To use a Hollywood term: she's like a "four-quadrant" kind of character. All demographics are going to at least be a little bit interested in Magik. Appeals to physical power fantasy, appeals to magic nerds with her sorcery, appeals to horror nerds with the demons, not to mention that a lot of fans just think she's hot for a myriad of reasons. She can be a paragon hero or a big bad villain depending on where she is in her arc and can find something to do in practically any story. Great example is her side issue for Blood Hunt. Its just Russian sword girl killing vampires and it rocks. There's a lot to like and pretty much no downsides.
Magik's character has a wide range of traits. That fans understandably find appealing. Her being a mutant is a huge plus. Considering how popular mutants are in comics. But also, her magical abilities bring in another dimension to her. Her Soulsword is awesome. Her backstory in relation to demons brings the horror genre. And her abilities in dimension warping and teleportation. Gives her huge scope.
She literally has /everything/ and only rarely feels like a Mary Sue. I personally feel like that term is overused, but given how many different 'things' Magik has going on, it would be SUPER easy to end up making her into one if the individual writers aren't careful. But she just works.
Well, there was one as*hole in X Man office back at the end of the 90 and start of 00, who hate her guts (he stand against mutants who are able to use magic). So he kill her in comics and forbid to bring her back for 10+ years (until he get fired) which hurt Magik character a lot
She's one of those comic characters that grew over the decades, and has eclipsed characters who've been more popular for years... Still hasn't reached mainstream success...yet. Like with Emma Frost, so important... Barely a thing.
Magik hits such a broad spectrum of themes. She’s a visually dynamic character. (Hot blonde teenage/young adult Demon Queen with a big sword, demon army, cool portals and magic powers). She also has the whole Dark Phoenix/ Apocalypse maiden thing with her Darkchild/Hell Lord aspect that she’s constantly battling. You start to read a little bit and you notice she has a lot of cool moments, she has the rebellious snarky powerful wildcard thing going on. You get more intrigued and you do a deep dive and you realize she has such a tragic childhood that behind the cold, smart-ass, arrogant behavior she displays is a little girl who is trying her best to control and reign in all that hidden rage and capacity for evil. Unlike Wolverine who goes on a stabbing spree, if she loses it, she unleashes literal Hell on earth across multiple timelines (Limbo being an omniversal nexus). You have a Hell lord who was abused as a little girl w/ sexual undertones...not a typical comicbook origin story. She can at any given time be a victim, a hero, a anit-hero, a villain, an angel or a literal devil.
As someone who doesn't read these comics and mostly knows Magik from seeing artwork and depictions of her in other media, I think a big part of it might just be she has a sick character design. Blonde girl, black crop top, big sword, weird head thing. Its just cool looking and yet super simple, so it can be riffed on in a ton of art styles. As Invincible would say, its iconic. Plus, its easily sexualized, which is good for marketing.
Illyana's biggest strength in terms of design is how contrasting and whiplash a lot of her elements are. Shes a 5'5 londe with a hime cut....who also swings around a giant sword and sprouts horns when she gets pissed. I also like her double horn hairpiece and how it matches her sword's design. Also, Illyana always read to me as symbolic of lost innocense. She literally had to grow up too fast and Colossus laments that she missed a majority of her childhood while in limbo. You could read her provacativity as being because of this, her trying to act like she thinks an afult is supposed to. Its also common with people who were sexually abused as a child, which the Magik miniseries implied Belasco did to her, or at least metaphorically, by literally stealing her innocence when he implanted the corruption that would become her Darkchylde persona. Also, her name is an inuniverse mispelling because she spent years in limbo and never learned to read english
What drew me to her is that she has a really layered personality, fun relationships amongst the team, insanely cool design and powers, and i love her place in X-stories
@@teraxe That was a great opportunity to put her in with ATJ as Magik (now i afraid it would be issue with her age), but they pick poor DEI choice. . Still, i think Dr Strange movie would be a perfect way to bring Magik into MCU: . 1)You can properly make her origin story (with Belasco, kidnapping into Limbo, Dark Child, creation of Soul Sword) and establish her as powerful sorceress (may be even as Dr Strange student before she join rest of X Man) in such way that her powers would not look cringe or bring questions in future films\TV series . 2)Whole story - threat of demonic invasion from another dimension, save innocent young girl (well, here is a catch) from Demon Lord sound like a classic DR Strange type of story + it would help both of them if you put in well known and popular character to give a boost for some one like Yana . 3)You can establish deep brother-sister bond between Illyana and Colossus (better to do it here rather then in main X Man movie with limited screen time and tons of different characters)
I love how you are still continuing this format. I was sad when you stopped doing the snap videos but this is a perfect way to continue that without being bound to the game
Magik has been one of my all-time favorites. I found her in her original mini-series back in the early 80's and that led me to the X-men and New Mutants. I was the same age as her and the other New Mutants and I bonded with those characters over that. Even though I stopped reading comics in the early 90's, she remained one of my absolute favorites. Glad to see her finally getting some well-deserved love.
Three video suggestions: 1. Emma Frost. She is sooooo underappreciated. I have always been a gigantic fan of her, but I wish one could explain it to others why she is so amazing and underutilized. 2. Angel. I really love the idea of his character and I wish they had more time with him as a good guy, because I think he has very much potential and lore to be built upon. But everyone only finds his most significant arcs the Archangel/Horsemen of Apocalypse storylines. I feel like he is underused and his hero arc could with the help of some creativity be boosted into another favourite, instead of him being forgetable until he turns evil for most people. 3. Quentin Quire. Wish I could learn more about what makes him so interesting, because he seems to be a big deal in the comics. Wish I could understand what makes the character 'click'. (Bonus idea: Elixer. Really interesting character that is relatively knew. I feel like one of the best newly introduced in more recent years.)
A a lot of people have mentioned the surfave level appeal, but as a survivor of SA as a child Magik has done a lot for me as a character. She is a really hauntingly accurate depiction of a child that underwent these circumstances and Limbo as a metaphor is very fitting for what it feels like to live in a house with your abuser. I also love that she is one of the only female characters in marvel comics to never have a significant romantic relationship, feels refreshing and very fitting for her. Yes, she is an X-Man, has a neat anime sword and a badass dark transformation, heaps of sex appeal and badassery, but is so incredibly layered beyond that.
Children with abusive parents grow up early. She grew up around, no … was raised by, chaotic evil sadist demons, from about four to fourteen. Some of them were her friends, some of them were her replacement parents, some were training her in magic, some of them were grooming her, some of them were just trying to hurt or kill her. These roles weren’t mutually exclusive! She has one of the most effed-up backstories in marvel comics. Fascinating backstory makes for a cool character, but I would be surprised to see her pull off a healthy long term romantic relationship. But if someone were to write a dysfunctional relationship and had done some reading on chaotic attachment… I’d be interested.
The Bachallo redesign did a LOT of work, giving her the hotpants and the buster sword. I've been a fan since the Asgardian Wars era, but back then she just had a pretty basic costume and a short sword.
I knew Magik from the old Marvel Avengers Alliance game and thought she was cool. When I got her on Snap i liked how unique she was. But i REALLY started loving her in Marvel Midnight Suns. Most fun character to interact with, and in gameplay (although the need for a degree of RNG was a pain in the rear later on)
What’s not to love with Illyana? She has a good origin story and a connection to another major mutant in her brother. She looks cool and has a sword.. She can be funny and bitchy but also has a sympathetic angle of having to constantly fight her literal inner demon. Her disadvantage is that she’s so tied to the New Mutants who have often not fully integrated with the X-Men, love them though I do.
An interesting thing about Magik is that she is one of the most famous examples of a fantasy trope (the dark magic swordswoman) that has always been a popular dark fantasy staple but has become especially popular, especially in Asian fantasy in recent years. I would say that the originator of this trope can be traced to Taarna from Heavy Metal (both magazine and movie) - the timing is relevant, since the Heavy Metal movie came out in 1981 and Ilyana's limbo redesign in UXM #160 was in August 1982 - whether consciously or unconsciously, it's easy to see how Heavy Metal could have influenced Claremont's writing. And Taarna herself can be linked back to Elric of Melnibone. But more fascinating is how Magik "expys" have cropped up in recent years, examples including Zero from Drakengard 3 and Shane from 7 Knights, among dozens of other examples in anime and video games - even as the Dark Knight character class from the MMO Black Desert. Similar characteristics include the big sword, pale hair, dark past/ curse, magic, teleportation, and demonic transformation.
Pls do a video about Lin Lie 🙏 i really love him and i need even more people to know more about him, there have been so much fanart of him thanks to rivals and i hope he comes to the mcu soon
Man I love how many of these videos have popped up since rivals dropped because I get to learn more about the character or characters that I don't know much about. As a sort of outsider what got me interested in Illyana was her design she looks gorgeous, Wields a massive sword and has a nice accent and in rivals she so damn fun to play
Magic is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters in comics. She has so much depth that you can play on to tell a dramatic story, but she also works in a hack and slash story. She also has a lot of potential in the future. Would love to see ATJ play her in the MCU.
I went to the library to find books with her in them after watching the new mutants movie and reading her origin comic and the revolutionary cyclops stuff post avx and she became one of my favorite characters
I’m playing through Midnight Suns right now as it was on an insane sale for Christmas and I just love Magik in there, so her being in Rivals was just awesome timing for me
for me, it's really simple. magik is a character who went through unimaginable trauma, groomed to be a monster and to be a bridge between earth and limbo so belasco could rule both. she is able to get revenge against her abusers and escape, but those mental scars and trauma remain with her. she tries to do good with the new mutants who find her off-putting and have a hard time trusting her at first. at the core of her character there's a girl groomed to be evil that is trying to do good, and that's a sort of character i have a weak spot for, whether that's a blonde with a big sword or an army guy with a metal arm (winter soldier)
Magik was so satisfying and fun to play in the Midnight Suns game. The way they incorporated her portals into the "knockback" mechanic was brilliant. And her performance and dialog and interactions with other characters made her very engaging. And I agree on bringing her from the Fox universe into the MCU. If they make a Midnight Suns miniseries or special, it'll be a crime if she's not there. Nico too.
The funny thing is I've known the character since the 90's back when I was reading X-Men, but the things that made me interested in the character was her cool armor and emo attitude. Her portrayal in the Midnight Suns video game where she is a non-social softy with an edge to her I feel is pretty spot on. Also I never paid much attention to her "hot pants" look, her best designs have always been the ones where she is fully decked out in her armor like a knight (like the Eldritch Armor skin in Marvel RIvals).
I love Magik in rivals, she's so fun to play. I originally played her because she was a teleporter like nightcrawler but her giant sword and personality made me stay
Hey Nando, great video! Just thought I would offer some of my own opinions/additional information and perhaps some recommendations for those that want to learn more. In my reading of the text the Darkchild is not really meant to be something like a separate personality that comes out but more of an inner darkness within herself and when she gives in to that darkness more is when you see her metamorphosis into a more demon-like visage. I think you hit the nail on the head when comparing her to Wolverine. In my opinion a common mistake when writing the New Mutants today is to make her the leader instead of Dani Moonstar because she's more popular. But that really does a disservice to both characters. To paraphrase, Dani leads while Illyana is cool but rude. One important thing to note about the Soulsword is that traditionally it cannot actually cut physical things, only more magical or spiritual things. Though this can vary depending on if the writer remembers it. A noteworthy exception to this is Kitty Pryde, who can be cut with the Soulsword(source: Uncanny X-Men (1963) #171). This is because they are said to be soulmates. For me what's really interesting about Illyana is unlike characters like Spider-Man and Captain America who are by their very nature good and even someone like Wolverine can be shown to have this gruff exterior but have a heart of gold at their core, she is instead almost the reverse of that. She is a character with a dark nature that is trying to be good. It's like Paarthurnax in Skyrim, "What is better - to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?" I think that's a kind of inner conflict we don't really see in a lot of characters. It also leads to her having this very interesting relationship with the characters around here like in early New Mutants where the rest of the team are almost a little afraid of her. I think we get some excellent narration from her to explain how she feels about that in New Mutants "Every so often, I wonder if I should leave the professor and the X-Men, beffore the evil Belasco planted within me corrupts and destroys those I love as well. Of them all, only Kitty Pryde accepts me, purely and simply, as a friend. Without question or reservation. I could lay the world at her feet, and it wouldn't begin to repay her." (source: New Mutants (1983) #14). For me it's Illyana with Kitty all the way, I would love to see them together so much. Maybe there's some hope for that in her new series. She does speculate that Kitty is responsible for her birthday party. Another example we can see of how close they are is that when Illyana is killed in New Mutants (1983) #36 the Soulsword automatically goes to Kitty instead. For anyone looking to read more about her I would recommend Uncanny X-Men (1963) #160 to see how she's first abducted into Limbo, then the Magik limited series from 1983 and to then go into New Mutants (1983). While she doesn't join until #14 she is still around as an ancillary character and you get a better perspective on her if you start at the #1.
My brain misses a lot of things so even after watching New Mutants I did not know who Magik was. But after Midnight Suns the game, I cannot forget her. She stole the show on that one.
honestly i never looked at Magik as wearing “skimpy” outfits. I just found the big great sword and demon powers my favorite type of abilities. First time i realized ppl probably like her for that tbh
We like Magik, because she is one of the poster childs for "Going through shit, and still standing." If Magik was in the DC Universe, she would probably be a Green Lantern.
Love Magik as a character. We need her as a co-leader of younger generation of X Man together with Kitty in MCU (and bring to the screen her teamwork with Cyclops). It also nice to see how she rise into A X Man roster in comics
I've only read stuff where she's a secondary character, and she's always a highlight. She also feels like she was the protagonist of super cool stories you missed. Second thing also applies to Rachel Summers. Like they were a big deal. Kind of like when you run into the protagonist of a previous game in the sequel.
I think there’s some inaccurate information, but the gist is right. To boil down her time in Limbo, I’ve heard it described as “Illyana’s personal D&D campaign”
Magik is my second-favourite Marvel character, which largely stems from deciding to get into the X-Men comics from reading The New Mutants. I wasn't really familiar with her at all when I started, so seeing her go from Colossus' aggressively wholesome little sister in some weirdly idealized Soviet farming community to a heroine from a Heavy Metal magazine cover with an unnerving emotionally distant personality was quite a ride. She's also a main conduit for the X-Men to connect to the occult side of Marvel Universe, which I think blends together somewhat neater than the Cosmic stuff. It's fun to see Illyana converse with demons or scrap with eldrich horrors and really embrace the more alienating side of her character.
I'll add one thing: She's one of those characters whose growth in popularity over the decades has really felt organic. I could be talking out of my *ss but sometimes there are characters, often new characters, who are clearly given big pushes by The Powers That Be to become the Next Big Thing. Especially since the MCU and the desire for 'synergy'. And that can be offputting. Magik, on the other hand... people just grew to like her more and more after years and years of stories. That's my perspective, anyway.
This is going to sound weird, but I've always liked the fact that she doesn't fit perfectly in any of the teams she's been in, but fits in well enough with all of them that her bouncing between them doesn't seem weird.
Im actually hyped. I got my Snap compensate package. One of the varients I got was a super awesome Magik! To be fair, I got lucky. Every variant I got in the package were cards I use in most decks and my personal favorite varients I knew existed I wanted. And yeah, I said I was fone with Snap. But this compensation package got me back. Ha.
I'm thinking same thing about Nico Minaru.When other runaways fall into obscurioty and forgotten she joined A-force and now she is in new Spider man show.I guess people like goth girls way too much. :D
I didn't really know her before playing Midnight Suns and she ended up being the character I got max relationship with. *spoilers* the birthday party scene where you get to follow her to Limbo and just hang out in silence, was really endearing.
Her origin story is boss. She's got cool and interesting powers that are super strong but have clearly defined limits and consequences. She's more magic than mutant at most times and she has a sort of "chaotic good" alignment which keeps her character interesting. Her relationship with Kitty and being the sister of Colossus is great. Oh and she's super sexy 🔥 Queen of Limbo❤
Im reading New Mutants for the first time and she is surprisingly witty, like Kitty. Just with more moments of sometimes dark introspection, which reminds me of early Raven stuff. I also don't hear a Russian accent when I read her bc she doesn't seem to have that particular speech pattern. She seems kinda...dry now? Much more fun during the Claremont era
Kind of disagree on including Beast in "just does X-Men stuff". Beast is more known for being a science guy than for his mutant powers. That alone gives him a lot of versatility beyond just being a member of the X-Men. He's been a member of the Avengers. His AoA counterpart, Dark Beast, is probably the most interesting of all the AoA characters. He's one of the few X-Men that don't pass as a human supermodel, which allows him to have a more complex relationship with his status as a mutant. Not to mention, that his time displaced younger version of himself did practice magic. Edit: Since you bring up the Academy X kids. I think those characters never stuck around because the MCU brought about a renewed interest in the classic characters. So the newer younger characters had to be sacrificed, sometimes literally so (Avengers Arena), to make space for the old guard. That didn't just happen to the Academy X kids but also to Avengers Academy, Young Avengers, and even the Runaways. Some of those characters have come back in recent years but Marvel's habit of introducing new characters only to throw them out in favor of a reboot has made it hard for me to invest in new characters. Edit: On Colossus, it's a shame because I felt like, as a character, he started out as a deconstruction of the Big Guy/Tank archetype but gradually people didn't know what to do with him so he got pushed back into that role. "I am a brawler, Illyana, not a humanitarian." is not something 80s Colossus would have said. I think big guy characters get less love because people are less likely to self insert into those type of characters. You see that in all media, even video games. People are more biased to play smaller agile characters vs bigger characters.
Magik is now and has always been my favorite female comic character and I’m a huge og X-Men fan. (I’m 49). Way b4 Anya Taylor Joy portrayed her, I’ve been envisioning how they’d eventually display the emergence of the Eldridge armor and how she’d wield that big a$$ Soul Sword! Tough chick. Cool chick. Dark Childe persona is bananas! Piotr’s “snowflake” my a$$! She’s the ride-or-die, crazy Lil’ Sis and I love her relationship with Cyclops (my all-time favorite male comic character). “Does it need doing? Then it will get done.”
I’m a Reinhardt main in Overwatch. I like myself some Doomfist too. Magik is like a combination of the two. The mechanics feel very familiar and I instantly fell in love with her. Now I have the most hours on her even though I’d usually consider myself a tank main. Plus she’s hot. Lol
i have always loved magik, she being my favorite character from literally any piece of media ever, so here are my reasons: 1. as a queer person, her and kitty being "roommates" has always been a fun dynamic. 2. new mutants is my favorite comics series ever, the original one that is. for me, it isn't just her, but rather all of them. 3. huge sword 4. shes genuinely an interestingly written character because she's allowed to have flaws. illyana is petty, mean, and a bit of a bitch, but thats what adds to her. shes got personality, and is generally just well written. 5. teleportation is a cool ass ability. 6. she lends herself so well to a game like rivals. i haven't played the game, as i dont have a ps5 or windows, but she fits a slower paced up close melee role. 7. her design is great. not necesarilly her more recent black getup, which i don't dislike per se, but her more consistent elements. there is not an x-men character with a more definitive hairstyle. sure someone like storm has her iconic mohawk, but she looks normal with other hairstyles. illyana is her bangs - there was a comic cover a while ago where she didn't have bangs, and i thought she was a different character. her headpiece/ribbons also feel uniquely her.
Personally thought ATJ was the WRONG casting choice for ilyana. She goes very subtle and I always think of ilyana as very expressive and in-your-face emotionally. Like I’ve just never seen ATJ in “warrior mode” in a convincing way
My first exposure to Magik was that terrible New Mutants movie. It was also my first exposure to Anya Taylor Joy. Despite the movie being crap, I liked her character. I got to really like her in the Midnight Suns game that almost no one played.
Lot of people in these comments have really intricate and layered explanations for why they like Magik, but I'm just going to be brave for all of them and give you the real reason why people like Magik. She's hot as f$#@. The design goes too hard, and almost every iteration is as good as the original. But yeah, she also happens to have a really cool backstory, personality, and ancillary plot.
Nope, wrong! None of this so far is why I like Magik. Before Marvel Rivals, I had no idea who she was. I started playing her because she looked interesting. After I started playing her, I found that I enjoyed her gameplay, which consisted of smacking people in the face with a really big sword, because that was funny to me. After that, I found out that she had a whole bunch of combos that made her even more fun to play. That is why I like Magik, and I'm pretty sure that's why a lot of people like Magik.
To use a Hollywood term: she's like a "four-quadrant" kind of character. All demographics are going to at least be a little bit interested in Magik. Appeals to physical power fantasy, appeals to magic nerds with her sorcery, appeals to horror nerds with the demons, not to mention that a lot of fans just think she's hot for a myriad of reasons. She can be a paragon hero or a big bad villain depending on where she is in her arc and can find something to do in practically any story. Great example is her side issue for Blood Hunt. Its just Russian sword girl killing vampires and it rocks. There's a lot to like and pretty much no downsides.
nice input!
Magik's character has a wide range of traits. That fans understandably find appealing. Her being a mutant is a huge plus. Considering how popular mutants are in comics. But also, her magical abilities bring in another dimension to her. Her Soulsword is awesome. Her backstory in relation to demons brings the horror genre. And her abilities in dimension warping and teleportation. Gives her huge scope.
Yeah, she's hittin all four quadrants.
also having her be related to a classic x-men character adds a lot interest
Plus dat ass
She literally has /everything/ and only rarely feels like a Mary Sue. I personally feel like that term is overused, but given how many different 'things' Magik has going on, it would be SUPER easy to end up making her into one if the individual writers aren't careful. But she just works.
I honestly only recently learned that Magik wasn't a super well-known character. I thought she was WAY more popular than she actually was.
Well, there was one as*hole in X Man office back at the end of the 90 and start of 00, who hate her guts (he stand against mutants who are able to use magic). So he kill her in comics and forbid to bring her back for 10+ years (until he get fired) which hurt Magik character a lot
she's like far and away #1 C lister if that makes sense
hugely beloved for those who dip into something a little deeply
@ Depends on what merit we count
She's one of those comic characters that grew over the decades, and has eclipsed characters who've been more popular for years... Still hasn't reached mainstream success...yet. Like with Emma Frost, so important... Barely a thing.
Magik hits such a broad spectrum of themes. She’s a visually dynamic character. (Hot blonde teenage/young adult Demon Queen with a big sword, demon army, cool portals and magic powers). She also has the whole Dark Phoenix/ Apocalypse maiden thing with her Darkchild/Hell Lord aspect that she’s constantly battling. You start to read a little bit and you notice she has a lot of cool moments, she has the rebellious snarky powerful wildcard thing going on. You get more intrigued and you do a deep dive and you realize she has such a tragic childhood that behind the cold, smart-ass, arrogant behavior she displays is a little girl who is trying her best to control and reign in all that hidden rage and capacity for evil. Unlike Wolverine who goes on a stabbing spree, if she loses it, she unleashes literal Hell on earth across multiple timelines (Limbo being an omniversal nexus). You have a Hell lord who was abused as a little girl w/ sexual undertones...not a typical comicbook origin story. She can at any given time be a victim, a hero, a anit-hero, a villain, an angel or a literal devil.
Comparing her to Wolverine is actually kind of spot on. Nice job.
As someone who doesn't read these comics and mostly knows Magik from seeing artwork and depictions of her in other media, I think a big part of it might just be she has a sick character design. Blonde girl, black crop top, big sword, weird head thing. Its just cool looking and yet super simple, so it can be riffed on in a ton of art styles. As Invincible would say, its iconic. Plus, its easily sexualized, which is good for marketing.
Also the Russian accent is fun
Illyana's biggest strength in terms of design is how contrasting and whiplash a lot of her elements are. Shes a 5'5 londe with a hime cut....who also swings around a giant sword and sprouts horns when she gets pissed. I also like her double horn hairpiece and how it matches her sword's design.
Also, Illyana always read to me as symbolic of lost innocense. She literally had to grow up too fast and Colossus laments that she missed a majority of her childhood while in limbo. You could read her provacativity as being because of this, her trying to act like she thinks an afult is supposed to. Its also common with people who were sexually abused as a child, which the Magik miniseries implied Belasco did to her, or at least metaphorically, by literally stealing her innocence when he implanted the corruption that would become her Darkchylde persona. Also, her name is an inuniverse mispelling because she spent years in limbo and never learned to read english
What drew me to her is that she has a really layered personality, fun relationships amongst the team, insanely cool design and powers, and i love her place in X-stories
Cute, goth, big sword, cute Russian accent, witchy.
Do you really need any more reasons? Lol.
Little sister of Colossus. Mustn't forget the obvious.
Think, that best way to present Magik origin story inside MCU would be a Doctor Strange movie together with Colossus, Belasco and Limbo
I would have rather seen Magik than America.
@@teraxe That was a great opportunity to put her in with ATJ as Magik (now i afraid it would be issue with her age), but they pick poor DEI choice.
.
Still, i think Dr Strange movie would be a perfect way to bring Magik into MCU:
.
1)You can properly make her origin story (with Belasco, kidnapping into Limbo, Dark Child, creation of Soul Sword) and establish her as powerful sorceress (may be even as Dr Strange student before she join rest of X Man) in such way that her powers would not look cringe or bring questions in future films\TV series
.
2)Whole story - threat of demonic invasion from another dimension, save innocent young girl (well, here is a catch) from Demon Lord sound like a classic DR Strange type of story + it would help both of them if you put in well known and popular character to give a boost for some one like Yana
.
3)You can establish deep brother-sister bond between Illyana and Colossus (better to do it here rather then in main X Man movie with limited screen time and tons of different characters)
I love how you are still continuing this format. I was sad when you stopped doing the snap videos but this is a perfect way to continue that without being bound to the game
Magik has been one of my all-time favorites. I found her in her original mini-series back in the early 80's and that led me to the X-men and New Mutants. I was the same age as her and the other New Mutants and I bonded with those characters over that. Even though I stopped reading comics in the early 90's, she remained one of my absolute favorites. Glad to see her finally getting some well-deserved love.
Three video suggestions:
1. Emma Frost. She is sooooo underappreciated. I have always been a gigantic fan of her, but I wish one could explain it to others why she is so amazing and underutilized.
2. Angel. I really love the idea of his character and I wish they had more time with him as a good guy, because I think he has very much potential and lore to be built upon. But everyone only finds his most significant arcs the Archangel/Horsemen of Apocalypse storylines. I feel like he is underused and his hero arc could with the help of some creativity be boosted into another favourite, instead of him being forgetable until he turns evil for most people.
3. Quentin Quire. Wish I could learn more about what makes him so interesting, because he seems to be a big deal in the comics. Wish I could understand what makes the character 'click'.
(Bonus idea: Elixer. Really interesting character that is relatively knew. I feel like one of the best newly introduced in more recent years.)
A a lot of people have mentioned the surfave level appeal, but as a survivor of SA as a child Magik has done a lot for me as a character.
She is a really hauntingly accurate depiction of a child that underwent these circumstances and Limbo as a metaphor is very fitting for what it feels like to live in a house with your abuser.
I also love that she is one of the only female characters in marvel comics to never have a significant romantic relationship, feels refreshing and very fitting for her.
Yes, she is an X-Man, has a neat anime sword and a badass dark transformation, heaps of sex appeal and badassery, but is so incredibly layered beyond that.
Children with abusive parents grow up early. She grew up around, no … was raised by, chaotic evil sadist demons, from about four to fourteen. Some of them were her friends, some of them were her replacement parents, some were training her in magic, some of them were grooming her, some of them were just trying to hurt or kill her. These roles weren’t mutually exclusive! She has one of the most effed-up backstories in marvel comics.
Fascinating backstory makes for a cool character, but I would be surprised to see her pull off a healthy long term romantic relationship. But if someone were to write a dysfunctional relationship and had done some reading on chaotic attachment… I’d be interested.
The Bachallo redesign did a LOT of work, giving her the hotpants and the buster sword. I've been a fan since the Asgardian Wars era, but back then she just had a pretty basic costume and a short sword.
BIG SWORD, and some other stuff, but buster swords are like magnets, imagine my excitement when i jound out absolute wonder woman had one of those
Midnight Sons was what made me really like her. Interesting story and super fun to play.
I love that her sword’s design is constantly changing with every new writer/artist that gets ahold of her it’s so fun and interesting to me
To me, she seems like the most popular unknown character, like she's the first character people mention when talking about underrated characters
I started watching this channel because of Agatha. I did not know you’d be doing videos about the video games as well! That’s so cool
Love her in Marvel Rivals, big fan of ‘unga bunga I go in’ characters, the fact that she’s a hot blonde is a bonus
I knew Magik from the old Marvel Avengers Alliance game and thought she was cool.
When I got her on Snap i liked how unique she was.
But i REALLY started loving her in Marvel Midnight Suns. Most fun character to interact with, and in gameplay (although the need for a degree of RNG was a pain in the rear later on)
Glad these videos are sticking around
Omg I’ve LOVED Magik since I was a kid. I love New Mutants and she was always my favorite. Her story is just so amazing and always called out to me.
Da comicbook king is back baby he neva miss we're eating good today y'all
What’s not to love with Illyana? She has a good origin story and a connection to another major mutant in her brother. She looks cool and has a sword.. She can be funny and bitchy but also has a sympathetic angle of having to constantly fight her literal inner demon. Her disadvantage is that she’s so tied to the New Mutants who have often not fully integrated with the X-Men, love them though I do.
Well, lately Yana very often is a stable part of main X Man roster (as Cyclops competent right-hand man)
@ True and that’s good but it takes awhile to be accepted as a core X-Man
An interesting thing about Magik is that she is one of the most famous examples of a fantasy trope (the dark magic swordswoman) that has always been a popular dark fantasy staple but has become especially popular, especially in Asian fantasy in recent years. I would say that the originator of this trope can be traced to Taarna from Heavy Metal (both magazine and movie) - the timing is relevant, since the Heavy Metal movie came out in 1981 and Ilyana's limbo redesign in UXM #160 was in August 1982 - whether consciously or unconsciously, it's easy to see how Heavy Metal could have influenced Claremont's writing. And Taarna herself can be linked back to Elric of Melnibone. But more fascinating is how Magik "expys" have cropped up in recent years, examples including Zero from Drakengard 3 and Shane from 7 Knights, among dozens of other examples in anime and video games - even as the Dark Knight character class from the MMO Black Desert. Similar characteristics include the big sword, pale hair, dark past/ curse, magic, teleportation, and demonic transformation.
Pls do a video about Lin Lie 🙏 i really love him and i need even more people to know more about him, there have been so much fanart of him thanks to rivals and i hope he comes to the mcu soon
Man I love how many of these videos have popped up since rivals dropped because I get to learn more about the character or characters that I don't know much about.
As a sort of outsider what got me interested in Illyana was her design she looks gorgeous, Wields a massive sword and has a nice accent
and in rivals she so damn fun to play
Magic is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters in comics. She has so much depth that you can play on to tell a dramatic story, but she also works in a hack and slash story. She also has a lot of potential in the future. Would love to see ATJ play her in the MCU.
I went to the library to find books with her in them after watching the new mutants movie and reading her origin comic and the revolutionary cyclops stuff post avx and she became one of my favorite characters
Been waiting for a Nando Magik vid
Her early Claremont miniseries is incredible
I’m playing through Midnight Suns right now as it was on an insane sale for Christmas and I just love Magik in there, so her being in Rivals was just awesome timing for me
for me, it's really simple. magik is a character who went through unimaginable trauma, groomed to be a monster and to be a bridge between earth and limbo so belasco could rule both. she is able to get revenge against her abusers and escape, but those mental scars and trauma remain with her. she tries to do good with the new mutants who find her off-putting and have a hard time trusting her at first. at the core of her character there's a girl groomed to be evil that is trying to do good, and that's a sort of character i have a weak spot for, whether that's a blonde with a big sword or an army guy with a metal arm (winter soldier)
Magik was so satisfying and fun to play in the Midnight Suns game. The way they incorporated her portals into the "knockback" mechanic was brilliant. And her performance and dialog and interactions with other characters made her very engaging. And I agree on bringing her from the Fox universe into the MCU. If they make a Midnight Suns miniseries or special, it'll be a crime if she's not there. Nico too.
The funny thing is I've known the character since the 90's back when I was reading X-Men, but the things that made me interested in the character was her cool armor and emo attitude. Her portrayal in the Midnight Suns video game where she is a non-social softy with an edge to her I feel is pretty spot on. Also I never paid much attention to her "hot pants" look, her best designs have always been the ones where she is fully decked out in her armor like a knight (like the Eldritch Armor skin in Marvel RIvals).
I'm not gonna lie I would love a video about Quentin Quire
Hot 🟩
Blonde 🟩
Mid drift 🟩
Leather 🟩
Big sword 🟩
Badass 🟩
I love Magik in rivals, she's so fun to play. I originally played her because she was a teleporter like nightcrawler but her giant sword and personality made me stay
9:31 Illyana is the sorcerer supreme of limbo
Only cuz who else is gonna be? Sym?
I don’t know why but I had a feeling this would be a video you put on this channel
Illyana in my brain is either shipped with Kitty or nobody. Their energies compliment each other perfectly!
Definitely part of my current top 3 ships!
Hey Nando, great video! Just thought I would offer some of my own opinions/additional information and perhaps some recommendations for those that want to learn more. In my reading of the text the Darkchild is not really meant to be something like a separate personality that comes out but more of an inner darkness within herself and when she gives in to that darkness more is when you see her metamorphosis into a more demon-like visage. I think you hit the nail on the head when comparing her to Wolverine. In my opinion a common mistake when writing the New Mutants today is to make her the leader instead of Dani Moonstar because she's more popular. But that really does a disservice to both characters. To paraphrase, Dani leads while Illyana is cool but rude.
One important thing to note about the Soulsword is that traditionally it cannot actually cut physical things, only more magical or spiritual things. Though this can vary depending on if the writer remembers it. A noteworthy exception to this is Kitty Pryde, who can be cut with the Soulsword(source: Uncanny X-Men (1963) #171). This is because they are said to be soulmates.
For me what's really interesting about Illyana is unlike characters like Spider-Man and Captain America who are by their very nature good and even someone like Wolverine can be shown to have this gruff exterior but have a heart of gold at their core, she is instead almost the reverse of that. She is a character with a dark nature that is trying to be good. It's like Paarthurnax in Skyrim, "What is better - to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?" I think that's a kind of inner conflict we don't really see in a lot of characters. It also leads to her having this very interesting relationship with the characters around here like in early New Mutants where the rest of the team are almost a little afraid of her. I think we get some excellent narration from her to explain how she feels about that in New Mutants "Every so often, I wonder if I should leave the professor and the X-Men, beffore the evil Belasco planted within me corrupts and destroys those I love as well. Of them all, only Kitty Pryde accepts me, purely and simply, as a friend. Without question or reservation. I could lay the world at her feet, and it wouldn't begin to repay her." (source: New Mutants (1983) #14).
For me it's Illyana with Kitty all the way, I would love to see them together so much. Maybe there's some hope for that in her new series. She does speculate that Kitty is responsible for her birthday party. Another example we can see of how close they are is that when Illyana is killed in New Mutants (1983) #36 the Soulsword automatically goes to Kitty instead.
For anyone looking to read more about her I would recommend Uncanny X-Men (1963) #160 to see how she's first abducted into Limbo, then the Magik limited series from 1983 and to then go into New Mutants (1983). While she doesn't join until #14 she is still around as an ancillary character and you get a better perspective on her if you start at the #1.
My brain misses a lot of things so even after watching New Mutants I did not know who Magik was. But after Midnight Suns the game, I cannot forget her. She stole the show on that one.
My 5 favorite X Men are Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Gambit, Magik and Psylocke.
Illyana rocks.
honestly i never looked at Magik as wearing “skimpy” outfits. I just found the big great sword and demon powers my favorite type of abilities. First time i realized ppl probably like her for that tbh
She's so good for doing big kicks in Midnight Suns, always thinking with portals!
She has always been a favorite of mine. She is just badass.
We like Magik, because she is one of the poster childs for "Going through shit, and still standing." If Magik was in the DC Universe, she would probably be a Green Lantern.
Love Magik as a character. We need her as a co-leader of younger generation of X Man together with Kitty in MCU (and bring to the screen her teamwork with Cyclops). It also nice to see how she rise into A X Man roster in comics
Cus New Mutants is fucking awesome
I've only read stuff where she's a secondary character, and she's always a highlight. She also feels like she was the protagonist of super cool stories you missed. Second thing also applies to Rachel Summers. Like they were a big deal.
Kind of like when you run into the protagonist of a previous game in the sequel.
I think there’s some inaccurate information, but the gist is right. To boil down her time in Limbo, I’ve heard it described as “Illyana’s personal D&D campaign”
Would love more vids like this! I’d love a video like this about psyclocke!
Magik is my second-favourite Marvel character, which largely stems from deciding to get into the X-Men comics from reading The New Mutants. I wasn't really familiar with her at all when I started, so seeing her go from Colossus' aggressively wholesome little sister in some weirdly idealized Soviet farming community to a heroine from a Heavy Metal magazine cover with an unnerving emotionally distant personality was quite a ride.
She's also a main conduit for the X-Men to connect to the occult side of Marvel Universe, which I think blends together somewhat neater than the Cosmic stuff. It's fun to see Illyana converse with demons or scrap with eldrich horrors and really embrace the more alienating side of her character.
I'll add one thing: She's one of those characters whose growth in popularity over the decades has really felt organic. I could be talking out of my *ss but sometimes there are characters, often new characters, who are clearly given big pushes by The Powers That Be to become the Next Big Thing. Especially since the MCU and the desire for 'synergy'. And that can be offputting. Magik, on the other hand... people just grew to like her more and more after years and years of stories. That's my perspective, anyway.
This is going to sound weird, but I've always liked the fact that she doesn't fit perfectly in any of the teams she's been in, but fits in well enough with all of them that her bouncing between them doesn't seem weird.
Im actually hyped. I got my Snap compensate package. One of the varients I got was a super awesome Magik! To be fair, I got lucky. Every variant I got in the package were cards I use in most decks and my personal favorite varients I knew existed I wanted.
And yeah, I said I was fone with Snap. But this compensation package got me back. Ha.
I'm thinking same thing about Nico Minaru.When other runaways fall into obscurioty and forgotten she joined A-force and now she is in new Spider man show.I guess people like goth girls way too much. :D
I didn't really know her before playing Midnight Suns and she ended up being the character I got max relationship with.
*spoilers* the birthday party scene where you get to follow her to Limbo and just hang out in silence, was really endearing.
As a big Magik fan (and a main in Rivals), this video is for meeeeeeeee.
Her origin story is boss. She's got cool and interesting powers that are super strong but have clearly defined limits and consequences. She's more magic than mutant at most times and she has a sort of "chaotic good" alignment which keeps her character interesting. Her relationship with Kitty and being the sister of Colossus is great. Oh and she's super sexy 🔥 Queen of Limbo❤
I know of her from the Midnight Suns videogame, she's very fun in that game.
Im reading New Mutants for the first time and she is surprisingly witty, like Kitty. Just with more moments of sometimes dark introspection, which reminds me of early Raven stuff. I also don't hear a Russian accent when I read her bc she doesn't seem to have that particular speech pattern.
She seems kinda...dry now? Much more fun during the Claremont era
It hurts to not hear "the collectible card game, Marvel Snap" 😢
cool thing to do a deep dive on but i do think for a lot of people it's as simple as: she's awesome
Midnight Suns game mentioned! 🥳🥳
Kind of disagree on including Beast in "just does X-Men stuff". Beast is more known for being a science guy than for his mutant powers. That alone gives him a lot of versatility beyond just being a member of the X-Men. He's been a member of the Avengers. His AoA counterpart, Dark Beast, is probably the most interesting of all the AoA characters. He's one of the few X-Men that don't pass as a human supermodel, which allows him to have a more complex relationship with his status as a mutant. Not to mention, that his time displaced younger version of himself did practice magic.
Edit: Since you bring up the Academy X kids. I think those characters never stuck around because the MCU brought about a renewed interest in the classic characters. So the newer younger characters had to be sacrificed, sometimes literally so (Avengers Arena), to make space for the old guard. That didn't just happen to the Academy X kids but also to Avengers Academy, Young Avengers, and even the Runaways. Some of those characters have come back in recent years but Marvel's habit of introducing new characters only to throw them out in favor of a reboot has made it hard for me to invest in new characters.
Edit: On Colossus, it's a shame because I felt like, as a character, he started out as a deconstruction of the Big Guy/Tank archetype but gradually people didn't know what to do with him so he got pushed back into that role. "I am a brawler, Illyana, not a humanitarian." is not something 80s Colossus would have said. I think big guy characters get less love because people are less likely to self insert into those type of characters. You see that in all media, even video games. People are more biased to play smaller agile characters vs bigger characters.
I think Jeff would be another good candidate for a video like this! Very cute and in Rivals but no MCU appearance.
nando i like the music you added to this video but i think its just a slight bit too loud
Magik is now and has always been my favorite female comic character and I’m a huge og X-Men fan. (I’m 49). Way b4 Anya Taylor Joy portrayed her, I’ve been envisioning how they’d eventually display the emergence of the Eldridge armor and how she’d wield that big a$$ Soul Sword! Tough chick. Cool chick. Dark Childe persona is bananas! Piotr’s “snowflake” my a$$! She’s the ride-or-die, crazy Lil’ Sis and I love her relationship with Cyclops (my all-time favorite male comic character). “Does it need doing? Then it will get done.”
Could you put a title & issue number up with the art, so if one page really hooks a person they can easily find it? 18:40
I'd like to learn more about Lobo now that hes gonna be in the new Supergirl movie
I’m a Reinhardt main in Overwatch. I like myself some Doomfist too. Magik is like a combination of the two. The mechanics feel very familiar and I instantly fell in love with her. Now I have the most hours on her even though I’d usually consider myself a tank main. Plus she’s hot. Lol
I got her origin story while trick or treating as a kid. It fucking rules
I would love an episode on Synch from the X-Men
i have always loved magik, she being my favorite character from literally any piece of media ever, so here are my reasons:
1. as a queer person, her and kitty being "roommates" has always been a fun dynamic.
2. new mutants is my favorite comics series ever, the original one that is. for me, it isn't just her, but rather all of them.
3. huge sword
4. shes genuinely an interestingly written character because she's allowed to have flaws. illyana is petty, mean, and a bit of a bitch, but thats what adds to her. shes got personality, and is generally just well written.
5. teleportation is a cool ass ability.
6. she lends herself so well to a game like rivals. i haven't played the game, as i dont have a ps5 or windows, but she fits a slower paced up close melee role.
7. her design is great. not necesarilly her more recent black getup, which i don't dislike per se, but her more consistent elements. there is not an x-men character with a more definitive hairstyle. sure someone like storm has her iconic mohawk, but she looks normal with other hairstyles. illyana is her bangs - there was a comic cover a while ago where she didn't have bangs, and i thought she was a different character. her headpiece/ribbons also feel uniquely her.
whats up with the music in this video?
Personally thought ATJ was the WRONG casting choice for ilyana. She goes very subtle and I always think of ilyana as very expressive and in-your-face emotionally. Like I’ve just never seen ATJ in “warrior mode” in a convincing way
My first exposure to Magik was that terrible New Mutants movie. It was also my first exposure to Anya Taylor Joy. Despite the movie being crap, I liked her character. I got to really like her in the Midnight Suns game that almost no one played.
Who’s Lin Lie he’s new and also in a certain popular game right now
She's purdy
I like this marvel snap video without the marvel snap part !
Because everybody loves a Hexblade
'Cause she's the best.
Next question.
Im gunna make a why everyone loves nando video ❤
cute girl with big sword its simple
Cool Design + Teleportation is an easy formula to popularity
Add swords and you cooking with gas
Forgot to mention she has a freaking dragon
Lot of people in these comments have really intricate and layered explanations for why they like Magik, but I'm just going to be brave for all of them and give you the real reason why people like Magik.
She's hot as f$#@.
The design goes too hard, and almost every iteration is as good as the original.
But yeah, she also happens to have a really cool backstory, personality, and ancillary plot.
Woah big sword
Bro, look at her.
16:12 woolverine?
We grew up with her that's why just like kitty
Hot witch goth girl, alil toxic, with a scary big brother. Its your classic college ex
Because a magic
Ik this probably isn’t as relevant rn, but could you please make a video like this with Beta Ray Bill
Nope, wrong! None of this so far is why I like Magik. Before Marvel Rivals, I had no idea who she was. I started playing her because she looked interesting. After I started playing her, I found that I enjoyed her gameplay, which consisted of smacking people in the face with a really big sword, because that was funny to me. After that, I found out that she had a whole bunch of combos that made her even more fun to play. That is why I like Magik, and I'm pretty sure that's why a lot of people like Magik.