Polaris: Queen of Mutants/Mistress of Magnetism Appreciation 2024

[Wiccan]

Before 2020, I would've said yes. Today, no.

Two specific things happened in 2020 involving Lorna and X-Factor that have made me deeply opposed to Lorna forced onto the team. First and foremost, there's the 2020s X-Factor team. With nothing else going for her, after a year of limbo, the X-Men office (really White) decided the best place for her was to be a supporting character team member on a satellite book bearing a team name she keeps getting forced on. Not even leading the team like she did in its previous iteration, nor with any semblance of respect for her longevity. It also had all the worst moments of treatment she'd been put in in a decade. From having a nervous breakdown over the death of a character she didn't know (while ignoring her surviving the Genoshan genocide), to having her act stupid so Siryn could outright call her stupid before mind controlling her, to randomly having her drunk calling Havok just so they could force the idea of her being down bad for him while he couldn't care less. The message that came through loud and clear: Lorna being put on X-Factor ultimately leads to her being regressed and treated poorly, with even gains like being leader in one iteration getting thrown out the next time to shove her back into supporting character land.

The second thing was some video games that added her to their rosters deciding she should be with the X-Factor faction... and not X-Men. That might seem small at a glance because it's video games, but it made crystal clear to me how Lorna getting forced onto teams named X-Factor all the time eroded all sense of her being a meaningful character in the X-Men franchise as a whole. No acknowledgment of her being the second woman to join the X-Men, of having been created in 1968, just an attitude that being part of 90s X-Factor was her whole identity and all she's ever done or could do.

Each of those problems on their own would be enough to give me pause. Combined, they're a surefire way to waste a great character with amazing potential who's repeatedly proven that she can bring amazing stories and tons of reader and fan interest if utilized properly.

Then you look at this relaunch (which, again, they should just call an old beginning instead of a new one for how beholden to nostalgia it is) and there's a snowball's chance in hell that Lorna on X-Factor wouldn't be the absolute worst place to put her right now regardless of what they do.

Marvel's banking on nostalgia as part of synergy with the X-Men 97 cartoon. And they're incredibly stupid for doing it. Nostalgia is a short-sighted goal with diminishing returns over time. There's a reason you don't see much about Howdy Doody or Gumby or Lone Ranger these days. Staying stuck in the past is not a winning gambit. Relying on nostalgia sends a message that the franchise's best days are far behind it, it has nothing to offer future generations, and it'll have run its course once the people who were present for its "best days" are dead and gone.

You know what actually does work? Reinvention and building on the past meaningfully without being beholden to it. Sherlock Holmes as a concept has staying power because it didn't stick only to what would appeal to people way back when. I'd say the MCU counts for this as well. Any existing stories and character they do use form a foundation, not a cage. The current 90s nostalgia bait angle is a cage.

In short, my go to in these hypotheticals is Neil Gaiman. I go for him first because of all comics I've read, the ones I read by him with Sandman were the most engaging and thought-provoking for me, most capable of taking an idea that I start out thinking won't be all that appealing and getting me to love it. Right now, under these conditions, not even Gaiman could get me to read an X-Factor book with Lorna in it even if it came with a promise of Lorna leading the team and Havok nowhere to be found. There's just too much risk of Lorna getting reduced to "supporting character X-Factor girl" just by being there.

I'm quite honestly expecting this whole period to be a dumpster fire all around, not just for Lorna but for all the characters, and I can only hope it ends quickly so Lorna and the rest of the franchise can move on from it.

Right, I get it. I think that if the writer didn't lean into the Leah Williams' characterization or the ones before, but followed up more on what's going on with Duggan's Lorna, it could work. But I'm someone who usually thinks it's better for characters to at least be in something than to be in limbo, as long as it's not like egregiously bad, though I guess I know you don't quite feel the same. And with all the "back to basics" vibes it does feel more likely that they would go back to older "classic" stuff for her.

[jmc247]

I think Xforce would allow her to be ruthless like we saw her in Fall of X in a way that suits her that she typically isn’t allowed the space to be in most X tittles she’s been in

I remember back in the 00s she was rumored to join the team bc of her placement on a promo image but she got stuck in Xfactor instead



What a tease!

Correct Lorna ending up on X-Factor for two runs in a row instead of X-Force was where the character and her story went horribly off the rails in the early '10s. PAD kind of took the character forward from where he wrote her in the 90s without the big things that made her character work in the early 00s.

What Hickman and Duggan did with Lorna wasn't exactly revolutionary. They just got her back to the early 00s when she still had some of her edge (not the blink and you will miss it kind of the Bunn era), but was over her struggling phase after the X-Men brought her home from the mountains of skulls. I suspect this is exactly where the character would have been in had she ended up on X-Force and not X-Factor in 2012.

In 2000 Lorna had no book, but appeared on a number of X-Men titles and they further the character and her story a lot. That was a return to 'classic' story themes with Lorna of her first 2-3 1960s issues. The same for this year for Lorna in Fall of X. That is a possible option still as is Lorna appearing on X-Force which could continue to build on what made Hickman and Duggan's Lorna exciting. Does anyone believe X-Factor would build onto any of what is working for her?

X-Force? That I can see.

[kcekada]

I’d only be into Lorna on X-Factor if Havok is gone and the team was a strike team and not a detective/investigation book. I think Polaris is too powerful for that concept.

I'd be okay with it -- if they were using other classic members like Angel and Iceman -- to give it more of an old school X-Men feel. But I think it would be best if they both agreed to avoid any romantic entanglements for the foreseeable future. I do agree that the detective/investigation angle is tired and not appropriate for omega level class mutants. I've never been a fan of X-Force, but do feel it would be more appropriate.

[GoingGreen]

Would y'all be ok with X-Factor if there was no Havok + she was the leader (not one or the other, both)?

Havok is a non-conversation at this point. Even if he was put on X-Factor, it would be laughable to see him step in as a leader after what they've done to him throughout the Krakoan era. I'm harsh with Havok, but even I feel bad for him...

That said, without a wildly different concept than X-Factor has had, I don't think there's a place for him on the title. And to answer the actual question, I don't think there's a place for Polaris on the title either, again without a wildly different concept. Sure, she's been intrinsically connected to the series, has co-led and led three different iterations (and a "guiding light" on the most recent, whatever Williams' meant by that lie)... I think she's outgrown the title significantly, and they've done enough work with her she makes more sense back on one of the main series, or on a mission-critical series like X-Force. Which leads me to...

I’ve mentioned here before that Polaris should be on X-Force and I really hope that is the case this summer! If she can’t be on the main superhero X-Men team protecting mutants with her pragmatism and house of m style, X-Force is the other team I think she could be on that can help elevate her profile in the franchise! I’d only be into Lorna on X-Factor if Havok is gone and the team was a strike team and not a detective/investigation book. I think Polaris is too powerful for that concept.

Totally. When I first saw this from you, I was like, mmmmidk. But my head was too wrapped around Cable's X-Force, and not Wolverine's X-Force. That team is so full of metal based mutants... and cut-throat. Polaris would certainly fit in there and offer great crowd control, and would be a good leash for anyone who crosses the line... But they would need to reeeaally define her with purpose and a mission, because it would be very easy for her to become an agreeable wallpaper and not a driving force on a title like that. While X-Force wouldn't be my first pick, I certainly would not hate it (at least in idea... who knows about execution yet).

I’m just over Xfactor. I’d prefer her in Xforce or even NYX (depending on the concept) over it. Havok really isn’t the issue here

I think Xforce would allow her to be ruthless like we saw her in Fall of X in a way that suits her that she typically isn’t allowed the space to be in most X tittles she’s been in I remember back in the 00s she was rumored to join the team bc of her placement on a promo image but she got stuck in Xfactor instead



What a tease!

Yeah, I just need X-Factor to take a break. I worry even an amazing concept will not sell right now, because it's been so tarnished by short, forgettable runs. ANAD, while I liked it, doesn't exactly sit in the forefront of minds, and Williams' X-Factor was... just... no. I rag on it so much, I know, but I really did not like her characterizations, and I did not like the choice of artist. The art is GREAT, but it would've been better on a youth team. Polaris, Askani, and Daken battling a Morriggan possessed Syrin was the biggest bulk of the book, and needed a much grittier artist with a broader scope of battle imagery.

And what a lost opportunity. I keep saying this, but I would love more Horsemen of Apocalypse lore to be explored with her too. I don't want her to become Pestilence again or anything, I just looooved the connection the Pestilences had in X of Swords, and would love to see stuff like that explored more. She might not be Pestilence anymore, but she'll always be a daughter of Apocalypse now, sorta thing.

[Devaishwarya]

In the minority here but...I wouldn't mind her leading in another iteration of X-Factor if...IF...the premise was very new and different to what came before. No government affiliations, no company sponsorship, no investigative nonsense. Just let it be the mutant super-hero team on the fringe. With a completely out of the box cast...An Arakii, some mutants, an Alien, a meta human...make it quite unlike any other X-book. (yes, I know, very wishful thinking).

Barring that...a gritty X-Force that actually lives up to its premise would be the ideal place for her.

[Will Evans]

Cyclops is leading his team in Alaska.
Kate is leading her team in Chicago.
Rogue and Gambit are leading their team in New Orleans.

Where is Lorna from again? San Francisco?

[GoingGreen]

1200 miles away from San Fran. So probably somewhere in middle America. However, my head canon puts the Danes on ranch in Siskiyou with the big giant trees, for some reason.

[Hakka84]

And what a lost opportunity. I keep saying this, but I would love more Horsemen of Apocalypse lore to be explored with her too. I don't want her to become Pestilence again or anything, I just looooved the connection the Pestilences had in X of Swords, and would love to see stuff like that explored more. She might not be Pestilence anymore, but she'll always be a daughter of Apocalypse now, sorta thing.

Warren acquired a little sister! Yay!

But, seriously speaking, can you imagine an X-Force WITH the people in the pic - Apoccy included?
(I guess it would be Kwannon and not Betsy - she's been detached from this past of hers and I'm not feeling current!Betsy would fit in a team like this above).

After what occurred with Krakoa, this would be the best time to resume a killing-squad, IMHO.
And again, with Lorna I would fear to be overpowered for the rest of the roosted, so she'd either be confined to bg character or heavily downpowered. Still, on paper the team would look sick.

[kcekada]

Wouldn't it be crazy if they place the traditional X-Factor mutants on X-Force with the traditional X-Force mutants in X-Factor. To be honest, though, I think they should be mixed -- and Lorna has definitely earned a position on an X-Force team.

[jmc247]

Ultimately I believe the comics are effectively going to spend the next year or two chasing nostagia for three decades ago. The 90s was not built to include Lorna in the modern conception of the character which is at the root of the issue. The same can’t be said of most other A-B-C listers.

Speaking for a second on the relationship between Magneto and Lorna it’s been fairly ground to dust for me in the comics.

If you want conflict between them you have to take your time and make it believable from both ends. Bunn making her Magneto’s sounding board so he could bask in his favorite characters awesomeness didn’t impress me at all either. You have a failed relationship when fans have to badger Marvel for a year to get Lorna to have a one page recognition her father died.

The classic concept hasn’t failed it’s just Marvel really wants to give the concept that worked for them to what they view as higher priority characters.

[coveredinbees]

I hope in the new era we finally get more Havolaris. It's honestly hard for me to pick a favorite moment between them. Maybe when they fought Arcade under CC?

I hope we'll also get a conclusion to the Katie Summers story. It would be so nice to see Lorna and Alex raising her together.

[marhawkman]

X-Factor as we saw them in TAS... is such a cool team that this ep was one of my favorites from the series. I loved watching the fight THAT much!

Sooo, having a team lead by Lorna and Havok as a couple? I can dig that.

[kcekada]

I hope in the new era we finally get more Havolaris. It's honestly hard for me to pick a favorite moment between them. Maybe when they fought Arcade under CC?

I agree that X-Men 146 was the best showing of them as a couple. X-Men 97 is notable, but both were thralls of Erik the Red and fighting the X-Men -- so not their best moments though it was the first time Lorna had a code name and was using her powers in new ways (electricity, flying).

[GoingGreen]

I hope in the new era we finally get more Havolaris. It's honestly hard for me to pick a favorite moment between them. Maybe when they fought Arcade under CC?

I hope we'll also get a conclusion to the Katie Summers story. It would be so nice to see Lorna and Alex raising her together.

Polaris? Raising Wasp's AU daughter? Wasp, who Havok started a thing with her months after the end of several decades of mostly "on" with Polaris... and had a daughter with... and raised for years in an AU... I just...

...I mean, I guess if Ben Affleck can marry JLo after everything...

X-Factor as we saw them in TAS... is such a cool team that this ep was one of my favorites from the series. I loved watching the fight THAT much!

Sooo, having a team lead by Lorna and Havok as a couple? I can dig that.

As fun as the battle was on TAS, Polaris didn't participate and was only called her human name. Not my least favorite moment, but not my favorite.

I agree that X-Men 146 was the best showing of them as a couple. X-Men 97 is notable, but both were thralls of Erik the Red and fighting the X-Men -- so not their best moments though it was the first time Lorna had a code name and was using her powers in new ways (electricity, flying).

I value their history, and I value that it is history.

[salarta]

I too wish to say trollish things that conveniently support the company’s current plans on threads I don’t normally post in.