Magma (comics)

Magma on the cover of New Mutants #3 (2003). Art by Joshua Middleton.

Magma (real name Amara Aquilla, but also known as Alison Crestmere) is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics series New Mutants, but also associated with various X-Men-related comics. She was created by author Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, and debuted in New Mutants #8 (October 1983) with most of the other main characters. Like all the other New Mutants, Amara originally appeared as a young mutant aspiring to become a hero. Amara, a mutant with the ability to generate lava joins the New Mutants and becomes Magma.

Fictional character biography

Early life

Magma (Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla) hails from the fictional country of Nova Roma (New Rome), a colony of the Roman Republic reportedly founded shortly after the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. The colony is hidden in the Amazon Rainforests of modern Brazil and was ruled until recently by the immortal witch Selene. Amara is the daughter of Lucius Antonius Aquilla. He was presumably a member of the historical gens Antonia which claimed descent from Anton, son of Hercules. Growing up in Nova Roma, she has curly blonde hair, she wears a traditional white Roman toga.

Caught up in a deadly power struggle between Selene and her father, Amara disguises herself as a Brazilian Indian, and first encounters the New Mutants. Amara discovers her powers when Selene throws her into a lava pool as a human sacrifice during the violent conflict. Amara re-emerges with super-human powers, demanding vengeance, and she battles Selene. She leaves Nova Roma in the company of the New Mutants, at her father's urging, to the outside world to be taught by Charles Xavier.

Joining the New Mutants

After the New Mutants visit Nova Roma, Magma officially enters Xavier's school and joins the New Mutants. She invades the Hellfire Club's New York headquarters to battle Selene. She is fooled into joining a gladiatorial competition run by the insane Shadow King. She partners with Sunspot. Eventually, the efforts of her other friends free her and Sunspot from the cult-like control of the games.

Magma and the New Mutants clashes with Emma Frost and her super-powered teens, the Hellions on multiple occasions. Despite the cruelties displayed by the Hellion Empath, Magma develops an attraction towards him. She recognizes this and is distressed by her feelings.

Magma becomes involved in a revenge scheme against the X-Men by the Asgardian God Loki and the Enchantress. Mistaking the New Mutants for the X-Men, the entire team is kidnapped during their Greek vacation and taken to Asgard. The teleportation spell created by her teammate Magik goes awry when blocked by the Enchantress' own power. Thrown through time and space, Magma ends up in the elven realm. They trick her into eating and drinking, thus making her one of their own, body and mind. She participates in a raid on the Asgardian dwarves, where she is defeated by Cannonball. The dwarves, grateful to Cannonball, restore Magma's mind, but they cannot restore her body. Fortunately this becomes moot when Loki's plan is foiled and the team is sent back home, with all magical alterations reversed.

Hellions

After a time, there is a revelation of an evil Magma of an alternate future. Shortly after that, Magma recognizes her grandmother, "many times removed" in a statue depicting the ancient lunar deity Selene. The witch Selene approaches her to claim having been both the model for the statue and the ancestor in question. Soon after, Magma leaves the New Mutants and joins the Hellions.

She trains with the Hellions, and returns to South America with Empath. She later reveals to the New Mutants that her father arranged her engagement to a South American prince. She is captured by the High Evolutionary's agents Dr. Stack and Purge, but is rescued by the New Mutants. Some time later, she encounters Hercules, discovering he is one of the gods she worshipped.

Real identity

It is later apparently revealed that Nova Roma is not Roman, but was created by Selene using mind control on British citizens to recreate Rome, and that Magma's real name is Allison Crestmere. While still under the influence of the "Allison" persona, she briefly resurfaces as a member of the New Hellions.

Return and going

Later, she is one of the mutants who appears, crucified, on the X-Men's lawn. While she is saved by a transfusion of Archangel's blood, when she goes to sleep, she lapses into a deep coma. She is revived by Elixir and another student, against the wishes of Professor X, who believes that forcibly reviving her would prove exceptionally traumatic to her mind. She accidentally destroys the infirmary and flees. Further telepathic contact with Magma is rebuffed.

Rejoining the X-Men

When, she eventually arrives in Los Angeles. as Amara once more, she meets up with Cannonball, who had joined a splinter team of X-Men. She aids this team for a time, and when "Allison" is brought up by Cannonball, revealed that Elixir's healing had removed the "Allison" personality, and she now realizes that it was, in fact, the true deception.

Amara returns to the school for a while. When her friend Wolfsbane had to leave, Magma takes over her advisory role, becoming the leader of the Paragons.

Magma is part of the X-Treme Sanctions Executive, although she is never seen as taking part of any missions on-panel.

Post M-Day

Due to the events of House of M and the Decimation of mutants, Magma loses her boyfriend while the two are exploring the inside of a volcano at the exact moment that the de-powering wave of the Scarlet Witch runs across Earth. His death temporarily drives her insane causing her to make the volcano erupt and attack a nearby town. She is later apprehended by Empath and brought to the Xavier Institute where she shares a tent with Skids and Outlaw. She is also being manipulated emotionally by the mutant Johnny Dee who is infatuated with her. Because of previous experience with being emotionally controlled, she incorrectly blames Empath who denies her accusations. Days later after her boyfriend died Magma seemed to be healed emotionally and begins an affair with Iceman.

Young X-Men

Along with former New Mutants, Danielle Moonstar, Cannonball, and Sunspot, Magma is a member of the newest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, as claimed by Cyclops. She is one of the first members targeted by the new team of X-Men, composed primarily of former Xavier Institute students. During the battle, Amara turns Dust into glass by superheating her sand form, shatters Rockslide (who later reforms) and is eventually taken out by Wolf Cub. She is held in a holding cell in the custody of Cyclops. It is eventually revealed that "Cyclops" is in reality Donald Pierce, the former White King of the Hellfire Club, who is posing as the X-Men leader using an image inducer. Pierce's reasons for recruiting these "X-Men" is currently unknown, but it was revealed that Pierce utilized the ruse that Magma and her allies formed a new Brotherhood in order to convince the former students to attack their former teachers and allies. She later helps to capture him and then relocates to San Francisco.

Secret Invasion

Magma fights alongside the other X-Men when the Skrulls invade San Francisco. She surrenders along with all the other X-Men as part of a trap to spread the Legacy Virus amongst the Skrulls.

New Mutants again

It was announced at New York Comic Con 2009 that a new New Mutants volume will begin in May 2009. The series will be written by Zeb Wells and pencilled by Diogenes Neves. The team will consist of Cannonball, Dani Moonstar, Magma, Sunspot, Karma and Magik.

On April 14, Zeb Wells went into an in-depth interview about Magma and her role in the upcoming New Mutants series.

Powers and abilities

Magma, when fully lit.

Magma is a mutant with geothermal powers. These grant her the ability to control the movement of earth and tectonic plates, even to the extent of causing seismic upheaval. She can also call forth molten rock from the Earth's core, producing projectiles composed of lava, or miniature volcanoes. When using her powers, Magma typically assumes an energized form that emits intense light and heat. Although Magma has triggered small earth tremors without taking on her energized form, she has never been seen to use her power to control lava while in her ordinary human appearance. She possesses an immunity to heat and flame.

Due to her Nova Roman heritage, Magma is well versed in Roman culture, including the Latin language, and is a skilled swordswoman.

Other versions

Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse, Amara, like many other young mutants, is recruited by Apocalypse and became one of his assassins. Fanatical and in total control of her powers, Magma is sent to London to eliminate the leadership of the Human High Council; however, the attack is foiled by Weapon X (Logan), who kills Amara. The assassination attempt is actually a provocation on Apocalypse's behalf, who wants the Council to amass its fleets, making them more vulnerable to be destroyed.

Days of Future Past

In an alternate version of the Days of Future Past future, a war between mutants and baseline humans, started by the latter, resulted in a mutant victory thanks to an alliance between Xavier's Institute and the Hellfire Club. Magma, alongside Sunspot, becomes the Chief Arbitrators of the Lords Cardinal, and creates an idyllic state for mutants, while regular humans are left to fend for themselves. Mutants born to baseline humans are taken from their parents and those who oppose Magma and Sunspot are brainwashed by the Hellfire Club's agents.

X-Men: The End

Magma is seen fighting alongside the other X-Men against the Warskrulls who invade the mansion.

Other media

Television

• In the cartoon X-Men: Evolution, Magma is a Brazilian student with her connection to Nova Roma not being mentioned, and a member of the X-Men subset known as the New Mutants. She is a rather shy and insecure girl, though with a quite fiery temper if she ever gets angry, and who also had a strong friendship with fellow New Mutant Tabitha Smith a.k.a. Boom Boom. A special episode featuring a vacation trip to The Bahamas focuses on Magma in particular; during this trip, Magma's association with volcanoes is clearly emphasized. She was voiced by Alexandra Carter. This incarnation of Magma, instead of having a blonde Caucasian physical complexion, has more Latin American-like features (tanned skin and dark hair).

• Amara appears in the animated TV series "Wolverine and the X-Men" voiced by Kari Wahlgren. She appears as a teenage girl whose magma form went out of control as she is chased by the MRD, as part of Senator Kelly's plan to have a scene of "a mutant putting the public in danger". Wolverine places a power dampening collar around her created by Forge to save her. She later returns it to him as she boards an aircraft sent to pick her up.

Films

• In the film X2, her name appears on a list of names Mystique scrolls through on Stryker's computer while looking for Magneto's file.

Video games

• In the videogame, X-Men Legends, Magma (portrayed by Cree Summer) is a central figure who is a new inductee in Xavier's school in the game's storyline and is depicted as an American girl under the Alison Crestmere name. She was first seen being dragged away by a soldier working for the Genetic Research and Security Organization when Mystique and Blob of the Brotherhood of Mutants arrived to claim her. She was saved by the X-Men and taken to the X-Mansion. It was later revealed on Asteroid M by Mystique that she was their backup plan to power the Gravitron should the Brotherhood of Mutants fail to rescue Magneto. While not initially usable in missions, she becomes a prominent member of the team and a vital key to victory. However, she is not featured in the sequel, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.

External links

• UncannyXmen.net, Spotlight feature on Magma
• Magma at Marvel.com