Polaris: Queen of Mutants/Mistress of Magnetism Appreciation 2024

[salarta]

I'll have more things to say at a later time. Here's what I have to say for now.

Lorna, Wanda and Pietro implied to be Magneto's kids is a good thing. Also that she's wearing her costume, not the 90s X-Factor team one.

It doesn't change the issues I cited before. This would be enough if a genocide other than the Genoshan genocide happened in the cartoon, and if Lorna had never been used before now. Instead, currently what we have is a 90s nostalgia bait throwback Lorna whose only really known for being a supporting character for a man (Havok). X-Men 97 version Lorna lacks the transformational driving force of surviving the Genoshan genocide.

There's a fundamental mistake too often made by people who don't care all that much about Lorna. They think simply being Magneto's daughter is enough. It's not. If that's all she has, then we run the risk of the exact same problem Lorna had for decades with Havok, just swapping in one man for another. Being Magneto's daughter is an important facet of who Lorna is, but it's not the only thing she is. Just as Havok being Cyclops' brother isn't all he is. And whether intentional or accidental, treating Lorna with "she's Magneto's daughter, that's all she needs" thinking is very paternalistic and sexist.

Let me put it another way. As a survivor of the Genoshan genocide, her driving force is directly experiencing the horror, reliving it with her powers, witnessing millions of mutants - including people she personally knew and cared about - die right in front of her. Under this circumstance, being Magneto's daughter and knowing it before the genocide actually happened provides more weight, a heightened sense of responsibility. "I was responsible for their protection, I failed, I need to do and be better so it never happens again."

If she's not a survivor of the genocide, if she's just Magneto's daughter, then she's just... there. Without being a survivor of the genocide, Lorna taking on the fight gets warped into nothing more than "my daddy believed this so I believe it now too." We've talked before here about the problem some writers had of explaining Lorna's actions on Genosha pre-genocide with "I thought what would Jesus, I mean Havok, do? Then I did what he'd want me to do." This would be the same problem, just substituting Magneto in for Havok.

Am I glad Lorna was implied to be Magneto's daughter here? Of course. Does that mean it's okay that the cartoon completely excluded her from the story of the Genoshan genocide? Of course not. And frankly, it's insulting how opinion of Lorna among Beau and people who worked on the cartoon is so low that they cut her out of such an important event that she had such a big part in. It's not like she was a minor side character whose experiences were a blip on the radar. She had multiple whole issues of the flagship title dedicated to her experience of that genocide and its aftermath, aside from pages and panels throughout the run.

That's all for now. Hopefully either season 2 actually does right by Lorna, or the cartoon ends quickly and they do something new with the Genoshan genocide that actually does it right.

[Will Evans]

I'll have more things to say at a later time. Here's what I have to say for now.

Lorna, Wanda and Pietro implied to be Magneto's kids is a good thing. Also that she's wearing her costume, not the 90s X-Factor team one.

It doesn't change the issues I cited before. This would be enough if a genocide other than the Genoshan genocide happened in the cartoon, and if Lorna had never been used before now. Instead, currently what we have is a 90s nostalgia bait throwback Lorna whose only really known for being a supporting character for a man (Havok). X-Men 97 version Lorna lacks the transformational driving force of surviving the Genoshan genocide.

There's a fundamental mistake too often made by people who don't care all that much about Lorna. They think simply being Magneto's daughter is enough. It's not. If that's all she has, then we run the risk of the exact same problem Lorna had for decades with Havok, just swapping in one man for another. Being Magneto's daughter is an important facet of who Lorna is, but it's not the only thing she is. Just as Havok being Cyclops' brother isn't all he is. And whether intentional or accidental, treating Lorna with "she's Magneto's daughter, that's all she needs" thinking is very paternalistic and sexist.

Let me put it another way. As a survivor of the Genoshan genocide, her driving force is directly experiencing the horror, reliving it with her powers, witnessing millions of mutants - including people she personally knew and cared about - die right in front of her. Under this circumstance, being Magneto's daughter and knowing it before the genocide actually happened provides more weight, a heightened sense of responsibility. "I was responsible for their protection, I failed, I need to do and be better so it never happens again."

If she's not a survivor of the genocide, if she's just Magneto's daughter, then she's just... there. Without being a survivor of the genocide, Lorna taking on the fight gets warped into nothing more than "my daddy believed this so I believe it now too." We've talked before here about the problem some writers had of explaining Lorna's actions on Genosha pre-genocide with "I thought what would Jesus, I mean Havok, do? Then I did what he'd want me to do." This would be the same problem, just substituting Magneto in for Havok.

Am I glad Lorna was implied to be Magneto's daughter here? Of course. Does that mean it's okay that the cartoon completely excluded her from the story of the Genoshan genocide? Of course not. And frankly, it's insulting how opinion of Lorna among Beau and people who worked on the cartoon is so low that they cut her out of such an important event that she had such a big part in. It's not like she was a minor side character whose experiences were a blip on the radar. She had multiple whole issues of the flagship title dedicated to her experience of that genocide and its aftermath, aside from pages and panels throughout the run.

That's all for now. Hopefully either season 2 actually does right by Lorna, or the cartoon ends quickly and they do something new with the Genoshan genocide that actually does it right.

i

Well, in the original X-Men animated cartoon, Lorna was the supporting character for guest star Iceman. It was Havok who was a supporting character to her.

Lorna is also not in the main cast of the show. That’s fine, not all mutants are. The leg up that Lorna, Bobby and Warren have is they have been shown in flashbacks to have been X-Men before quitting. No other mutants on the show have been revealed with that aspect.

But it’s no big deal that Lorna re-enters the show through Magneto, who himself is a part of the main cast.
Forge re-entered the show as a supporting character to Storm. Cable re-entered the show as a supporting character to Cyclops. Nightcrawler re-entered the show as a supporting character to Rogue. Sunspot premiered in the show as a new POV and then as a supporting character to Jubilee.

[kcekada]

https://twitter.com/ScarletWitchUpd/...69916116250859

Pic With Wanda and Pietro

That animation looks pretty good. Don't know the backstory, but the dark cameos by Mags' children is very cool/ominous -- possibly leading to some cool stuff with them next season.

[Magnetic]

X-Men 97: Magneto knows Lorna is his daughter. She probably doesn’t know he is her father yet. Maybe she does. Time will tell.

Forge has a poster of X-Factor in his workshop. He doesn’t have Lorna on speed dial when EM powers are needed like the ladies struggling to deal with the asteroid. No Avengers helping. No other random mutants helping. No Polaris of course. She’s not on his status wall either.

Where is Lorna? Does Apocalypse have her already?

[whitecrown]

Link from 1991 discussions.

Thank you for the confirmation. It's not a bad codename but I prefer Polaris and her original powerset by far. The super strength part didn't interest me but I did like the idea of absorbing negative emotions and the effects that would have on the people around her. I feel that could have been incorporated into her original magnetic powers.

[GoingGreen]

Just to bring in a little realistic flavor...

Polaris did not have a big role in the Genoshan Genocide in the comics. While the genocide is very important and game changing for Polaris, the story itself had little-to-nothing to do with Polaris. Yes, Polaris was a very important figure on Polaris for a while leading up to the genocide, but again, the genocide had nothing to do with her. It's actually something I'm annoyed at with the comics, because it still has not been addressed how many she saved during Eve of Destruction while running the mutant underground railroad, getting tons of mutants off the island.

However, something that brought me back to reality was when someone recently pointed out that E is for Extinction, the genocide itself, was in 3rd quarter 2001 with New X-Men 114-116. New X-Men 132, yes 16-18 issues later, was a more than a year later, nearly 4th quarter 2002. And it wasn't until another year later, 3rd quarter 2003, that her experience during the genocide was revealed, which explained the PTSD causing her radical behavior.

Polaris was an echo of Genosha, used as a reminder of what mutantkind experienced.

We don't know if that will or won't happen in the show... but that glimpse of her in Magneto's psyche gave me a glimpse of hope that maybe we'll see it again. Especially given how the season ended.

I also want to further point out that sooo many stories this whole season were adapted in order to be given to the main ensemble instead. This show is telling all of X-Men lore through the lens of these few characters. The show does not have the benefit of a dozen offshoot titles, and frankly, the more characters you add, the busier and more confusing it can become in such a short format.

I'm happy she was shown, even though casual audiences will have no idea what they saw on that boat. Personally, I think it may have been a nod to fans for what we can expect for Magneto as things ... get corrected... (trying not to provide spoilers). I cannot expect this show to be the comics, because it can't be the comics, and to expect that of it - you're just going to let yourself down.

I prefer low expectations, high hope, and it's kept me from losing my head.

[Gnostic]

X-Men 97: Magneto knows Lorna is his daughter. She probably doesn’t know he is her father yet. Maybe she does. Time will tell.

Forge has a poster of X-Factor in his workshop. He doesn’t have Lorna on speed dial when EM powers are needed like the ladies struggling to deal with the asteroid. No Avengers helping. No other random mutants helping. No Polaris of course. She’s not on his status wall either.

Where is Lorna? Does Apocalypse have her already?

I think Lorna is listed as one of Magneto's children in his profile. So it seems to be public knowledge.

[jmc247]

Just to bring in a little realistic flavor...

Polaris did not have a big role in the Genoshan Genocide in the comics. While the genocide is very important and game changing for Polaris, the story itself had little-to-nothing to do with Polaris. Yes, Polaris was a very important figure on Polaris for a while leading up to the genocide, but again, the genocide had nothing to do with her. It's actually something I'm annoyed at with the comics, because it still has not been addressed how many she saved during Eve of Destruction while running the mutant underground railroad, getting tons of mutants off the island.

However, something that brought me back to reality was when someone recently pointed out that E is for Extinction, the genocide itself, was in 3rd quarter 2001 with New X-Men 114-116. New X-Men 132, yes 16-18 issues later, was a more than a year later, nearly 4th quarter 2002. And it wasn't until another year later, 3rd quarter 2003, that her experience during the genocide was revealed, which explained the PTSD causing her radical behavior.

Polaris was an echo of Genosha, used as a reminder of what mutantkind experienced.

We don't know if that will or won't happen in the show... but that glimpse of her in Magneto's psyche gave me a glimpse of hope that maybe we'll see it again. Especially given how the season ended.

I also want to further point out that sooo many stories this whole season were adapted in order to be given to the main ensemble instead. This show is telling all of X-Men lore through the lens of these few characters. The show does not have the benefit of a dozen offshoot titles, and frankly, the more characters you add, the busier and more confusing it can become in such a short format.

I'm happy she was shown, even though casual audiences will have no idea what they saw on that boat. Personally, I think it may have been a nod to fans for what we can expect for Magneto as things ... get corrected... (trying not to provide spoilers). I cannot expect this show to be the comics, because it can't be the comics, and to expect that of it - you're just going to let yourself down.

I prefer low expectations, high hope, and it's kept me from losing my head.

Complete and utter nonsense. Rogue was the stand in for Lorna and she worked in the role. So could another character, but that is not the point.

One issue of Grant Morrison that was frankly one of the finest single issues of the X-Men ever told focused on the X-Men saving her there and her coming to grips with it.

The first time Lorna and the twins meet as family they go to Genosha in Uncanny X-Men and then you have the best single issue Lorna ever had laying out her philosophy and worldview while debating Xavier.

The you had two great stories in Uncanny of her dealing with the fallout and telling the story of her last weeks there to Xavier and Annie on Uncanny X-Men.

There is no way to get to modern Lorna without Genosha it was utterly central to her development as a character.

In the current era Krakoa has post Genosha Lorna as its foundation. No way in hell can I imagine Lorna unleashing hell on the space station without it. Not in a billion years.

[whitecrown]

I think Lorna is listed as one of Magneto's children in his profile. So it seems to be public knowledge.

I saw a screenshot on Twitter of the Magneto Protocol, and it shows that Wanda, Pietro, and Lorna are named as his children. Also a reference to Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender as aliases.

[GoingGreen]

Complete and utter nonsense. Rogue was the stand in for Lorna and she worked in the role. So could another character, but that is not the point.

One issue of Grant Morrison that was frankly one of the finest single issues of the X-Men ever told focused on the X-Men saving her there and her coming to grips with it.

The first time Lorna and the twins meet as family they go to Genosha in Uncanny X-Men and then you have the best single issue Lorna ever had laying out her philosophy and worldview while debating Xavier.

The you had two great stories in Uncanny of her dealing with the fallout and telling the story of her last weeks there to Xavier and Annie on Uncanny X-Men.

There is no way to get to modern Lorna without Genosha it was utterly central to her development as a character.

In the current era Krakoa has post Genosha Lorna as its foundation. No way in hell can I imagine Lorna unleashing hell on the space station without it. Not in a billion years.

Nothing I said was nonsense.

And I'll repeat myself: we don't know if Polaris' experience will or will not happen in the show. What I'm saying is, it's possible they will revisit Genosha next season through survivor experiences, and we could get to see Polaris'. Especially with the glimpse of hope that Magneto's mindscape gave us.

I'm not sure where there was nonsense in that. And I don't think we disagree, other than Rogue being a stand in for Polaris. I'm confused.

EDIT: Also- yes, the episode DOES include a Magneto profile, and Polaris' name is actually redacted. It shows his kids' codenames, and shows a P on the third one, but olaris is blacked out, as is a ton of information. Yet another hint at something brewing for Polaris in season 2 that we just don't know yet.

Again, low expectations, high hopes.

[jmc247]

Nothing I said was nonsense.

And I'll repeat myself: we don't know if Polaris' experience will or will not happen in the show. What I'm saying is, it's possible they will revisit Genosha next season through survivor experiences, and we could get to see Polaris'. Especially with the glimpse of hope that Magneto's mindscape gave us.


EDIT: Also- yes, the episode DOES include a Magneto profile, and Polaris' name is actually redacted. It shows his kids' codenames, and shows a P on the third one, but olaris is blacked out, as is a ton of information. Yet another hint at something brewing for Polaris in season 2 that we just don't know yet.

Again, low expectations, high hopes.
I'm not sure where there was nonsense in that. And I don't think we disagree, other than Rogue being a stand in for Polaris. I'm confused.

I thought your statement implied Lorna’s story was an unimportant on the island. Rogue and Magneto’s fling on the island was thematically a small part of the story which was blown up on the animated side this go around.



Rogue had her role on the island and she was given half of Lorna’s as well. Not the half with Lorna building the island mind you and helping to rule it. Rogue’s role has grown massively large and some of it is Emmy worthy certainly, but the core idea was frankly the only thing that ever worked for Lorna and pathos.

The crisis of Lorna’s storytelling is the character needs a pathos and a world view to work and almost all of what they have tried has been a failure. Mind control doesn’t work and its where I fear they are heading. Killing mom or being the daughter of Magneto does not work as pathos either.

Hell I would even accept a trash Horseman possession arc if Poccy were to grab her from Genosha. It could still happen, but I am not all that optimistic.

[whitecrown]

Has Lorna been the character with the most cameos so far? Her appearing in the opening theme with Iceman and Havok, her picture on Forge's board with X-Factor, Bastion's dark future where she's enslaved for humanity, and now in Magneto's mind.

[whitecrown]

Actually it's dawned on me that Havok has also had an equal amount of cameos. The two he shares with Lorna and X-Factor, along with the Mojo reference and his pic on the board at the end. But Lorna's have been slightly better about spotlighting her than Alex's so far.

[salarta]

Just to bring in a little realistic flavor...

Polaris did not have a big role in the Genoshan Genocide in the comics. While the genocide is very important and game changing for Polaris, the story itself had little-to-nothing to do with Polaris. Yes, Polaris was a very important figure on Polaris for a while leading up to the genocide, but again, the genocide had nothing to do with her. It's actually something I'm annoyed at with the comics, because it still has not been addressed how many she saved during Eve of Destruction while running the mutant underground railroad, getting tons of mutants off the island.

However, something that brought me back to reality was when someone recently pointed out that E is for Extinction, the genocide itself, was in 3rd quarter 2001 with New X-Men 114-116. New X-Men 132, yes 16-18 issues later, was a more than a year later, nearly 4th quarter 2002. And it wasn't until another year later, 3rd quarter 2003, that her experience during the genocide was revealed, which explained the PTSD causing her radical behavior.

Polaris was an echo of Genosha, used as a reminder of what mutantkind experienced.

We don't know if that will or won't happen in the show... but that glimpse of her in Magneto's psyche gave me a glimpse of hope that maybe we'll see it again. Especially given how the season ended.

I also want to further point out that sooo many stories this whole season were adapted in order to be given to the main ensemble instead. This show is telling all of X-Men lore through the lens of these few characters. The show does not have the benefit of a dozen offshoot titles, and frankly, the more characters you add, the busier and more confusing it can become in such a short format.

I'm happy she was shown, even though casual audiences will have no idea what they saw on that boat. Personally, I think it may have been a nod to fans for what we can expect for Magneto as things ... get corrected... (trying not to provide spoilers). I cannot expect this show to be the comics, because it can't be the comics, and to expect that of it - you're just going to let yourself down.

I prefer low expectations, high hope, and it's kept me from losing my head.

Genocide erasure.

[Magnetic]

I think Lorna is listed as one of Magneto's children in his profile. So it seems to be public knowledge.

Thanks. Didn’t catch that. She may hate daddy in this version. Hope not, but would not be surprised.

I do remember the Iceman episode in this universe where they started having conflicts because Lorna felt strongly about mutant rights while Bobby was content living a normal life. I wonder what happened. I’m guessing X-Factor disbanded based on Forge’s current status but of course could be a simple lineup change and he’s just not part of the team anymore. They use to show flashes of the team watching the tv monitor when a major event happens on earth. Seems like Lorna would be with Magneto with no X-Factor since she wanted to start over without the X-Men or Bobby according to her reasoning why she joined X-Factor in the first place.

I do 100% agree Salarta and jmc247 regarding Genosha. Like I say in the beginning I mainly watch for Jean and didn’t care about Lorna at all to appear in this cartoon. Then the Genosha episode happen and I couldn’t help getting frustrated over Lorna’s absence. I can speculate what might happen - flashbacks putting her there, updates to her status showing she is a survivor - but I’m only going off what I know and has been shown and it stinks for Lorna right now.

I had other frustration with lack of action from other characters this finale too. Too much happening and not enough time. Overall, I think season 1 started very strong and sort of lost me in the 2nd half. Still hopeful for season 2 for non-Lorna material based on the cliffhanger with Askani and En Sabah Nur. Mostly Askani which was a nice surprise for me.