Polaris: Queen of Mutants/Mistress of Magnetism Appreciation 2024

[GoingGreen]

The only time Polaris has voluntarily gone to therapy was here. It was due to her feeling lost without Havok and feeling dumb for even feeling that way.

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Based on the previews,my guess is Magneto might be running the school and Xavier will be Prisoner X. Lorna’s best chance of being used in the next era is either on the superhero X-Men team or the 2nd strike team going after the machine threat. I don’t really see her as a teacher at the school.

I just blinked so hard. I can't believe I forgot about this.

[salarta]

Poof and I'm here.

I think what GoingGreen is saying is that most of the X-Men fandom don’t see Polaris as the victim in the Sacred Vows arc. Fans still sometimes refer to Lorna as “crazy” because she “attacked everybody at her wedding”. A lot of the fandom haven’t read the Austen run but they’ve seen people say Lorna is bipolar/crazy and have seen the wedding pages. Without full context or interest in the character, she’s labeled crazy. It’s wild to realize that the coffee cup definitely tipped Lorna away from that narrative but because she wasn’t used enough, it became her defining point.

Also, it was great that Suzanna Dane was mentioned in Resurrection of Magneto! I hope Ewing writes the reunion with Polaris after Magneto returns!

This ultimately speaks more to the rampant sexism within comic fandom of the time than about how Lorna's depiction. Someone with a more empathetic view to Lorna and her experiences up to that point would have been more sympathetic to her actions, instead of immediately jumping to think the worst of Lorna. I wasn't present when it all went down, but based on what I know of Lorna's treatment and evolving attitude toward her, I also think it speaks volumes about how poorly she had been treated in the comics to that point and what role people thought she should have because of it. Rather than empathize with her, people immediately acted like she must be "crazy" because her reaction wasn't in line with the too often used depiction of her as a Havok fangirl that thinks he's perfect and would do anything for him.

Haha this issue highlighted the difference between she and Jean. When Jean TK removed the nannites from Storm, it was a whole complex surgery complete with syncing with T’Challa to delicately remove them and minimize any injury to her. Lorna said F that and just used her powers to yank them out of Yana causing her to bleed with multiple wounds and lots of pain. But hey she did what needed to be done, right?

I'm catching up on everything, but I like this point and take. Jean, as an empathetic person, tries very hard to be considerate of how the person would feel, while Lorna who's gone through tons of trauma and pain in her life takes a "rip the bandaid off so we're not wasting precious time" approach. It's good juxtaposition bearing in mind how Lorna's experiences can shape her behavior compared to others. I like.

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“To me, my power lines!”

Lorna using variations on this quip is amusing, but I really hope it doesn't end up getting used in the same way the coffee cup did. Panel time for important story beats and character insights is more important than repeating a joke multiple times. Lorna appearing on Genosha and complaining about a lack of coffee but saying nothing about her experiences there is for me the prime example of how not to do it.

[GoingGreen]

This ultimately speaks more to the rampant sexism within comic fandom of the time than about how Lorna's depiction. Someone with a more empathetic view to Lorna and her experiences up to that point would have been more sympathetic to her actions, instead of immediately jumping to think the worst of Lorna. I wasn't present when it all went down, but based on what I know of Lorna's treatment and evolving attitude toward her, I also think it speaks volumes about how poorly she had been treated in the comics to that point and what role people thought she should have because of it. Rather than empathize with her, people immediately acted like she must be "crazy" because her reaction wasn't in line with the too often used depiction of her as a Havok fangirl that thinks he's perfect and would do anything for him.

That's exactly how I felt Austen handled her in the first half of his run. That's why I wish people spent more time with 90s X-Factor instead of blindly complaining about it. By the end of it, Polaris was so independent, she was only working with Havok over X-Factor duties, and then she went and had this whole ass Genosha adventure with him in an alternate reality. And while I greatly value Austen's decision to bring Polaris back, and to explore her in ways he never would've explored other characters - I do not like how his perspective / narrative worked against her. So when people lift that work up - this chauvenistic "crazy ex" angle, but complain about work they didn't even read where she was portrayed as an independent, heroic, powerful mutant leader... I get annoyed as hell. I totally understand the business side to the argument, that as X-Factor stood on its own for too long, her story was not contributing to the voice of the X-Men, which can ultimately hurt her IP as modern writers come in... but I want to reiterate that for nearly two decades before that, she was not once on a main roster, and for nearly a full decade was a possessed villain.

Lorna using variations on this quip is amusing, but I really hope it doesn't end up getting used in the same way the coffee cup did. Panel time for important story beats and character insights is more important than repeating a joke multiple times. Lorna appearing on Genosha and complaining about a lack of coffee but saying nothing about her experiences there is for me the prime example of how not to do it.

I think everyone's had it with the coffee. Coffee is the new Alex, right now. In X-Men 32, though, I don't think the powerlines line took away from anything. She had a lot of dialogue that was great (aside from her use of "Sup", which just doesn't land right out of her mouth, imo - takes me right back to Williams' portrayal of weird, social media obsessed Junior Polaris). The powerlines line was a side comment in a tiny panel. I just don't understand the writing decision that her using energy from the electromagnetic spectrum wouldn't destroy the Stark Sentinel, but powerlines using energy from the electromagnetic spectrum would... Make it make sense.

[juan678]

No Polaris

Maybe X-Factor

[salarta]

No Polaris

Maybe X-Factor

Yeah I have like zero faith in any of what's coming, not just specifically for Lorna but for the entire franchise and every character in it. I think this whole period is one where we're just gonna have to watch Marvel be stupid until the cartoon's dead and they're ready to move on.

My current expectation is that Lorna will end up on X-Factor for the 8872569831749103838464276524th time, playing dumb roles for dumb reasons in direct contradiction and ignorance of every shred of development or character foundation she has outside of the 90s. Which is what I anticipated when I threw together a Polaris playlist earlier this year. We're at the "Wrong Turn" stage of the playlist.

[Havok83]

i hope she also is NOT on X-Factor

[GoingGreen]

X-Factor needs a BREAK.

And if and when it DOES return in the distant future, it's purpose needs to be driven by the characters involved, not a random assortment of characters they found dumpster diving...

[kcekada]

i hope she also is NOT on X-Factor

I'm okay with it if it has a good direction and reason for not being another X-Men team -- which would have been my preference. It does seem the most likely place for a lot of big names that weren't included in the X-Men titles. I have to be honest, I don't think X-Factor has ever been a great book -- even when the Simonsons were running the show.

[Wiccan]

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

[jmc247]

Between X-Force and X-Factor it's not a contest where she should be given her story direction and what works for the character. She should be fighting for mutants with bare knuckles and at times debating the ethics of when she and her team has gone too far or not.

X-Force is not a book she has ever been a member of, and it would be a very good thing if she was as it would be new. But, most here including myself believe she will likely be on X-Factor due to a cartoon that it looks like Lorna if she is in at all will have the smallest of roles in so its not like she will be bringing new fans over. I have no desire to recycle my nostalgia for the 90s, nor do I think Lorna is able to grow on X-Factor at this point, nor do I think they are helping X-Factor by bringing it back so soon.

The Krakoa era for Lorna was ultimately a semi popular era for her even with major problems not because of coffee. The coffee and attempts to ground her worked a bit until they were horribly overused. The era was popular for her not because of her relationship to Magneto which is frankly mostly garbage in my view.

The era was semi popular for Lorna because of the return of Lorna's pro-mutant views under Hickman and at least some of Lorna's long-lost edge under Duggan. Will she build on what is working for her or will it be another wrong turn for her?

Anyway Marvel Snap released their final Polaris card for sale.

[UncannyLZ]

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.

[salarta]

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

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.

[Havok83]

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

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

[Hakka84]

Would depend on the mission of the team, and also on the roster (Polaris could turn out too overpowered for the rest of team, if the rest of the team were people like, say, Proudstar, Archangel and hand-to-hand fighters), but I too think an X-Force route would be a good, refreshing option for Lorna.
X-Factor... still, depends on the mission of the team I think.

[Havok83]

Would depend on the mission of the team, and also on the roster (Polaris could turn out too overpowered for the rest of team, if the rest of the team were people like, say, Proudstar, Archangel and hand-to-hand fighters), but I too think an X-Force route would be a good, refreshing option for Lorna.
X-Factor... still, depends on the mission of the team I think.

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!