Originally Posted by
salarta
I'd like to highlight All-New X-Factor #14 again.
It was the second issue in a double shipping month. Marvel did absolutely nothing to promote it. In fact, the company basically sabotaged it by withholding the cover until Friday before release. And yet, unlike the typical trend of sales going down for second issues of double shipping months, sales actually rose by a couple hundred. Why? Because people wanted to read the sisters spending time together.
The same applies to the problem faced by the Wanda solo. People like tangible connections that can lead to deeper drama.
I'm not saying her solo needed Magneto to be plastered everywhere. That would defeat the purpose of a solo book dedicated to her. I'm saying sales would've been significantly better if connections and history tied to him got some play on the solo. Doesn't even have to be Magneto directly. Just things tied to history with him, e.g. having been part of the Brotherhood, Lorna as her sister, etc. Even the possibility is enough. I read the Magneto solo solely because I hoped Lorna would get used there. I wouldn't have read any of it if Marvel suggested there was no chance of Lorna showing up.
That said, I'm a lot more strict about what I'll read now because of how poorly Marvel's treated Lorna these past few years.
Gonna try looking at this from another POV. In a hypothetical Polaris solo, I wouldn't want Havok anywhere near Polaris. Too toxic. Writers don't understand who Lorna is without him. Doesn't mean that the connections she made through him - X-Factor, Starjammers - should be avoided. It would only be a problem if Marvel acted stupid and did things like have the characters talk incessantly about how great/awful Havok is instead of letting his part in the linkage drift to the background. Or use only those aspects and never non-Havok things like Genosha. Part of what made the scenes between Crystal, Luna and Lorna in space so great was that even though their connection was Pietro, they didn't have to make every conversation exclusively about him.
You want people to see Wanda for Wanda, not just "Magneto's daughter." I understand, respect and agree with that. But if handled right, that connection can be used to move people toward seeing the things about Wanda that you want them to see.
Absence, I see as a fair move for a short time after a character's been THE focal character for an event. I'd say the same if it was Lorna in Wanda's place. Rage of the fanbase, again, I see as Marvel failing to do right by Wanda in handling of things post-HoM. They should've tried to encourage a more sympathetic view of Wanda's POV and plight. Instead they tried to say essentially "a wizard did it" and absolve her completely. That rings hollow to readers. When you have a deep emotional investment in an outcome, you need something equally deep and cathartic to resolve those feelings. Marvel never gave that. They just kept throwing out what felt like cheap excuses. They addressed the superficial elements, not the core.
You're not selfish for wanting her to leave HoM behind, but 1) Marvel hasn't done what's needed for a lot of people to do that, and 2) HoM could be reworked into a net positive.
Another POV shift. I loathe how Lorna was treated by Claremont with Malice and Zaladane. That was horrendous writing toward her. BUT, I want those parts of her history used. I want to know how Lorna felt about the possession, how people see her as a result of it, how Malice could exploit the way people see Lorna. I think Zaladane would be a great archenemy for Lorna, akin to Sabretooth for Wolverine and Kimura for X-23. It all comes down to reworking past poor treatment into something that's actually good.
In those Claremont depictions of Lorna, she was a punching bag, a vessel (literally!) for hatred and abuse, and her character got absolutely savaged for characters Claremont had more respect for. She's still suffering from its impact today; otherwise Lorna would be leading Prisoner X (while Bishop led something else) and she'd most likely have a solo right now. But what Claremont did to her 30 years ago is not what a good writer that actually cares about doing right by her could do with that history today.