Lorna Dane: Polaris Appreciation 2018

[Heroine Addict]

No Polaris news from the X-Men panel at New York Comic Con. Well I wouldn't say none, the large audience at the panel themselves voted on their favorite X-Men antagonists... revolutionary Cyke was in the voting.

Maybe more & more, fans are seeing her as Magneto's:

... successor.

[Heroine Addict]

... Would love to Polaris be more of an independent agent on The Gifted. I think it aligns with the character. Someone who's worked with both sides, and can create something of an in-between.

Lorna should be a character connected to both sides of the philosophical divide like she was early last decade on Genosha as an Acolyte then as part of the government while sometimes working with the X-Men. Then after she came home for a few years in the early 00s. Its the most natural place for the character and her own developments and she should be a character that exists between worlds and factions. ...

I'm ALL about this, for Lorna. She shouldn't be just an X-Men OR Brotherhood/Acolyte/HFC ally, but a MUTANT ally. With her own motivations, and her own, individual renown, as Polaris. A freelance operative, basically, an agent with her own, personal directives - a WILDCARD! I want her debating both Xavier/Jean AND her father, and at odds with all of them, from time to time.

[jmc247]

I'm ALL about this, for Lorna. She shouldn't be just an X-Men OR Brotherhood/Acolyte/HFC ally, but a MUTANT ally. With her own motivations, and her own, individual renown, as Polaris. A freelance operative, basically, an agent with her own, personal directives - a WILDCARD! I want her debating both Xavier/Jean AND her father, and at odds with all of them, from time to time.

Right now thanks to Marvel's disinterest in the character and unlike Jean her not being dead in that period Lorna's credibility is sort of gone at the moment as a mutant rights activist.

She had a ton of credibility 12-14 years ago with different sides of the spectrum having served the U.S. government, then the Acolytes, then the Genoshan government and then the X-Men. There is a cost to the character being forced to sit out several massive events and near mutant genocides for no good reason other then Marvel didn't care about her. Emma Frost has credibility on mutant issues, Magneto has credibility, even Jean who is back from the dead has credibility. Lorna lost her cred as a mutant activist from inactivity in that area when mutants needed someone like her most and she needs to rebuild her cred before she can debate pretty much anybody who has it.

Longer term yes I would like Lorna be a force onto herself that has her own ethos and agenda in saving mutants and can debate anyone on the topic, but to get to that step requires two steps... the first is refilling her empty tank in regards to credibility the comic character has (sure its Marvel's fault Lorna was kept out, but that doesn't matter to the result).

As credibility is rebuilt the second key is necessary of what does Lorna actually believe about protecting mutants? Writers rarely try to get in Lorna's head based on her life experiences and think about how she sees mutants. A few have and we know who, but very very few.

You have to sort out very basic things like what does Lorna think about the idea of a mutant homeland? What does she think about using deadly force and when its acceptable and not acceptable? How does she see human governments? The last writer that gave her an at all clear manifesto of sorts on such things was Austen, but that was so long ago and under such different circumstances that they can't be brought forward and say this is what she thinks today or at least not without having her explain the world according to Lorna these days.

Basically Marvel would have to bring forward and redevelop issues in regards to comic Lorna that have atrophied to nothing. The Gifted Lorna by the late middle of the season will have the cred to be an independent operator and might have a clear view on things by that point if they go down that route.

Or from Newsweek.

Fox's X-Men series, The Gifted, doesn't have a single “big bad.” The Season 2 premiere, "eMergence," sells itself as philosophically dense and eager to introduce the diverging sides to each mutant alliance: the Hellfire Club and its Inner Circle, and the Mutant Underground with its several divisions. New mutants are popping up everywhere, and the Season 2 premiere looks and feels more like a superhero show compared to the dated, yet admittedly enthralling, wild goose chase of a first season.

Polaris is the only character who at least attempts to transcend the idea of choosing a side, which is why she’s still the most compelling part of the show. She sees potential in all the solutions to protect mutants (at least for now), but isn't naive to the influence of party agendas. How Polaris responds and reacts to the political debates swirling around her is the driving force of the show, and adds yet another highly emotional layer to a story already full of rage and dread.

https://www.newsweek.com/gifted-seas...oilers-1138707

For comic Lorna to transcend the idea of taking any side while building up her popularity and credibility would require much much more effort and attention then she has gotten since... well the early 00s and we both know that isn't in the cards in the near future. Lorna the wild card is the kind of thing very difficult if she doesn't have her own ongoing, Austen's run came the closest to making it happen.

Of late she has transcended the idea of taking a side in the comics (X-Men Blue is case and point of that), but it more feels like she has transcended caring about mutant politics as a whole which is something different entirely.

[salarta]

I've been mulling over a "describe your ideal status quo thread" specifically because I want to see a world where Lorna is connected to both sides of mutant conflict: vigilante and terrorist groups... and she chooses who to help, how to help, and when to get out before things go too far.

Like, she helps Mystique sneak into a Weapon Plus facility, but ghosts out when she hears gunshots. Or is enlisted by Storm for a confrontation with a dangerous new energy mutant. And then bails when the cops show up. Maybe that all reads as selfish?

I want to see a mutant universe with empowered men and women making choices for themselves and to whatever degree they want to involve themselves in mutant affairs.

During The Twelve, it was established that Lorna is the opposite pole to her father Magneto. We also know that Polaris, the codename she's chosen (or at least, chosen to keep), is the northern pole star - used for guidance because it's a relatively fixed point. Lorna has been through a lot of hellish moments in her life, but she's survived all of them, and she's never slipped into the depths of villainy in spite of what she's been through. She's been tortured, controlled, abused, humiliated, but she always comes back. Any time there's a loss of way and people need a leader, she fills that void.

If Magneto is mostly darkness surrounded by light, then Polaris is mostly a light within the darkness.

Her light can never be snuffed out regardless of the events around her. Her true greatness often doesn't get noticed until the darkest of times. She stands out with her position on mutant rights and her vibrant display of mutant traits. As a guiding light, she can lead mutants who have lost their way, and she is in herself a symbol for a brighter future looking forward - compared to the dark past that Magneto represents.

That's my view of her, anyway. And from that view, I imagine Lorna being a lot more rigid and demanding over treatment of mutants than the X-Men. Like she won't murder people like Magneto does unless she has to, but she'll give them a thorough reputation tear-down in the public eye and terrorize them if called for. Someone that would work with both groups as you're thinking. Straddling the line between too vicious in the eyes of vigilantes, and too soft in the eyes of terrorists. Between Xavier and Magneto philosophies, which was the core of her introduction as a character.

[Heroine Addict]

... Longer term yes ...

Just assumed that was implied.

... Polaris is the only character who at least attempts to transcend the idea of choosing a side, which is why she’s still the most compelling part of the show. She sees potential in all the solutions to protect mutants (at least for now), but isn't naive to the influence of party agendas. How Polaris responds and reacts to the political debates swirling around her is the driving force of the show, and adds yet another highly emotional layer to a story already full of rage and dread.

Ooh, I like that, and ENDORSE IT FULLY! 💚💚💚

[AbnormallyNormal]

Maybe more & more, fans are seeing her as Magneto's:

... successor.

Wow that video clip gives me enormous faith and hope in the show again thanks

As far as becoming the successor or replacement for Magneto of course that can never happen because Magneto is "iconic" and his likeness is valuable commercially

But I would love for generational changes to occur like in long-running japanese mangas where younger characters either resemble or not their parents in different ways

Like she could become a "sort of" version of Magneto but adopted in a more modern way and reflecting her being female as well somehow

[jmc247]

Just assumed that was implied.

Yes, steps are most certainly needed to get back to the point where she should already be.

Still trying to figure out what Lorna might do next in the comics. She wasn't in Magneto X-Men Black here, but it was a good story by Claremont. Mags saves a large number of mutant children from the mutant detention center and then spared the guards who fired on him (and the warden deciding to use his clemency to try to hunt down Magneto anyway) was textbook Claremontian Magneto. For Uncanny and the upcoming crossover its unknown what role Lorna plays in that or the Age of X-Man event which comes after.



It looks like AoA only different.

Ooh, I like that, and ENDORSE IT FULLY! ������

Seeing through party lines is something the character at one time excelled at. Given the way writing is at Marvel from one run to the next I don't expect writers to come with the same idea of who Lorna is as a character. But, having a core goal and ethos driving her is the starting point to getting the character back in gear.

[jmc247]

https://comicbook.com/2018/10/08/vid...lk-the-gifted/

Emma and Grace interview.

Wow that video clip gives me enormous faith and hope in the show again thanks

As far as becoming the successor or replacement for Magneto of course that can never happen because Magneto is "iconic" and his likeness is valuable commercially

Generational change does not happen in the comics, except for the short periods where a character dies of the elder generation as most recently seen with Wolverine and Laura.

In terms of eras were Magneto dies like 1993/1994 (brain dead) or much of the early 00s those tend to be peak eras for Lorna and mutant rights activism... and in 1993/94 they weren't even officially related and we saw her mutant rights activism shift radically after his death and they weren't even supposed to be related at that time. The idea of Lorna as representing a third way between extremism and pacifism is attractive, but Magneto and Jean/Xavier are rarely in the modern era so simple and clearly defined.

Marvel could learn from their past success with Laura on how to build a popular and interesting comic version of Lorna and deal with the fact that yes she also has a highly popular and well know father.

[Heroine Addict]

Wow that video clip gives me enormous faith and hope in the show again thanks...

Like she could become a "sort of" version of Magneto but adopted in a more modern way and reflecting her being female as well somehow

You bet, and something like that:

... Marvel could learn from their past success with Laura on how to build a popular and interesting comic version of Lorna and deal with the fact that yes she also has a highly popular and well know father.

... was my first thought. The same (in some ways), but different.

[salarta]

Question I'm posting here even though I know I shouldn't: do you have headcanon story ideas that fall outside the "expected" kinds of stories for Lorna, and if so, what are they?

Here's mine. Every time I listen to "Dear Daughter" by Halestorm, I imagine it as a letter from Suzanna to Lorna, that Lorna finds when she's older.



The song fits Lorna's history so perfectly. Which launched me into a sort of build-around the song theme for a story idea.

Lorna likely feels a lot of guilt over the plane crash she caused that killed her mom and stepfather. I'm imagining a story arc where a villain tries to exploit that by pretending to be Lorna's mom coming after her for revenge. Maybe the villain is Zaladane, maybe Cassandra Nova, maybe someone else. Once she realizes her mother would never be that way, Lorna beats the villain. Then when it's all over, to wrap up the story, Lorna finds this letter or tape that Suzanna made way back before the crash. A little emotional payoff to the journey.

[comradepitrovsky]

Two quick questions.

First, do we know the actual names of Arnold Dane's sister and brother-in-law, who raised Lorna?

Secondly, what would y'all want to see out of a redesigned Polaris costume?

[AbnormallyNormal]

Two quick questions.

First, do we know the actual names of Arnold Dane's sister and brother-in-law, who raised Lorna?

Secondly, what would y'all want to see out of a redesigned Polaris costume?

No idea as to question 1

Costume should fit her themes and purpose, need to know those first

[Soulsword323]

To my knowledge, they've never mentioned Lorna's stepparents name. They've always been called Mr. and Mrs. Dane.

For the costume, I'd like to see a more contemparay version of her orignal costume (something like the one Kris Anka did);



Or a revamp of her Shi'ar costume:

[salarta]

Two quick questions.

First, do we know the actual names of Arnold Dane's sister and brother-in-law, who raised Lorna?

Secondly, what would y'all want to see out of a redesigned Polaris costume?

1) No, Marvel's never even given them a name, let alone had them show up anywhere. All we know is that they raised Lorna and may have been directly involved in hiding that Magneto's her father from her. We can't even say for sure that they are Arnold Dane's sister and brother-in-law. They could just as easily have been a couple devoted Magneto lackeys pretending to be Arnold Dane's family.

2) I like Kris Anka's concept best, minus the bubbles on the chest piece. The bubbles are lifted from Magneto's iconic costume. I don't want Magneto elements embedded into Lorna's design.




It could do with being a bit "bulkier" though, now that I think about it. Part of the appeal of this design is a battle armor look to it, but pulling that look off requires a sense of mass and weight.

[Heroine Addict]

The bracers in Soulsword's original costume pic, or something similar, are key. LOVE the idea of them!

Headgear akin to her Deadpool & the Mercs For Money future self:

... as it appears more armor/warrior like, especially in profile, like in the first panel.

For the rest, these two as inspiration, maybe:



... 'cause I really like the contrast of green & dark green and/or black on her. Think that color combo in particular works, and is sharp as hell.