Polaris: Queen of Mutants/Mistress of Magnetism Appreciation 2024

[GoingGreen]

I think Lorna’s 4 iconic costumes are the modern all green design of the original, blue and gold 90s X-Factor, a purple/magneto inspired look (Austen run/Werneck redesign) and although she not be in a skirt, the Krakoa X-Men look. I think these 4 looks are the first 4 readers and non-readers would think of Polaris to be in.

I definitely agree that the side cut outs are her thing visually! I think they are the costume design element that makes the look “Lorna”.

If you’re talking about the X-Men disassembled era of Uncanny X-Men (#1-10), I disagree that it’s abysmal. To me, It’s a fun X-Men arc before the major relaunch starring the “X-Men” which included Polaris! The writers filled the roster with popular characters like Jean and Jubilee and included Lorna who they either like and wanted or consider popular enough to be included (I personally think that was Kelly Thompson’s doing but idk for sure). It also had some solid art of Polaris with the X-Men

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I haven't gone back and reread anything, but I remember I found it all so messy at the time and was just counting down until they reset everything. I had no idea what we were in for, of course, but...

Maybe I'll go back and take a look. I will say, I always remember / liked that panel of the X-Men getting ready, haha. If nothing else.

[jmc247]

In terms of Lorna’s most iconic costumes. It has to be her classic green number. I will include her plain, generic, diet space version among that even though I don’t like to, but really almost half of all Polaris art is some variant on that outfit.



After that it’s Austen era which made its way into two games.



Third is generally speaking her helmeted look. There are a bunch of variations on that including the one in Fall of X, WATXM, etc.

Fourth is a competition between 90s X-Factor standard look and Krakoa X-Men look. The recient X-Men look is more popular, but nostalgia forced from on high will probably change that soon enough.

I think the outfit below is better then X-Men ‘21 and way better then 90s X-Factor, but it rarely gets used. This Omni out in three months is the first cover I have seen it on in years.



HoM titles continue selling like crazy and as HoM is turning 20 next year the princess look has become a cult classic for a great many Lorna fans online and at cons.

yeah, I was thinking of the second. I'd tweak the colors if I was to re-use it, but keep the overall look.

It was a good outfit. That era was absolutely necessary to get Lorna out of her 90s funk. The most popular Lorna ever is happens to be when she gives a fig about things bigger then herself namely mutants. She really didn’t in the 90s outside of one or two blink and you will miss them issues or at least not in a way that made her in any way stand out from countless other x-women.

Hickman and Duggan gave her some of that back and that was basically what saved the Krakoa era for her from being a complete waste of character regression and forced drama with dad.

[Devaishwarya]

[QUOTE=juan678;6760732

This is still my favourite Polaris look. I love the added Magneto accent at the collar and would have loved to see it on the gloves and boots just to tie it all together.

[Dante Milton]

My favorite of Lorna's costumes are the updated classic look from the Brubaker run, the sleeveless yellow and blue X-Factor look, the Dark Seduction Green and black costume, and the Dauterman HFG costume.

[jmc247]

The issue of one’s favorite outfit is a bit different then most iconic. It’s too early to say much about the new one other then it’s popular.



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[kcekada]

I wish we'd see more of the Shi'ar purple outfit, but aside from fan art -- not sure where it would appear. I love it, but there is no doubt the her original outfit is the most iconic. Still don't know why TPTB used a watered down version of it in Brubaker's run. I can't call it iconic-- even though she probably wore it longer than any other uniform.

[jmc247]

I wish we'd see more of the Shi'ar purple outfit, but aside from fan art -- not sure where it would appear. I love it, but there is no doubt the her original outfit is the most iconic. Still don't know why TPTB used a watered down version of it in Brubaker's run. I can't call it iconic-- even though she probably wore it longer than any other uniform.

Marvel struggles mightly on the issue of how much edge should Lorna have thematically and visually.

Classic Lorna in her first storyline was pretty edgy visually and thematically. They toned her down and then Claremont stepped in and tried turning her edge into ‘mind control’ meaning Lorna normally had none. Though mind control still meant she was given edgy costumes.

90s X-Factor she replaced Jean on the team in more ways then one. PAD was actually preparing to write the 05 then editoral dropped the new team on his lap and frankly she was fitted into Jean’s role all too well. Once the comic book bubble burst and people started leaving the title who had been on since its 05 era Lorna was not selling.

They started looking back to the beginning with her in the early 00s. Dark Seduction was a bit more edgy version of her classic costume. By the late 00s there was an over correction by Marvel to the complaints of the early 00s. The flat generic green costume was part of the Lorna with hardly any edge era.

Lorna has since bounced back and forth every few runs much to her detriment. But, her classic original 60s costume is the most iconic.

[Havok83]

[jmc247]

My issue of Fall of the House of X #3 arrived, it’s kind of bittersweet with Fall ending.



I don't see myself picking up much of anything for a long time after the way things are heading.

[GoingGreen]

Beautiful. Only thought is, I would've preferred her levitating like on X-Men 50. People always talk about her first levitating much later, but I always think back to her first cover, and some of those ambiguous panels of her using her abilities against the X-Men.

[jmc247]

Ah, Wolverine and the X-Men Lorna. That is probably the best positioning Lorna can hope for now that the roles of who are the core x-women are transfixed in the 80s and 90s.

In that universe there are three factions. The X-Men, the House of M (and the teams below them), and humanity and the evil mutants like Sinister and Poccy. Lorna got to be on par or nearly so with the core X-Men. Its a good role if Marvel commits to it.

While many Lorna fans would like the era below to come back. The X-Men 49-51 stuff is a much more realistic path to a live action film debut and the character eventually becoming on par with her fellow 60s Marvel ladies.

[kcekada]

Beautiful. Only thought is, I would've preferred her levitating like on X-Men 50. People always talk about her first levitating much later, but I always think back to her first cover, and some of those ambiguous panels of her using her abilities against the X-Men.

Only Steranko knows for sure, but I chalk that up to artistic license. By the same argument, Dazzler could be levitating on the cover of X-Men 130 (which I've long felt was an homage to Lorna's first appearance).

[salarta]

Only Steranko knows for sure, but I chalk that up to artistic license. By the same argument, Dazzler could be levitating on the cover of X-Men 130 (which I've long felt was an homage to Lorna's first appearance).

If it's an homage, it's a tad ironic considering Dazzler got her own solo book back in the 80s while Lorna hasn't even gotten so much as a oneshot.

[jmc247]

If it's an homage, it's a tad ironic considering Dazzler got her own solo book back in the 80s while Lorna hasn't even gotten so much as a oneshot.

Marvel’s response would be X-Factor is her title.

As if they ever wrote an X-Factor around her or even planned the title around her rather then dumping her on the title due to them seeing her as a failed concept and dumping grounds character.

A lot of that is on editoral, but not all of it. I had to work on Duggan to push him to write her. I had a feeling he would do a good job and he did, but he turned her down the first go around.

Most writers see the character through the lens of what she was when the X-Men was at its hottest and therefore blow her off as they see nothing good there.

[salarta]

Marvel’s response would be X-Factor is her title.

As if they ever wrote an X-Factor around her or even planned the title around her rather then dumping her on the title due to them seeing her as a failed concept and dumping grounds character.

A lot of that is on editoral, but not all of it. I had to work on Duggan to push him to write her. I had a feeling he would do a good job and he did, but he turned her down the first go around.

Most writers see the character through the lens of what she was when the X-Men was at its hottest and therefore blow her off.

Yeah, I can see Marvel editors and execs responding that way despite Lorna regularly undermined on it. It took 2 decades, 2014, for her to “lead” the team. And in truth, she kept getting undermined to frame Gambit as the actual leader; alongside no promotion for the book. Then next time around in 2020 they demoted her to team member again, with nothing else going on to justify making her just a team member again.

Overall, X-Factor could only be called “her book” in the same way that Alcatraz could be called a prisoner’s home. Except Lorna hasn’t done anything to deserve getting locked up.