Lorna Dane: Polaris Appreciation 2021

[Lucyinthesky]

The House of M seems like its meant to be a faction or least that is how its come off under Hickman’s pen. In terms of Lorna not wanting a leadership role I believe that comes down to the writers preference of roles. I was ok with that and said so though some fans were clearly not and Magneto became the voice by proxy for speaking against those voices.

Agreed I don´t have a problem either and I am hoping she finds her own way with the X-men, I am actually excited to see what plans Duggan has for her, I am just wary of this becoming a situation in which she´s seen as the younger child while Wanda and Pietro, without the retcon, take on part of those roles like they did on WXTM but well giving the fact they are Avengers characters and that the retcon is still ongoing, this is not a real problem.

I do think Hickman wants to present a Roman Republic like framework with powerful families debating issues and taking sides, but that hasn’t shown through very well other then perhaps with the Frost’s and the Summers family. Without factionalism though any conflict only goes so far.

Agreed completely and yes I think it would be interesting if he added other families or make them interact with the Frosts and the Summers as well.

An additional wrinkle I'd like to add regarding Lorna and Magneto's relationship is that we have literally zero knowledge of what Lorna's life was like growing up with the Danes. We don't even know if Lorna feeling the need to dye her hair before her intro issues was due to something from her foster parents or entirely a choice on Lorna's part. You could practically say they never existed at all for how little we know, given we've never even seen what they look like.

The reason I say this is another wrinkle, is that we don't know what Lorna's foster father was like. Neither does anyone at Marvel. As a result, nobody can say "Oh well we're basing her behavior around Magneto on what her relationship with her foster father was like." It's too late to take that approach. The time to do it was decades ago. Before the retcon on Lorna's parentage was undone in the early to mid 00s. Doing it now would just look like Marvel trying to come up with excuses to justify misrepresenting Lorna and Magneto's relationship after the fact. So for all intents and purposes, Lorna and Magneto's time on Genosha is the foundation for their future interactions regardless of what her relationship with her foster father was like.

Agreed completely, Genosha is still the more balanced interaction they had.

[Stormy]

Can anyone explain what Lorna was doing in this issue? I didn't understand how she did it, and I've never seen Magneto do something like that either.
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[salarta]

Can anyone explain what Lorna was doing in this issue? I didn't understand how she did it, and I've never seen Magneto do something like that either.

Providing a larger version of that page for others to be able to read the text.



The next page of the comic explained it, but I'm not sure how readily available that next page is for people online.



In short, after Genosha's destruction, Lorna remained in its ruins with the final moments of millions of dead Genoshans playing in and around her constantly until she was dug out of the ruins. It's magnetic patterns of those final moments. Given her powers, she's able to read, retain, broadcast and boost those signals. Of course, we didn't get to see what Lorna personally living through those moments was like until later in Austen's run.



Then we have how she developed afterward as a result, culminating in Uncanny X-Men #442-443, but pages not in this post due to image limit.

Collectively, this is why Genosha is so important for Lorna. The genocide wasn't just some flash in the pan inconvenience, trauma of the week kind of thing. It soaked into the very core of her and tormented her relentlessly. It was a deep wound that she suffered through greatly as she worked toward her own brand of recovery out of it - and recovery takes many forms. Since recovery doesn't mean going back to the way things were before as if the trauma never happened. As we see in who Magneto became in his recovery after the Holocaust. Something too many writers fail (whether by accident or choice) to understand.

And just as the genocide and Lorna's development afterward are important for the character, so too was the activity and development she had on Genosha before the genocide. Those moments were the foundation for just how devastating the genocide was for her.

[Stormy]

Providing a larger version of that page for others to be able to read the text.



The next page of the comic explained it, but I'm not sure how readily available that next page is for people online.



In short, after Genosha's destruction, Lorna remained in its ruins with the final moments of millions of dead Genoshans playing in and around her constantly until she was dug out of the ruins. It's magnetic patterns of those final moments. Given her powers, she's able to read, retain, broadcast and boost those signals. Of course, we didn't get to see what Lorna personally living through those moments was like until later in Austen's run.



Then we have how she developed afterward as a result, culminating in Uncanny X-Men #442-443, but pages not in this post due to image limit.

Collectively, this is why Genosha is so important for Lorna. The genocide wasn't just some flash in the pan inconvenience, trauma of the week kind of thing. It soaked into the very core of her and tormented her relentlessly. It was a deep wound that she suffered through greatly as she worked toward her own brand of recovery out of it - and recovery takes many forms. Since recovery doesn't mean going back to the way things were before as if the trauma never happened. As we see in who Magneto became in his recovery after the Holocaust. Something too many writers fail (whether by accident or choice) to understand.

And just as the genocide and Lorna's development afterward are important for the character, so too was the activity and development she had on Genosha before the genocide. Those moments were the foundation for just how devastating the genocide was for her.

Sorry, I thought the image would appear, I have to learn how to use this. Thanks for clearing up my doubts, magnetic patterns of millions of ghosts? ****, this is a lot, something I've never seen Magneto do and I wonder why they didn't give this woman omega status.

I would love to see a thread explaining and delving deeper into Polaris powers, in matters of physics, magnetic attractions and electromagnetism, everything she would be able to do. I think it was since then that these issues of bipolarity began to arise in Lorna, the genosha massacre must have been a huge psychological trauma, adding Magneto who is also a disturbed man..

[Stormy]

I'm looking forward to an AIPT interview with Gerry Duggan about upcoming X-mens issues, so we can ask questions like that.

[Lucyinthesky]

Salarta already gave an excellent explanation so I will just leave some more deatils here, radiowaves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is Lorna and Magneto primary power.

Radio waves, gamma-rays, visible light, and all the other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic radiation can be described in terms of a stream of mass-less particles, called photons, each traveling in a wave-like pattern at the speed of light.

So the last thoughts from Genosha´s citizens were recorded by Magneto and Lorna got the signal and her powers kept repeating those events for weeks until she was found. Magneto himself apparently died in the massacre but in the Excalibur series where he, Charles and other survivors are trying to rebuilt Genosha he also could see the electromagnetic ghots around the island the same that were around Lorna.



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[jmc247]

Salarta already gave an excellent explanation so I will just leave some more deatils here, radiowaves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is Lorna and Magneto primary power.

So the last thoughts from Genosha´s citizens were recorded by Magneto and Lorna got the signal and her powers kept repeating those events for weeks until she was found. Magneto himself apparently died in the massacre but in the Excalibur series where he, Charles and other survivors are trying to rebuilt Genosha he also could see the electromagnetic ghots around the island the same that were around Lorna.

The inclusion of so many 60s mutants like Toad and Quicksilver was a good touch.



The problem came in with future runs starting with Milligan and What Lorna Saw in space over and over chewing out new things to be used as a replacement events to drive her pathos rather then an additional event.

Agreed completely, Genosha is still the more balanced interaction they had.

It felt more real and yes balanced because he didn't raise her and each actually wanted things from each other and were very forthright in what they wanted. Lorna wanted instruction with her power, leadership skills, and the ability to help mutants. Magneto wanted a right hand power behind the throne, help with his plans and governing Genosha and a potential heir.

I haven't had a great deal to say about the Trial of Magneto. I have been expecting even before the current video for Lorna and Magneto's relationship to continue on the course its been on for over a year of being completely trashed. But, I also think the relationship has been weak and not all that interesting for quite awhile. I find Brand and Magneto right now to be more enjoyable to read together and more interesting then Lorna and Magneto over the past decade.

[Lucyinthesky]

The inclusion of so many 60s mutants like Toad and Quicksilver was a good touch.

Agreed it looked like a meeting I also liked that Toad said Magneto would not let Genosha or Lorna die.

The problem came in with future runs starting with Milligan and What Lorna Saw in space over and over chewing out new things to be used as a replacement events to drive her pathos rather then an additional event.

Yes this was a great dissapointment to me too, I expected a second exploration of her post Genosha or post HoM and instead we got a silly story about Doop affecting her, it just felt like a waste of potential and the then she was also kidnapped by Apocalypse but even this wasn´t explored and they just had Lorna get over everything as if it didn´t happened to her. Its just no realist storytelling.

It felt more real and yes balanced because he didn't raise her and each actually wanted things from each other and were very forthright in what they wanted. Lorna wanted instruction with her power, leadership skills, and the ability to help mutants. Magneto wanted a right hand power behind the throne, help with his plans and governing Genosha and a potential heir.

Exactly this.

I haven't had a great deal to say about the Trial of Magneto. I have been expecting even before the current video for Lorna and Magneto's relationship to continue on the course its been on for over a year of being completely trashed. But, I also think the relationship has been weak and not all that interesting for quite awhile. I find Brand and Magneto right now to be more enjoyable to read together and more interesting then Lorna and Magneto over the past decade.

Agreed Brand and Magneto are being very well written together its a parnetship that works well and servies both characters, I would like Ewing and his hability to bring ancient canon to life to give it a try to Magneto and Lorna relationship, because yes it´s quite weak right now and it´s not because there´s no potential, it´s because their relationship is written as a cliché, one that doesn´t even make sense for their particular story.

[jmc247]

By abrandnewstardust



by terryblas

[Stormy]

Do you think Polaris has the potential to be in the top 5 of Marvel's most powerful heroines? Or even occupy the Invisible Woman's space. For me, with a right push and a deeper development, I think it can be one of the most powerful.

[salarta]

Do you think Polaris has the potential to be in the top 5 of Marvel's most powerful heroines? Or even occupy the Invisible Woman's space. For me, with a right push and a deeper development, I think it can be one of the most powerful.

I think she has that potential in the same way just about any character has that potential if given proper writing and representation. Where Lorna differs from most other characters is a lot of treatment that's outright sabotaged her potential, and few chances to overcome it. Plenty of characters have had moments of terrible treatment (e.g. Carol Danvers being raped by an entity from another dimension that she then had to give birth to), but then Marvel rectified it. Whereas Marvel has just started making moves toward doing same for Lorna, and the sabotage sometimes rears its ugly head again (often in the form of nostalgia).

Hoping Duggan's X-Men run is the start of positive things for Lorna that are consistent rather than once every few years. It's looking that way so far.

[seccruz]

Hoping Duggan's X-Men run is the start of positive things for Lorna that are consistent rather than once every few years. It's looking that way so far.

She's already a fashion icon. Latte and sunglasses are THE look now!

[jmc247]

Duggan's new X-Men title is the best start the character has had in many years. Probably the best single issue start since Milligan and her look probably tips it over Milligan's start. But, there is a long way to go. Milligan's run with Lorna started strong and ended strong, but failed everywhere in-between. Her best X-Men run started ok though uneven places and just got better and better with time.

The issue of her motivational core and what drives the character will determine I suspect if the run ends up being her best and if it can also launch the character to major female mutant status. In terms of the status as a major female Marvel character that will take some years and more love from other mediums.

She's already a fashion icon. Latte and sunglasses are THE look now!

The look of the Summer of 2021 yes.

Rogue and Lorna present interesting relationship dynamics, we will see how they play out.

[juan678]

[juan678]

X-MEN #4

GERRY DUGGAN (W) • JAVIER PINA (A) • Cover by PEPE LARRAZ
VARIANT COVER BY DECLAN SHALVEY
VARIANT COVER BY RUSSELL DAUTERMAN
MARVEL MASTERPIECES VARIANT COVER BY JOE JUSKO
HEADS UP!
It’s Halloween and the X-Men have to face a horror born of a neighboring town in Westchester… the Headless HORSEMAN?! And that’s not the only terror targeting them…
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99