Illyana Rasputina may no longer be the Queen of Limbo, but her reign as one of the biggest stars of the X-Men line continues. Fans of the Colossus Sister are spoiled as they can follow Illana’s adventures in both Jed Mackay’s X-Men and Ashley Allen’s Magic series.
From now on, there is no good time to check in with Ashley and Power, including the release of five issues from Magik. Let’s see what she has to say.
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aipt: Ashley, welcome to X-Men Monday!
Ashley Allen: Yes, I’m happy to be back!! Hello, Magic Fan!
AIPT: Getting lots of questions from Magik’s passionate fanbase, let’s get things started with the X-Fan Kyle Sweet one. Kyle is also a writer, and I can’t imagine the pressure to get characters like Ilyana right for new and older fans. What helps you get into the way of thinking of that character? How does that affect how you write great characters like Magik?
Ashley: When people ask if they feel pressured to write Ilyana, I always go back to the fan. If everyone wasn’t that welcoming, I think it would be even more stressful. So I would like to thank you all for your support!
I read it before I wrote it. So it definitely helps that Ilyana has so many great writers over the years. Reading these stories helped me to get ideas for both the internal and external voices of Ilyana and what might be hidden from her.
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And while I can’t relate to being trapped in the hellish dimension, I look at what Illana can be distilled in my daily life. Ilyana’s snark, for example, is inspired by some of the jokes her hockey/lacrosse teammates grew up with. Or, Ilyana, who wants to escape from Limbo, can be inspired by her desire to leave her hometown. So I definitely aim to be similar to reality that can give life to Ilyana’s character.
When I write, I use the music to help me take me to the right headspace for the scene. It is a video game for action scenes and fantasy, and classical music for more emotional scenes. They also tend to perform scenes and dialogue loudly to make them flow smoothly and sound realistic. Hopefully you don’t need to see it lol, but I highly recommend it!
AIPT: I don’t know. I think Marvel will need to get back these QR codes to reveal some of its behind the scenes performances! Secondly, X-Fan Sunofdarkchild has a solo series in Ilyana and a room exploring aspects that he has ignored so far, so is it possible that he can explore more of his relationship with his family? SunofdarkChild feels that there are so many stories that Ilyana has never had the opportunity to be told, as she has been constantly involved in the team series up until now.
Ashley: I want to! Again, despite being a character who likes her space, Ilyana has been exposed to so many lives in the Marvel universe! I would like to explore her relationships with her family, including the Colossus and Mikhail. She also loves to meet more magical users. She already has a relationship with Doctor Strange, which I want to expand on, but it would be fun to interact with characters like Nico Minor, Doctor Doom, Loki, and more!
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AIPT: X-Fan Mallery wants to know what you think about people who deal with Soulsword, not Magik. In your opinion, is it a little like Thor’s hammer, and do you need to be “worthy” in her eyes? After all, only a few people touched it because it was made of her soul!
Ashley: Ah, that’s a great question! Soulsword holds so many powers (both political and magical) and is part of Yana’s soul, she will definitely defend it. So I agree with you that I definitely have to think it’s right for you to use it. That’s probably why she went to her best friend, Kitty!
AIPT: X-Fans Ethan, Oli, Olivia, Steven, Troy Washington, X-Men Forever! Everything asks if they are looking forward to the kitten pride and Ilyana reunion soon.
Ashley: There are no spoilers here, but I think Ilyana will bump into more and more characters from her past as we move into the series! Kitty and Ilyana may be on separate teams in Chicago and Alaska now (and if you haven’t read the exceptional X-Men, what are you doing now? That is, even Ilyana herself said someone (*cough**cough*Kitty) had something to do with the surprise birthday party in Magic #1!
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AIPT: I wonder what inspired X-Fans Annanna, CC, and Isa to bring Dani Moonstar into the series and see how they saw their relationship.
Ashley: First off, I’m a bit biased because I loved new mutants, especially mites. However, I wanted a character who knew Ilyana’s past, so I was able to see how far she came. But I wanted someone who could call Ilyana about her thought patterns/behaviors. That intimacy comes only from her childhood best friends.
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I consider Ilyana and Dani to be my childhood best friends and mostly sisters. They are people who understand you inherently and provide you with comfort. But they are also the people who call you. After all, Ilyana and Dani are close enough to trust that the others still have their backs in a momentary notification. To have such a relationship, you only come from the family to know that you are completely yourself and that others can stick with you, and Dani/Ilyana will definitely find the family.
aipt: Is there anything x-fans often thinking about? Magick’s love life! X-Fans Kyra, Mallery and Mario B believe Ilyana will have time for romance in the not too distant future. Forget Soulsword – these X-Fans want to meet Magik’s soulmates!
Ashley: Love? Romance? ? In the X-Men series??Haha, I can’t blame you – it was reading X-Comics, which is growing up in my favorite parts too!
I can’t comment on the romance for Ilyana now. She had just embraced her relationship with Darkchild and began to deal with/accept her past. Now she’s in a place where she’s disappointed with some walls and needs to lean on the relationships of her life now, whether she’s on her current team or with her best friend! Although Ilyana has always had fun, much of her life has been dedicated to doing duty and good in a world that views her as a monster (as a mutant and as a child of Limbo).
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I want to take Ilyana to a place where she gives herself grace and is more happy and pleased with people. Maybe they even have a romantic relationship! However, healing takes time and love can come in many ways. I think I saw it in my relationship with the mites and my siblings with Cyclops!
AIPT: Perfect segue for the final relationship question. Magik #5 ended with a moving scene between longtime teammate Ilyana and Cyclops. How do Ilyana and Scott look at each other in your eyes?
Ashley: Speaking of Cyclops! You read my mind! I see Ilyana as if her sister Cyclops had. In true Chaos Gremlin fashion, Ilyana helps Scott relax from time to time, but Scott allows Ilyana to protect her and open her safely (as seen in the final scene in Magik #5).
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They protect each other as well, and understand each other, even if the world may not. They are true rides or dies because there are no better phrases.
AIPT: X-Fan Jay says that the magicians of Illyana seem to have forgotten about it, but I’ve seen magic on Magik’s page. Can you expect more?
Ashley: Of course! Illyana has fun weapons of tools and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to come up with new spells and tricks for her fight 🙂 Exploring various schools of magic and really showing how many mystical powers our girls can! In other words, she was the best of Limbo’s magician for a reason!
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AIPT: Come to Magik and have a reunion with Madelyne Pryor and others. What are you really excited about future issues?
Ashley: I’m watching Art come back to the battle scene. I’m trying not to bias my answer, but I’m really excited about the upcoming battle scenes. They were getting bigger and bigger and bigger, and seeing artist German Peralta and colour artist Arthur Hesli cast their spell was so explosive!! No pun intended!!
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AIPT: Now that we’ve received over 100 X-Fan questions, let’s wrap it in a speed round that covers some of the most important questions that start with X-Fan Cheesy_Bee.
Ashley: Definitely mocha chips…or really a variety of coffee ice creams lol.
AIPT: X-Fan Reilly, what is Ilyana’s favorite anime?
Ashley: Sword Art Online (I’m kidding, I’m kidding).
Yana wants to see action series like Soul Eater, Bleach and JJK, but I think she tends to dodge cute, cozy anime as Blake. So maybe a Kimi ni Todork, Holymiyah, or a basket of fruit. Honestly, she really feels she has a real connection to the basket of fruits.
AIPT: Which character will Ilyana choose when playing Mario Kart in X-Fan Vera?
Ashley: Drybone or Mumu, not in between.
Courtesy of Super Mario Wiki
AIPT: Finally, X-Fan James said:
Ashley: Of course! I think we all have characters that we feel that way (I know I certainly do) – especially if their stories left us with a mark. It’s a beautiful story and why we’re back to keep reading over and over 🙂
aipt: Well said. But on that note, thank you for stopping by X-Men Monday and Ashley!
Don’t forget to get it when X-Fans, Magik #6, is released this Wednesday (June 11, 2025). Here’s a preview if you missed it!
Magik #7 is not on sale until July 9, 2025, but thanks to a friend at Marvel, we’ll introduce you to three exclusive pages and hesli pages from the tide that will make you tide.
Provided by Marvel Comics
Provided by Marvel Comics
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And even more exclusive in the future: cover and solicitation for Magik #10 in September!
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Magik #10
Written by Ashley Allen
Art by Peralta, Germany
Cover by Pablo Villarobos
A bitter end!
To save her friend, can she and Moonstar defeat an entire army of Magic Hunters? Or is Liminal still pulling her strings?
On sale 9/17
In the next edition of X-Men Monday, we have reached a new mutant milestone – X-Men Monday #300! Here’s a look at Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm and what happened when they reached their 300th adventure…
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We will not fight Magneto’s Acolite, but we will reconnect with X’s own conductor, Tom Brevoort! Mark your calendar on Monday, June 23, 2025 to see what we have planned for you!
Until then, X-Fans will remain exceptional!
