Polaris: Lorna Dane Appreciation 2019

[houndsofluv]

I think X-Force would be a good fit for her on the Field team

oooh I like this. Lately she’s been written without much of an edge

[Snoop Dogg]

don't worry about if she appears or what she does

worry about her barely saying anything

[houndsofluv]

I....yeah :(

[jmc247]

don't worry about if she appears or what she does

worry about her barely saying anything

You are not at all wrong and that completely gets to the heart of the problem.

Its why I argued for some time she needs a significant bit of time where she goes well beyond where the core of the X-Men are only to reunite with them and have anything at all to talk about. It worked quite well in the early 2000s even though Austen wasn't able to utilize it as effectively as Morrison did with Emma... it still worked wonders for Lorna. Her Genosha storyline was overall good (though not fully committed to), but the genocide gave the character a clarity and sense of purpose she has not had one iota of since they moved away from it around the time of Decimation.



Without her having an arc that gives her a voice and really sets her apart from the flock again I see no potential for Lorna having interesting discussions with Jean, Emma, her father, or the rest of the X-Men and she is going to be wallpaper no matter the x-title. Its not about making Lorna her father... its about the reality of Lorna's situation due to her decades as the C list Jean or a plot device.

She will default to those things without something big and when I say big I mean bigger then being a foot soldier again in some new conflict her father might embark on. It would in the end lead to the inevitable 'turn' and her actions as usual being brushed off by the X-Men as due to Magneto's manipulations and Lorna would be stuck in the same boat as the green haired girl without much of anything to say.

oooh I like this. Lately she’s been written without much of an edge

She has been the B/C list blog standard super hero with no edge at all and on and off stability issues for quite sometime in the 616. In other universes minis like HoM SW or AoX she has been allowed something closer to her early 2000s philosophical edge. I don't see Lorna in X-Force happening and the writer explained his cast going through what sounds like the first and second arcs.

I don't think its a bad idea on paper, but in practice I completely believe Lorna needs a team or to do something well outside the mainstream for a year or two then what would be basically the new center of where the X-Men are at before rejoining the center or else Snoop Dog is completely correct Lorna becomes wallpaper to others as she has been most of her existence in the comics.

Lorna should be a bad ass with a voice as strong as Magneto or Emma’s not a waif.

I understand more radical teams then X-Force are outside of many fans comfort zones with the character, but that is sort of the point. She needs to get out of her stagnated comfort zone before rejoining the rest of the X-Men or the character will continue to go nowhere. It is important though not enough that Lorna be written for Lorna given that she has no voice or clearly defined belief system since they divorced her from the Genoshan genocide. Many things that work for other X-Men just do not work for Lorna for an endless number of reasons dating all the way back to her decades of use as a plot device to further other characters stories.

I have nothing more to say in regards to Lorna.. its a lost cause until there is a greater recognition the character doesn't function like an ordinary x-woman and treating her as such always fails hard in very similar ways.

[ermac]

Sadly, Polaris' story is the story of a character never reaching its full potential. Never being central to storylines. Never being an author's favorite. Always the daughter, the girlfriend or the possessed damsel.

Yet she manages to captivate a small but passionate audience. Because here we are, right?

For years I thought I was her only fan. And I never quite understood why she never took off! She has a unique look, interesting powers, a rich heritage (the daughter of Magneto being a Xavier student? gold!) and even participated in historical events for the franchise (Krakoa, Marauders, X-Factor, Genosha).

I can only imagine that the cancelation on the 60s and Claremont's uninterest on the character doomed her. Additionally, Austen's take - while addressing another layer to her (mental health) -, may have made other writers uncomfortable on writing her.

As much as I hate to admit, "she has no voice or clearly defined belief system" is about right. And that's a shame, as we all still see how much potential that character has. Lorna could be bigger than Rogue or Kitty for the franchise but sadly is on Banshee, Forge, Sunfire level.

[salarta]

I think X-Force would be a good fit for her on the Field team

I think it could work for her too. She kind of got her foot in the door with past appearances on X-Force.

don't worry about if she appears or what she does

worry about her barely saying anything

Agreed. She needs to be used and make an impression as a character, not as an object with powers. She doesn't need to be an infallible powerhouse nobody can beat. She just needs to be written in a sympathetic, understandable manner that matches who she is. One of the most powerful and important moments in her character history is New X-Men #132, when she's pulled out of Genosha's ruins, and that was a moment where she wasn't able to stop the Sentinels.

Sadly, Polaris' story is the story of a character never reaching its full potential. Never being central to storylines. Never being an author's favorite. Always the daughter, the girlfriend or the possessed damsel.

Yet she manages to captivate a small but passionate audience. Because here we are, right?

For years I thought I was her only fan. And I never quite understood why she never took off! She has a unique look, interesting powers, a rich heritage (the daughter of Magneto being a Xavier student? gold!) and even participated in historical events for the franchise (Krakoa, Marauders, X-Factor, Genosha).

I can only imagine that the cancelation on the 60s and Claremont's uninterest on the character doomed her. Additionally, Austen's take - while addressing another layer to her (mental health) -, may have made other writers uncomfortable on writing her.

As much as I hate to admit, "she has no voice or clearly defined belief system" is about right. And that's a shame, as we all still see how much potential that character has. Lorna could be bigger than Rogue or Kitty for the franchise but sadly is on Banshee, Forge, Sunfire level.

If going by "A-list, B-list, D-list, etc," I view Lorna as a character who's supposed to be A-list but constantly gets treated like she's D-list or lower. Though of course, the "list" system is itself antiquated and artificially limiting, not just Lorna but so many other characters as well.

She's ultimately a complex character. And I think Marvel mistakes that complexity as inadequacy, that their not understanding her means she's too hard for other people to understand and she's not worth the trouble. But I don't think it's really that hard if someone makes an effort to get to know her.

This is yet another reason why I strongly urge Lorna getting a solo, mini or oneshot (solo being ideal). Many of the problems she has are a direct result of people at Marvel not focusing on her specifically, only on how she can be used to support and promote other characters. A solo/mini/oneshot would have to focus on her, in turn meaning they have to put some thought into who she is and what she offers.

[salarta]

Latest update on the bride Polaris cosplay for DragonCon.

Going to throw in a couple tweets as well.

[Askani's Flame]

Reposting from the Rachel thread as it seems Lorna will have some big action in X-Men #1 with Mags, Scott, and Ororo.

Rachel in X-Men 1 and 2 before

[Havok83]

I think it could work for her too. She kind of got her foot in the door with past appearances on X-Force.

what appearance? I must have missed this

[salarta]

what appearance? I must have missed this

Sorry, I got the name mentally mixed up with X-Men Legacy.

[coveredinbees]

Hey guys, what issue is it from Milligan's run Polaris says, "Yes. Yes," while killing a guy. It MIGHT have been Golgotha but I do not recall correctly.

[Mitteloss]

Hey guys, what issue is it from Milligan's run Polaris says, "Yes. Yes," while killing a guy. It MIGHT have been Golgotha but I do not recall correctly.

That was in X-Men #166, the first issue of the Golgotha arc.

[jmc247]

Lorna did appear in X-Force in 2014 as seen at the link.

As for Milligan his early run with Lorna was fine to at times good when he was following the pathos for Lorna of the Genoshan genocide and her having a combination of PTSD and anger and depression over it influencing her actions. His run went off the rails when he decided he wanted to own her pathos and moved away from that toward "What Lorna Saw" in space as driving the character. She went from PTSD genocide survivor to nutcase who couldn't sit to have a conversation with Emma due to what she saw in space and babbled in love with green slime monster. He might have ended his series with her on a high note, but he blew the chance to build new relationships with Lorna or solidify her voice and her views.

Lorna as the women who survived the Genoshan genocide and never wants a similar event to happen again was last seen at least in the regular 616 universe in 2005... yes in X-Men 166.

PAD wanted to own her pathos too. I had no trouble with his idea of Lorna having unwittingly killed her mother as a child. But, it should have been treated as an addition to what makes Lorna tick not a replacement pathos. It was a fine way to tie up loose ends and there are some things that can be said for the tragedy of what happened to her mother, but good luck using killing a mom she never got to know as a guide post for understanding who Lorna is and how it drives her.

The Genocide worked as pathos and I can understand writers since 2006 being reluctant to use it for a combination of factors from hating the writer that really delved into the story, to seeing it too much like the Holocaust (its different and Lorna's interaction with it was different if one cares to look), to wanting to own her pathos.

Morrison created the trauma... Austen just did something writers rarely do with Lorna of following up another writer (other then Claremont's) story with her, Milligan continued it as well until he got to 'What Lorna Saw'.

Lorna being willing to kill people predates Milligan/Austen, hell it predates the lives of most of the posters here. Genosha lowered the bar somewhat, but also gave a philosophy and logic to it other then what it had been in the past you try to hurt Magneto and I will kill you or you try to hurt Alex Summers and I will kill you. It also gave Lorna as a character an overall voice and sense of greater purpose outside her own narrow life she completely lost.

Having a clear pathos gave Lorna and writers a clear guide for what drives her and her possible responses to the world around her. Without it the character fell into generic obscurity with no solid voice and no clear views on anything.

[Soulsword323]

Yeah, Golgothia was Milligan's first arc, where Polaris does the scene in question.

Reposting from the Rachel thread as it seems Lorna will have some big action in X-Men #1 with Mags, Scott, and Ororo.

Someone had already brought this to our attention, but its still nice to see. I'm also glad that Hickman reiterates that the X-Men title will have a rotating cast, and that we'll be seeing different teams. I'm sure that even if she doesn't have too large a part in the first issue, that Lorna will eventually have a meatier role down the line.

[coveredinbees]

Thanks, guys!! I miss Milligan's Lorna. She was mean, but she was funny.