Is it time for Polaris to get a push in the X-books?

[Havok83]

Despite being the second female X-men, she hasnt ever really had a prominent role within the group. Not long after she joined, the book was cancelled and she wouldnt rejoin till decades later during a very unpopular run. Now with the character getting the spotlight in The Gifted, a brand new set of fans are now discovering her. Should Marvel try and capitalize on that and give her a prominent role in the books? If so, how should they go about it?





ETA: Meant X-men Red with adult Jean in the poll

[SpiderClops]

It's always time for [insert character] to get a push in [insert book]. I'm not being sarcastic, it really applies to 90% of the characters.

[Jackraow21]

I think she’ll get some push with her being such a prominent character on The Gifted. I feel the same about Cable with Deadpool 2 coming. Maybe that’s wishful thinking on my part, but whatever. I’m entitled to it.

[Soulsword323]

Did you mean X-Men: Red? Cause you put Blue, and I'm not sure if you mean staying with Jean on Blue, or joining the adult on Red?

[Havok83]

Did you mean X-Men: Red? Cause you put Blue, and I'm not sure if you mean staying with Jean on Blue, or joining the adult on Red?

yeah that was a typo. Is there a way to update poll choices?

[Soulsword323]

yeah that was a typo. Is there a way to update poll choices?

I don't know. Maybe a Mod can fix it?

[Jackraow21]

I actually say leave her in Blue with a whole new cast once they (hopefully) get rid of the time displaced O5.

Some combo of X-Factor/New Mutants/Hellions/X-Force/New X-men could be fun. Like...

- Polaris
- Wolfsbane
- Warpath
- Karma
- Bishop
- Blink
- Longshot

Just throwing some random characters out there, but that would definitely have a “The Gifted” vibe honestly.

[Soulsword323]

For some reason I didn't realize that the first option was for X-Men: Red before I voted, so I went with headlining Uncanny X-Men. Honestly, those two are my favorite options anyway. Either having her join adult Jean in Red, or starring in Uncanny X-Men. But yes, she definitely needs to get a push in the comics. She deserves it.

[Beaubier]

I loved All New X-Factor. Loved Lorna leading, loved the team make up and chemistry. Sad it ended too soon.

With that being said I’d love to see her lead a team again with PAD writing.

[jmc247]

I agree she should get a push, but if one wants the character to take off as I do with the push it has to be done in a unified way with a single voice and conception for the character and set of views or the push will not succeed in the longer run.

Lorna was introduced in her first arc ‘Queen of Mutants’ as the pretty hard core for its day daughter of the X-Men’s number one foe who didn’t quite dream of ruling the world the way he did at the time. They later retconned all of it and they entirely shifted her underlying basis and then after a few decades changed it back again almost two decades ago now to basically what it was in 1968.

Soon after Decimation writers rebooted the character to the 70s/80s when the writer who did it said he got to know her in an interview and I don’t think she has consistently regained her footing ever since at least in the comics. She has a solid footing in the The Gifted no questions asked.

Laura was created decades after Lorna, but they didn’t screw around so much with her core underlying basis as they did with Lorna so there is not a shocking level of disagreement over who she is by x-fans and writers which is why she worked vastly more consistently then Lorna has in the same period in the comics.



That reminds me. Emma Dumont this Halloween.

I could ask a dozen x-fans who is Lorna Dane and come up with a dozen different answers that are widely different and x-writers are not less conflicted then x-fans, but a solid basis for the character, what she stands for and what her views are need to be hammered out before a push.

In terms of the push I believe it should in the mix of things and involved in Mutants affairs. I don’t have a preference of title, but just a preference of what it can’t be as in not detached from the rest of what is going on. It also needs to build on what works for Lorna and her history.

[salarta]

Since this is a board for mainly long-time hardcore comic book readers, I'm not all that surprised by the poll results. "Lorna belongs on X-Factor" or "Jean first, Lorna second or after in all things" (with possible view that Lorna is "Jean Grey lite") are both very 90s nostalgia attitudes, and those are the sort of things we'll see most on this board. It's played a part in certain problem areas in various books getting disregarded, or why excuses are made for them.

Not that the idea of Lorna being on a team led by Jean would be a bad thing, it could be excellent. It all comes down to execution. But if it's about the truly absolute best place for her, that's not it.

If someone at Marvel wanted a real idea of what to do with Lorna, they would have to go beyond this board. Mainly look at places like Twitter and Tumblr.

As a direct answer to this thread. I voted "headline an Uncanny X-Men relaunch," but really she should have a full-fledged solo book. There's so much about her throughout the decades that Marvel has never once explored (e.g. her teenage years before X-Men, who her foster parents even are, etc), and other things they routinely pretend never happened (surviving the Genoshan massacre, having been stripped of her powers by Wanda after M-Day). All the writers that I've seen write her for more than a single story arc or issue seem to have some faults in their understanding of her, and some amount of failure to make use of her potential. A solo book would go a long way toward getting some better writing for her going forward.

There's an argument I used to accept and support for not doing a solo book for her right now, of "She's too obscure for it to sell until she gets to be in more/bigger events, and she hasn't been able to build enough relationships with other characters." But after the Scarlet Witch solo, I don't buy that argument anymore. If the SW solo can sell in the low 20,000s to high 10,000s starting with issue #2 and Marvel not only keeps it going for a year but keeps heavily promoting it, then Marvel has no excuse whatsoever to let the possibility of low sales prevent a Polaris solo book. If their excuse is "we have Scarlet Witch in the films now," then my retort is we have Polaris on Gifted now. Marvel has no legitimate excuse to not do a solo for her.

It's always time for [insert character] to get a push in [insert book]. I'm not being sarcastic, it really applies to 90% of the characters.

I agree with this too. One thing that's annoyed the hell out of me with Marvel's approach to things is how they'll sooner write "popular" characters in horribly out of character ways to make them fit a role, rather than use an already existing character that perfectly fits the role. This was one of the things I actually praised about All-New X-Factor, even though it had big problems until ANXF #7 (and I feel still didn't live up to its potential). Pairing off "popular" characters like Quicksilver and Gambit with "obscure" characters like Cypher and Danger is a great move that allows for new stories and adds a sense of wonder for how interactions might play out. It's also something I love about Gifted; it's digging into X-Men history to bring up characters like Shatter and Dreamer.

[JeanGreyForever]

Yes! This is long overdue. I picked Lorna headlining her own book since she is headlining her own TV show right now, but I'd also take her in X-Men Red with Jean.

[BroHomo]

She did. It was called Zaladane

[RLAAMJR.]

My first thought was rebooted xfactor but she needs more exposure and be exposed to the general xmen fans who usually just buy xmen titled books so i went with Polaris for xmen blue, unless they give us xmen green which she would fit perfectly.

I think she will be further developed if Magneto will be away from the xbooks or be the new headmistress and lead the generation x, since uhm Emma is prolly back as a villain who should lead the new inner circle and bigger than before.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Lorna should get a push along with several other characters, but just because one character gets a push doesn't automatically mean that they're bashing another character to do it, and Lorna has been around a lot longer than Laura so it's only natural that in the many writers that have written her some wouldn't do as well as others, it'll happen to Laura just give it time...not sure if Lorna headlining a book would sell well enough at the moment, and imho for her to really shine she'd have to leave Blue and Magneto's side, and no not to just go wherever Alex is either, Wanda and Pietro really came into their own as Avengers apart from Magneto not bolted to his side every second of the day...