Winter's Light
As predictable as the ending might be (since it was already shown a year earlier in UXM 160), the real heart of this issue and the mini-series as a whole is Illyana Rasputin's soul - what she is willing to have it become. This issue contains great pathos, even in the sometimes-heavy Claremont style. Illyana is forever darkened by the years in Limbo, made even more tragic by her implied complicitness throughout the series: with each cosntructed bloodstone, a part of her once-pure soul becomes forever darkened and attached to Belasco. He is truly one of the most heinous villains in the Marvel universe: not content with just political domination and usurpation, Belasco is intent on eliminating Illyana's youth and innocence and corrupting her very soul. This was a difficult series to read - it was good, and what seems to be typical of Claremont with the emphasis on Illyana's thoughts and interior soliloquy (though admittedly I've only read two of his mini-series to date, Magik and Wolverine, and both focus on an isolated individual who doesn't really have anyone to talk to), but this is a challenging emotional journey of painful, personal violence and loss. However, the final panels and pages of her unwillingness to kill Belasco and make the mistake Ororo made, as well as her reflections on what she has lost and who she is now (if she'll ever know) after her rescue are a great uplifting tribute to Illyana's strength and Claremont's connection to truth and beauty.