The Mistress of Magnetism: LORNA DANE POLARIS Appreciation

[salarta]

Cross-post.

Okay, so nevermind what I said about Gold not appearing to have the same problems as Bunn with Blue. Unless I see other panels that look better, Gold also ignored Lorna's character history and how she'd actually react to having to wear the Malice costume, in favor of treating it like some kind of stupid fluffy "fun" thing. Instead of the horribly traumatic and disgustingly insulting reminder it actually is.

Her wearing it is good. How they chose to write her while in it is not. If they wanted to do a throwback costume that they want to be "fun," they should've gone with something else. Not something loaded with deeper implications than they're willing to come anywhere close to dealing with. The costume they put Lorna in for the fight with Krakoa would fit in this case. That was a good choice for the atmosphere and tone intended here.

But, I'm not going to fault Guggenheim as much as I have Bunn yet because a) this is the first time he's written her, and b) unless they decided in unison to use the costume, Guggenheim is just picking up where Bunn left off. Like I did with Bunn for two years, I'm willing to give Guggenheim benefit of doubt for several depictions.

[jmc247]

And my own cross post. A hologram of a costume she wore when mind controlled and then after for awhile for her a decade ago? I think Lorna is made of sterner stuff then that. Not taking the holograms more seriously then a defective Danger Room program is in character for them, but it’s also a problem in the story and a lot of Mojo stories of limited stakes.

Lorna actually in continuity wore that costume for awhile after she was mind controlled by Malice just like she wore her Shiar costume after she was mind controlled by Erik the Red for sometime.



The overall issue of Gold I felt wasn’t strong and it was without stakes, but her not PTSDing over a holographic costume wasn’t the core problem of the story for Lorna or the rest.

[salarta]

Same, on the cross-post.

And my own cross post. A hologram of a costume she wore when mind controlled and then after for awhile for her a decade ago? I think Lorna is made of sterner stuff then that.

She is. I'm not expecting nor asking for her to have a mental/emotional breakdown. That also would not fit. My complaint is that they don't even bother to so much as have a single line of dialogue acknowledging she has any kind of history with it at all beyond "Wow what a weird costume! That has been used before! Golly gee!" It really wouldn't take much. A simple proclamation of disgust over the fact it's been forced on her would have been enough, for example. She doesn't have to have a mental breakdown to show she hates the costume and the period it represents in her life.

Or just plain don't use it so it's not an issue.

Lorna actually in continuity wore that costume for awhile after she was mind controlled by Malice just like she wore her Shiar costume after she was mind controlled by Erik the Red for sometime.

And yet she stopped wearing it. The easy argument would be to disregard that since writers of the time didn't care at all about Lorna's POV on anything. Her treatment at the time was such that if they thought it would help Sabretooth, they probably would've had Lorna date him after getting free of possession. Having her continue to wear a costume with horrid associations would've continued to fit the mold of not caring how a woman who went through what she did would've felt about it.

Although real talk? The full weight of trauma doesn't always hit a person right away. Sometimes people repress that trauma for years or even decades, then suddenly it comes roaring back. Things you once didn't mind are suddenly all kinds of awful and painful because now you recognize the associations you wouldn't let yourself see. Same could be said for Lorna. Continued to wear the costume post-Malice because she was repressing it. By today, she's actually felt the weight of all the traumas she's endured, which would include Malice. She's not the same person today that she was immediately post-Malice.

[juan678]

https://www.cbr.com/x-men-film-tv-me...R-TW&view=list

[salarta]

https://www.cbr.com/x-men-film-tv-me...R-TW&view=list

Thanks for posting this here, juan. I'm glad there's more recognition of this as part of Lorna's character development, history and nature as a person. I think it's going to become increasingly important as I've seen people glad to see this will be represented - though also disappointment by some that it hasn't been more obvious on Gifted.

Personally, I expect we'll see more of it in later episodes. I think the writers want to establish how cool and tough she is before making that aspect clearer for viewers, because sadly a lot of people won't look at the whole picture of her like they should if the first thing they see is her mental issues.

[Mitteloss]

And my own cross post. A hologram of a costume she wore when mind controlled and then after for awhile for her a decade ago? I think Lorna is made of sterner stuff then that. Not taking the holograms more seriously then a defective Danger Room program is in character for them, but it’s also a problem in the story and a lot of Mojo stories of limited stakes.

Lorna actually in continuity wore that costume for awhile after she was mind controlled by Malice just like she wore her Shiar costume after she was mind controlled by Erik the Red for sometime.

The overall issue of Gold I felt wasn’t strong and it was without stakes, but her not PTSDing over a holographic costume wasn’t the core problem of the story for Lorna or the rest.

So maybe not the best issue, but it's still refreshing to see Lorna in a main X-Men book. Perfect timing with The Gifted.

[Mitteloss]

I doubt that anyone left X-factor. At least it wasn`t shown.

None of the characters on the team seem to have any action connection to it anymore. Very odd. Perhaps it was cancelled just a bit prematurely.

[jmc247]

So maybe not the best issue, but it's still refreshing to see Lorna in a main X-Men book. Perfect timing with The Gifted.

The crossover is not without its problems, but its nice to see Lorna involved in an x-books crossover again for the first time since... well Decimation.

[jmc247]

A powerful figure both within the Mutant Underground and, y’know, pretty much anywhere there’s ferrous materials, Polaris is the green-haired Mistress of Magnetism.

Comic equivalent: Lorna Dane, AKA Polaris

The elephant in the room here is Lorna’s parentage; in the comics, she is canonically Magneto’s daughter. While The Gifted has already incorporated much of the original character into this universe’s Polaris—green hair, mutant abilities, a history of mental and emotional distress—we’ll have to wait to see if this biographical nugget plays a role in her on-screen development. Oh, and this Lorna Dane is pregnant, which was itself a plot point in the alternate reality House of M storyline.

https://geekdad.com/2017/11/the-gift...racter%20Guide

GeekDad character guide of The Gifted characters. And, he is a bit wrong, though not entirely wrong about House of M. It was a minor point while it was going on in 2005 that she had children and appeared in the character guides and literature about it at the time. It was unimportant to the main plot though.



Lorna's early character years in the HoM universe was as a street level leader of a gang of mutants fighting the Sentinels and other mutant hunters until she met Magneto as in the House of M universe the government kind of went apeshit against the mutants and starting mass producing Sentinels and unleashing them on the population and putting them in special camps with inhibitor collars on them.

Actually now that I think about it HoM universe America of the early 70s was pretty similar to The Gifted's version of America.

[darewithpeace]

Hoping to see polaris on X-MEN red

[jmc247]

Hoping to see polaris on X-MEN red

You never know, but I learned to try not get my hopes up so I don’t end up disappointed. The last time Lorna and Jean were on the same team Nixon was President.

[Havok83]

Me too. It will be her biggest appearance in ages if she's selected for the new flagship, especially with her ties to Jean

[Magnetic]

Imagine if after all these years her relationship with Jean gets some real time development.

[jmc247]

Me too. It will be her biggest appearance in ages if she's selected for the new flagship, especially with her ties to Jean

Well if it does happen they are going to have to work on dynamics that work as there have been several tried.

Back to.

According to Emma: "I'm obsessed with Dreamer and Polaris because they're a classic buddy comedy duo. Total opposites and still bffs. #TheGifted #mutantsunite"

Now I'm even more excited to see their dynamic on Monday.

I agree with Soulsword323 this would work better for Jean and Lorna as well then past attempts that only highlighted their similarities. It’s a reason why I think their friendship never became popular outside of a few fan circles.

[jmc247]

Imagine if after all these years her relationship with Jean gets some real time development.

It’s possible.

Brings back memories of Lorna making Jean her Maid of Honor. Wanda (the curly haired red head) was stuck being a bridesmaid.



It always ticked me off that at Jean’s own wedding the writer viewed their relationship as unworthy to touch up so Lorna sat in the back with Crystal and Luna.