Lorna Dane: Polaris Appreciation 2021

[WallStreeter]

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.

Can we say sexism? They should probably do away with tbe intelligence rating, too. Marvel gave top intelligence readings mostly to men who were “scientists”, and remain stuck in the last as these days there many “scientists”. Also not every genius is a “scientist”.

Time to get rid of Stan Lee era mindsets.

[WallStreeter]

Lorna should rival her father in skill. In fact she did well in battling him in Trial of Magneto until he attacked her personally by i g her crazy.

Trying to keep female characters permanently junior to male characters in skill is wrong.

Polaris is not a novice.

[jmc247]

X-Men #1 starts off with strong starting numbers. Congrats to Gerry Duggan and all the fans that helped make it a successful start.

248,800

The next issue will be hold well the numbers hold up after several issues.

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

Silver Age Lorna had more of a backbone and a sharp edge then any Lorna since maybe 2000, though not Austen level certainly. As for UXM 424 that was ironic and all too honest for how the X-Men worked back then. Wolverine had killed several Purifier wannabies and Scott had no problem with that. Lorna killing them that he had an issue with.

[seccruz]

X-Men #1 starts off with strong starting numbers. Congrats to Gerry Duggan and all the fans that helped make it a successful start.

248,800

The next issue will be hold well the numbers hold up after several issues.



Silver Age Lorna had more of a backbone and a sharp edge then any Lorna since maybe 2000, though not Austen level certainly. As for UXM 424 that was ironic and all too honest for how the X-Men worked back then. Wolverine had killed several Purifier wannabies and Scott had no problem with that. Lorna killing them that he had an issue with.

Bc he never saw her like that... I think it was more shock than anything...

[Gray Lensman]

Bc he never saw her like that... I think it was more shock than anything...

That, and the negative effects of dealing with Wolverine on other characters. Cap doesn't associate with stone cold killers, except for one.

[salarta]

X-Men #1 starts off with strong starting numbers. Congrats to Gerry Duggan and all the fans that helped make it a successful start.

248,800

The next issue will be hold well the numbers hold up after several issues.

Those numbers are also much better than a lot of people may realize. X-Men #1 in 2019 had roughly 256,000 copies sold. But that was without COVID. And immediately on the heels of an unprecedented marketing push by Marvel insisting it was the start of the biggest thing in X-Men history in decades (possibly ever). Led in by a major comic book event with two minis dedicated specifically to that event. When you consider those factors, a difference of 7200 copies isn't much. It's doing remarkably well for the circumstances of today.

[jmc247]

Those numbers are also much better than a lot of people may realize. X-Men #1 in 2019 had roughly 256,000 copies sold. But that was without COVID. And immediately on the heels of an unprecedented marketing push by Marvel insisting it was the start of the biggest thing in X-Men history in decades (possibly ever). Led in by a major comic book event with two minis dedicated specifically to that event. When you consider those factors, a difference of 7200 copies isn't much. It's doing remarkably well for the circumstances of today.

It was a quite strong number as it didn't have a critically acclaimed crossover as a lead in to it. Planet Sized X-Men was really the opening shot of the Duggan era of X-Men and it had a story that was as strong as any single issues Hickman had over the past year.

Planet Sized and X-Men #1-2 are I am hoping signs he can successfully fill Hickman's shoes.

Bc he never saw her like that... I think it was more shock than anything...

I think that was what the scene was going for yes. Ironically when he was young he did see a Lorna closer to that. Scott was actually the first Erik the Red and dressed up for an infiltration mission to Lorna, Magneto, and Mesmero's palace in Lorna's first story.

Anyway art.



Polaris by thapaintmonkey

[jmc247]

Link

Announcing 'School of X,' the Latest 'Xavier's Institute' Prose Novel
The anthology is on sale December 7, 2021!

The New Charles Xavier Institute isn’t all it’s cracked up to be: the food is so-so, it’s cold eleven out of twelve months, not to mention the creepy bunker vibes with mysterious tech popping up all over the place. But for the next generation of X-Men, it’s home.

Under the stewardship of Emma Frost, Cyclops, and Magneto, these new recruits learn to control their powers and defeat villainy. Yet, danger lurks within the academy and it isn’t just monsters or evil geniuses. Now, these fresh X-Men must understand what it means to fight not just yourself, but alternative shades of who they might have become in the past, present, and future.

The anthology includes the following stories:
.
.
Depowered by Carrie Harris
When Dani Moonstar and Polaris seek out the New Charles Xavier School for Mutants to find a solution for losing their mutant powers after M-Day, they accidentally bring Sentinels down on the Institute. Now, Triage, Tempus, and the rest of the students must protect their school’s secret location and defeat Sentinels on their own. Good thing they’ve trained for this, but can Triage and Tempus put their experience to good use when it matters most?

https://www.marvel.com/articles/cult...te-prose-novel

Lorna has a role in the upcoming comic anthology series. That would make her first appearance in a Marvel book since the mid 90s when she had a very minor role in one of them.

[salarta]

One of the things I've really loved seeing over the past decade is people increasingly becoming aware that Lorna exists, and of what she has to offer, and expressing their interest in her in so many different ways.

Back when I first found out about Lorna, she seemed to be pretty much unknown. But since then, I've seen wall murals, cosplays, self-made toys, tattoos, and so much else. Just yesterday, I saw another tweet in reply to someone's makeup with "that makeup would be great for Polaris" (not exact quote), but the important part for me wasn't simply the awareness and namedrop. It was the delight at someone making that connection. Not a case of "Polaris who?" like I'm sure we would've seen a decade ago. I knew what Lorna had to offer as soon as I saw her, and it's wonderful to see all those moments of other people not only seeing it too but how they express their feelings.

Lorna has a role in the upcoming comic anthology series. That would make her first appearance in a Marvel book since the mid 90s when she had a very minor role in one of them.

I don't normally read these kind of things, but I'll keep an eye on it, and buy and read it if it sounds like something I'd wanna read. The only time before this I've read a book based on comic book superhero content was a City of Heroes book a good 15 years or so ago that had a weird scene of two men having a spitting contest on Sister Psyche's paralyzed body to see who could spit furthest. I'm about 99.999999% sure this book will be a lot better than that.

[jmc247]

My thoughts on Lorna and her family relationships.

Pietro.

Her relationship with him is very simple. Its typical antagonistic brother and sister fair. She generally likes him, but he also annoys her. This tact with their relationship goes back thirty years to before they were officially related, but it was clear they were following a sibling outline. I felt their previous interaction was often cute, but their conflicts needed more set up last time they interacted.



Wanda.

They don't have much of a relationship to be honest. Lorna has never been on a team with her unlike Pietro. She has been on three teams together with Quicksilver two teams of X-Factor and the Acolytes/Genoshan government. Lorna was deeply impacted by M-Day and that was coming on the heels of a much bigger and more life changing genocide for her. Lorna was depowered by her directly as well.

While Magneto and Pietro could immediately wash away Wanda's guilt for M-Day because they deeply love Wanda and also feel responsible for her Lorna was a different matter. We saw that Lorna could not forgive her though had taken the first tiny step in trying to come around to thawing things between them the last they interacted.



Luna and Crystal

Lorna respects, but like to tease Crystal. Lorna lent her political talents to use in helping Crystal govern the Kree Empire and the Shi'ar Empire. She has a friendly relationship with Luna as well.

[Stormy]

My thoughts on Lorna and her family relationships.

Pietro.

Her relationship with him is very simple. Its typical antagonistic brother and sister fair. She generally likes him, but he also annoys her. This tact with their relationship goes back thirty years to before they were officially related, but it was clear they were following a sibling outline. I felt their previous interaction was often cute, but their conflicts needed more set up last time they interacted.



Wanda.

They don't have much of a relationship to be honest. Lorna has never been on a team with her unlike Pietro. She has been on three teams together with Quicksilver two teams of X-Factor and the Acolytes/Genoshan government. Lorna was deeply impacted by M-Day and that was coming on the heels of a much bigger and more life changing genocide for her. Lorna was depowered by her directly as well.

While Magneto and Pietro could immediately wash away Wanda's guilt for M-Day because they deeply love Wanda and also feel responsible for her Lorna was a different matter. We saw that Lorna could not forgive her though had taken the first tiny step in trying to come around to thawing things between them the last they interacted.



Luna and Crystal

Lorna respects, but like to tease Crystal. Lorna lent her political talents to use in helping Crystal govern the Kree Empire and the Shi'ar Empire. She has a friendly relationship with Luna as well.

Polaris is so dubious, confusing because writers are too lazy to write it that even its relationship to certain characters is complicated.

[jmc247]

By Mico Suayan

Magneto

The most important thing to know about this relationship is it happens to enormously influential for Lorna even in vast eras they didn't interact and weren't related. It was always in the background. Lorna is the Mistress of Magnetism and long identified as such. She has long compared herself and been compared by all those around her to one person even by her ex?

The basis of their relationship is not Magneto having raised her. Its not Magneto having dragged her into many things. What he did do was train her and generally existed for her as something to aspire to achieve that the Mistress of Magnetism could be as great or greater then the Master.

That is all for now I have more to say at a future date.

[LordAllMIghty]

My thoughts on Lorna and her family relationships.

Pietro.

Her relationship with him is very simple. Its typical antagonistic brother and sister fair. She generally likes him, but he also annoys her. This tact with their relationship goes back thirty years to before they were officially related, but it was clear they were following a sibling outline. I felt their previous interaction was often cute, but their conflicts needed more set up last time they interacted.



Wanda.

They don't have much of a relationship to be honest. Lorna has never been on a team with her unlike Pietro. She has been on three teams together with Quicksilver two teams of X-Factor and the Acolytes/Genoshan government. Lorna was deeply impacted by M-Day and that was coming on the heels of a much bigger and more life changing genocide for her. Lorna was depowered by her directly as well.

While Magneto and Pietro could immediately wash away Wanda's guilt for M-Day because they deeply love Wanda and also feel responsible for her Lorna was a different matter. We saw that Lorna could not forgive her though had taken the first tiny step in trying to come around to thawing things between them the last they interacted.



Luna and Crystal

Lorna respects, but like to tease Crystal. Lorna lent her political talents to use in helping Crystal govern the Kree Empire and the Shi'ar Empire. She has a friendly relationship with Luna as well.

Lorna as the foil to her family. I love it.

[jmc247]

Lorna as the foil to her family. I love it.

When its well written it should be more complicated then foil.

In terms of Trial of Magneto I don't know what to make of it and there could be a big swerve again or not. It is a pretty strange set of circumstances to go half cocked about. Lorna knows for instance Magneto absolutely loves Wanda and my general impression of their previous interaction is on some level worries his love for Wanda is unconditional while his interest in her is conditional. Her believing without question Magneto killed Wanda to the level she wouldn't talk to him about it on the basis of that shoddy evidence was off.

Lorna's comments were even more off. Her words about him dominating her, force her to be his perfect daughter, and trying to break her? What? Lorna hasn't been interested at all in mutant activism or any of the very basic things one would expect from a situation where Lorna is being forced or demanded by him to be something she is not for a decade and a half. She has been on space adventures and one side team after another doing things that might be interesting in their own right, but all of what she has been doing has been divorced from mutant politics which Lorna once cared about and that most interests Magneto.

Lorna's comments were a dead ringer for Wanda and her feelings about Magneto related to their Silver Age days together. I don't know what to make of it, but something strange is going on in the story with Lorna.

[salarta]

The thing is if ToM is trying to play its depiction of Lorna "straight," as in suggesting that's genuinely how she thinks and acts, then it's happening with none of the necessary prep work for it to make sense. If Lorna felt pressured to be Magneto's "perfect daughter," we would've seen her experiences with Genosha and the genocide come up multiple times in the past few years, rather than not once in the past 15. It would come up even if Lorna herself never talked about it. Other people would bring it up to her. Magneto would bring it up to her. She also would've been doing more than serving as a supporting character for others' stories and hanging out on multiple X-Factor teams for the past 10 years. Magneto would've been openly opposing her on each of those teams.

As it stands, it all just looks like Marvel trying to force a direction and get payoff for it without doing any of the work needed. Part of me wonders if this is Marvel thinking nobody really cares about Lorna and they can just do anything out of nowhere.

I can think of several angles Marvel could take if they wanted a rift and fighting between Lorna and Magneto. Including a couple that could have a basis in Lorna being upset at Magneto for expecting things from her. But this "I think Magneto wants me to be his perfect daughter and I'm sick of it" angle falls completely flat given what Marvel both has and hasn't done with Lorna and their relationship.