Polaris: The Mistress of Magnetism Appreciation 2022

[UncannyLZ]

What powers/abilities would you like to see more from Polaris? I think she needs to be shown to be just as powerful as Magneto but also have some different abilities. I think her energy absorption abilities could be shown more to show her being different than Magneto.

[Daedra]

What powers/abilities would you like to see more from Polaris? I think she needs to be shown to be just as powerful as Magneto but also have some different abilities. I think her energy absorption abilities could be shown more to show her being different than Magneto.

In addition to her classic magnetic powers I would like to see her manifest again the secondary mutation she developed after Zaladane stole her primary mutant gift, I wanna se Lorna turn into a total class 100 powerhouse

[Phoenixx9]

What powers/abilities would you like to see more from Polaris? I think she needs to be shown to be just as powerful as Magneto but also have some different abilities. I think her energy absorption abilities could be shown more to show her being different than Magneto.

I thought in one X-Men issue long ago they stated that "while not as powerful as Magneto" Lorna could use her powers in different ways such as seeing the energy aura each person has, seeing the world in electrical and magnetic patterns, being able to control other energies such as electrical, etc??

But sadly, I am not sure that this was ever followed up and while Lorna was in that issue, she was not an active X-Man at the time and perhaps other writers forgot that powerful and hidden powers?

[UncannyLZ]

I thought in one X-Men issue long ago they stated that "while not as powerful as Magneto" Lorna could use her powers in different ways such as seeing the energy aura each person has, seeing the world in electrical and magnetic patterns, being able to control other energies such as electrical, etc??

But sadly, I am not sure that this was ever followed up and while Lorna was in that issue, she was not an active X-Man at the time and perhaps other writers forgot that powerful and hidden powers?

Polaris and her ability to see the magnetic spectrum, etc has been followed up on many times. Even as recently as X-Men #5 (2021)
28036902-FB3F-4665-BBB0-83D827062DD2.jpg

I thought about Polaris and video games and how she’s RARELY in them. Magneto is usually guaranteed and I think creators go often don’t use Polaris because Magneto is already there. I’d like to see Lorna be more of a “playable” character than only potentially being a skin for Magneto. I think her abilities with powers need to be shown and shown that magneto can’t do it too.

[Phoenixx9]

Polaris and her ability to see the magnetic spectrum, etc has been followed up on many times. Even as recently as X-Men #5 (2021)
28036902-FB3F-4665-BBB0-83D827062DD2.jpg

I thought about Polaris and video games and how she’s RARELY in them. Magneto is usually guaranteed and I think creators go often don’t use Polaris because Magneto is already there. I’d like to see Lorna be more of a “playable” character than only potentially being a skin for Magneto. I think her abilities with powers need to be shown and shown that magneto can’t do it too.

Ah, okay, my misake.

What about controlling other energies, like electric, gravity, etc? Has Lorna ever done that? I mean, I know that one instance with the New XM when storm called the lightning down into Lorna which she used to cut the gravimetric lines of force holding Krakoa earthbound and sent it shooting up into the heavens.

As to the games, yes, I always wanted Lorna over old mags, but we never got her.

[BobbysWorld]

What powers/abilities would you like to see more from Polaris? I think she needs to be shown to be just as powerful as Magneto but also have some different abilities. I think her energy absorption abilities could be shown more to show her being different than Magneto.

While Excalibur/Knights of X has been vague on what mutant magic actually is and how it works, the leading idea seems to be its something to do with how mutant powers manifest differently in places like Otherworld, as they operate off of magical energies/principles/symbolism as much as natural ones. In that vein, and given Lorna's own thematic past with things possession, I think it could be really interesting if she discovered the 'mutant magic' manifestation of her powers was something like.....she could temporarily reverse the polarity of peoples' moral compasses, make even the worst of bad guys briefly shift the 'true north' of their personal ideologies/moralities and act the opposite of how they normally would. But again, given her own struggles with autonomy and self-expression, nobody would be more keenly aware of the ethical implications of a power like this than she would, so its not something she'd ever be comfortable doing regularly, kinda a 'break glass in case of emergency' last resort that she hates resorting to. But also maybe it could lead into her learning spells that operate on similar principles and use her mutant power/magic as a foundation or source for.....but give her more range and let her branch out into variations of this that she's a little less troubled by and more comfortable using.

[UncannyLZ]

While Excalibur/Knights of X has been vague on what mutant magic actually is and how it works, the leading idea seems to be its something to do with how mutant powers manifest differently in places like Otherworld, as they operate off of magical energies/principles/symbolism as much as natural ones. In that vein, and given Lorna's own thematic past with things possession, I think it could be really interesting if she discovered the 'mutant magic' manifestation of her powers was something like.....she could temporarily reverse the polarity of peoples' moral compasses, make even the worst of bad guys briefly shift the 'true north' of their personal ideologies/moralities and act the opposite of how they normally would. But again, given her own struggles with autonomy and self-expression, nobody would be more keenly aware of the ethical implications of a power like this than she would, so its not something she'd ever be comfortable doing regularly, kinda a 'break glass in case of emergency' last resort that she hates resorting to. But also maybe it could lead into her learning spells that operate on similar principles and use her mutant power/magic as a foundation or source for.....but give her more range and let her branch out into variations of this that she's a little less troubled by and more comfortable using.

Wouldn’t making Polaris more magical just make her less like Magneto and more a “green Wanda” ? Not sure if that would really help Lorna stand out.

[BobbysWorld]

Wouldn’t making Polaris more magical just make her less like Magneto and more a “green Wanda” ? Not sure if that would really help Lorna stand out.

Not in the context of more mutants in general exploring magical manifestations of their mutant abilities in Otherworld. Anyway, my take is always going to be its more about execution than bullet points in general.....no character is truly unique and you can find corollaries between any two if you really want to. So I wasn't really looking at the question in the vein of altering Lorna's fundamentals to be other than she is now and thus more distinct from both Magneto and Wanda, but rather just as adding more versatility and range on top of what's already there, thus providing more routes TO explore in execution of her character, with the combination of magnetism and mystical effects making her distinct from either her father or sister, each known for just one of those two.

[salarta]

What powers/abilities would you like to see more from Polaris? I think she needs to be shown to be just as powerful as Magneto but also have some different abilities. I think her energy absorption abilities could be shown more to show her being different than Magneto.

I wouldn't mind Lorna not being as powerful as Magneto today in terms of regular use of raw power, but what I do mind is Lorna not considered Omega under the current definition of Omega. Under the current definition, paired with past comics, Lorna actually is an Omega right this second even if people at Marvel aggressively do not want to admit it out of lack of respect for Lorna. Lorna not being respected as an Omega has greater implications than a fancy title. Planet-Size X-Men was a showcase of mutants considered Omega, and those mutants often get more use and spotlighting out of Marvel compared to non-Omegas.

More importantly, Marvel has been hyping Exodus up as a philosophical heir to Magneto and going out of their way presenting Lorna and Magneto very OOC in their relationship as if they're trying to half-assedly get to a point of Lorna not being Magneto's heir so they don't have to respect her as such while hyping up Exodus. I'm not saying Marvel wouldn't treat Lorna this way if she was respected as an Omega, but it would be much less likely. That they don't consider her to be an Omega is an incredibly strong indicator that they hold a lot of disdain for her and don't want her to be all she can be.

Again, it's not a fancy title. It's the opportunities and potential being purposely denied.

In addition to her classic magnetic powers I would like to see her manifest again the secondary mutation she developed after Zaladane stole her primary mutant gift, I wanna se Lorna turn into a total class 100 powerhouse

The whole point of that "secondary mutation" was for Claremont to play out his fetish for constantly degrading and belittling Lorna. Up to that point, he had already established a pattern of having Lorna acting weak and cowardly, and other characters hating her and finding joy in attacking and badmouthing her. It showed most clearly with that "secondary mutation," which was really just an excuse to have Lorna be invulnerable so other characters could shoot at her and try to stab her just for existing because of some nonsensical "her existence brings out the worst in everyone around her and makes people hate her specifically" power. That the hate power itself was later explained as coming from Shadow King doesn't change why the "secondary mutation" happened, both as a way to use her as more of a punching bag and as a way to try and pivot her away from her core power set and identity into something far more generic and forgettable.

Polaris and her ability to see the magnetic spectrum, etc has been followed up on many times. Even as recently as X-Men #5 (2021)

I thought about Polaris and video games and how she’s RARELY in them. Magneto is usually guaranteed and I think creators go often don’t use Polaris because Magneto is already there. I’d like to see Lorna be more of a “playable” character than only potentially being a skin for Magneto. I think her abilities with powers need to be shown and shown that magneto can’t do it too.

A lot of the issue is people not acknowledging Lorna has her own character with her own point of view. They like to think that since Magneto is routinely touted as the Master of Magnetism, that means every single possible usage of those powers has to be fully covered by him and Lorna can't possibly do anything different with them. Just because Magneto could do something doesn't mean he will, whether by personal choice or by not having thought of it. I'd go so far as to say it's not only unlikely, but literally impossible that he would represent every possible use, because there's so many ways to use these powers toward the same end. Right this second, I'm thinking of differences in how Magneto might try to get information from someone vs how Lorna might. Magneto has no qualms torturing people and wouldn't hesitate to take that route. Lorna might use other methods that don't involve torture. That's just one example.

Again, I think this cycles back to the Omega classifications, and Marvel readily putting Magneto in them but not Lorna. Speaks to lack of imagination.

[PolarIceFire]

It's my [admittedly rudimentary] understanding that Polaris' powers, and by eXtension those of her pops, essentially can control the flow of other energies. We saw her do this as early as the OG X-Men run, when she guided the Professor's TP messaging to others in the field and their eXact location, when they were a great distance away. Later of course, came her GSXM big feat wherein she not only absorbed Storm's meteorological abilities but both Cyclops' solar & Havok's cosmic as well, all at the same time. She then rechanneled them deep into the earth to sever its gravitational hold on Krakoa, sending it hurdling into the upper atmosphere and presumably outer space thereafter. I believe the spectrum of what she may one day be capable of harnessing & manipulating beyond electricity/gravity, can include heat, light, and sound, for instance. She has the potential to be as or even more adept with her mutant gift, as her father.

As far as her brief She-Hulk without the green skin manifestation, that's a HELL NO, for me. I'd rather it be retconned into a low level, garden variety form of empathy, if anything, and THAT'S IT! IF it were ever even to be revisited, that is, but would just prefer it to be avoided altogether.

I very much liked how in Duggan's X-Men... #8, I think it was, she used her magnetic "sight" to sense the cloaked, enemy ship. A LOT more of that, please.

Now for something new, it can be summed up in one word, POLARITY! You can see her using it here, in of all places, her best video game appearance to date:

... can inflict positive or negative polarity on heroes. Her first basic attack against a target with polarity deals extra damage and inflicts slow.

The idea [I think] being she can encase targets in magnetic fields that draw them together [alternately, to her], or drive them apart [from her], thereby disrupting their own physical control of movement during battle.

There's also this, from Marvel's promotional material of last year's election, which is the only time I've ever seen it officially mentioned:
https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...n-final-member

UTTERLY MAGNETIC.

The (very) powerful daughter of Magneto.

... Just like her father, Dane can control all forms of polarity and magnetism, using both of these powers to devastating effect.

... While unpredictable, Lorna is a fierce combatant and friend. She is unquestionably loyal to the House of M, and will do *anything* to protect her birthright.

When it comes to magic, IDK... I'm kinda sold on her awkwardness toward it, as was hinted at in ToM. And am more than partial to the idea that her relationship with big sis Wanda, is [complimentarily] contrasted much in the same way say Tony Stark/Iron Man's is, with Doctor Strange and/or Thor. In that one is all about tangible, "real world" science & tech-y stuff, while the other embraces a more "spiritual" nature, and the myriad of mystical possibilities that accompany it. A dichotomy of head vs. heart, if you will.

[jmc247]

Lorna's power is one of the greatest and most incredible skills of any Marvel character. It's not so much a question of what she can do, it's more a question of what she can't do with controlling electromagnetism.

However, writers of the past ten years have frankly sucked with her EM skills before Duggan. They had regressed her to decades ago when all she could do was energy blasts and be a metal bender. I am going to exempt Vita Ayala from that list because while all she did was metal bend in his mini Prisoner of X, she did actually metal bend innovatively and ruthlessly. He deserves points for that.

Duggan actually pushed the envelope with her powers and skills making an MRI, a robot, and seeing EM fields. All of those things she had done before in various mediums, but he made a modicum of effort with her skill set and had her willing to use her powers ruthlessly. The still remaining MVP for Lorna and skills at EM manipulation remains Austen who really put thought in when pushing forward her skills, power channeling ability, and had her willing to fight bare knuckled against foes.

Lorna is one of the favorite characters of those playing Marvel Puzzle Quest currently. They love her powers and skills and yes they tweak them to be similar, but different then Magneto. I also have to give kudos to Marvel Puzzle Quest for not shying away from depicting Lorna as morally complex not a generic heroine and they have her connected to Wanda and Pietro unlike other games.





In terms of Lorna and powers the sky is the limit for writers that think about it, open a physics textbook and try to do well. It is very obvious when writers don't care to put in an effort writing her and just have her toss around some metal and do an energy blast or two. Duggan was not such a writer which is why his run though she lacked motivation and his run with her was too short it was still the best of the past decade.

[Havok83]

Sneak peak at Lorna's design in the upcoming cartoon



eta: my bad. Seems this is just fanart

[Daedra]

How about bringing back her cosmic powered hair and further explore her potential like they did in the issue where she manipulated gravity, at the very least they could establish her as omega, she already fits the power requirement and in the past thanks to magneto’s knowledge her power increased considerably.

[Magnetic]

How about bringing back her cosmic powered hair and further explore her potential like the issue where she manipulated gravity, at the very least they could establish her as omega, she already fits the power requirement and as it’s been shown in the past that with magneto knowledge her power increased considerably.

Thats a good idea. Also I love ur avatar very elemental power!!

[Gray Lensman]

Polaris and her ability to see the magnetic spectrum, etc has been followed up on many times. Even as recently as X-Men #5 (2021)
28036902-FB3F-4665-BBB0-83D827062DD2.jpg

I thought about Polaris and video games and how she’s RARELY in them. Magneto is usually guaranteed and I think creators go often don’t use Polaris because Magneto is already there. I’d like to see Lorna be more of a “playable” character than only potentially being a skin for Magneto. I think her abilities with powers need to be shown and shown that magneto can’t do it too.

I think Lorna used her perception again near the end of the run, detecting a cloaked airship.

The easy way to put Polaris into a video game (at least a fighting game, anyways) is to copy Magneto's powers but shift the speed/power/toughness ratios. Much like Ryu and Ken in Street Fighter, the moves are the same, but Ryu is faster and Ken is stronger to differentiate the two.