Polaris: Queen of Mutants/Mistress of Magnetism Appreciation 2024

[Havok83]

Shes not a queen just a womwn and X-man who shouldnt just kill Orchis Humans like Kitty and Kurt IMO. Lorna should be better thwn that imo

She's not better than that. It felt out of character for Kurt, but definitely not out of place for her. She is the same woman that survived Genosha when 16 million mutants were massacred around her to the point that it created PTSD and nearly drove her insane. There was survivors guilt that she carried bc she couldnt save her people and her father Magneto was dead

FF a few years to Krakoa, Magneto is once again dead and there is another massacre at the HFG. Lorna left early so she wasnt around to help save anyone nad prevent that from happening. Her best friend Jean, died that night as well as Bobby whom was another longtime close friend. When thousands of mutants went to the gates and were MIA, they were presumed dead. And this was all bc of Orchis, an anti-mutant organization thats made it their mission to destroy mutantkind. Like they cant live openly on Earth without fear of being openly killed by the Stark sentinel or deported to Arakko where they will likely get slaughtered once orchis has purged Earth. I really think you should consider all this context when it comes to judging Lorna's actions. This is not only personal for her but she's fighting for the few mutants that are left

The 16 Million dead on Genosha very much inform her actions

[berserkerclaw]

Ok I'll back off for the Genoaha Reason i see the point there

[juan678]

For a 3 part connecting retailer exclusive variant from Unknown Comics
Part 1.


https://twitter.com/RPHutch1975/stat...80415186837803

[Devaishwarya]

Out of all the X-Men...barring those who are known for crossing the line...to me, Polaris would have no qualms about killing if it was necessary. She wouldn't have the conflicted internal guilt (as Storm would, for example). But she also wouldn't give in to the blood lust of it either. If I'm remembering correctly...at the end of Duggan's first XM run...she could have destroyed Gameworld but she weighed the loss innocent lives against it. She's always seemed to be a pragmatic at her core, you do villainous crap, pay the consequences. Also not fully embracing Xavier's dream but not outright dismissing it either.

I truly wish we get a Polaris solo in this new era. Because that one panel Hickman wrote of her early on in his X-Men run hinted at volumes left unexplored.

[salarta]

For a 3 part connecting retailer exclusive variant from Unknown Comics
Part 1.

https://twitter.com/RPHutch1975/stat...80415186837803

While I don't usually go for 90s nostalgia stuff with X-Men, this cover is a case where I'm good with it. Why? Because it's working with the 90s vibe and concept but respecting her unique identity as her own character in the process. You can recognize it's her without having to be a hardcore 90s fan, and you can recognize she's relevant to the franchise as a whole, not just a small pool within it.

I truly wish we get a Polaris solo in this new era. Because that one panel Hickman wrote of her early on in his X-Men run hinted at volumes left unexplored.

I truly think, not just as a fan of Lorna who wants great things for her but as someone who knows her background and potential, that she has the greatest potential for a solo out of all X-Men characters who haven't had one yet.

She broke out on Gifted for a reason. To the average person, she comes across as fresh because her existence has been buried for decades. Even people who saw her before, like in the 90s X-Men cartoon or an issue or two of a 90s comic, may not remember she exists or truly know much about her because they didn't see storylines emphasizing her issues and perspective. And yet, she's been around since 1968, with all that means in terms of what she's seen and experienced. There's a lot of potential storylines that could provide years worth of highly successful comics if done well and given the needed resources and promotion.

There's exploring what she's been through, like Genosha. There's exploring what she can do with her powers, how a young woman with a doctorate (pretty much only thing out of 2020s X-Factor that I consider good) would think to apply them that her father wouldn't. There's exploring her relationships, like with Jean and Iceman going back to the beginning, or concerning her mother and foster parents or the Maximoff twins and extended family. And when it comes to her character history, there are some periods of her treated really poorly that can be addressed in a solo by "rewriting" them into different things happening, or looking at it from her perspective instead of another character's. It would be an opportunity to grapple with things like the infamously bad "Lorna's gonna hide behind a rock and cry for Havok to save her from Sabretooth" panels.

And I wouldn't expect Marvel to say any of this next bit openly, but much of how poorly Lorna got treated over decades came down to sexism. She dared to be a bit more feminist than Jean as they were depicted at that time, she broke that ice, and she was subsequently "punished" for it by getting repeatedly depicted as a combo damsel and punching bag. It would give Marvel an opportunity to a) show they're better than that today, and b) willing to spotlight characters like Lorna with a lot to offer that never really got their due before.

If Polaris a Queen, who are her subjects? I LOVE Polaris but I don’t see someone like Exodus or Storm bowing to her because she’s related to Magneto. And didn’t the mutants on Genosha after the attack bow to her and Lorna told them knock it off? That she had no interest in being a ruler like magneto?

I’m genuinely curious on answers:

Polaris the “pro-mutant activist” is an attitude I’ve always seen that she’d have and would be acknowledged in contrast to her friends and teammates. It seems like some here see it differently, so I’m wondering, what does “Polaris the mutant activist” look like to y’all? Green Magneto? Leading a separate faction of mutants? To do what? And what do you think Lorna can say/do in that lane that a writer would prefer to use her instead of Magneto or Storm?

I wouldn't see Storm bowing to her, just as I wouldn't see Storm bowing to Magneto, Xavier, Black Panther or anyone else. I could see Exodus bowing to her though, if he's willing to bow to Magneto. My understanding is that Exodus is more or less a Magneto uberfan, which then should logically extend to Lorna not just by bloodline but by Magneto caring for her. Aside from the specific characters you mention, I can't see anyone that's a peer of Lorna - Jean, Cyclops, Rogue, Gambit, etc - bowing to her. But I can see younger generations doing so, like Siryn, Wolfsbane, etc. Not that ALL characters of a particular generation would or wouldn't bow to her. Each character's particulars decide that sort of thing. Wouldn't expect a young mutant to bow to Lorna if their whole deal is being some ornery rebel that answers to no one. These are very broad strokes toward a rudimentary understanding.

The moment you're referring to about Lorna telling them not to bow to her was the issues where Lorna and Xavier argued philosophy. Although she had developed a good amount from the genocide to that moment, she was still working through her trauma. That trauma included people celebrating her as their sovereign princess just moments before she failed to protect them from the genocide. In that exact moment, it would make sense for her not to want people bowing to her, and not wanting to be their leader/ruler. She would've wanted to avoid a repeat of what she just went through.

A lot's happened since then. Setting aside any comments from me of what SHOULD have happened during the Krakoa "era," looking only in terms of the existing narrative, she largely sat it out. She didn't lead mutants as a queen or even princess, she only helped where asked and left everything to other people we could say she arguably believed would do a "better job" than her. And yet, they failed. Not only did Krakoa fall apart, countless mutants died in another genocide all because one of the two people largely considered in-universe to be their most important thought leaders - Xavier - made the exact wrong call.

So imagine you're Lorna in the midst of all that. Your father tries to run an island nation, it gets wiped out in a genocide, he failed despite your supporting his cause. Okay, so you try to stay away from the big important stuff. Your father's best friend tries to run an island nation with a council, it gets wiped out in a genocide, it failed despite you keeping your distance.

She tried direct support as a right hand woman. She tried staying out of it. Both failed. If she's a woman who actually cares about mutants, not just about shooting up with some coffee, then what are her options? Stepping up to be a leader, armed with plenty of experience, her father's name and a high quality education, is one of them. I mean, she can't do any worse than Xavier or her father, right?

[Soulsword323]

Given Lorna's lineage, I think it makes sense that some would perceive Polaris as royalty. We saw that briefly (again) when Lorna, Wanda, and Pietro, returned to Genosha after the genocide.

Lorna is the heir to Magneto, and with Magneto being held in such high regard in the Mutant community, the "Queen" title isn't that far fetched IMO.

[Thirteen]

Father and Daughter (not quite but sorta) completing each others' thoughts is a little creepy...even if its a tactical discussion

[jmc247]

Father and Daughter (not quite but sorta) completing each others' thoughts is a little creepy...even if its a tactical discussion

It’s a tactical discussion between characters with the same powers. Their interaction made more logical sense then Bunn’s version.



And it was far less annoying of Mike Carey’s version which frankly also treated Lorna as a teenaged rookie newbie at EM minipulation.



Take your pick.

[Gray Lensman]

Ok I'll back off for the Genoaha Reason i see the point there

I also believe that there is an issue somewhere where Lorna silently pulls the grenade pins from the entire force of mooks and the team finds her talking about how she is tired of wasting all that time to someone over her cell phone.

[jmc247]

I also believe that there is an issue somewhere where Lorna silently pulls the grenade pins from the entire force of mooks and the team finds her talking about how she is tired of wasting all that time to someone over her cell phone.

She eliminated quite a few Purifier wannabies in the that era.

[jmc247]

There are broadly two ways the issue of Lorna and ultra violence has been done. The Uber hot headed way. Lorna is just so emotional she can barely contain herself. This way was most used on X-Factor both recient runs back to the 90s.





X-Men runs in contrast tend to go for the opposite meaning a colder and much more calculating Lorna which I very much think is the right track.

If one is going to go with hot headed Lorna UXM #443 is the way as it was all still calculated.