science

Magma (character)

Magma (character) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Magma (character) rather than just read about it. In short: Magma (Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont, and artists Sal Buscema, Glynis Wein, and Bob McLeod, the character first appeared in The New Mutants #8 (October 1983).

Key takeaways

Magma (character) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Magma (character) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Magma (character) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Magma (Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont, and artists Sal Buscema, Glynis Wein, and Bob McLeod, the character first appeared in The New Mutants #8 (October 1983). Amara Aquilla belongs to the subspecies of humans called mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. Amara is also known as Allison Crestmere, an identity she assumed after her memory was altered. She possesses the power to manipulate magma and earth, and can turn into a magmatic form. Amara is from Nova Roma, a secluded area in Brazil that has similar customs to Ancient Rome. She is most known for serving as a member of the New Mutants. The character has appeared in other media, notably in X-Men: Legends.

Publication history Amara Aquilla debuted in The New Mutants #8 (October 1983), and appeared in that title regularly, until The New Mutants #57 (November 1987) when she departs the titular super-group to join their rivals, the Hellions. Along with the other New Mutants, she appeared as an occasional supporting character in Uncanny X-Men, with issue #189 (1985) as a salient issue featuring her conflict with Selene at the Hellfire Club. After her being dropped from the regular cast, The New Mutants featured two Magma solo stories, occupying the entirety of The New Mutants #62 (April 1988) and The New Mutants #81 (Nov. 1989). The latter was a fill-in issue written while she was still a regular cast member. Magma appeared infrequently during the 1990s, but did take part in the "Child's Play" crossover through X-Force #32-33 and The New Warriors #45-46 (1994). In X-Force #87-90 (1997), Magma appeared as an antagonist to her former teammates, but her villainous personality was short-lived as she returned to her affiliation with the X-Men in semi-regular publication in New Mutants Vol. 2 #3-4, #7-8, #11 and #13 (2003-2004) and as a team member in X-Treme X-Men #34-46 (2004). Magma then featured prominently as a member of the 198 remaining mutants on earth in the limited series X-Men: The 198 #1-5 (2006) and then in Young X-Men #1-6 (2008) until returning to regular monthly publication in New Mutants Vol. 3 #1 (2009) wherein she remained as a regular character through issue #50 (2012).

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 rainforest of modern Brazil, and was ruled until recently by the immortal witch Selene. Amara is the daughter of Lucius Antonius Aquilla, who is presumably a member of the historical gens Antonia which claimed descent from Anton, son of Hercules. Caught up in a deadly power struggle between Selene and her father, she disguises herself as an indigenous Brazilian and is captured by the New Mutants, who soon discovers her true ethnicity. Her powers manifest after she is abducted by Selene, who throws her into a lava pool. Amara is defeated by Selene, but later rescued by the New Mutants and joins the group as Magma.

New Mutants After the New Mutants visit Nova Roma, Magma officially enters Professor X'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 Shadow King, where she partners with Sunspot. Eventually, the efforts of her other friends free her and Sunspot from the games. Magma and the New Mutants clash with Emma Frost and her team, the Hellions, on multiple occasions. Despite the cruelties displayed by the Hellion Empath, Magma develops an attraction towards him, which distresses her and leads her to leave the New Mutants and join the Hellions.

Hellions Magma trains with the Hellions for some time and returns to South America with Empath. It is later 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. Magma is later crucified by the Church of Humanity, but is healed by Archangel and Elixir. When Cannonball questions her, Magma reveals that Elixir's healing had removed the Allison Crestmere persona, which she now knows to be false.

Post M-Day Due to the events of the Decimation, Magma loses her lover when his similar powers are stripped while inside a volcano. His death temporarily drives her insane causing her to attack a nearby town. She is later apprehended by Empath and brought to the Xavier Institute. She is manipulated 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. Along with former New Mutants, Danielle Moonstar, Cannonball, and Sunspot, Magma appears as a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Cyclops. After Magma is captured, it is learned that Donald Pierce had been posing as Cyclops using an image inducer. Magma helps to capture Pierce and then relocates to San Francisco. The New Mutants reform when Dani and Karma are captured when out on a call to a small town. Amara is visiting Empath in his cell when she is called away. Magik and Magma are tricked into freeing Legion from a box while rescuing their teammates, but the pair stop Legion's rogue personalities.

Fall of the New Mutants After the events of the "Second Coming" storyline, the New Mutants take a vacation, which is interrupted when Magik discovers that Pixie has been kidnapped by a mysterious military faction known as Project Purgatory. The New Mutants search Limbo, and are attacked by the mutant babies gathered during "Inferno", now adults working with Project Purgatory. Magma is captured and held captive along with Sunspot. The pair are freed and defeat the threat. Magma remains with the New Mutants after some members leave, alongside Dani Moonstar, Cypher, Warlock, and Sunspot. Their first mission is to track down X-Man, who had been kidnapped by Sugar Man.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Magma (character): Magma, when fully lit. — Magma, when fully lit.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Magma (character)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Magma (character) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Magma (character) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Magma (character) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Magma (character)

In research: Magma (character) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Magma (character) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Magma (character) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Characters created by Bob McLeod, Characters created by Chris Claremont, Characters created by Sal Buscema, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Magma (character) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Magma (character) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Magma (character) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Magma (character) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Magma (character) in simple terms?

Why does Magma (character) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Magma (character)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Magma (character).