W Ashley Allen / A German Peralta / CA Arthur Helsi / L VC’s Ariana Maher / V Nogi San
I got the Nogi San variant cover, as it was the solo Magik cover. I’m that guy.
The Rasputin Household. UST-Ordynsky Collective. Russia. Then.
Illyana has returned from the events of Uncanny X-Men 160, and the heartbreaking events of the original Magik miniseries. Piotr has brought her to re-introduce her to their parents.
Their parents are naturally confused to see a teenage Illyana, as I can only imagine less than a week or month ago, they probably talked to her on the phone and she was barely eight.
I can only imagine, Piotr has NOT kept them updated on all of his zany adventures, as yes, this is super shocking, but also, his life is crazy. Now, could he have called them ahead of time? Yes. Should he have called them ahead of time? Also, yes. It IS fun to answer questions. If you have any questions, ask them below.
I imagine this takes place after Magik V1 4, when she tries to meet her parents a second time. They must have forgotten this first attempt, OR! This current (?) scene reinforces the original scene.
“Baba Yaga’s” House. West Siberian Taiga, Russia. Now.
I really do like how they address that Lada is not actually Baba Yaga, as anyone who also read Wiccan Witch’s Road 5, out two weeks ago (maybe?), Baba Yaga showed up there, so we thought there this was the beginning of a huge comeback for the character. Turns out, Kaoz just likes calling her that, as that’s what the children called her, as she’s a witch who lives in the woods. Not the most original of nicknames.
Lada is, however, the sister of Korschei, the big bad of this miniseries, and who we fully met last issue. Nice how this miniseries is dealing with siblings, it is a theme, everybody.
Naturally, Lada is annoyed with Kaoz, and the was caught off guard by the Rasputin siblings, so a fight breaks out.
I like seeing Lada open her own portal to deal with Magik, though it is triggering as Illyana has a lousy history of dealing with other people’s portals.
Colossus gets a cool moment of depowering, so that he can use Lada’s transformed size against her, and flips her over. He has strategies.
I like how annoyed he is Magik mentions how her and Cyclops dealt with a situation similar to this, so she is trying to take charge of the situation. These two really do have a lot of issues to work out, so they don’t have great communication skills. Also, they are rarely on the same team together, so they don’t have battle experience together. There is no field trust.
Kaoz finally calms things down with Lada.
Honestly, the entire miniseries could just be Illyana and Piotr talking about everyone they know in common. I guess we have to stop referring to Illyana and Scott as siblings, as she doesn’t view it that way. They’re best friends. Which I simply love Illyana saying that about Scott, as they really are. Ever since the Bendis era of Uncanny (V3) they have been written as best friends. Gillen got them on the same Uncanny team (V2), Cyclops’ Extinction Team, but Bendis really made them pals. They have been best friends ever since, really.
Piotr is still dealing with his guilt over killing Kayla, though it was his body that did it, not his mind, but he’ll still have guilt about it. Nice to see him dealing with grief, and anything relating to the Krakoa era.
I love Allen and Peralta so much for crafting this story that we get the best hug of 2026!
Helsi and Maher color and letter, respectfully, the heck out of this page.
Seeing the hug triggers Lada to think about her growing up with Koschei. He’s a bad dude. He is also like a Russian Voldemort, in that he’s breaking up his soul into random items. One of those items is Lada’s necklace. She’s keeping a piece of his soul, so that he can’t ever become too powerful.
Kaoz has a very cool chat with Colossus. Kaoz really respects Magik, as he should. They chat about the concept of putting a piece of one’s soul in an item. Colossus would never do that to Magik to control or stop her. Kaoz mentions how he would never need to do that, as Magik doesn’t trust him with a piece of her soul, she rather put it inside of a weapon. Which is such a powerful line.
Though looking at this panel now, I’m pretty sure this is when the Koschei swap takes place. I didn’t think so because of Kaoz’s love of referring to himself in the third person.
I really do love how both Magik & Colossus are still covered in mud from their earlier fight.
The Rasputins truly are always taking one step back. Piotr ponders what if Limbo didn’t happen, if they were not mutants. Illyana is so bored with this conversation. I imagine Kitty probably attempted it once, and never again, whereas, I feel like I’ve seen Piotr attempt this conversation multiple times. Illyana is Magik. Illyana is the Darkchild. Limbo did happen. I’m sure the idea of What If grew old during her first year of Limbo, and the abuse she suffered at the hands of S’ym and Belasco. She doesn’t ever have to wonder about that question.
We get the Koschei was Kaoz reveal. Magik tries to attack him, but he overpowers her. I’m sure it was because of the shock of the situation. Koschei takes Lada’s powers, as he does that.
Issue ends with Koschei attacking the Rasputins.
Is the final issue goes to just be a battle sequence?
Shadow and Flame with Magik 