'ym, followed Illyana to Earth, but the girl defeated him in battle and demanded that he renounce Belasco. S'ym did so, and from that time forward Illyana was undisputed master of Belasco's Limbo. However, Illyana prefered to live on Earth where she had become a member of the New Mutants. Illyana had taken the code name Magik and was the best friend of X-Man Kitty Pryde. During Inferno, Magik's mystical mastery of Limbo was challenged by S'ym, who had been infected by Magus's transmode virus. In addition, a number of mystical barriers had broken down, and creatures of magic were invading the physical plane. All this coincided with the final determination of Illyana's fate for good or evil and Illyana finally succumbed to her Darkchilde side. The New Mutants fought her and in an ultimate attempt by her light side to stop all this from happening she cast a powerful spell to prevent her from ever becoming Magik and the once again young Illyana was found in the Darkchilde's armor. (Since everyone can still remember her as Magik, Cannonball sugested that Illyana in fact didn't alter time, so the child may just have been an alternate dimension's Illyana and the real Magik / Darkchilde may be still around somewhere in Limbo.) The child was returned to her parents and was later infected by Stryfe's Legacy Virus. Later, she died from the affliction. |
