Warning: Spoilers for New Mutants #25 & 26 ahead
The current arc of Vita Ayala and Rod Reis' run on New Mutants is an emotional and exciting homage, and clear sequel, to the beloved X-Men event of the 1980s Inferno. By focusing on the trauma and healing of both Illyana Rasputina, the X-Man Magik and current Sorcerer Supreme of Limbo and Madelyne Pryor, former wife of Scott Summers and Queen of Limbo, New Mutants #25 and #26 has paid tribute to an iconic comic crossover event while also finally giving the characters some closure.
The 1989 crossover Inferno featured a Manhattan that had been overrun by the demons of Limbo and turned into a real-life Hell, transformed by the overwhelming demonic power of Madelyne Pryor the Goblin Queen, who had been heavily manipulated by the evil Mister Sinister and the demon N'astirh. This Inferno event is not to be confused with the dramatic 2022 X-Men Inferno storyline, the finale to Jonathan Hickman's tenure on his relaunched Krakoan Era of the X-Men, whose title was an homage to the damage and ruin caused by the original Inferno.
New Mutants #25 and #26 - written by the acclaimed writer Vita Ayala with evocative art by Rod Reis - are the first two parts of the "Trials of Magik," the current arc that is focusing on Illyana Rasputina returning to Limbo with Madelyne Pryor to give control over Limbo to the former Goblin Queen. The entire arc has been grounded in a fairy-tale re-imagining of Magik's childhood and her innocence, which was the central story and theme of much of the 1989 Inferno event. In the 1980s Magik, younger sister of Colossus, was dragged into Limbo by the demon Belasco and his minion S'ym and kept there for years, ostensibly tortured and imprisoned for close to a decade, and heavily implied to have experienced severe emotional, physical, and sexual trauma, and much of Inferno was about N'astirh and S'ym corrupting the innocence of Illyana and eventually turning her into the demonic Darkchylde. In the "Trials of Magik," which was cleverly marketed as a battle between Magik and Madelyne Pryor, Illyana and Madelyne have actually teamed up, with the support of Dani Moonstar and Rahne Sinclair, who were both major parts of the original Inferno, to take down the techno-organically enhanced demons of Limbo and restore order and control to the realm by giving Madelyne the throne.
Inferno was simultaneously about the corruption of Madelyne Pryor, an erstwhile clone of Jean Grey created by Mister Sinister and accidentally brought to life with the power of the Phoenix, who was abandoned by Scott with his newborn child after Jean returned to life. In a brutally honest moment Madelyne loses her cool after Dani continues to fight back against her reign, retorting that Mister Sinister, "...the monster who made me" is allowed to sit on the Quiet Council yet Krakoa's "promise" of a clean slate clearly doesn't apply to her. While Dani and Rahne are incredibly supportive friends to Illyana they are both rightfully apprehensive about giving control over Limbo back to Madelyne, Illyana refuses to have the weight of Limbo on her soul anymore so decides to trust Pryor, who she feels a deep connection to, while also making her sign a contract that forbids her from betraying Magik. Both Madelyne and Illyana's lives have been marked by the loss of innocence, stealing of agency, and control by powerful men, so it is heart wrenching to see these two powerful women fight so hard to regain their power and take control of their own fates.
With one more issue left in the current "Trials of Magik" arc there is hope for even more closure, healing of long-lasting trauma for Illyana and Madelyne, and continued tributes to the iconic X-Men event of the 1980s Inferno, although it has already been revealed that Madelyne Pryor has not left her villainous ways behind her.
New Mutants #26 by Vita Ayala and Rod Reis is available now in stores!