REDESIGNING MAGIK
Welcome to Limbo! Our group chose Illyana Rasputina, the marvelous Magik for this round!
Introduced as the younger sister of Colossus, Magik joined the 80s New Mutants team as a young teen and has since flourished into an A-Lister in her own right. She's been a member of the Phoenix Five, Cyclops' renegade X-Men squad, the Krakoan New Mutants, and the 2022 X-Men team.
She has several inspiration points for artists and redesigners to pull from. She's most well-known for her all-black 2012 look but has also sported demonic and fantasy influences as someone connected to the hellish Limbo and her malevolent alter ego, the Darkchylde.
See what our enthusiastic and talented team of artists did this round, and make sure to follow them on social media for more fantastic art!
(The handles presented after artists names are their Twitter handles, but many use the same name on other platforms!)
Léa Dupic | @/kimodraw
"I went full speed ahead into medieval land and dressed Illyana in a full metal shiny armour, putting emphasis on her sword bearing arm with a biiiig spiky shoulder pad. Gave her a punk lesbian haircut while keeping her iconic bangs, because I think she should be allowed to be more of a punk lesbian. And I couldn't resist adding a touch of demon form with the horns. She's gloomy she's menacing she's spiky and shiny she's the girl of my dreams."
Giovanni Saroldi | @/RaulGiova
"Just like matter, let’s give ‘Yana three states! Solid, liquid, gas? Kinda, not quite! From angelic to demonic, with her main form being the in-between totality of herself, where she can draw whichever power she needs.
It’s geometric, it’s chic, it’s retro-futuristic Terry Moore with the Horns of Galaxy The Prettiest Star meets Ludmilla from Bartok mid-transformation."
John Caden | @/johncaden64
"I've always felt the Bachalo design was great, but could get very male-gazey. I tried to make it more comfortable, while also keeping the same goth feel. I do feel she needs to just go all-in goth, so let's shave her head, get some thick black mascara and commit to the bit! "
John Marsh | @/pastelrake
"What if Illyana had been a Russian figure skater?"
Joe Pryde | @/joeprydecosplay
"My inspiration for this design came from the idea of “what if Magik was an elder emo” complete with Kristen Stewart fem mullet, high waist buckled tights, and sleeveless crop top hoodie. I also wanted to pay homage to previous designs."
Haydn | @/ThatsSoHaydn
"I had but one simple thought: What if the Soul Sword was a rapier? And thus fencing Magik was born. I wanted the geometric shapes of the dark bodysuit to contrast with the curves of the golden armor, whilst still adding a little magic and mystery with her cloak and mask. "
Dale Yaddow | @/DaleYaddow
Version 1 "The Savage Magik".
Having been stripped of her magical knowledge, Illyana Rasputin hunts down various enchanted artifacts to replace what she's lost. Becoming desperate she seems to be willing to steal and sometimes kill to get these talismans. Among these are the Soul Dagger of Pixie, the medallion of Daimon Hellstrom, Holy bands from "Heven" and a cursed skull from an alternate version of Lockheed.
Version 2 "Mistress Magik"
This is an older more seductive Magik that's been corrupted by the
influence of Selene and embraced her sensuality, opening up a whole new avenue of mystical arts that she hadn't dared explore before. She now uses her SoulSword to capture the essences of her foes and much like Selene feeds on them keeping her young and vital.
Version 3 "Magik, Queen of Hell"
Many questioned the logic of Magik giving Limbo to Madelyne Prior but the end game has been revealed. Illyana allowed Madelyne to tether her magic to Limbo, knowing eventually "Maddie" would get greedy and begin bringing more power to that dimension. With a carefully hidden clause in the Limbo transference spell Magik takes back Limbo and all the power within it and successfully overthrows all the Hell Lords, unifying the many dreaded dimensions under one fearsome rule, hers.
Anthony Ruiz | @/thwwipstickers
"Almost as soon as Magik was decided on for this design challenges I had two ideas strike me simultaneously ... The first of those ideas was the image of Illyana as a 90's Riot(ish) on the cover of a Magazine. I wanted to give her an edgy grungy vibe but still pay homage to her Demonic nature.
Shortly after Finishing my first Design I just knew I had to make my second idea come to life.
What if Illyana was an Anime Mech Pilot and Wore a Plugsuit... thats it... thats the idea. I really wanted to strike the Balance between Anime Plugsuit but still being noticeably Magik and X-men.
I kept the Bright yellow Color scheme with hints of black and red and chose to interpret her Armored arm into a Mechanized oversize cybernetic arm that helps fuel her Plasma Powered Soul sword that springs forth from her Gauntlet."
Isaiah Cox | @/isaiahbeenlost
"When designing my Magik look, I wanted to expand on ideas I had when drawing her a couple years ago by keeping her look sleek, yet scary stylish! So, I referenced a lot of Castlevania and Yoshiaki Kawajiri designs to get that cool anime look for her down! I plucked some fashion inspirations for the costume from places like: Mugler, Alexander McQueen, LaQuan Smith, JRPG rogues and medieval accessories! And for her new soul sword, I decided to give her an Odachi because since she already lived her Cloud Strife fantasy starting from the Bendis-era, I thought it was time for her to live her Sephiroth moment with this giant Japanese sword!"
David J Hughes | @/0ddeity
"I think with Magik I started out pretty traditional for her. Then I got to thinking our Russian Queen deserves a Mugler-esque fit. I wanted to go down the knight or warrior route, but then I thought ‘What If’ this was an AU Illyana raised by Patch and she got all of Logan’s training rather than Kitty and Jubilee, or, alongside them. So, bham, Oni-demon menpo mask and samurai elements on top of the Mugler flair."
Fleshmonk | @/fleshmonk
"Went through a bunch of design iterations, but settled on this cool plasticky vinyl plugsuit like version of Magik. I gave her a bob to mature her a bit and to move her towards a new silhouette."
Joshua Bruckner | @/joshingtonbear
"I took a bit from Magik's more armored designs, which I've always liked the most, and her goth jock aesthetic, and blended them. I rejected the Bachalo booty shorts in favor of a skirt, which gives her a bit of a 'cheerleader from hell' look."
Seye Sanyaolu | @/seye_art
"My intention for this redesign was Magik in a very dystopian future and so I imagined a 3/4 darkchylde Illyana that is in control of her self and powers (although almost lost it). In this future, most of the X-Men are gone and Illyana keeps a worn and frayed X-jacket on for the nostalgia :’)"
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Being in the intersection of New Mutants fans and Fantasy High fans opens a third eye in you specifically for parallels between the two things.
For one, it's interesting to compare how both Fig and Illyana perform and feel their demonness and how that's tied to the way they see their sexuality. While Illyana initially parts from a denial and rejection of it because of what it means to her and instead embraces more gentle and femme aesthetics and life style, Fig embraces it immediately and creates a new rocker persona to go along with it. Fig's "Yeah, I'm a demon" comes from a place of pride and as a fuck you to whoever made her think it was a bad thing, while Illyana sees that as her greatest flaw and the part of herself she wants to be rid of. And inversively, both of them are equally Delicate and Punk, adopting different ways to deal with their demonness in order to protect the scared, lonely inner child in both of them. For them both, being a demon has an intrinsic bond to how they approach sexuality, and though initially they do so in wildly different ways, eventually they both fall on an unhealthy pattern of oversexualizing themselves and performing desires that aren't there, but that are expected of them. So it's extra special when both of them fall head over heels for the girls who admire them for who they are, understand all parts of them, femme and punk, being able to see through their personas without them ever shedding it and love them just the same.
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TOP 10 CANON QUEER CHARACTERS (2023)
1. Kate Pryde (Bi) - My Queer, Jewish, brilliantly developed and morally complex queen.
2. Illyana Rasputin (Bi) - Cheers to Krakoa for letting Magik come out as bi and develop into one of Marvel's truest heroes.
3. Domina Tagge (Lesbian) - Her and Aphra are gonna be SO messy and I can't wait.
4. Gwen Poole (Bi) - Let her date a girl.
5. Cessily Kincaid (Bi) - Show me more of the polycule, PLZ.
6. Irene Adler (Lesbian) - Amazing what one year of true focus can do for a character.
7. Raven Darkholme (Bi) - She may want to kill most of humanity, but at least she's got a soft spot for trans people.
8. Dr. Chelli Lona Aphra (Lesbian) - Watching her backslide is gonna hurt.
9. Bridget (Trans Femme) - The best trans character of all time.
10. Kho Phon Farrus (Enby) - Let them kiss Detta!
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top five marvel characters?
this didn't specify movies or comics but i'm a lot more familiar with comics these days, so i'm going with that!
5. doug ramsey. i am Big Fond of him, he is such a nice young man. i love him in the original new mutants where he's a really sweet kid trying to keep up with his teammates (i haven't read his death i know it will make me sad). his resurrection in the zeb wells new mutants is SUPER cool and emotional ("i love you and you are breaking my heart" fucks me UP) and i love that in the current era of comics he's been given a lot more to do and has had some awesome applications of his cool language power.
4. gambit. he is such a fun dirtbag of a character and i love him very much. he is so dramatic and silly. i love a good heist story and he's great for that. has very strong disaster bisexual vibes and i am greatly enjoying his "i love my wife" era with rogue. also his protective relationship with laura kinney really gets to me!
3. magneto. magneto made some valid points! when he's written right, like in al ewing's x-men red, he's an utter badass whose backstory and motives completely wreck me emotionally. one of my favorite magneto plots is the headmaster era in new mutants, he just loves those kids SO much and wants a better future for them that he isn't afraid to fight for.
2. illyana rasputin. i am incapable of feeling normal about her, ever. her conflict and self-hatred about being a dark sorceress raised in hell who doesn't want to be evil but has the capacity within her is SO good, it makes me utterly feral. love her soulsword, it's extremely cool. also she is a lesbian, i will not accept criticism on this.
1. billy kaplan. one of the first comic book characters i ever encountered and i will always love him. his struggles related to controlling his powers and his feelings of inadequacy have been done really well i think, i find the extended magneto family endlessly fascinating, love that he got to have big gay jewish space wedding with his alien husband.
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An extremely immodest proposal
When it comes to X-Men's (and Marvel's) Kate Pryde coming out as bisexual, it may've been teased and hinted before though there's this part of me that makes me want to explore her sexuality in a different angle. Supposing if she wasn't just merely friends with Illyana Rasputin but also has such a crush on her that she even masturbates to a photograph of her, and has Rahne Sinclair discovering this in horror that it seems even if she does get into romantic relationships with men it's Illyana whom she has the strongest romantic and erotic feelings for.
To prove this, I'll go a little further that should Illyana be straight and get married to a man to the point where Kate cries a lot when they kiss as if she lost a part of herself, the woman she loved (whom Illyana never reciprocated romantically) betrays her for somebody else. I guess some people who do love somebody feel hurt whenever they realise the person they pine for ends up with somebody else, that it's the most painful feeling and experience to go through.
Charles Schulz has gone through this before, he loved Donna Wold but she ended up with another man and he with another woman. No wonder Charlie Brown pines for her and has heartbreak when she's going away. What Kate Pryde's going through when Illyana marries a man is no different, but it does turn ideas about Kate Pryde's attractions to people on its head. Kate's capable of being attracted to men, but when she's caught dead masturbating to a picture of Illyana and sending love letters to her that's when you realise who she's really attracted to.
While there are some people who pair her up with Rachel Summers, I feel with her having a massive crush on Illyana suggests even if Kate is bisexual or lesbian there are people she's sexually attracted to and those who she sees as a friend even if they're of the same sex. Supposing if I get married to a scientist one day and then I befriend an old classmate, there's one man I'll be attracted to for life and one man who'll just be my platonic friend. Even if most people are straight, there will always be men and women who will be friendzoned and those they marry or date.
It seems when it comes to the depths of one's sexual or romantic attraction, I feel with shipping they've scratched the surface of this. Especially when it comes to the sort of men (or women) people are attracted to and those they merely befriend, with Kate masturbating to a picture of Illyana as a teen and merely befriending Rachel you'd realise why romantic attraction isn't always the way you expect it to be.
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