The Mistress of Magnetism: LORNA DANE POLARIS Appreciation

[jmc247]

Seconded. The Gifted has done wonderfully with Lorna, bringing together her best attributes from across her existence in comics, and brings them to life beautifully. The writers and Emma Dumont really get the character.

Emma is coming to London next Spring for Heroes and Villains Con.

[JasonEsta]

Lorna was fine. She was militant and strong in 03-04. They even brought it back during the mini series in the Vulcan storyline..She was a ball breaker around Crystal. But inbetween..They took her powers away and made her a Horseman. And she got too tied up in that Havok nonsense again...didn't help that they were pushing Vulcan so hard at the time. During this..on earth and in the main books, they starting pushing Emma Frost down everyone's throats..her and Scott. It was a nightmare era. Especially with Fraction doing his worship Scott Summers gimmick. It was no surprise the X men got passed over for the Avengers at the time. Scott is no draw, never been a draw, and NEVER will be. Emma Frost? Even less than that.

That's what Lorna had working against her..And they always shoehorn the insecure and boring Alex Summers into her pushes..All New X Factor with Alex being a stalker was hilarious. What a chump he turned out to be.

[salarta]

I agree with that. I was long annoyed that JM’s storyline about Lorna as the governments unwilling weapon against Magneto and Avalon got cut short and then things shifted over to a Malice/Havok/Lorna triangle on a tropical island.

Which is part of why I long said I didn’t want to see a return of Malice possessed Lorna. But, if it leads to Havok’s redemption and yes the characters realizing their romance is a thing of the past is a possibility among many and you know my views preferring such an outcome.

Okay, this post suggested something I hadn't considered. If this arc has Lorna and Havok interact, I can put up with it if the goal is to set up the two of them staying apart for a long time. Their interacting would be a necessary evil for putting an end to the constant "let's shove Havok into every single thing Polaris does cause we think she shouldn't be allowed to exist without him" attitude Marvel keeps forcing on the character.

This idea might make it easier for me to shut up with my concerns about the arc until it's out to be read and assessed.

When it comes to comics, I'm typically someone who does try to wait to see how things turn out, but I just can't get jazzed about this Malice plot. No matter what twist Bunn does with it, it's still going to be a retread of something that's been done time and time again. I know it seems like he has big plans for the character, and seems to think we'll be happy with whatever happens, but I still don't want to read something that I wish writers would move on from. Stop robbing Lorna of her agency and focus on her as a character. I'd love to see a writer actually dive into the impact the Malice years had on Lorna's psyche and personality, but I don't think this is the way to do it. We've already seen her to get to hash it out with Malice as well, when she fought Havok in X-Factor. I was really hoping that Bunn wouldn't use the Malice choker on Polaris when I saw that he introduced it, and then brought Lorna into fold, and I'm disappointed that he will be. The story could end up being great, but I wish he would have come up with something new.

In all honesty, I don't put much weight on Bunn saying stuff like "Fans are gonna be happy with what I do." That's something I think he's gonna say no matter who the character is, how he feels about them, or what his plans are. In the most optimistic interpretation, Bunn may be doing his best and think he's doing something fans will like but whether or not he really is is another matter. In the most pessimistic, he knows saying "fans won't like it but I'm doing it anyway" would look bad and create ire he doesn't need as he tries to maintain a living with his writing.

As for Malice, I think it could do with a revisit. It hasn't really been addressed since the 90s. If we don't revisit these things, we'll have a big gaping hole of things we could pursue with her. I don't think the topic having been done a lot 20 years ago or Claremont's godawful reasons and execution behind introducing them are enough to avoid a revisit. However, that doesn't mean revisiting Malice should be something that lasts for a full year or become "the" defining part of her history. IMO, Malice is really only good for occasional arcs IF a lot of other truly meaningful things for Lorna are done in between. If any one thing of Lorna's current history should be her "defining moment," it's her surviving the Genoshan genocide and her development that followed. That genocide was her Holocaust.

Bunn responded to me on Twitter. He's not ignorant. It looked bad from that solicit..that had me concerned but nah..he has something that makes sense planned. That's why he mentioned "keep reading".

I tried skimming his replies after I saw your post here and I don't think I found his response to you, unless your tweet is the one I liked. Closest I found public viewable was him urging someone to read the issues before getting too upset.

Lorna was fine. She was militant and strong in 03-04. They even brought it back during the mini series in the Vulcan storyline..She was a ball breaker around Crystal. But inbetween..They took her powers away and made her a Horseman. And she got too tied up in that Havok nonsense again...didn't help that they were pushing Vulcan so hard at the time. During this..on earth and in the main books, they starting pushing Emma Frost down everyone's throats..her and Scott. It was a nightmare era. Especially with Fraction doing his worship Scott Summers gimmick. It was no surprise the X men got passed over for the Avengers at the time. Scott is no draw, never been a draw, and NEVER will be. Emma Frost? Even less than that.

That's what Lorna had working against her..And they always shoehorn the insecure and boring Alex Summers into her pushes..All New X Factor with Alex being a stalker was hilarious. What a chump he turned out to be.

I think just about any character can be a draw if they're done right. In particular with Emma Frost, her solo was one of the few things not involving Polaris that I actually did check out many years ago, before Marvel decided to make a game of pretending to give Polaris things while actually screwing her over.

[juan678]

hey Mr.Bunn what can you tease us on X-Men Blue for 2018?

So many of the threads I’ve set up along the way–Malice, Mothervine, Bastion, Miss Sinister, Emma, Havok–will all be resolved very, very soon.

[juan678]

Don't destroy Polaris with Malice. What are you doing?


Cullen Bunn I’m destroying Polaris with Malice, obviously.

[akiresu_]

Don't destroy Polaris with Malice. What are you doing?


Cullen Bunn I’m destroying Polaris with Malice, obviously.

This was hilarious, made me think Cullen could be lurking on this thread.

[juan678]

art by average-xmendrawings

[jmc247]

I literally can't wait to read Cry Havok! Polaris and Malice meeting once again after many years, it's awesome. I'm confused because last time I heard Malice was gone. I just hope you're not planning to have Malice stuck in Polaris's body. I assume since Polaris got stronger and more powerful, she can fight Malice back and get rid of her. I'm I right?

Cullen Bunn: We’ll have to see.

http://cullenbunn.tumblr.com/post/16...-havok-polaris

[jmc247]

It looked bad from that solicit..that had me concerned but nah..he has something that makes sense planned. That's why he mentioned "keep reading".

The solicits couldn’t have been worded much better to gin up a worried response if they tried and maybe they did.

I hope Bunn manages to hit the story out of the park.

Anyway, 9 days to go.

[JasonEsta]

Okay, this post suggested something I hadn't considered. If this arc has Lorna and Havok interact, I can put up with it if the goal is to set up the two of them staying apart for a long time. Their interacting would be a necessary evil for putting an end to the constant "let's shove Havok into every single thing Polaris does cause we think she shouldn't be allowed to exist without him" attitude Marvel keeps forcing on the character.

This idea might make it easier for me to shut up with my concerns about the arc until it's out to be read and assessed.



In all honesty, I don't put much weight on Bunn saying stuff like "Fans are gonna be happy with what I do." That's something I think he's gonna say no matter who the character is, how he feels about them, or what his plans are. In the most optimistic interpretation, Bunn may be doing his best and think he's doing something fans will like but whether or not he really is is another matter. In the most pessimistic, he knows saying "fans won't like it but I'm doing it anyway" would look bad and create ire he doesn't need as he tries to maintain a living with his writing.

As for Malice, I think it could do with a revisit. It hasn't really been addressed since the 90s. If we don't revisit these things, we'll have a big gaping hole of things we could pursue with her. I don't think the topic having been done a lot 20 years ago or Claremont's godawful reasons and execution behind introducing them are enough to avoid a revisit. However, that doesn't mean revisiting Malice should be something that lasts for a full year or become "the" defining part of her history. IMO, Malice is really only good for occasional arcs IF a lot of other truly meaningful things for Lorna are done in between. If any one thing of Lorna's current history should be her "defining moment," it's her surviving the Genoshan genocide and her development that followed. That genocide was her Holocaust.



I tried skimming his replies after I saw your post here and I don't think I found his response to you, unless your tweet is the one I liked. Closest I found public viewable was him urging someone to read the issues before getting too upset.



I think just about any character can be a draw if they're done right. In particular with Emma Frost, her solo was one of the few things not involving Polaris that I actually did check out many years ago, before Marvel decided to make a game of pretending to give Polaris things while actually screwing her over.

I checked out the Emma book. It just showed how selfish and bratty she was. No wonder she wanted things easier as she got older. Someone like that isn't charismatic enough to carry stories...

[salarta]

This was hilarious, made me think Cullen could be lurking on this thread.

I'm pretty sure he checks all over the place for discussions relevant to his writing. Important to remember that he used to have a board specifically about his work here on CBR.

The solicits couldn’t have been worded much better to gin up a worried response if they tried and maybe they did.

A lot of it may depend on who writes these solicits. I know some people at Marvel have the attitude that making people mad is somehow good business sense because it "gets people talking." Maybe that's even true for people who have old time attitudes ingrained in them. In reality, the best approach nowadays is to get people excited so they'll start gushing about all the possibilities they can imagine. Fans like to create "fanon," and that can't happen if things are framed in a way that comes across as actually curbing opportunities rather than exploring them.

Or to put it another way, I agree that the way the solicits themselves were written hurt interest and ability of people to imagine positive directions.

I checked out the Emma book. It just showed how selfish and bratty she was. No wonder she wanted things easier as she got older. Someone like that isn't charismatic enough to carry stories...

It's been many years and she's not my favorite character, so memories are fuzzy. My vague impression in memory is that it was pretty fun and fluffy, and explored a little of women being undervalued in the world.

[JasonEsta]

I'm pretty sure he checks all over the place for discussions relevant to his writing. Important to remember that he used to have a board specifically about his work here on CBR.



A lot of it may depend on who writes these solicits. I know some people at Marvel have the attitude that making people mad is somehow good business sense because it "gets people talking." Maybe that's even true for people who have old time attitudes ingrained in them. In reality, the best approach nowadays is to get people excited so they'll start gushing about all the possibilities they can imagine. Fans like to create "fanon," and that can't happen if things are framed in a way that comes across as actually curbing opportunities rather than exploring them.

Or to put it another way, I agree that the way the solicits themselves were written hurt interest and ability of people to imagine positive directions.



It's been many years and she's not my favorite character, so memories are fuzzy. My vague impression in memory is that it was pretty fun and fluffy, and explored a little of women being undervalued in the world.

I must of read a different version..she was kind of scheming. She was bullied at first but starting manipulating with that TP of hers.

[jmc247]

Skyler Samuels @SkylerSamuels: Season’s Greetings y’all 🎅🎄😍

[Heroine Addict]

... Seconded. The Gifted has done wonderfully with Lorna, bringing together her best attributes from across her existence in comics, and brings them to life beautifully. The writers and Emma Dumont really get the character.

Also...

... sound familiar?

Oh, and a lil' somethin' I'm puttin' together to celebrate X-mas this year, called:

... X-Women LIVE!!!!

It's not done, and still a WIP, tho. NeXt row will be Domino, Psylocke, Storm, Magik, & X-23, respectively, and then there'll be at least one more group of 5 to include after that. Was gonna stop there, but that would of left out a few contenders. So, I'm now already tryin' to figure out a few more that can be added to them, to make up a whole nother, last row.

[Heroine Addict]

... Oh, and a lil' somethin' I'm puttin' together to celebrate X-mas this year, called...

... X-Women LIVE!!!!

It's not done, and still a WIP, tho. NeXt row will be Domino, Psylocke, Storm, Magik, & X-23, respectively, and then there'll be at least one more group of 5 to include after that. Was gonna stop there, but that would of left out a few contenders. So, I'm now already tryin' to figure out a few more that can be added to them, to make up a whole nother, last row.

HAPPY Holidays EVERYone!!! Am now calling it Xwomen Xtraordinaire LIVE, after completing round 2, and will soon be moving onto adding a 3rd row that's gonna consist of Rogue, Emma, Kitty, Wolfsbane, & Jubilee. Have also come up with a full five for the last, 4th line, giving us a total of 20 characters, when it's all said & done.

BTW, I was gonna use these two pics for Storm & Laura, originally:

... but changed my mind last minute, while making it, for composition reasons. If fans of any of the X-Ladies used so far or that upcoming will be, have some ideas for alternate, preferred images of their favorites they believe could or should be used instead, please feel free to post & offer up your suggestions here - and THANK YOU!!