Lorna Dane: Polaris Appreciation 2021

[jmc247]

Found some powergrid stats from Polaris.. It reminds me of a doubt I've always had, so Polaris' powers aren't psionic in origin the same as Magneto and Storm?

Lorna’s magnetic powers are the same as Magneto’s and work the same all the way to where they channel their power. How Lorna uses her powers is up to her.

Jean’s updated card cover is quite good I have to say. I can only hope Lorna’s cover once that time comes is half as good.

[Stormy]

Lorna’s magnetic powers are the same as Magneto’s and work the same all the way to where they channel their power. How Lorna uses her powers is up to her.

Jean’s updated card cover is quite good I have to say. I can only hope Lorna’s cover once that time comes is half as good.

lol, I always saw Lorna having an easier time than Magneto to use her powers, my headcanon is that she has a greater power in controlling electromagnetism than her father.

[salarta]

Found some powergrid stats from Polaris.. It reminds me of a doubt I've always had, so Polaris' powers aren't psionic in origin the same as Magneto and Storm?

The main thing that bugs me about those power grids is how they claim Lorna's Intelligence is 2 for Normal. She has the exact same education (Masters in Geophysics) as Havok, and he's a 3. It comes off to me as trying to use the power grids to reinforce biases against Lorna that say she needs to be "beneath" Havok at all times, never equal. If the power grid on the variant cover still has her at a 2 for Intelligence instead of a 3, I won't be getting that variant (assuming Marvel makes it) no matter how good the art looks.

[jmc247]

lol, I always saw Lorna having an easier time than Magneto to use her powers, my headcanon is that she has a greater power in controlling electromagnetism than her father.

Going by the old school view of electromagnetism manipulation the younger manipulators should be able to handle greater power loads then the older ones. I will agree with you there. But, Magneto should be the most skilled at EM manipulation.

Joseph at times, Austen Lorna, and even Zaladane using Lorna's power showed how its done when it comes to channeling raw power.




Actually its kind of laughable that the only time Lorna's powers were allowed a good fight against a major character in the 70s-90s it was inside someone vastly less experienced on how to use her powers then Lorna was supposed to be. The absolute novice above at understanding how to use Lorna's powers compared showed how to fight. I won't get into the is she or isn't she related to Mags/Lorna issue.

I will say that the core idea of raw power influencing electromagnetism manipulators emotional state was the old school way EM power functioned.

[seccruz]

Going by the old school view of electromagnetism manipulation the younger manipulators should be able to handle greater power loads then the older ones. I will agree with you there. But, Magneto should be the most skilled at EM manipulation.

Joseph at times, Austen Lorna, and even Zaladane using Lorna's power showed how its done when it comes to channeling raw power.




Actually its kind of laughable that the only time Lorna's powers were allowed a good fight against a major character in the 70s-90s it was inside someone vastly less experienced on how to use her powers then Lorna was supposed to be. The absolute novice above at understanding how to use Lorna's powers compared showed how to fight. I won't get into the is she or isn't she related to Mags/Lorna issue.

I will say that the core idea of raw power influencing electromagnetism manipulators emotional state was the old school way EM power functioned.

Zala was a fucking unit with Lorna's power!

[jmc247]

Zala was a fucking unit with Lorna's power!

She used Lorna's power decisively and no damns did she give at channeling the power and unleashing it.

Lorna used her power like a frightened child in those years and was only marginally more effective when possessed. That filtered into alot of later depictions all the way to this day.

Only one comic run had a Lorna that used her powers as confidently as Zala.

[salarta]

This is my view on power use.

Magneto is older. He's been using his powers for longer. That means he's more skilled at applications of it he knows. He's intimately familiar with all the tricks he's developed and has had time to master them. This is like a doctor who's been working for decades. After seeing patients for so long, that doctor knows the signs for certain things immediately and has tried and true methods they've found effective. He may not have as much energy or vitality as he had in his youth, given the natural tendency of our bodies to lose those things as we age.

Polaris is younger. She hasn't been using her powers as long. She doesn't have the decades of experience Magneto has, she doesn't know all the quirks and special applications that Magneto does. However, she can offset that lack of experience with more modern knowledge and a fresh look at how those powers can be used. Not being as set in her ways as her father, she could find other ways to use those powers that are just as good as or better than what Magneto knows, but she might make mistakes that Magneto's already learned from. This is like a newer doctor who's more recently entered the field. They have an up to date education, they know the newest tools of the trade, they make up for lack of experience with knowledge of the latest advances in the field. They may not be able to diagnose a problem as quickly as the veteran doctor, but they might know a more effective treatment. You'd also expect Lorna to have more energy and vitality in power use than Magneto given her age.

Summing up, this is also the practical aspect of why Lorna should be Omega under the current definition. The current definition doesn't say all things equal, the more experienced user is Omega. It just says whoever can reach an undefinable upper limit. Maybe Magneto would mop the floor with her in a fight given his experience, but Omega isn't about "this character can beat this character." There isn't only one path to that undefinable upper limit. Any views that Lorna has to be exactly like her father (and therefore could never reach his lofty heights no matter what she does or how long she lives) are a lack of creative thinking.

[seccruz]

She used Lorna's power decisively and no damns did she give at channeling the power and unleashing it.

Lorna used her power like a frightened child in those years and was only marginally better when not possessed. That filtered into alot of later depictions all the way to this day.

Only one comic run had a Lorna that used her powers as confidently as Zala.

Indeed. Lorna only got a backbone in Austen's run. And even then people were all: the hell, Lorna? (Looking at you, Scott)

[Stormy]

This is my view on power use.

Magneto is older. He's been using his powers for longer. That means he's more skilled at applications of it he knows. He's intimately familiar with all the tricks he's developed and has had time to master them. This is like a doctor who's been working for decades. After seeing patients for so long, that doctor knows the signs for certain things immediately and has tried and true methods they've found effective. He may not have as much energy or vitality as he had in his youth, given the natural tendency of our bodies to lose those things as we age.

Polaris is younger. She hasn't been using her powers as long. She doesn't have the decades of experience Magneto has, she doesn't know all the quirks and special applications that Magneto does. However, she can offset that lack of experience with more modern knowledge and a fresh look at how those powers can be used. Not being as set in her ways as her father, she could find other ways to use those powers that are just as good as or better than what Magneto knows, but she might make mistakes that Magneto's already learned from. This is like a newer doctor who's more recently entered the field. They have an up to date education, they know the newest tools of the trade, they make up for lack of experience with knowledge of the latest advances in the field. They may not be able to diagnose a problem as quickly as the veteran doctor, but they might know a more effective treatment. You'd also expect Lorna to have more energy and vitality in power use than Magneto given her age.

Summing up, this is also the practical aspect of why Lorna should be Omega under the current definition. The current definition doesn't say all things equal, the more experienced user is Omega. It just says whoever can reach an undefinable upper limit. Maybe Magneto would mop the floor with her in a fight given his experience, but Omega isn't about "this character can beat this character." There isn't only one path to that undefinable upper limit. Any views that Lorna has to be exactly like her father (and therefore could never reach his lofty heights no matter what she does or how long she lives) are a lack of creative thinking.

Going by the old school view of electromagnetism manipulation the younger manipulators should be able to handle greater power loads then the older ones. I will agree with you there. But, Magneto should be the most skilled at EM manipulation.

Joseph at times, Austen Lorna, and even Zaladane using Lorna's power showed how its done when it comes to channeling raw power.




Actually its kind of laughable that the only time Lorna's powers were allowed a good fight against a major character in the 70s-90s it was inside someone vastly less experienced on how to use her powers then Lorna was supposed to be. The absolute novice above at understanding how to use Lorna's powers compared showed how to fight. I won't get into the is she or isn't she related to Mags/Lorna issue.

I will say that the core idea of raw power influencing electromagnetism manipulators emotional state was the old school way EM power functioned.

I drew this conclusion because of a few moments I read of Lorna using the EM powers, she was manipulating the arrow wave frequencies, this Genosha moment. A well-written Polaris can do great things, if writers are just creative and not afraid to write it.

[Stormy]

I was reading the X-factor when I came across this moment, it wasn't since The Trial of Magneto, Leah Williams was already writing Lorna and Magneto's relationship in a problematic way, she looks like a child trying to get daddy's attention..

[Devaishwarya]

Ugh!
Leah's dialogue/sentence construction is so archaic-sounding and off-putting.

[Phoenixx9]

This is my view on power use.

Magneto is older. He's been using his powers for longer. That means he's more skilled at applications of it he knows. He's intimately familiar with all the tricks he's developed and has had time to master them. This is like a doctor who's been working for decades. After seeing patients for so long, that doctor knows the signs for certain things immediately and has tried and true methods they've found effective. He may not have as much energy or vitality as he had in his youth, given the natural tendency of our bodies to lose those things as we age.

Polaris is younger. She hasn't been using her powers as long. She doesn't have the decades of experience Magneto has, she doesn't know all the quirks and special applications that Magneto does. However, she can offset that lack of experience with more modern knowledge and a fresh look at how those powers can be used. Not being as set in her ways as her father, she could find other ways to use those powers that are just as good as or better than what Magneto knows, but she might make mistakes that Magneto's already learned from. This is like a newer doctor who's more recently entered the field. They have an up to date education, they know the newest tools of the trade, they make up for lack of experience with knowledge of the latest advances in the field. They may not be able to diagnose a problem as quickly as the veteran doctor, but they might know a more effective treatment. You'd also expect Lorna to have more energy and vitality in power use than Magneto given her age.

Summing up, this is also the practical aspect of why Lorna should be Omega under the current definition. The current definition doesn't say all things equal, the more experienced user is Omega. It just says whoever can reach an undefinable upper limit. Maybe Magneto would mop the floor with her in a fight given his experience, but Omega isn't about "this character can beat this character." There isn't only one path to that undefinable upper limit. Any views that Lorna has to be exactly like her father (and therefore could never reach his lofty heights no matter what she does or how long she lives) are a lack of creative thinking.

In the early X-Men days, why did they say a few times that Lorna's powers were fading? I never understood that and it was never really explained. Lorna herself even made that claim right before Sentinels captured her.

Also, I wonder if Xavier ever trained her or Havok in the uses of their powers? I do not remember ever seeing them in the danger room or having any training sessions either with the team or on their own.

[salarta]

In the early X-Men days, why did they say a few times that Lorna's powers were fading? I never understood that and it was never really explained. Lorna herself even made that claim right before Sentinels captured her.

Also, I wonder if Xavier ever trained her or Havok in the uses of their powers? I do not remember ever seeing them in the danger room or having any training sessions either with the team or on their own.

I never spent much time on those issues, nor do I know exactly what Marvel was like back then. I assume it was part of the whole trend of certain writers who didn't care for her deciding to misuse her to benefit other things they cared about more. I wouldn't mind the general concept of a storyline where Lorna's powers are fading, if she's been built up enough in a positive manner beforehand and she's treated respectfully throughout. How they did it back then was definitely not the way to handle it. You can even tell that's the case by how readily she was written as saying things like "face it Lorna, you're a washout" like the goal was to emphasize to readers that they're supposed to think she sucks now.

It was a far different approach to how Milligan in the 00s approached her depowering by actually trying to help readers empathize with the perspective of a woman who just recently survived a genocide, lost her father, was left at the altar, and now no longer had one of the few things she thought she could count on to always be there. That depiction didn't have her acting like someone who never experienced any kind of loss in her whole life before that moment.

I don't recall Xavier directly training Lorna of things I've seen. I have seen Lorna doing things with the danger room though, so we know she was getting trained with that at least.

[Phoenixx9]

I never spent much time on those issues, nor do I know exactly what Marvel was like back then. I assume it was part of the whole trend of certain writers who didn't care for her deciding to misuse her to benefit other things they cared about more. I wouldn't mind the general concept of a storyline where Lorna's powers are fading, if she's been built up enough in a positive manner beforehand and she's treated respectfully throughout. How they did it back then was definitely not the way to handle it. You can even tell that's the case by how readily she was written as saying things like "face it Lorna, you're a washout" like the goal was to emphasize to readers that they're supposed to think she sucks now.

It was a far different approach to how Milligan in the 00s approached her depowering by actually trying to help readers empathize with the perspective of a woman who just recently survived a genocide, lost her father, was left at the altar, and now no longer had one of the few things she thought she could count on to always be there. That depiction didn't have her acting like someone who never experienced any kind of loss in her whole life before that moment.

I don't recall Xavier directly training Lorna of things I've seen. I have seen Lorna doing things with the danger room though, so we know she was getting trained with that at least.

Oh okay, thanks! I have wondered about these things for many years, lol.

I liked when they used to show Lorna's powers back then too---hard to describe it--- but it seemed like circular waves of magnetic force.

[jmc247]

In the early X-Men days, why did they say a few times that Lorna's powers were fading? I never understood that and it was never really explained. Lorna herself even made that claim right before Sentinels captured her.

Also, I wonder if Xavier ever trained her or Havok in the uses of their powers? I do not remember ever seeing them in the danger room or having any training sessions either with the team or on their own.

Xavier didn't train Lorna to use her powers in the old days. He wasn't around in the brief period she was an X-Man in the 1960s and only came back at the very end when the team dissolved. She played around with her powers briefly then in the Danger room, but I would hardly call it in-depth training from what we saw. Xavier also didn't understand Lorna or her powers and went to Magneto in that department even into the 90s.



That gets to something strange about the 1980s and 90s with Lorna and Magneto. Their first storyline together in the 60s was retconned and yet writers still acted like they knew each other personally.

Lorna had spent what was assumed to be several weeks with the Magneto who turned out not to be Magneto and it was shown he/it was her mentor briefly. But, I will be frank the only serious training in her powers Lorna ever got as a character was from the real Magneto. The Jean comic cover card just out is real nice and makes clear that Jean is Xavier's mentor. Well, Xavier was really not so much Lorna's mentor if you look and their history. Lorna had only one major teacher for using her powers other then herself.