Lorna Dane: Polaris Appreciation 2020

[jmc247]

Future Fight is about to have to have another X-men update and its going to be HoX themed. Probably unlikely but Im hoping Lorna is finally added and I think if she is, she could be a Danger Room exclusive

In terms of House of X Lorna was not exactly relevant to the title with her exclusion from the council. If they are just basing it off important characters in that event she really doesn't rate in the top 20 which won't get you in a game. If they are trying to do some synergy with upcoming Marvel books releases then maybe there is a chance.

In terms of the door opening for a host of games I think the odds are the best if at the end of the year when they are trying to tie into the WandaVision TV show if they are doing House of M updates and a lot of Magnus family centric stuff something they stopped doing a long time ago in games I suspect out of Marvel's fear of the reality that Fox could have done a House of M movie five or ten years ago, but the MCU could not have.

Lorna was playable in two games in 2013 (Marvel Legos in late 2013) and DoFP in 2014. To this day there is little doubt in my mind that was related to a Fox/Marvel deal to promote characters in upcoming Marvel films. The early version of DoFP pre-Singer would have had a sizable role for Lorna, but after he came on Singer decided to go with Pietro and Lorna ended up a kid vs the teen that she was intended to be before the change up.

Marvel Heroes had an employee working on their own time to create a Polaris for the game. And when I say their own time I mean they weren't being paid, because Marvel as an company has a major hang up image of her as an irrelevant character not worthy of spending money on. Sadly, that employee was let go.

The typical excuse for game makers is that they don't like making power clone characters, but we all know its an excuse as they love making versions of Wolverine because Marvel pays them to. At the end of the day what the in development animated series does with Lorna is what matters to her appearance in games. I think her appearing in the MCU is an very low probably event for the next ten years, but her role in the animated series under development that is what could open the door. But, only if the animated series gives her a more meaty role then Havok's love interest on X-Factor as TAS did.

[Soulsword323]

Future Fight is about to have to have another X-men update and its going to be HoX themed. Probably unlikely but Im hoping Lorna is finally added and I think if she is, she could be a Danger Room exclusive

It'd be great if they did. Still annoyed she hasn't been included. Maybe after X-Factor's debut, they'll feel more inclined or something. I mean, Lorna even has a new costume for the first time in years, and it would be a great time to add her.

[Havok83]

In terms of House of X Lorna was not exactly relevant to the title with her exclusion from the council. If they are just basing it off important characters in that event she really doesn't rate in the top 20 which won't get you in a game. If they are trying to do some synergy with upcoming Marvel books releases then maybe there is a chance.

In terms of the door opening for a host of games I think the odds are the best if at the end of the year when they are trying to tie into the WandaVision TV show if they are doing House of M updates and a lot of Magnus family centric stuff something they stopped doing a long time ago in games I suspect out of Marvel's fear of the reality that Fox could have done a House of M movie five or ten years ago, but the MCU could not have.

Lorna was playable in two games in 2013 (Marvel Legos in late 2013) and DoFP in 2014. To this day there is little doubt in my mind that was related to a Fox/Marvel deal to promote characters in upcoming Marvel films. The early version of DoFP pre-Singer would have had a sizable role for Lorna, but after he came on Singer decided to go with Pietro and Lorna ended up a kid vs the teen that she was intended to be before the change up.

Marvel Heroes had an employee working on their own time to create a Polaris for the game. And when I say their own time I mean they weren't being paid, because Marvel as an company has a major hang up image of her as an irrelevant character not worthy of spending money on. Sadly, that employee was let go.

The typical excuse for game makers is that they don't like making power clone characters, but we all know its an excuse as they love making versions of Wolverine because Marvel pays them to. At the end of the day what the in development animated series does with Lorna is what matters to her appearance in games. I think her appearing in the MCU is an very low probably event for the next ten years, but her role in the animated series under development that is what could open the door. But, only if the animated series gives her a more meaty role then Havok's love interest on X-Factor as TAS did.

Kitty, Rachel and Kid Omega got added in the Phoenix Five update when they werent really major players in AvX. They've played loose with relevancy in the past. All 3 of their inclusions with that felt more to promote their impending inclusion in the Dawn of X books which had yet to debut. Besides X-Factor debuts next month so the timing works out well for her.

[jmc247]

Kitty, Rachel and Kid Omega got added in the Phoenix Five update when they werent really major players in AvX. They've played loose with relevancy in the past. All 3 of their inclusions with that felt more to promote their impending inclusion in the Dawn of X books which had yet to debut. Besides X-Factor debuts next month so the timing works out well for her.

Kitty and Kid Omega's inclusion I would agree was because they were front and center in two different ongoings coming up. You are right in terms of Rachel too even though it was a fake out. Her promotion in the X-Men #1 cover I believe managed to get her in the game even though her actual role in the comic was almost non-existant. Never let it be said that covers don't matter.

But, yes I agree they might do synergy for the ongong, but I would add to that they might do it for upcoming crossovers too.

It'd be great if they did. Still annoyed she hasn't been included. Maybe after X-Factor's debut, they'll feel more inclined or something. I mean, Lorna even has a new costume for the first time in years, and it would be a great time to add her.

Empyre is the next big crossover and for the X-Men its at least in part set on Genosha as we know. Crossovers trigger updates as well. It depends on if this is really a House of X/Powers of X update or a stealth synergy update.

Empyre X-Men of course might end up mattering much more then potentially giving the character a visibility boost. Lorna is not a character easy to understand. Different writers have had wholly different takes on who she is and what motivates her well beyond the variability of other x-characters. Writers often aren't interested in her as they neither understand her nor empathize with her. The same is true for a great many fans.

I will only say that characters who manage to break out from mediocrity need a powerful guiding pathos for their actions that helps writers and fans to understand who they are and what they believe. Magneto really was a shitty one note character who only existed to further other characters stories until his backstory during WW2 provided readers (and writers for that matter) a guide to understand the character.

Lorna has had at least three promotional boosts since Decimation none of them helped the character take off because at the end of the day the character was written without a powerful guiding pathos that shapes the understanding of the character for fans and writers for that matter. Nostalgia and writing her around what accentuates the story at a given time and other characters just does not work in the long haul.

[jmc247]

The Wanda Maximoff question?

What should Lorna's view and/or relationship be with her? My personal feeling as a fan of the character for a long time is that Hickman may actually doing Wanda a service by digging up a wound that never healed before tackling it because one side of the franchise wanted to get it over with immediately (Doom did it you can go home and forget about it now) and the character outside a few issues was not really shared with the side of the franchise that was impacted.

My take for Lorna and Wanda should they choose to go there is the hard, but rewarding path of hostility and anger--- having it out---- distrust and disagreement--- then building bridges. It should play out though over an extended period of time not a one and done issue which was the problem of ANXF.

Also, back to Future Fight the characters so far... Jean, Magneto, Wolverine and now Nimrod seem like they are checking off boxes for important HoX/PoX characters so far not doing synergy for upcoming titles. That could change of course, but for those who want her in now is the chance to be heard and many are speaking up.

[Soulsword323]

Lorna should have been more in her feelings in regards to what Wanda did. I enjoyed PAD's Polaris, but I agree with the sentiment that she should have been far more resistant to Wanda at first. This was the second time Lorna had been stripped of her power, and by another one of her "sisters". She never got the chance to confront Zaladane, but she did with Wanda, and should have been handled differently. I'm sure Peter David didn't have a lot of time with Scarlet Witch, but I wish he could've built to them establishing a positive rapport with one another slower.

[jmc247]

Lorna should have been more in her feelings in regards to what Wanda did. I enjoyed PAD's Polaris, but I agree with the sentiment that she should have been far more resistant to Wanda at first. This was the second time Lorna had been stripped of her power, and by another one of her "sisters". She never got the chance to confront Zaladane, but she did with Wanda, and should have been handled differently. I'm sure Peter David didn't have a lot of time with Scarlet Witch, but I wish he could've built to them establishing a positive rapport with one another slower.

My feeling in regards to PAD's second run was he got her emotionality and visceral nature better then Bunn for the most part did, but she was missing a guiding let me call it 'north star' for the character. I could imagine Lorna easier to forgive her own depowering (though that certainly should have been an issue as well) then that of the mutant race.

I feel like PAD by the time Lorna had gotten there wanted to divorce X-Factor Investigations from being a 'mutant team' the same for ANXF. He wanted them to be super hero teams that fight for everyone not mutants in general. That was one of the core reasons why I think Lorna's time on them turned out to be less successful then it could have been. This is an area where the new X-Factor has a chance to differentiate itself from the last iterations of X-Factor.

For Bunn's Lorna while she was involved tangentially in mutant affairs it felt like her core motivation wasn't at all mutant related it was saving her ex and spending time with dad. Lorna having a righteous indignation at the plight of mutants and those that did them wrong was one of the things that actually really worked for the character 15-20 years ago. That helped her to catch fire for several years though we have seen only very tiny glimpses of it since.

Lorna lost her mutant rights cred with fans in the half decade of space adventures helping her ex fight his brother in space adventures while mutants were facing extinction over and over again and then came back to one generic super hero team after another. She also lost her Genoshan pathos in those years. That was why I think after her long space arc put the character on the wrong track she wasn't able to get on the right track.

[jmc247]

AIPT: Who do you think will be X-Factor’s breakout character?

Jordan: Oh that’s a good one. Oh, that’s a toughie. Oh man… I’m going to go with Polaris. Although, the other secret real answer is–because Excalibur #8 came out right? Yeah, so the real answer is also Amazing Baby. But Polaris is great as well. I mean, honestly, every character is pretty awesome, but really it would probably be Polaris or Northstar and I’m going to lean toward Polaris for now, but it’s a toughie.

https://www.adventuresinpoortaste.co...ordan-d-white/

From the AIPT interview.

[Soulsword323]

Getting more excited for X-Factor! That preview, and Lorna, look great. I love when artists give characters distinct styles, and that Lorna's seems more alternative than just generic fashion model.

I'm guessing that flashback to Polaris and the other originals is from the GS X-Men remake? A bit bummed, as I thought maybe it had something to do with current Krakoa.

[darewithpeace]

when is x factor comming?

[Soulsword323]

when is x factor comming?

April 22.

101010

[salarta]

Hi party people. Who like to party. With people. At parties.

Anyway, recapper/reviewer Joshua Weil posted a recap of ANXF #14 today. It's a neat trip down memories, with what could and should have been for the family and seeing Lorna and Wanda interacting as sisters. IMO it's probably the best single issue of ANXF, and it was the second issue with Katie Kubert taking over as editor - who was also editor for Secret Wars: House of M where Lorna got rare good treatment.

I do think the sisters really needed a lot of "coming to terms/blows about Decimation" prior to the sort of outing they had in ANXF #14. But, it's also very clear that Marvel intended on the Axis retcon on the twins' parentage, and wanted to undermine ANXF for that reason (#14 in particular), so Peter David had to choose his focus for the one issue he did have. I think he chose right.

And speaking of, there's this upper deck sketch card drawn by Brad Hudson. I'm only posting the Lorna one, but if you check his instagram, he posted a Wanda right after.



I'm going to do something different from usual for the next two. Instead of just sharing the pictures, I'm sharing the actual postings. First one by ashsamacosplay.



As great as the cosplay is, it's the text that really moved me. Though she didn't feel her best (FYI she's great by the way), she loved the chance to do this sister cosplay with her best friend. Fandom often talks about the value of characters and relationships in the abstract, but this right here shows its benefits for real people. It goes with so, so many other cases I've seen of fans inspired by Lorna, who have figurines of Lorna as emotional support during work or who dye their hair or get tattoos or so many other things because of how special the character is to them. People at Marvel may look at Lorna and only see "C/D-lister who dated Havok," but I see an inspiration influencing far more than can be known.

And then there's this post.



Just as people want to see more of Lorna and Wanda as sisters, there's interest in dynamics between Lorna and Jean. The potential to their dynamic goes way back to when Lorna and Jean were the two women on X-Men in the late 60s/early 70s, before Giant-Size. My preference is for Lorna and Jean to become a couple. But, I'm also perfectly open to dynamics between them that sit at simply friendship. Or perhaps rivalry/enemies, if it fits the storyline.

[jmc247]

Art by uncannymisfit

In terms of Lorna and Jean and really Lorna and any A list X-Man there is a huge problem of how to move forward long dead relationships. Writers have tried to build a friendship between Jean and Lorna. They were obviously the first female x-friends. Claremont didn't ignore that in his run even if Storm and a dozen other female characters were pushed in front of Lorna. John Francis Moore, Alan Davis, Morrison and Austen all tried to restart things with Lorna and Jean to no success at creating sustained fan discussion and interest.

The centrifugal forces that are certain to default characters to their respective ‘list groupings’ after a run can only really be overcome for a character like Lorna with an iconic storyline that involves the other X-Men with years of fallout.

Lorna being on paper besties with Jean and the rest of the X-Men in fact robs writers of any interest in writing them together. If there was real tension and issues to resolve between Lorna and the X-Men there would be interest in having them interact from writers. I don't see Lorna's relationship with the A listers going anywhere until she has a major story arc where she has an major schism with them that lasts a little while and then they have to learn to work together, rebuild trust, and become allies and friends.

Wanting Lorna to be just promoted to an important x-character and arguing she deserves it. Well, I understand the feeling and have certainly argued the same at times. But, have been a part of this game long enough to believe without a doubt that there is zero chance of that happening without a major conflict first that makes writers want to write Lorna and the major X-Men together for many years after dealing with mutual issues.

I know it won't happen any time soon if it ever happens, but I believe Lorna needs a conflict with the X-Men big enough to catch the eye of not just current writers, but future writers and not another possessed or divided loyalty or crazy storyline. The Gifted had the right idea there and it would have been a major success if they executed it even moderately well in season two. Instead they violated some of the major rules of good storytelling. First being true to your own characters you developed. They weren't and even the actor and showrunner knew it. Second no short cuts to repair damage and they took massive short cuts. And, third having characters realize they see the world in different ways, but they can work together to build a better world. Instead they had Lorna declare Eclipse right sobbing over and over again in his arms and the story declared her a manipulated victim. All that are text book things not to do with such a storyline.

Do that and you could have a decade or two worth of stories that writers are salivating at telling between Lorna and the major X-Men of working together through distrust. Distrust based on Lorna being 'unstable' or perhaps joining up with dad just doesn't work and its been done more then once. Writers want drama between characters above all. That is why Emma is an A list mainstay with a defined relationship with just about all the core X-Men as there is drama to be had there and Lorna has no relationship with any of the core X-Men today.

[juan678]

better quality of the pages of X-Factor that were shown at C2E2 Women of Marvel panel

DAHX Thanks

[jmc247]

Thanks for posting the pages.

Unless that is a mass suicide cult of about 60 people all driving off the same broken area of the bridge it looks like quite a prolific mass murderer for their first case.