Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane Appreciation 2024

[wlfking]

While PAD did go entirely too Madrox-centric at times, I did like how, in the issue where a serial stalker abducts Theresa, we get to see Rictor go all detective and sleuth his way to her rescue, while Madrox is the one whose supposed to have the skills and training to be running a detective agency. In what is often flat out called 'Madrox's book, with everyone else supporting characters,' *Rictor* comes out of nowhere and shows Jamie up! And I liked it! Jamie may be a jack of all trades, but he really is a master of none.

Rahne also got good use, IMO. She was far more grounded (and had a firm moral center, unlike her portrayal as basically a hormonal teen hooking up with a student in the Academy X series, IMO), which made her vital to a team with as flighty and distracted a 'leader' as Jamie, as kind of 'eh, whatever works' Strong Guy and Monet.

I very much prefer that Rahne have grown from the hesitant unsure-of-herself girl who joined the New Mutants originally, to someone with an iron core within. (Just as other New Mutants like Sam and 'Berto have come a long way, as characters, from their own first appearances). It's neat to me when a person whose form is fluid, like a shapeshifter, is rigid within, as if they have to find some sense of structure inside themselves to live in a body that's always changing. In that respect, she'd be the opposite of Mystique, whose malleable body is the same as her malleable ethics. Rahne instead has rock-solid principles, and tries very hard to live them, in a body where not just her form, but her perspective on the world and her senses can be completely different, and make it almost seem as if the world itself has transformed around her, as she sees less and smells more, like one door closing and another opening to all this new information.

(In that respect, she's almost a bit like fellow shiftable-body-hero, Reed Richards, who also has a fluid body, and can sometimes seem a bit resistant to change on the inside, if his inner self is the stable consistent rock in the sea of chaos that his mutable body has become.)

There was some good stuff all through out PAD's run on X-Factor. Overall though . . . I would have to personally rate it as . . . hmm. 3/5 I guess? I don't begrudge anyone who liked it. I don't typically begrudge anyone who likes things I don't.

Your thoughts on Rahne for this run are very interesting though!

Got a question for the thread. Did anyone buy PAD making Rahne a homophobe?

[Sutekh]

There was some good stuff all through out PAD's run on X-Factor. Overall though . . . I would have to personally rate it as . . . hmm. 3/5 I guess? I don't begrudge anyone who liked it. I don't typically begrudge anyone who likes things I don't.

Your thoughts on Rahne for this run are very interesting though!

Got a question for the thread. Did anyone buy PAD making Rahne a homophobe?

I didn't see her not reacting 100% perfectly to a guy she'd had sex with turning out to be gay as 'homophobia.' She didn't have a problem with Rictor being gay (or bi), or show any hate or fear or treat him like a leper, she just didn't *understand* or have any idea how to react. I imagine she's never read a book on what to never say to a friend coming out, which sounds pretty normal (since I certainly haven't!).

I prefer a writer allowing characters to not behave entirely elegantly when stuff gets brought up like that. It feels more true to Rahne's character, to me, whose early life wasn't exactly dripping with enlightened role models, and is a good person despite that, but not one with a lot of experience with all the different flavors of normal people, hanging out with robots like Warlock and animal people like Bird-Brain and Asgardian wolf-gods...

Rictor was someone she thought she knew all about, and here she was learning something that didn't seem consistent with her past assumptions about him. (Or even his own past assumptions about himself!) So she took a minute. That doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

Strong Guy's little quips about 'so I guess you like gladiator movies now?' seemed closer to homophobe territory, IMO.

[The Cool Thatguy]

There was some good stuff all through out PAD's run on X-Factor. Overall though . . . I would have to personally rate it as . . . hmm. 3/5 I guess? I don't begrudge anyone who liked it. I don't typically begrudge anyone who likes things I don't.

Your thoughts on Rahne for this run are very interesting though!

Got a question for the thread. Did anyone buy PAD making Rahne a homophobe?

He really didn't, though.

Rahne was going through severe trauma, and hoped to slip back into her old life with Ric. When it was made apparent that she couldn't, she reacted poorly yes, but they all eventually reconciled.

Remember that she accidentally killed a man who was cheating on his wife, and was heartbroken, devastated by his death regardless of his infidelities (or sexual preference)

[wlfking]

He really didn't, though.

Rahne was going through severe trauma, and hoped to slip back into her old life with Ric. When it was made apparent that she couldn't, she reacted poorly yes, but they all eventually reconciled.

Remember that she accidentally killed a man who was cheating on his wife, and was heartbroken, devastated by his death regardless of his infidelities (or sexual preference)

Good point!

Found a larger image of Rahne from that one story . . . Still haven't actually got around to reading past issue 2.
https://www.marvel.com/comics/collec...rade_paperback

9036168-3311452054-135f1.jpg

Given her history in 616 with Alex I really do not like this pairing. Probably just me though.

[SturdyMike89]

There was some good stuff all through out PAD's run on X-Factor. Overall though . . . I would have to personally rate it as . . . hmm. 3/5 I guess? I don't begrudge anyone who liked it. I don't typically begrudge anyone who likes things I don't.

Your thoughts on Rahne for this run are very interesting though!

Got a question for the thread. Did anyone buy PAD making Rahne a homophobe?

Not really. It seems like PAD did what a lot of writers tend to do with characters who identify as religious and tended to exaggerate their beliefs to the point that it becomes a defining trait. The character never really seemed to have a trouble being around other characters who had different beliefs and religions before. And she was in a school that had a lot of people who were LGBTQ around her even if it was only subtext. Shoot, back in the day, it was more than a little implied that her friend Dani Moonstar had a thing for her and it never seemed to bother her.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Not really. It seems like PAD did what a lot of writers tend to do with characters who identify as religious and tended to exaggerate their beliefs to the point that it becomes a defining trait. The character never really seemed to have a trouble being around other characters who had different beliefs and religions before. And she was in a school that had a lot of people who were LGBTQ around her even if it was only subtext. Shoot, back in the day, it was more than a little implied that her friend Dani Moonstar had a thing for her and it never seemed to bother her.

I think that's an unfair representation of the plotline.

As I said before, in a story written by PAD, she accidentally killed a man in defense, who was having an affair with another man. Never once, in her remorse, did his sexuality come into it.

Rahne had just come off of being in X-Force and her dumpster fire plotline, and wanted to run back to someone familiar. She was upset that wasn't possible, but again, she reconciled with Ric and 'Star both.

That's not to say I agree with all of PAD's handling of Rahne's character, towards the end. That war for hell plotline was baffling on several levels, frankly. But he is usually a kind writer to Rahne

[wlfking]

Not really. It seems like PAD did what a lot of writers tend to do with characters who identify as religious and tended to exaggerate their beliefs to the point that it becomes a defining trait. The character never really seemed to have a trouble being around other characters who had different beliefs and religions before. And she was in a school that had a lot of people who were LGBTQ around her even if it was only subtext. Shoot, back in the day, it was more than a little implied that her friend Dani Moonstar had a thing for her and it never seemed to bother her.

To be fair, I did come across people upset with this depiction of her being hyper religious and close minded about other sexualities because of how many kinds of people she's been around. I really should see if I can find those comments as my memory is total crap.

On a more fun note, here's Rahne giving Dani a pass for something I think Amara was doing something similar to.

Dani and Rahne 6.jpg

[wlfking]

I actually found something I thought I should save for later without it taking over an hour. *shocked Pickahu face*

Anyway. Interesting blog I found when I was trying to find discussions about Rahne a while back.

https://rahnesinclair.blogspot.com/2...ntriguing.html

Not saying I agree or not. Just thought this was an interesting take:

" IDK, it seems like by now the character would have already matured past some of the stuff she was saying. Especially considering she kind of dated a techno-organic alien. And many other things. Almost everyone with a fundamentalist background eventually expands their scope of belief, and particularly those who observe a broad array of human cultures and experiences, as Rahne has. To hear her ask Ric "did I turn you gay," and some of the other stuff just doesn't work for me. No matter how black and white your foundation was, almost everybody gains a healthy dose of gray along the way. On the other hand, Marvel time is much slower than real time, I guess. She's supposed to still be 19 or 20 I think." ~RahneFan

Hrimhari is a curiosity too. It feels like he's never actually been used in any Thor stories. Like he was made up just for Rahne

[wlfking]

wEJcVJZ2XsAAzp9T.jpg

https://twitter.com/dirktiede/status...47481095643136

Not the first time Rahne was been portrayed as punk. She was a punk hacker in that alternate future story from 90s Excalibur comics.
Anyone have a favorite alternate take on the best Scottish mutant wolf girl?
I think modern adaptions of Rahne are likely to make her "the emo one" lol!

Edit. Oh. Found this too!
wtumblr_ptcwgeKVmt1s3arfmo1_1280.jpg

[rf2044]

Great thread, Wlfking!

[wlfking]

Great thread, Wlfking!

Thanks!

So. This is probably old and stuff but when I sped through the my digital copies of New Mutants vol 4 I don't think it had all of the alt covers. Still. Super cool one. And this is me guessing it's an alt cover since it has the New Mutants font.

wGFlwi9AWcAEOnh-.jpg

[Holt]

She’s getting a Marvel Legends figure at last.

[wlfking]

She’s getting a Marvel Legends figure at last.

Lovely! I don't own many figures but will definitely make an exception here. The face looks so good!