Lorna Dane: Polaris Appreciation 2018

[Heroine Addict]

I am reading them and like seeing your thoughts...

I've been enjoying your recaps, AN. ...

Ditto, AN, same here. And speaking of perfection, and our EVERYthing:

One more day.

... THERE! SHE!! IS!!!

[jmc247]

https://twitter.com/cracksh0t/status...901425152?s=19

Jordan White is holding a vote to see the popularity of various characters on twitter. I talked to Jordan by twitter four times this year including about restarting things between Jean and Lorna on a footing that might actually generate interest in both characters. For Polaris fans its important to show your interest where it matters, I think Polaris fandom was much better networked and good at doing that 10-15 years ago, but things fell apart. Lorna is more popular then ever in terms of casual fans, but that doesn't translate to comic buyers.

I may not have been happy about Cry Havok at all and had to swallow alot of my feelings there for sales reasons as if issues with Lorna on the cover don't sell we won't have more Lorna. There are always more time to criticize issues down the road for their faults and they were legion for getting readers interested and excited in reading Lorna, but Emma Dumont knew what she was doing in trying to convert The Gifted fans to comic buyers.

Lorna in a situation where those hoping she gets 'promoted' to core X-Men status the way she was in the early to mid 2000s are fooling themselves unless the MCU decides to promote her as such which also won't happen. That doesn't mean Lorna can't rise, but it won't be through Jean lite Lorna or Lorna the romantic interest. She didn't even rise as such early last decade being a generic hero as if she had been her stay would have ended the Summer of 2003 and would have been dumped in limbo after becoming a certain someones official wife... as compared to her decades being his unofficial common law wife.

Much of the world will be able to watch either today or shortly thereafter... even China whose over a million Polaris/Emma D. fans seem to have made it happen.



Also, tons of people have been binging season 1 in the run up to season 2 who hadn't seen it previously or stopped after the first few eps.

[Soulsword323]

Today's the day! So excited for tonight!

[juan678]

[AbnormallyNormal]

https://twitter.com/cracksh0t/status...901425152?s=19

Jordan White is holding a vote to see the popularity of various characters on twitter. I talked to Jordan by twitter four times this year including about restarting things between Jean and Lorna on a footing that might actually generate interest in both characters. For Polaris fans its important to show your interest where it matters, I think Polaris fandom was much better networked and good at doing that 10-15 years ago, but things fell apart. Lorna is more popular then ever in terms of casual fans, but that doesn't translate to comic buyers.

I may not have been happy about Cry Havok at all and had to swallow alot of my feelings there for sales reasons as if issues with Lorna on the cover don't sell we won't have more Lorna. There are always more time to criticize issues down the road for their faults and they were legion for getting readers interested and excited in reading Lorna, but Emma Dumont knew what she was doing in trying to convert The Gifted fans to comic buyers.

Lorna in a situation where those hoping she gets 'promoted' to core X-Men status the way she was in the early to mid 2000s are fooling themselves unless the MCU decides to promote her as such which also won't happen. That doesn't mean Lorna can't rise, but it won't be through Jean lite Lorna or Lorna the romantic interest. She didn't even rise as such early last decade being a generic hero as if she had been her stay would have ended the Summer of 2003 and would have been dumped in limbo after becoming a certain someones official wife... as compared to her decades being his unofficial common law wife.

Sorry I voted on impulse on behalf of my boy Doug Ramsey/Cypher ASAP without really thinking. After him I would go Legion then Nate Grey.

Polaris is up there though, along with Sage and some others who need more promotion.

The Emma Frost fandom has absolutely destroyed that thread BTW. Destroyed as in... dominated the hell out of it.

Also noticed a decent support for Magik there which heartens me as I like her too.

I feel like the things you and us like about Polaris is what fans already like about Emma Frost/Magneto/Magik yknow? So it's like how to differentiate our gal from those.

But I was happy the answers were as unconventional as they were and it wasn't controlled by just Jean/Storm/Rogue/Cyclops (although the people who like "modern" Cyclops I guess I would count as an unconventional pick).

Also noticed quite a lot of Nightcrawler/Iceman support but those in my mind are uber mainstream choices and don't interest me

Decent support for Psylocke and Kitty those two I would classify as "inbetween" mainstream and alternative

[salarta]

JDW's tweet for vote replies is good for a bit of fun, and the work he's putting into logging all replies is admirable, but it doesn't really mean much beyond that.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to reply with a vote for Lorna. Better to do something than not. But it doesn't work as any proper measure of interest or favorites.

I said why on the CBR thread about it. Outside what I said there, "who's your one favorite character" simply misses when a character actually is someone's favorite, just not their top favorite. Like AN's post above illustrates. He's obviously into Lorna, otherwise he wouldn't be posting in this thread regularly, writing reviews, etc. Just asking for the one fave fails to capture that.

Or to put it another way. If the question is just "who's your one favorite character," and Lorna gets few/no votes, that gives the impression that nobody cares. But "who are all your favorite characters," maybe she'd be listed down in like the 5th or 6th slot, but if she appears on a majority of lists in that slot, she could very well be one of the most popular X-Men characters out there. You just don't see it if your view is restricted to one lone character.

All in all, I expect JDW's results for Polaris will be like 2 or 3 votes for Lorna based on how this was done. That won't reflect actual interest though. I was able to gather 72 tweets since last December that show much higher levels of interest than the low number he'll get in the results.

[jmc247]

Sorry I voted on impulse on behalf of my boy Doug Ramsey/Cypher ASAP without really thinking. After him I would go Legion then Nate Grey.

Polaris is up there though, along with Sage and some others who need more promotion.

The Emma Frost fandom has absolutely destroyed that thread BTW. Destroyed as in... dominated the hell out of it.

Also noticed a decent support for Magik there which heartens me as I like her too.

I feel like the things you and us like about Polaris is what fans already like about Emma Frost/Magneto/Magik yknow? So it's like how to differentiate our gal from those.

I was long under the impression Magneto and Emma were your first and second favorite.

Well regardless, alot of characters exist as people's top few characters and bounce around.

In terms of Lorna caring about the rights of mutants or having the kind of depth you are talking about she really hasn't in any meaningful way since Austen. The aspects of the character that made her popular early last decade were by in large devoid for Lorna for many years. The Gifted I think is producing a huge cadre of casual fans behind the character that need time and effort to be cultivated into active fans.

I got a like from Emma Dumont last week for responding to a poster saying the 'real Lorna' doesn't care about mutant rights nor is a 'bad ass' in the words of that poster and is sort of a girlfriend character who just wants to be left alone. My response was that entirely depends on who is writing her as versions of 'real Lorna' do care about such things.

Anyway Marvel.com has out a new interview, actually tons of new clips and interviews from various sites.

[jmc247]

Link



sniktslikt: In honour of #TheGifted⁠ ⁠ returning tonight at 8/7c on Fox, I thought I'd share my #LauraKinney #LornaDane show AU commission from the wonderful and hugely talented Leah Bruno, AKA sniktologist on Twitter.

[AbnormallyNormal]

Episode #13: X-roads

TG-Caps-1x13-X-roads-02-Polaris-magnetism.jpg

The opening to the episode is a flashback to a pre-Underground Lorna levitating what strongly appears to be a piece of her dad Magneto's famous helmet

She is in a psychiatric institution

She gets visited by a dignified seeming older woman who reveals herself to also be a mutant

The woman claims to represent the remnants of the X-Men in the wake of 7/15 and is offering Lorna a chance to really do something with her life, and fight for good and her people, and the cause of integration between mutants and humans

Notably when Evangeline Whedon (representative of X-Men) first appears to Lorna and extends her hand to shake, Lorna just stares at her, even tilting her head a bit in rejection. I find that a possible subtext showing on some kind of subconscious level, Lorna was already never truly the "X-Men type", like just instinctively she and Vange are quite different

It is also revealed in their conversation that Lorna has already committed murder, by forcing some pro human activists off a bridge during a protest by mutants

Further indicating that Lorna was never really like Marcos or T-bird in terms of just wanting peace and harmony, even though she did try to pretend she could be that way for a while. But the pretending is about to snap this episode

TG-Caps-1x13-X-roads-10-Polaris-magnetism.jpg

F*** the police, am I right?

Well this isn't quite the photo I wanted, there is a better image when she is reeling her arm back to let loose her power , her face is just a pure raw snarl of fury

So good

This scene is when the Underground/Frost alliance are departing with all due haste from the Humanity Today conference

After... of course... the "consciences" of the Underground didn't allow them to carry out their mission, and Campbell gets away

Now he is going to flee and has the information he needs and political backing to mass-produce Hounds

But hey, one child might have got hurt... makes sense if you're Thunderbird/Marcos/Blink evidently

Lorna helps to slow down the pursuing cops by getting an electrical pole onto the road

Again though this is another one of those action scenes where Emma Dumont sells the HELL out of it but the effects budget/department simply aren't able to match her at all.

Those police cruisers should have been directly controlled by her in this scene, like at least flipped over if not compacted

Would have been so much more fitting her facial expression and overall attitude

normal_TG_S1_E13_0178.jpg

Best photo I could find of this scene, where Lorna and Marcos have a talk after the failed mission and returning to the HFC hideout

Basically Lorna during this conversation absolutely reveals to the audience she is 100% D.O.N.E. with Marcos and his ways

She is essentially apoplectic that he and the other two failed their mission

Marcos mentions Lorna has hardly been sleeping he's worried about her

She snaps this time at him bringing up her disorder, telling him straight away "this is not about MY mental illness Marcos, this is about THEIRS. The people all across this country"

She had never seen so many people so happy united in hating them

Marcos tells her they'll find some other way, they just need to keep trying, there's still time

At this she gives him a tearful smile and leans in to hug telling him "I always loved that about you... you have faith"

And of course the camera reveals her expression change to a complete stone face look of raw determination. That = she is done. No more underground restrictions.

[AbnormallyNormal]

TG-Caps-1x13-X-roads-35-Polaris.jpg

Lorna is next seen out on the porch of the HFC hideout , changed her clothes into an outfit more suitable for combat, as she is sheathing knives into her leg holsters

Esme finds her and the two have a heart-to-heart about the failures of the Underground and the common realization they share of what now needs to be done

Lorna gives one last half-hearted attempt to rebuff the blonde but gives up quickly. Knowing she's right... it's time for an assassination

TG-Caps-1x13-X-roads-114-Polaris-magnetism.jpg

She is driven to an airport by the Frosts where she waits silently for the plane carrying Campbell to depart (... silly logistical question but how does she even know which plane etc? Meh that's fine we can assume Frosts know somehow)

When she senses a car carrying the Underground arrive she just extends a hand out to freeze it in place

When they get out and start to shout at her she can't do this etc, she sort of just looks at them

Blink tries to create a portal to dare stop Lorna by force

Lorna's not having that at all, and just detaches a piece of barbed wire using it to keep a buffer between her and them

Implying a decisive break has been formed, the barbed wire not just a pure physical/security device but an indication of an emotional chasm that has developed as well

Lorna is not the woman they thought they knew, when Thunderbird screams at her "you're not a killer" she just gives him a look like "oh really"

TG-Caps-1x13-X-roads-119-Polaris-magnetism.jpg

Much to Marcos' consternation and pleadings...

Lorna digs deep within her soul and unleashes a furious ball of electromagnetic energy, directing it to the private jet carrying Campbell and Montez

She lets her anger at all they have done seethe through the core of her being until the very engines of the plane itself rip apart in mid air, dooming it and all aboard to a fiery explosion

As debris hits the ground, the Underground members go flying and Lorna has vanished without a trace (possibly Frosts using a mental mask of sorts)

[AbnormallyNormal]

TG-Caps-1x13-X-roads-143-Esme-Polaris-Sage-Andy-Fade-Mark.jpg

This is the next anyone sees of her, now a changed woman, essentially embracing her new destiny with the Hellfire Club as its evident leader or at least the right hand of the Frosts

She arrives interrupting another Marcos sappy speech (I actually found Marcos' speech in this scene to be rather poignant though, and Lorna's rebuttal made little sense and felt out of character for her... but that's ok she looks awesome at least haha)

She and Esme are there for one reason: recruits.

She informs Marcos she is doing what she is for HER baby, when Marcos says it's "ours" she just closes her eyes, take a breath, then lifts her head staring straight ahead.

His emotional blackmail and guilt tripping won't work on her anymore

As the assembled recruits join them and they turn to leave, Lorna puts her hand around Andy Strucker's back, symbolizing Lorna's replacement of Caitlin as his "real" mom figure

Considering Lorna and Caitlin's numerous clashes I've got to think that was intentional to really dig in to her

Ok overall thoughts of episode:

Well, it was freaking awesome? Like I really could not have asked for much better of an episode for Polaris.

She dominates the episode, and it being the finale of the season makes her more or less dominate the season/show overall

She is now essentially in a proto Magneto role which is definitely different from what many comics fans would expect

Nevertheless I find it fascinating

Now it's just up to the show to keep pulling it off

[AbnormallyNormal]

JDW's tweet for vote replies is good for a bit of fun, and the work he's putting into logging all replies is admirable, but it doesn't really mean much beyond that.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to reply with a vote for Lorna. Better to do something than not. But it doesn't work as any proper measure of interest or favorites.

I said why on the CBR thread about it. Outside what I said there, "who's your one favorite character" simply misses when a character actually is someone's favorite, just not their top favorite. Like AN's post above illustrates. He's obviously into Lorna, otherwise he wouldn't be posting in this thread regularly, writing reviews, etc. Just asking for the one fave fails to capture that.

Or to put it another way. If the question is just "who's your one favorite character," and Lorna gets few/no votes, that gives the impression that nobody cares. But "who are all your favorite characters," maybe she'd be listed down in like the 5th or 6th slot, but if she appears on a majority of lists in that slot, she could very well be one of the most popular X-Men characters out there. You just don't see it if your view is restricted to one lone character.

All in all, I expect JDW's results for Polaris will be like 2 or 3 votes for Lorna based on how this was done. That won't reflect actual interest though. I was able to gather 72 tweets since last December that show much higher levels of interest than the low number he'll get in the results.

This is true. It's much like voting in politics. If we had a Ranked Choice system then people could vote their consciences more freely (Green/Libertarian Party for example) and not worry as much they're basically helping those they disagree with even MORE get into office (Republican/Democrat respectively).

I was long under the impression Magneto and Emma were your first and second favorite.

Well regardless, alot of characters exist as people's top few characters and bounce around.

That was just my ranking of 14 characters that were put into a poll....

*Of those 14* Magneto and Emma Frost were 1 and 2

[jmc247]

The first good look at the characters gold shirt.



https://mobile.twitter.com/JuliWhoFl...75084839997444

Also Fox interview

[Soulsword323]

Link



sniktslikt: In honour of #TheGifted⁠ ⁠ returning tonight at 8/7c on Fox, I thought I'd share my #LauraKinney #LornaDane show AU commission from the wonderful and hugely talented Leah Bruno, AKA sniktologist on Twitter.

Mini Polaris looking like Emma Dumont? Here for it. I bet she was excited lol. Also, love this X-23 and Polaris combo, #magneticfastballspecial

The first good look at the characters gold shirt.



https://mobile.twitter.com/JuliWhoFl...75084839997444

Ugh, love these two! Lorna's wardrobe this season is taking no prisoners.

[jmc247]

Emma D. instagraming tonight at 7:30PM and Ms. Samuels will be live tweeting during the show and on Instagram after.

https://mobile.twitter.com/FanCityTV...95397912981506