Illyana Rasputin’s initial character development unfolded along a complex and atypical trajectory, yet so much of who the character is and would become is deftly articulated in the prose found on the first page of the Magik mini-series. #xmen 1/11
The context preceding the story is important. Claremont let the nature of Illyana’s time in limbo dangle for over a year with just a few hints at what might have been, most notably in UXM 171. It is not clear if Illyana is a victim, or a demonic villain infiltrating the team 2/11
That changes immediately with the first words on page 1 of the mini, which gives the reader their first real interior perspective on Illyana: “I was born in a small house in a land so vast you could walk for days and never see another living soul.” 3/11
Illyana is characterized here as reflective of the sharp contrast between the life she lived and the life she finds herself living, a life that is fully realized in the accompanying illustration which shows a sprawling mansion, complete with pool. 4/11
Illyana also here identifies both Professor X and Piotr as agents of fate who might be partially responsible for the transition she’s undergone, thus establishing potential elements of guilt and resentment in Illyana’s two most prominent male role models. 5/11
She next speaks to the literal loss of her childhood, a pivotal theme in defining Illyana as a tragic protagonist right from the outset of her series: “Had I remained in Siberia, today would be my eighth birthday. Instead, it is my fourteenth.” 6/11
Then comes the big reveal: “Half my lifetime spent on earth and half in hell where I was consort to a devil.” It is notable that Limbo is referred to as “Hell” (given her suffering there) and especially significant that she defines herself as consort, not prisoner. 7/11
The page ends with her defining and introducing herself to the reader as an agent of opposing extremes: “I am Illyana Rasputin, humanity’s savior or the means of its eternal damnation.” This of course creates what will be the compelling arc of the character for years to come 8/11
As she says this, a single tear rolls down her cheek, thus signifying the most fundamental truth about the character: Illyana is a deeply isolated person hiding intense internal pain as well as anxiety over being perceived by those around her. 9/11
All of this stands in sharp contrast to teen Illyana’s other appearances. In the interim between her mini and her first appearance, she’s depicted as a happy-go-lucky companion to Kitty. Here, that characterization is immediately recontextualized as a veneer over her pain. 10/11
This would become an ongoing theme for a character who would spend most of her existence in hiding from her closest friends and allies, but here Claremont delivers some character-defining prose from which Magik will be cultivated through the decades since. 11/11
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In the Classic X-Men #2 backup story "First Friends" Claremont finally fills in one of the most notorious gaps in his own X-Men continuity: the initial cultivation of Ororo’s friendship with Jean. #xmen 1/8
In the story that unfolds, Jean has invited Ororo alone to a social gathering at her Manhattan loft. Her logic is “There are so many guys in the X-Men, we gals have to stick together” thus establishing an intentional construction of a sororal community. 2/8
From there Claremont falls into some of his familiar interpretations of feminine bonding: being naked in front of each other, wearing each other’s clothes, and going shopping together. This isn’t to say these things can’t work, of course, just that he does this a lot. 3/8
Arguably the most poignant costume transformation in UXM is that of Storm’s embrace of a costume that signifies the punk subculture (or counterculture) and digging a bit deeper into what it represents can illuminate the full significance of that shift on her character. 1/8 #xmen
The punk movement is often badly misunderstood in the popular zeitgeist. It isn’t about wrecking, it’s about resisting. Even the concept of anarchism contains a number of beautiful ideals at its core, including an enhanced commitment to community and love. 2/8
Claremont shows complete awareness of the significance of Ororo’s transformation in the form of Kitty’s reaction, which surfaces the same misconceptions about what punk fashion represents. Kitty comes around, though, and so too does the reader. 3/8
The Cross-Time Caper is easily the most famous story arc from Claremont’s Excalibur, but it’s also a misnomer. Rather than ‘time’ (or even dimensions) the caper is actually built around a tour of famous fictional settings. 1/7 #xmen #excalibur @GoshGollyWow
The story begins with a dive into a world of Arthurian Romance in the spirit of Thomas Mallory’s “Le Morte D’Arthur” or T.H. White’s “The Once and Future King.” This initial foray sets the tone for juxtaposing Excalibur with a different fictional universe. 2/7
From there, the team lands into a metatextual alternate version of the Marvel Comics Universe itself; After that they find themselves in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars; after that: a Manga universe with direct connections to Dirty Pair and Speed Racer. 3/7
Though Jim Lee gets most of the credit for the 1990s X-Men aesthetic, Scott Williams’ inks played an immeasurable role in taking Lee’s line art from house style to the forefront of comics illustration thanks to harmonious collaboration. #xmen 1/10
In a recent interview with Syfywire, legendary inker Scott Williams talks about some of the misconceptions surrounding what inkers actually do and about how his 30 year partnership with Jim Lee in particular has thrived on mutual influence. 2/10
Williams immediately dispels the tragic misconception that inkers are tracers, describing a much stronger artistic contribution: "There are a lot of times where deadline strikes and the penciler is not able to give all the information within a given page that is required.” 3/10
UXM 261 feels more or less like a backdoor pilot for “Hardcase and the Harriers” but it also features some strong initial character development of Jubilee, defining the complex dualities and opposing extremes that readers identify with in Jubilation. #xmen #Jubilee 1/10
The issue opens with Jubilee expressing her frustration at the Southeast-Asian cuisine she’s exposed to in contrast to her abiding love for American junk food (something Wolverine provides, thus showcasing his bond with her). 2/10
Though a small and simple bit, the scene dramatizes Jubilee’s representational complexity as an Asian-American. This is actually important for a series that, since GSXM #1, was built around characters embodying essentialist national types. 3/10
At the time of Colossus’s 1975 debut, America was embroiled in “The Cold War” with the USSR, a war that was often fought through media propaganda. Though Piotr was built around familiar US symbols of Soviet people, Claremont developed him away from type. #xmen 1/8
Steel and agriculture were dominant symbols of the USSR at the time (seen on their flag), so a farm-boy who turns to living steel is right in-line with type from the get-go. His costume also features the colours of the Soviet flag and he espouses communist philosophy. 2/8
In “Asymmetric Warfare: The Vision of the Enemy in American and Soviet Cold War Cinemas,” Andrey Shcherbenok establishes US mass culture’s tendency to portray Soviet persons in media as homogenized, generic enemies, overdetermined by their hate of America. 3/8