In a scene from UXM #160 Claremont uses Nightcrawler as a vessel for characterizing Limbo and its ruler, Belasco. The result is a rare, horrifying portrayal of Kurt’s character that, through this horror, defines important symbolic components of Illyana Rasputin. #xmen 1/6

Kitty is serving as vantage point character in the scene, dropped abruptly into a hell dimension. When she spots what she thinks is her Nightcrawler, she feels immediate relief and comfort, only to be sexually molested at his hands. 2/6

Having her introduction to Limbo (and thus the reader’s) entail sexual assault and betrayal at the hands of a once-trusted ally establishes the perverse nature of this new world, and that it was Kurt, of all the X-Men, embodying that perversion is shocking and dissonant. 3/6

Only later on do we learn that limbo Kurt is actually an amalgam of Kurt/Belasco. Claremont next disambiguates the two sides by having the real Kurt act heroically and gallantly in defeating his evil doppleganger and then literally punching out Belasco. 4/6

Through simple subtraction, we are then left with an understanding of exactly what Belasco is, and the horror faced by Kitty becomes an essentialization of the evil Illyana was left with for years, thus connecting her character to sexual trauma quite directly. 5/6

As we discussed in a previous thread, this is one of the most important symbolic aspects that Illyana speaks to: post-sexual-abuse trauma. And though it stings to see any version of Nightcrawler act this way, it does define and deepen the sense of Illyana’s tragedy. 6/6