The problems I currently have with Lorna on "X-Factor."

  1. The title is X-Factor. If this book was titled literally anything else (short of "X-Havok'sGirlfriend" or similarly bad), it wouldn't be as much of an issue to me.
  2. Lorna isn't leading the book, and has no other more important things she's doing simultaneously. This is exacerbated by the title of the book being X-Factor. Character progression wise, it's a huge backstep to go from leader to not. Unless Marvel intends to do something far more important with her outside of X-Factor, it would frankly be better if she wasn't on the book at all. It just makes her look like a stepping stone for characters Marvel likes and respects far more than they will ever like or respect her. This isn't like how Gambit had just stepped off a solo book before ANXF. Lorna's had literally nothing comparable since ANXF in 2014.
  3. Lorna's prior turn at leadership was undermined on multiple levels - both in corporate (no promo, and important moments like ANXF #14 buried from view) and in writing (ANXF #4-6). Pair that with how Blue exploited her to promote Havok leading a new team, and Marvel can't legitimately say they gave her a real chance. She deserves one. Rather than some other character being leader while she's just stuck on the book cause Marvel hates her yet knows they begrudgingly need to use her or else fans will move forward without Marvel.
  4. Havok. I know red flags when I see them. If he's getting a mention, it means he's seen as important to anything done with Lorna. Especially when things like Genosha could've been mentioned and weren't.


When ANXF was announced, I got excited and then the book undermined her for several issues while Marvel essentially sabotaged it before it turned around for the better with ANXF #7. When her return on Blue was announced, I was skeptical but waited, and my suspicions were proven well-founded when Havok got to hijack her return while she was used mainly to promote Havok and Magneto. I've been burned enough. I don't feel like "waiting and seeing" when Marvel's repeatedly and progressively proven that I should prepare for the worst whenever I see red flags.

If they want me to start believing they intend to do good things with her, I need to see them do it. I'd need to see Genosha come up with her when it matters instead of treated like it never happened. I need to see Havok not brought up every single time she shows up anywhere (or hey, maybe Marvel can just have Havok obsess about how much he needs Lorna from now on in everything he does to balance it out). I need to see some kind of awareness that Lorna has value, that they care about fans' interest in her, and that they want to explore what she has to offer for real. Remarks like "she's a guiding light" are only good when paired with some tangible reward. Otherwise they're just shiny objects in the distance that don't take you anywhere. Or worse, crash the ship because they took it the wrong way.

If I sound like a jerk, it's because Marvel's pushed me toward it over the span of several years. It only counts as being overly sensitive when you've not been given constant and repeated justification to be so.