The New Mutants # 73
No One Promised A Happy Ending...
The events of Inferno draw to a close, and the life of Illyana Rasputin will never be the same, again. The New Mutants and their new friends the X-Terminators battle demons in search of Magik, who is quickly losing her humanity to the darkness within her own soul. A brutal battle wages on the streets of New York City between Illyana and S'ym, her former demonic lackey that has been infected with the Transmode Virus. Illyana's suit of eldritch armor is now complete, and S'ym attempts to steal the Soulsword from her, all the while coaxing her to succumb to the evil portion of her being. Magik is forced to make a difficult choice, one that may save the world from the demonic hordes that threaten to destroy it, but at what cost?
The Illyana Saga reaches it's climax, and does so splendidly. Louise Simonson weaves a taut and darkly poetic story that honors the character of Illyana Rasputin, and sheds some even darker insight into her past captivity in the inter-dimensional pocket realm known as Limbo. Meanwhile, the kids witness Magneto and the Hellfire Club allegedly making a deal with the demon N'astirh, causing them to further doubt his loyalty to them. I respect Brett Blevins as an artist. It takes a good artist to portay Magik when she is in battle, and Blevins does so here exceptionally well. However, the art doesn't speak to me when it comes to an event of this caliber, and it doesn't help that Glynis Oliver colors everything pink, orange, or red. Without revealing too much, I recommend paying attention to Illyana when she is showing the New Mutants her childhood abuse at the hands of S'ym. I would have to inquire of the creators if there was an intentional allusion to S'ym's particular brand of mistreatment of Illyana as a child, but it at least warrants an answer. The scene is even referenced in the Women In Refrigerators concept entry on Comic Vine.
There is a lot of speculation regarding the Illyana Rasputin that Wolfsbane seemed to instinctively know was alive at the end of this issue, somehow trapped between dimensions for an undisclosed amount of time. Rahne's sense of smell must be phenomenal. Who is this child? Is she the alternate reality Illyana Rasputin that the X-Men died to save in Uncanny X-Men # 160? Was she the real Illyana Rasputin? Why was this tactic not employed before to restore Illyana of her innocence if they knew the potential existed? Perhaps the creative team were more interested in the inevitable outcome of the tale, and it does work well, granted that little gap in continuity that I have yet to decipher. I do remember reading this in the comic store the day it came out, and although being saddened that my favorite Marvel character would be on hiatus, respecting the decision to give her a second chance at a life that was robbed from her so young. At least she had a future, until the Legacy Virus was created, that is. I give "The Gift" four and a half stars out of five. It is a rollercoaster ride through hell that ends on a positive note, and brings Illyana's time with the New Mutants to a poignant close.