MAGIK #3 – Prison of Darkness

Creative Team – Ashley Allen(writer). Germán Peralta(artist). Arthur Hesli(color artist). VC’s Ariana Maher(letterer). J. Scott Campbell, Tanya Lehoux(cover artists).

Published by Marvel Entertainment

CATCH UP WITH MAGIK #2 HERE!

The Story

After defeating two demon generals, Ilyanna was abducted by the one called Liminal, who is the demon’s master. She’s taken to a realm that has a significant impact on her powers, which puts her in a pretty dangerous position, especially given the fact that Liminal knows just how to get under her skin. To show just how well Liminal knows her, he brings back a rather deepcut Cat, who was Limbo’s version of Kitty Pryde, to fight Ilyanna. Ilyanna, AKA Magik, was bewildered that Liminal could even know about Cat, but it proved just how deep into her head he was.

Prisoner of Liminal

Liminal says that he’s done her a favor by trapping her in his realm, as the only person Ilyanna needs to worry about is herself. Of course, Ilyanna disagrees and continues to fight, even when Liminal wants her to stop. He continues to show how well he knows her by bringing demons familiar to Ilyanna from her past in Limbo to fight her. Liminal says the time has come to stop fighting and to just listen, but Ilyanna says that she will make him pay for all of the mutants he’s hurt. But Liminal says he hasn’t hurt any of them, but rather collected them as his own dolls, and that’s exactly what he intends on doing with Ilyanna.

Liminal gives his backstory, which is expectedly dark, to give Ilyanna some perspective as to who he is and why he does what he does. He’s been lonely for so long and Ilyanna is the only person that could possibly understand him. Ilyanna absolutely understands what it’s like to be abducted and forced into a demon deal, but that doesn’t mean she can condone what damage Liminal has done. With everything Liminal is putting onto Ilyanna, she still has the issue of being trapped in his realm. Liminal says he has a deal that is she accepts, she can have her freedom. But with the deal being what it is, how can Ilyanna possibly accept it?

The Writing

Magik #3 shows just how dark of a character Ilyanna is and what comes with having that kind of backstory. Everything Liminal told Ilyanna, she was able to relate to, no matter how traumatizing it was. But there were huge differences in Ilyanna and Liminal shown that showed how they both ended up so different, one a hero and the other a villain. Ashley Allen, yet again, does the character of Magik justice and shows who Ilyanna is when you strip away her powers and her team of X-Men.

The Art

Germán Peralta and Arthur Hesli, along with Ariana Maher continue to impress with creating a comic that perfectly matches the vibe of Ilyanna Rasputina. With Magik #3, we were given some jaw-dropping panels, particularly ones having to do with Ilyanna and fighting the demons of her past. Along with those, we got some really great panels that illustrated just how powerful a fighter Ilyanna is even with her powers working at a minimum.

Ariana Maher working her magic on the letters did a spectacular job making each word feel like a shiver up your spine, especially when it came from Liminal.

Overall Grade – 9.4 / 10

Let me know in the comments what you think of Magik #2!

This review was written by Megan from the Vigilante Vibes Podcast. If you liked my review, be sure to check out my other reviews! Let me know what you think of Magik #3, or tell me what comics you’d recommend me trying out! Find me on my socials, and check out my Marvel podcast, Vigilante Vibes, by clicking here!