Lorna Dane: Polaris Appreciation 2020

[salarta]

to me thats a stretch bc then every single mutant can be considered an enemy and if thats the case, why even have that distinction?

Also a fair point. It adds unnecessary complication.

It would've been better if the description acknowledged her experience with Genosha in a meaningful way.

[Askani's Flame]

I'm honestly pretty amazed that they're adding her with Marvel's recent track record. Also amazed (and pleased) that the description for her doesn't mention Havok, and it's using a take on her iconic costume.

I agree with what Havok83 pointed out though of how Lorna's never been an enemy to mutants. On closer look, the description also has a problem in saying she struggles with embracing her powers and mutant heritage. She doesn't. This arguably could have applied to Lorna in the very very early days (I'm iffy about even that much, wondering how much of that was really just writing Lorna to fit in lockstep with Havok), but it definitely doesn't apply to Lorna post-Genosha. We saw how much her powers and mutant heritage mattered to her in the wake of Genosha, to a point where she was willing to get herself killed for a chance to restore her powers.

They added Havok before her in spring this year, which is just very typical and eye roll worthy. But at least Lorna wasn't introduced by pairing her off with him. Also that Havok is a 5 star while Lorna is a 4 star. Also also isn't lost on me that Daken was added before Lorna.

All things said, so far I'm planning to download Puzzle Quest and get Lorna (if I can; I don't know how the game works for gacha or whatever else).

Looking into this also made me aware that the Marvel Twitter account promoted Havok's reveal on Hellions on December 3, 2019 but they haven't said a thing about Lorna since November 27, 2018 for Gifted. There should be a tweet from their account about Lorna in Puzzle Quest just like all their other characters, but I'm not counting that (same as I'm not counting Havok's tweet for it on February 27). Regardless, it's pretty clear by Marvel's Twitter account that Marvel doesn't consider Lorna on X-Factor to be "newsworthy."

And finally, of course thanks for sharing the news!

A couple of thoughts:
1) it may take a while to get her. She's a four star so you'll need to download the game asap and join a team to snag her moving forward. Might be a grind but her powerset looks better than others they have put out recently.
2) the bios they have, in particular for mutant characters, aren't accurate to the comics necessarily. They try to give a flavor for the characters, but I'll agree the whole enemy of mutants is a bit much and a stretch.
3) you mentioned that Daken was added before Lorna, which shouldn't be any indication on intent or choosing favorites. This game was previously called Dark Avengers and essentially featured characters involved with that small window of time in the MCU. Daken being the Wolverine stand in for Osborns Avengers makes him part of the characters from the get go. Since the Disney purchase of Fox properties there has been an exponential increase in X-Men characters. I'm just excited that she's been added. I'm now hoping to see Rachel appear down the line.

[salarta]

A couple of thoughts:
1) it may take a while to get her. She's a four star so you'll need to download the game asap and join a team to snag her moving forward. Might be a grind but her powerset looks better than others they have put out recently.
2) the bios they have, in particular for mutant characters, aren't accurate to the comics necessarily. They try to give a flavor for the characters, but I'll agree the whole enemy of mutants is a bit much and a stretch.
3) you mentioned that Daken was added before Lorna, which shouldn't be any indication on intent or choosing favorites. This game was previously called Dark Avengers and essentially featured characters involved with that small window of time in the MCU. Daken being the Wolverine stand in for Osborns Avengers makes him part of the characters from the get go. Since the Disney purchase of Fox properties there has been an exponential increase in X-Men characters. I'm just excited that she's been added. I'm now hoping to see Rachel appear down the line.

Good to know (if I understand right) that Puzzle Quest characters are added in a perpetually available if lucky fashion. I'm used to Fate GO and Granblue Fantasy where certain characters are only available during special drop rates.

The bio is a bit of a middle ground. They may not be accurate, but they might shape how people see the character or feed into narratives the company wants promoted, and it's moreso an issue for characters like Lorna that Marvel has historically treated poorly and never does much for. Still at least for now I don't think it's a make or break thing, and the good elements outweigh the bad, otherwise I'd be avoiding it.

It's good to know the history of the game and Daken's involvement in it. I only knew of the samurai version added recently. I wouldn't have mentioned Daken in the game before Lorna years ago, but Marvel's recent treatment of Lorna has made it more of an issue. Between no real role on House of X or X-Men #1, complete exclusion from X-Men: Empyre, no acknowledgment of her Genosha history whatsoever (even as other characters like Jean and Storm who didn't even survive the genocide get to use it), exclusion from the X-women variant cover, and complete absence for a year only to be put on a fringe satellite book bearing the title of what she was on 30 years ago and she's not even leading it... there's a very strong undercurrent of Marvel framing her as an overall worthless character who has no business interacting meaningfully with Jean, Iceman, or any other of her peers as a peer. As a result, I'm watchful of cases where Marvel appears to be doing more for other X-Factor characters than they're willing to do for her.

It comes down to intent and context. I like when Lorna is treated well and respectfully. In those situations, I then like when less appreciated characters are able to be lifted up in connection to her. It's part of what I liked about All-New X-Factor. She was leading it, and as leader she drew attention to Danger, Cypher and Warlock (handled better in later issues). Whereas I don't like when the intent seems to be to drag her down following years of misuse to promote other characters, which I think is what Marvel is trying to do to her.

Lifting characters up is good. Kicking them down is bad. Marvel needs to do a lot more for Lorna for me to think their goal isn't kicking her down. Otherwise she may even be better off not getting used at all.

As a related example, back when Gifted was coming out, I pushed for the idea of Dreamer returning (whether as originally introduced or as a new character) and Lorna having a relationship with her. I wouldn't support it today. Not with the way Marvel is right now and how they've been treating Lorna these past few years.

But overall I consider what I pointed out related to Havok in Puzzle Quest to be the bigger issue. Although the game did good by not adding Havok to her bio, it still stands out that Havok was added half a year before her as a 5-star character while Lorna's only getting added now as a 4-star. In the scope solely of this game by itself, not a big deal. In the broader view though, it's a product of subconscious bias against her that suggests she's "beneath" Havok and has less worth than him, and that attitude has been echoed in Marvel's comics both historically and lately since 2017. Some people like to claim Lorna and Havok are seen as "equal partners" by Marvel, but if that was in any way true, Marvel would be giving Lorna the same amount of respect as Havok when they're not together. Every case where Havok's treated better than her proves their relationship has never been one of equals. Only one following the sexist slant of Lorna being useful in promoting Havok. Puzzle Quest's differing treatment of her is just one small case in a long series of cases both big and small.

[Soulsword323]

Continue to enjoy Leah's Polaris. Nothing super exciting happens with Lorna, but I really enjoy the way she's written.

[Ferro]

Lornas halo is easly one of the most creative yet perfect visual additions i could have thinked off, I hope it sticks.
and also it glows green when shes using her powers and makes her look divine

[Soulsword323]

Lornas halo is easly one of the most creative yet perfect visual additions i could have thinked off, I hope it sticks.
and also it glows green when shes using her powers and makes her look divine

Yesssssss! A really creative touch.

Edit: I didn't notice that it changed colors. Thanks for pointing that out. Looks really nice in green.

[Dante Milton]

I love the halo, but I imagine it will get tedious for artists to draw. Enjoyed the banter between Lorna and Rachel.

[salarta]

I think of the halo as something that "replaces" her headgear. Fine for a specific book or specific scenarios, not long-term as her headgear is her only truly unique defining visual (especially as Marvel adds more green-haired women).

[Ferro]

I think of the halo as something that "replaces" her headgear. Fine for a specific book or specific scenarios, not long-term as her headgear is her only truly unique defining visual (especially as Marvel adds more green-haired women).

quite honestly this halo is more striking, id like both for a truly over the top head decoration

[salarta]

quite honestly this halo is more striking, id like both for a truly over the top head decoration

Perhaps having both could work. In that scenario, the halo would not be a replacement, but an extension/addition to what already exists.

[Dante Milton]

Or maybe the halo as a deconstructed headpiece that she can reassemble at will.

[salarta]

If that's the approach then I think it really needs to go the other direction - it's her headpiece in its regular default state and she can deconstruct it at will.


Separate topic, I saw this tweet the other day.



Which is normally the sort of tweet I don't make much about. I've seen similar tweets many times. Then the full meaning of this dawned on me.

People like when they're compared to Lorna. When the comparison is made, it's meant in a positive way. "You look like this awesome character" "Thank you for saying I look like that awesome character." People generally don't make or enjoy comparisons to characters that they think are bad. It demonstrates interest in and appeal of her among people even in the face of how Marvel's treated her, as people recognize Lorna's actual worth.

[jmc247]

The second issue of X-Factor is a testimony to how helpful more dialogue like the old days can be for trying to develop characters and give a sense of meat on their metaphorical bones.

The line between Lorna and Rachel-Northstar on razing Mojo’s base to the ground as the preferable way of dealing with the problem felt like Lorna. That is all I have to say about the issue.





I saw the Polaris storyboard and played her for her introductory arc on Puzzle Quest. As I suspected their summary was a poor way of saying she is a character that is going to fight for and against the X-Men. But, the actual news is the characters above in the event storyboard for the characters history which will include Wanda and Pietro.

[salarta]

I started up Puzzle Quest this morning. I see the pack that if I understand right would allow me to just buy her outright (rather than a chance for her to drop) would cost $100 which is way more than I'm willing to spend on this especially when I can use that money to commission art.

Glad to see the storyboard will involve Wanda and Pietro. Eww to the picture that implies something with Havok (the unseen right half of the upper right picture is from Lorna fighting Havok in X-Men Blue). Really glad that the symbol they're using is Lorna's headpiece.

I find the "after finding out who her father is she fought a brutal battle with the X-Men" line to be interesting. Like the announcement blurb, it's vague. By default it's easy to read it as that Lorna and the X-Men were fighting against each other, which deviates from what I remember of her first two introductory issues (I remember Lorna appearing, the X-Men worrying about how dangerous she might be given she's Magneto's daughter, then Lorna promptly fighting on their side). However, it's vague enough that it can also be read as Lorna fighting a brutal battle alongside the X-Men as their ally. I'm not saying any of this is bad or wrong, only that it's interesting.

I think the vagueness will only be clarified once someone plays the missions and sees what story they tell.

[jmc247]

Marvel.com has up a promotion. A Dark Truth is the first mission on the path with the little blue dots. The second probably opens up tomorrow and its the fight with Magneto spot. Yes, its vaguely based on her first storyline or at least the part where she sides with a Magneto who is not Magneto for an issue and a half before turning at the end. It was a poorly done storyline where the only X-Men she was ready to fight and kill was Erik the Red who was really Scott Summers in disguise.

I am giving them some leeway from being totally accurate because to be totally accurate they would have to refer to retcons and all sorts of BS including robot Magneto and parentage retcons which kind of screws the ability for Lorna to have a consistent narrative in the game or otherwise.

It gets to a mass marketing tact that I see being made of late and I think it may not be perfect, but its better then the one a decade ago which wouldn't refer to her going both ways philosophically in terms of the X-Men at times and would instead simply have some throwaway to who her love interest is. The new blurbs take into account she is complex. The only error for myself in the game summary was using the word mutant not X-Men.