Leah William and David Baldeón on X-Factor 2020

[jmc247]

Didn’t quicksilver leave early during this time to go be with another team

He did leave, but it wasn't at the point that art was harkening back to. The artists run on the book had ended when he was recalled.

That is a really strong cover.

[RamaBird]

I'm wondering if Lorna will go rogue? Wasn't it said that there'd be a reason as to why she's not leading the team? I also think they'll use her past with Krakoa too. That cover makes me think Krakoa and Lorna might have issues.

[salarta]

Pietro's absence from the "throwback" cover in and of itself demonstrates that these covers are (and always have been) actual statements of intent and opinion at Marvel.

If Marvel was simply paying homage to the past, Pietro would be there. But he isn't. Ergo, there is a reason for his absence - and the likely safe bet is that Marvel doesn't want to put forth imagery of Pietro as a part of the X-Men franchise.

By extension, this means the decision to depict Lorna with Havok in it wasn't simply about paying homage to nostalgia. It's about trying to visually present and reinforce Lorna as his girlfriend. Even in the hypothetical view that the cover would have to have both of them, it could have very easily placed Lorna and Havok in separate spots. It didn't need to place them side by side as a couple.

All in all, yet another of many, many signs of how badly Marvel wants to force a relationship they know full well needs to be sidelined to focus on actually doing things with and for Lorna.

[RamaBird]

^^ Or maybe not? It doesn't make much sense that Marvel would NOT want to reconnect Pietro and Wanda to Magneto. But maybe you're right? And Marvel does NOT want to reconnect them to Magneto?

[salarta]

^^ Or maybe not? It doesn't make much sense that Marvel would NOT want to reconnect Pietro and Wanda to Magneto. But maybe you're right? And Marvel does NOT want to reconnect them to Magneto?

I think what's most likely (but not guaranteed) is that Marvel wants to maintain the pretense that the retcon of the twins' parentage had some actual purpose to it besides "lol we're mad at Fox." As such, they can't hastily restore the twins in the comics, because doing so would be admitting the real reason behind those actions. They've been using content outside of comics, like video games, to try to keep the line open until they think it's the right time.

[RamaBird]

I think what's most likely (but not guaranteed) is that Marvel wants to maintain the pretense that the retcon of the twins' parentage had some actual purpose to it besides "lol we're mad at Fox." As such, they can't hastily restore the twins in the comics, because doing so would be admitting the real reason behind those actions. They've been using content outside of comics, like video games, to try to keep the line open until they think it's the right time.

I could see Marvel Comics doing that, but def not the MCU (I hope and hopefully they would force the comics to reconnect them).

Don't think Lorna and Havoc will interact anytime soon, but maybe they do plan on "reuniting" them much later on?

[salarta]

Don't think Lorna and Havoc will interact anytime soon, but maybe they do plan on "reuniting" them much later on?

Marvel's basically been telegraphing this whole effort since 2017. Among many things they've said and done over the past few years, one telling decision was putting words in Lorna's mouth that she hadn't been a couple with Havok in "a really long time." Which at that time was only 5 years our time.

Compare that to how Marvel has spent the past 15 years ignoring how she was a big part of Genosha and survived its genocide. Marvel can't seem to think actual important character history for her needs telling, but can't trip over themselves enough to act like any time Lorna gets to spend as her own woman is too long.

[Thundershot]

Pietro's absence from the "throwback" cover in and of itself demonstrates that these covers are (and always have been) actual statements of intent and opinion at Marvel.

If Marvel was simply paying homage to the past, Pietro would be there. But he isn't. Ergo, there is a reason for his absence - and the likely safe bet is that Marvel doesn't want to put forth imagery of Pietro as a part of the X-Men franchise.

By extension, this means the decision to depict Lorna with Havok in it wasn't simply about paying homage to nostalgia. It's about trying to visually present and reinforce Lorna as his girlfriend. Even in the hypothetical view that the cover would have to have both of them, it could have very easily placed Lorna and Havok in separate spots. It didn't need to place them side by side as a couple.

All in all, yet another of many, many signs of how badly Marvel wants to force a relationship they know full well needs to be sidelined to focus on actually doing things with and for Lorna.

The throwback cover is just an homage to the corner box they used during that era. Pietro wasn’t in that either. If I remember right, someone in a letters page asked about it and the joke was that he was there but moving really fast so you couldn’t see him.

[JB]

The throwback cover is just an homage to the corner box they used during that era. Pietro wasn’t in that either. If I remember right, someone in a letters page asked about it and the joke was that he was there but moving really fast so you couldn’t see him.

Holy smokes, you're right. Flashback!

[Devaishwarya]

But no...putting Lorna SSSOOOO close to Havok is Marvel's insidious way of forcing their toxic relationship on us...or some such rubbish.

[salarta]

But no...putting Lorna SSSOOOO close to Havok is Marvel's insidious way of forcing their toxic relationship on us...or some such rubbish.

This is where most would expect this to end. "He didn't know about something only hardcore old time fans would know, therefore somehow every single thing he's ever said and will ever say for all eternity is wrong."

Not this time. First and simplest, the decision not to make changes - such as "look, they caught Pietro on camera this time" - says something of its own. About where Marvel's at.

Second, that's not the only corner cover art this X-Factor team had in the 90s. This one appears to have been most common, but second most common was floating heads.



But okay. Let's say for argument sake that Marvel felt the floating heads was just too abstract and full bodies was more appropriate. Why, then, didn't they do a variant for this corner art too or instead?



Marvel's doing this as an homage to X-Factor, right? Why stop at the 90s? Why show the one that has Lorna with Havok, but not the one of Jean with Cyclops?

And this doesn't even delve into the question of if there are iconic past X-Factor covers that would've made more sense to recreate instead of turning old corner art into a cover. Including perhaps an old cover that has Lorna as the focus, considering she's been thrown into this X-Factor and all.

But that's not even the final piece to this matter. There's a simpler point to make. Why, after hijacking Lorna's return on X-Men Blue to promote Havok in advance of him leading his own team book, after putting out a Havok and Polaris figure pack while excluding her from the Magnus family pack, after repeated attempts to shoehorn reminders of their relationship into things like Prisoner X or a Cable birth retelling (while at the same time Marvel ignores far more important things about Lorna like her time on Genosha), after putting out a great cover of Lorna that looks good for her only for that cover to be used on Marvel Tales where Havok's introductory story is the only one that has her in it... did Marvel decide it's a good idea to put out a variant cover that once again pushes the visual of her as Havok's girlfriend? They could have just as easily not made the variant at all.

If you're running an apartment complex that's had repeated and recent problems with cockroaches, is it really a good idea to put out an ad with a Joe's Apartment theme?

This variant cover is just one incident in a string of incidents. Isolating it makes it seem benign and perhaps well-intentioned, but looking at it in its actual broader context of how Marvel's been treating Lorna tells a whole other story.

This matter doesn't end at "Marvel made an homage to some obscure thing from the 90s." It comes loaded with what they could've done but didn't, why they chose to do what they did, the context they're doing it in, and so many other variables. And no, "they just wanted to do a fan thing" doesn't cut it. Because then why aren't they doing other fan things like Genosha for Lorna? Deliberate or not, the result is still the same.

And that's a wrap on this post.

[Havok83]

Its not that serious.. Pietro isnt a member of this book so having him on a cover is low priority. Why would they do a variant with Jean and Cyclops? Again, they arent in this book. The one corner art they did choose was deliberate bc its relevant to an actual member of the new series

[JB]

Its not that serious.. Pietro isnt a member of this book so having him on a cover is low priority. Why would they do a variant with Jean and Cyclops? Again, they arent in this book. The one corner art they did choose was deliberate bc its relevant to an actual member of the new series

I like that they also gave her the Krakoa cover. That one lit me right up.

[salarta]

Its not that serious.. Pietro isnt a member of this book so having him on a cover is low priority. Why would they do a variant with Jean and Cyclops? Again, they arent in this book. The one corner art they did choose was deliberate bc its relevant to an actual member of the new series

In that case, they could've used this.

Or this:



Or even this, if they felt Havok absolutely had to be in it:



As the cover. If anything without Lorna in it need not apply, and the floating head one isn't sufficient, then why not use work that focused specifically on her?

Next stop: "the cover's for nostalgia for the team due to the book title, not for Lorna herself." So then why not recreate this cover?



It's certainly more interesting than what they chose. It includes Pietro. It avoids the suggestion of Lorna as Havok's girlfriend.

Why did Marvel choose what they did out of several years worth of options?

It's serious because it's part of an ongoing trend in the way Marvel sees and treats the character. How they try to "subtly" force Havok on Lorna wherever they can, while denying her own actual character history and development. Not questioning these things is how they persist decades later, and how people at Marvel hold regressive attitudes that deny all Lorna could be in favor of who she could be written as hanging on the arm of. If it's not such a big deal, then why isn't Marvel doing the exact same thing for Lorna's time on Genosha? Why aren't they making covers that acknowledge she was there? Why is it that the only history Marvel talks about is how she used to bang Havok, whether she was banging him in the 90s or in space?


And no, if Marvel suddenly put out one cover that acknowledged her time on Genosha, that wouldn't be enough. That would be one cover (two if you count the tiny image on an Amazing Spider-Man cover) in 15 years vs the past few years of Marvel bending over backwards to bring up Havok around her almost every time they've used her. They'd have to do way, way more than just one cover. They'd have to actually use it in a meaningful, tangible way in stories from here on out as well. I felt I should say that now cause I can imagine some fans of HoX/PoX/DoX doing a Bush era "Mission Accomplished" at the sight of a single cover.

It's pretty damning that Marvel has Storm talking about what Genosha means to mutants while Lorna, former Queen of Mutants, right hand to Magneto on Genosha, survivor of its genocide with trauma to show for it, somehow can never say a single word about everything she went through. Yet somehow can be written by Marvel as thinking 5 years is a "long time" not in relationship with Havok, or asking if Havok is okay after he dies during Age of X-Man, or thinking about the time she kissed him in the 90s in Prisoner X.

[Thundershot]

They had Larry Stroman to do an homage variant cover to an issue of X-Factor... He likely chose the image to do, based on his own work. It looks great. It’s nothing more... Don’t track down the cover if you don’t like it.

On another note, I totally forgot it was mocking the previous X-Factor corner box lol