STORY: "Going Through The Motions" (23 pages)  Jubilee mourns the death of Illyana Rasputin.

What you need to know:
Well, Illyana Rasputin dies, which pretty much overshadows everything else.

According to Storm, Fitzroy was turned over to the federal authorities for hospital treatment after Colossus's attack in the previous issue.

Comments:
Ah, now this is a good one. Of course, a hardcore of Illyana Rasputin fans were still clamouring for this story to be reversed at time of writing (June 1999), and there's a degree of truth in the criticism that this story sacrifices a major supporting character purely to make the Legacy Virus look threatening - a feeble plot that didn't deserve her death.

Nonetheless, the story itself is great reading, with the clever decision to tell the story from the perspective of Jubilee, somebody who has little connection with Illyana but is seeing this sort of death for the first time. This isn't a story about Illyana at all, when you think about it. It's a story about death and Jubilee's reactions to it.

On top of it is a subplot in which Professor X proposes that Illyana be put in a coma to keep her alive while they try to save her, and the X-Men ultimately decide against it. This is obviously a "when do we pull the plug" storyline transported from a medical drama, but it works pretty well here.

Guest art comes from Richard Bennett, who unfortunately is suffering from a severe case of Jim Lee Clone Affliction at this point. But aside from putting some of the female characters in very silly poses that don't fit the story at all, he tells the story well enough. This is the sort of story Scott Lobdell does best - quiet and chatty.

FEATURE CHARACTERS
Professor X (last in X-Force vol 1 #24; next in X-Factor vol 1 #93, then in X-Men vol 2 #24)
Colossus (next in flashback in X-Men vol 2 #110, then in X-Factor vol 1 #93)
Iceman and Archangel (behind the scenes; both next in X-Factor vol 1 #93)
Jean Grey (next in X-Men vol 2 #24)
Storm and Bishop

GUEST STAR
Shadowcat (next in X-Men vol 2 #24)

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
Illyana Rasputin (dies; her body appears next in flashback in X-Men Omega)
Moira MacTaggert (last in issue #301; next in flashback in X-Men Omega)
Jubilee (next in flashback in X-Men Omega)

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