Polaris: Lorna Dane Appreciation 2019

[Punch Dimension.]

The other characters you highlighted in your post have one or more of three things that Lorna does not.

One, heavy use in recent years in other places - a main team member of X-Men Gold, a dedicated solo book, etc.

Two, presence as mainstays in books afterward. Magik is on New Mutants, Colossus is on X-Force.

Three, presence on covers. No, the "every mutant ever" cover does not count.

As I just finished saying, proving commitment to Lorna does not require shoving her places she "doesn't belong." There are MULTIPLE places she could fit without being forced. I went out of my way to give suggestions wherein the bare minimum was Lorna appearing in one panel in the background of "more important matters" as a small and simple nod to her value. I could have said she belongs with the Hellfire Club because of Gifted. I could have said she belongs in the Genoshan cabinet because she was a key member of the original Genosha, and she suffered like hell from its genocide. I'm arguing the bare minimum and I'm being told even the bare minimum is asking for too much. I suppose the "lesson" I'm supposed to "learn" is that Lorna shouldn't get anything and I should bow down in rapturous thanks if someone so much as looks like her.

I won't do that though. I know what happens. Marvel sees that as permission to ruin her and screw her over to promote other characters at her expense, or to just flat out throw her away like she's worthless and do nothing with her. Which Marvel may still do. But if they do, I can at least draw attention to it. I'm not going to stop just because the current case is a major event Marvel's heavily promoting and a lot of people like as a result.

And no, I'm also not going to go along with the running implication of "she's a lowly C-lister whose popularity is zilch and her most notable projects were garbage." On the matter of Gifted, I stopped watching it toward the end of season 1 cause the writers did horribly with character death. Your argument implies its failure reflected lack of interest in Lorna, and I know for a fact that's not the case from my own experience.

It is very odd that you'd go through severe mental gymnastics as to reason why Lorna was in HOX #5 (Because the writer wanted to?) rather than just accept what is common sense and logical.

Without writing several paragraphs of irrelevance explain how any of your thoughts are in anyway logical?

[jmc247]

Where do we think Polaris is headed and what book might she be in?

No clue.

She will likely be on of the heavy hitters along with Storm and Magneto on Scott's mission in X-Men #1.

I enjoyed a lot her one issue appearance, as a sort of world-weary yet somehow innocent-seeming daughter of Magneto.

That is the big question really if this is more akin to post Genoshan genocide Lorna or WATXM Lorna and the jury will be out for two more weeks and X-Men #1.

I like what jmc said about the ideological shift and vastly increased moral ambiguity (although I'm not sure it's going to last long!) allowing for Polaris' "edge" to be given back to her and yet not force her into a far fringe on an asteroid somewhere either with her dad. I do hope/believe Lorna is at peace with her father in this new status quo, and she shouldn't be his "shadow" but I hope she tries in her own way to live up to his legacy and ideals I guess.

Jean is right now a mutant separatist who will be on a kill team (X-Force). That is a far shift of the overall curve. For there to be any real day light between Jean and Magneto or Lorna they had to play up the aspects of the Magneto or Lorna we haven't seen much of in awhile. For Magneto its the messianic side, for Lorna the questioning of the positive features of mankind as a whole.

How they got there suddenly has to rely on subtext that one had to read last run Uncanny and the Genosha arc to understand. As for Lorna and Magneto the issue as I said in Blue her holding him in high regard is pretty much the norm of her history, but the big question is how well done her voice is visa via her history (so far that has been better then Blue though its early) and more so does she actually have a deeper role then sounding board and occasional muscle which we might find out tomorrow.

Unfortunately Kitty Pryde has been chosen by Emma Frost for the Red Queen position... that would have been a natural one for Lorna... without that I really don't know where she'll go but i hope someplace meaningful.

I had the feeling with the creation of North merging Emma and Lorna a character gone without doing or saying much they were headed to something between Lorna and Emma. They still might be, but also it might be the case where a writer was a fan of Joss' X-Men run and preferred Kitty due to her and Emma's frenemy relationship. Who knows what might be planned with Lorna going forward.

As for the Gifted it screwed up royally with their decision to change what the Hellfire Club is to turn it into a dictatorship around their new character and their overall changes to Lorna. I was happy to see the show go at that point though sad for the actors and crew. The writers killed Lorna's character to me in season 2 and that is saying something. Lorna co-leading a group dealing with the dark side of politics and people is the best idea that hasn't been executed as yet other then when she is pitch hitting and it shouldn't be that way.

[powerpax]

X-Force is not a kill team in Dawn of X. That's been explicitly stated. It's an intelligence operation - 'the mutant CIA.' It has two prongs, and Jean's is the intel-gathering/espionage end of the operation. Logan and Domino's is the strike team, but there is no indication as yet that it is wetwork.

Jean is also among the first to express concern for human civilian staff on Orchis in HoX #3. Far from Lorna's reaction in #5.

As for the upcoming run, I still have a suspicion that the Savage Land arc may involve Zaladane, but we'll see.

[jmc247]

Comparing it to the CIA I assumed meant Wolverine would be in fact going on deadly raids as he did on his space station mission given that is sort of what the CIA does when tracking down threats. There is a difference between that and a blood drenched X-Force run yes like the ones last decade and all covert ops. Fallen Angels which Psylocke and Magneto will be on look to be pretty bloody.

Obviously I expect the X-Force book to have contention between Jean and Wolverine as we saw in space about when exactly they should be acting and with how much lethality.

As for Lorna I am not beating on the door for Lorna to appear ASAP like someone, but I am also not going to say I don’t want Lorna connected to the politics on the island.

[powerpax]

Yes, there's a difference between a black ops squad and the CIA. Killing is likely on the table but is not the mission statement.

That said, the point is: Jean is not a "mutant separatist" with no regard for human life. She is likely the moral center of X-Force. Hence, she has not supplanted Lorna's role.

[jmc247]

Yes, there's a difference between a black ops squad and the CIA. Killing is likely on the table but is not the mission statement.

That said, the point is: Jean is not a "mutant separatist" with no regard for human life. She is likely the moral center of X-Force. Hence, she has not supplanted Lorna's role.

I never said she supplanted anything. If you look closely I said she has moved to something akin to where pre-Genoshan genocide Lorna was philosophically. I was talking mainly in terms of mutant separatism. In terms of killing they fuzzed up Lorna’s views on that a bit when she was on the island. She certainly wasn’t the moral center there as that was treated as Pietro, but they weren’t outright willing to say or show Lorna was ok with using deadly force until after the genocide.

Again you are making too much of my point which was not Jean took Lorna’s position it is philosophies have shifted. Lorna seems more akin to her post Genocide form not her Jean lite form on X-Men Blue and I am happy with that though where that leads is an open question.

[powerpax]

I never said she supplanted anything. If you look closely I said she has moved to something akin to where pre-Genoshan genocide Lorna was philosophically. I was talking mainly in terms of mutant separatism.

I don't think Jean is any more a mutant separatist than the average Krakoan, though. There's clearly varying levels of engagement or disengagement from the rest of human/Earth culture. Ororo indicates in #6 that she intends to live a life off Krakoa at times as she pleases. Jean expresses sympathy for the humans in Orchis. But Magneto and Lorna both disdain humans and their presence on Krakoa above all. I'm willing to bet Jean does not hold the most extreme curve of those views. That's all I'm saying.

[AbnormallyNormal]

Since Polaris isn't listed as a "Captain" and isn't apparently in any of the upcoming books

I wonder if her role might be some kind of last-ditch defensive battle thing like to safeguard Moira/Krakoa. I think it might fit to make her sort of be almost "the mutant's mutant" or something given her lineage and all that. Like when stuff REALLY goes down or gets bad, she's there for it. Maybe that sounds melodramatic and bizarre lmao but idk Im just spitballin' here I guess

[salarta]

Since Polaris isn't listed as a "Captain" and isn't apparently in any of the upcoming books

I wonder if her role might be some kind of last-ditch defensive battle thing like to safeguard Moira/Krakoa. I think it might fit to make her sort of be almost "the mutant's mutant" or something given her lineage and all that. Like when stuff REALLY goes down or gets bad, she's there for it. Maybe that sounds melodramatic and bizarre lmao but idk Im just spitballin' here I guess

In this scenario, it would make sense for her to be a "mutants' mutant." She's been called a queen of mutants on multiple occasions, and she was greeted as a sovereign princess right before the Genoshan genocide. Realistically, she should have a lot of political and representational clout in-universe simply by existing and doing whatever she wants to do. Marvel has a bad habit of pretending things in Lorna's life never happened because it doesn't mesh with their outdated negative perception of her from the 90s or earlier.

[salarta]

Some new sisterly cosplay of Gifted and MCU versions of Lorna and Wanda, posted by _venskaya, inspired by a piece of fanart previously posted as an instagram moment by Emma Dumont.



2019 Marvel Premier AP Sketch Card by FredIanParis.


I'm suddenly reminded of when Marvel blacklisted Fantastic Four characters from getting sketch cards.

DeviantArt search results were interesting today as I saw more cases of Lorna used as inspiration for OCs.

As always, the cosplay makes it clear that a) interest in the sisters being sisters and doing things together persists in spite of Marvel, and b) MCU and Gifted have been influential in fandom imaginations. Frankly, this cosplay alone matters infinitely more than anything Marvel's done in the past few years.

[Punch Dimension.]

Two lazy thirst trapping cosplayers matter more for Lorna than her appearing in the most important #1 X-Men comic in decades?

[jmc247]

I don't think Jean is any more a mutant separatist than the average Krakoan, though. There's clearly varying levels of engagement or disengagement from the rest of human/Earth culture. Ororo indicates in #6 that she intends to live a life off Krakoa at times as she pleases. Jean expresses sympathy for the humans in Orchis. But Magneto and Lorna both disdain humans and their presence on Krakoa above all. I'm willing to bet Jean does not hold the most extreme curve of those views. That's all I'm saying.

My point wasn't that Jean is more separatist then the X-Men I am explaining how the philosophical framework at least from my vantage point has shifted. Mutant separatism once considered an evil and villainous idea by the X-Men is now the mainstream for them. That has moved the bell curve for other characters like Lorna and Magneto where other aspects of the characters that hasn't been seen for awhile had to be played up for storyline reasons to create a difference otherwise they would all be one big happy family outside of maybe Poccy and Sinister and I suspect they want more conflict then that.

Philosophical conflict is good, the lack of it under one roof on Utopia along with other factors ruined the idea. I have long believed Lorna needs a relationship with the mainline X-Men that has built in conflict or she won't develop relations with them period because they interact too infrequently.

Writers have a vague mostly unified idea on how Lorna should interact around maybe two or three characters at most. There is never going to be a clear idea how Lorna should interact with the core X-Men unless they have solidified how Lorna sees the world differently from Jean and company. On that score I support Hickman creating clear space between them because a number of other writers haven't done so. I know some Polaris fans prefer no space between Lorna and the core X-Men and they be all imaginary BFFs, but they will stay imaginary relationships if there is no built in conflict between them that one writer to the next can follow with.

Since Polaris isn't listed as a "Captain" and isn't apparently in any of the upcoming books

I wonder if her role might be some kind of last-ditch defensive battle thing like to safeguard Moira/Krakoa. I think it might fit to make her sort of be almost "the mutant's mutant" or something given her lineage and all that. Like when stuff REALLY goes down or gets bad, she's there for it. Maybe that sounds melodramatic and bizarre lmao but idk Im just spitballin' here I guess

While I have been supportive of Hickman's run I have also been scratching my head wondering what Lorna's role on the island is exactly with her not a captain, not on the council, Magneto not needing a right hand like Genosha. Perhaps, today given the NYCC panel at around 6 EST will help illuminate that question. The character is an obvious heavy hitter when one is needed, but that is a role she long had and it won't move the needle forward between her and the rest.

I do want her to stay on the island short of a spectacular idea for her off it as frankly I have my doubts about the survival of any satellite title not keyed into the main title. At the same point in time all the relationships between the A-B listers that are set to be the focus have something in common and that is built in tension. Betsy/Magneto, Emma/Kitty, Jean/Emma/Scott/Wolverine, and I could keep going and going.

For those who like or hate Lorna's relationship with Nurse Annie for all its flaws it got people talking about it for years. None of her non-family or romance based relationships with the core X-Men have gotten them talking in any sustained way and that has been a disaster.

[powerpax]

Philosophical conflict is good, the lack of it under one roof on Utopia along with other factors ruined the idea. I have long believed Lorna needs a relationship with the mainline X-Men that has built in conflict or she won't develop relations with them period because they interact too infrequently.

I agree with all of that. I just think there's still plenty of room to work because Jean, etc. are different than other Krakoan citizens. Jean, Ororo and Kurt are not Lorna, Magneto, Mystique, Exodus, et al. The makeup of the council alone indicates that. Account for the absent Kitty/Kate Pryde, or Doug Ramsey aligned with Krakoa, and you have even more permutations. There is no reason Polaris can't have a viewpoint that aligns in one of those many strata.

The Nurse Annie character and storyline was universally hated at the time of print. That's all people talked about during the run of those books - how horrible Austen was, how horrible the storylines were, and how much they despised the book. I remember, I was there. They weren't talking about Lorna except as part of the overall disaster of Austen's tenure, and how it made her and other characters a joke. So I'm not interested in anything that emulates that.

As for Psylocke and Magneto, I thought the relationship in Bunn's run was interesting in that it seemed to veer close to intimacy and romance and then peel away, but beyond that I found the book only a slightly more diverting mediocrity than the others of the time. I don't know that they have any kind of connection coming up in new books. (Kwannon and Magneto may both be in Fallen Angels, but Betsy is not Kwannon obvs)

[jmc247]

I agree with all of that. I just think there's still plenty of room to work because Jean, etc. are different than other Krakoan citizens. Jean, Ororo and Kurt are not Lorna, Magneto, Mystique, Exodus, et al. The makeup of the council alone indicates that. Account for the absent Kitty/Kate Pryde, or Doug Ramsey aligned with Krakoa, and you have even more permutations. There is no reason Polaris can't have a viewpoint that aligns in one of those many strata.

I am not saying there isn't room to work in terms of differences and similarities between Lorna and other X-Men that can be utilized I am simply wondering if there is a framework to utilize them for Lorna as I am not seeing it at the moment, but who knows.

NYCC has nothing Lorna related for those who were wondering. It does have Magneto, Xavier and Poccy go to a world economic forum likely to promote the image of the island and trade. It would actually be really interesting to see Lorna there. Lorna's best stand alone issues tend to revolve around her and politics or public speaking.

[salarta]

I'm not surprised by lack of Lorna stuff at NYCC, frankly. It's Marvel. They're extremely predictable.

I do like certain questions asked though. The mix of questions asked and answers given is very revealing about the current state of affairs. All still on course.

Back to more important matters, here's more amazing inktober fanart, this time by tbranch56.