The Mistress of Magnetism: LORNA DANE POLARIS Appreciation

[Heroine Addict]

... We can't say "that was five years ago, maybe attitudes have changed" because they also aren't promoting her while there's a live action version of her as a core cast member of Gifted. ...

Sure we can. What about what they have done for her, in these last 5 years or so, compared to the previous 45?... Her origin?... Her ML fig?... Her prominent role on a live action, X-Men TV series? FEATURING, no less, said (fairly) recently revealed origin?!... And now, a costume update, FOR... her 50th anniversary year?

And what did they do for Legion again, in its first season? Also, I'm sure the impending Disney/Fox deal will only encourage them to be less restrictive with ALL things X, as time marches on. It hasn't been that way, for like a quarter of a century now, so I'm assumin' the floodgates will be opened & allowed to FULLY flow unfettered - HALLELUJAH!

[Heroine Addict]

As is know I had no real fondness for this version compared to Genosha or her real original, but I can't say there are parts like the head gear that haven't been well known at times.

Second only to the green hair, in Polaris iconography, I would say. I'd rather have it than not, 'cause I REALLY like it, personally.

[jmc247]

By Baketora

[salarta]

About costumes, I was under the assumption that Polaris was wearing a "new one" while possessed by Malice, with a decent chance she would go back to her iconic costume afterward.

As I've said before, I'm open to a new one under certain conditions. I think Kris Anka's concept that's reminiscent of battle armor and implying her powers while looking enough like her iconic costume for it to be easier to tell it's her is the best angle I've seen so far. This year would also be a good time to do something like that to mark a "new era" for the character on her 50th anniversary. Lastly, I think it should really mostly be done if Marvel is going to give her more promotion and support than they've given her at any point since she was created.

I think people on/from CBR and perhaps hardcore comic book fans in general latch onto the idea of changing character costumes because they prefer developments and changes that cater to them. A costume that sticks with a character only bothers people who feel like they need visual changes to make comic work look like it's dynamic and going somewhere from when they got into comics.

Final note, something nobody else has said about Paniccia's tweet: he also said he's a big fan of the original. Here's his tweet. He may have said people will see a new costume soon, but it's important to pay attention to the whole message for a real and full assessment.

Kinda jumpin' the gun, then, isn't it? I mean, we have 357 out of 365 days to go, yet.

I'll be honest at a time I really shouldn't be. I do strongly believe Marvel has no plans for her or her anniversary. I do believe we would have seen something by now if they did have plans. However, part of me posting the way I am is trying to press the issue so that if I'm right and they don't have any plans, then hopefully they're prodded into doing something at the last minute.

As just one theoretical example, I don't think it would be hard for Marvel to devote October to at least all the X-Men comics getting variant covers featuring Polaris. It's not what I think is "enough" for Marvel to do for her on such a big once-in-a-lifetime year (largely due to Marvel's history of poor treatment toward her), but it's at least something, and it's a something that I think they could do with minimal advance notice and without changing anything about their stories or marketing plans. Not to mention that if Gifted season 2 goes same way as season 1, the variants would happen at the same time Gifted season 2 would be premiering (first episode was October 2nd).

Sure we can. What about what they have done for her, in these last 5 years or so, compared to the previous 45?... Her origin?... Her ML fig?... Her prominent role on a live action, X-Men TV series? FEATURING, no less, said (fairly) recently revealed origin?!... And now, a costume update, FOR... her 50th anniversary year?

And what did they do for Legion again, in its first season? Also, I'm sure the impending Disney/Fox deal will only encourage them to be less restrictive with ALL things X, as time marches on. It hasn't been that way, for like a quarter of a century now, so I'm assumin' the floodgates will be opened & allowed to FULLY flow unfettered - HALLELUJAH!

Legion was a different case for a different time. It was the first TV show agreed upon, and it was at a rockier point in time for negotiations between the companies. Gifted came out with the ice thawed more, probably with movement toward the planned buyout.

I won't go into a long spiel right now to fully argue the point, but I'd say everything Lorna has received up to this point for the past 5 years was largely to sew up areas for complaint while doing their best not to support or promote those things so word wouldn't spread of them. Polaris not having an origin story after over 40 years without one told makes Marvel look bad. Polaris not having an X-Men Legends figurine after nearly a decade without one, despite being on top 10 lists of most wanted figurines for many years, makes Marvel look bad (even the guy who announced Lorna getting the Legends figurine outright said "you can finally take her off your top 10 lists"). Finally doing them allows Marvel to not be called out on them anymore, while not promoting or supporting them means their finally doing those things has little to no real, tangible impact on anything.

I used to try to give them at least a little credit for doing those things, but that was before they used Secret Wars as a way to minimize fallout when throwing her into forced limbo for 2 years afterward.

[Heroine Addict]

Could ya post a pic of the Anka redesign, 'cause I don't recall it? And I'm glad PanicAttack's (still w/Polaris on his Twitter, good sign!) a fan of the original. 'Cause personally I'd like to see it tweaked & modernized, definitely with some contrast (preferably black, or like a midnight blue/deep violet) added & made a lil' edgier, but still keep her recognizable with the more iconic aspects (headpiece, bracers, cape maybe/maybe not... the "arrowhead" designs pointing in different directions, not iconic necessarily, but I REALLY like it ).

This year would also be a good time to do something like that to mark a "new era" for the character on her 50th anniversary. Lastly, I think it should really mostly be done if Marvel is going to give her more promotion and support than they've given her at any point since she was created.

YES! Keep thinkin' like THIS, that's what I've been doin', and my BELIEF! Keep the faith, I say.

However, part of me posting the way I am is trying to press the issue so that if I'm right and they don't have any plans, then hopefully they're prodded into doing something at the last minute.

I've suspected this could be your ulterior motive, for a while now - good on you, I approve! The tone you took with this one was just right, pitch perfect, that's the way to go - BRAVO! I think you get more with honey most times, than vinegar, which can 'cause some to go automatically on the defensive & tune ya out before you even get started. I think how you say something, is just as--if not more--important, than what you're sayin'.

LOVE the universal Lorna covers in Oct., to celebrate her 50th anniversary & coincide with Gifted's return for a 2nd season, BRILLIANT idea... for starters.

I think Marvel's realizing at last what we've ALWAYS known, that Polaris has a WHOLE LOT of potential & could be a GREAT asset to them, and now they're in a place where they can FINALLY take advantage of that & develop her 100%.

[salarta]

I've had thoughts about Paniccia still using Lorna for avatar/header, but I'm not going to post them publicly. Here's the pics of Anka's concept; I don't like the chest piece bubbles on the second one as I think they play up Magneto being her father at the expense of her individuality.




I used to think she needed her gold back as a secondary color, but after Anka put these concepts out, I think the grey metal/silver style would actually be better. It blends in more as a secondary color without distracting from her primary color.

I understand the honey and vinegar philosophy, but I don't think the honey angle works with Marvel. By default, I think they don't have any respect for fans of characters like Lorna who they deem "obscure" and "unimportant." I think they consider outrage to have more weight than niceness, and that they think being nice is a sign of weakness showing a lack of dedication and proving the character isn't "important" enough for people to get mad for them. I believe they look at people being nice about their favorites and think "If they're not mad, that must mean we're in the clear, we can now ignore the character or treat them like crap."

I started out with Marvel overall pretty nice. I used to talk up the idea of her joining Uncanny Avengers, exciting possibilities with her family, I even hadn't completely written off stuff with Havok. Instead of nurturing that, they isolated her and cut her off from her potential. They effectively punished me for being nice and open-minded, and they continue to do so. When Secret Wars happened, I went against my better judgment and trusted that she wasn't being used as well as she was just so Marvel had an excuse to not use her for a period of time. Then they punished that trust, by putting her into forced limbo for two years.

The message I repeatedly get from Marvel is that they want me to be hostile and expect the worst from them, so I'm behaving in a way that reflects what they send out.

[Heroine Addict]

Well, ya gotta do you, Salarta. We'll just have to agree to disagree, as I perceive things differently, and have a different perspective. Which is perfectly OK, we're all Polaris fans here. And therefore, only want what's best for the character. Which I would think, is to be successful, by getting others (fellow fans, and yes, most certainly TPTB as well) to recognize what we see in her. Which is an eXtremely compelling persona, who's more than deserving of their time & devotion. And SO much more than she's been given to date, in that regard, FOR SURE. She's a Marvel/X-Men/Mutant LUMINARY (< just like Dazz, and Dani Moonstar, for me) in waiting, and always has been, IMO. So I will just continue singing Polaris' praises, in the hopes of getting more & more people, to take notice of Lorna Dane & her absolutely eXceptional attributes... and how they've been missin' out, all these years.

[darewithpeace]

Thats the new design ?

[salarta]

Thats the new design ?

We don't know yet what the new design will be. The pics I posted are concepts drawn by Anka, no bearing on any actual Marvel plans (yet). I posted them cause so far they're the only concept for modernizing her look that I actually like. It retains the bulk of her iconic look, adds touches that play well to her personality and powers, and gives a good secondary color (gold having been her original, but also having been abandoned decades ago).

[salarta]

A piece by SSMinos.


Also, an interesting exchange I found on Twitter.



As far as I can tell from my searching, the story of Power Girl's bust size increasing is all her, with the inker doing it to see if DC's editors ever noticed. I haven't seen anything to suggest that Lorna was involved in any way. And if you think about it, if it really was an "out-ridiculous the other" competition that involved Lorna, there's a decent chance she would be drawn with huge boobs on par with Power Girl today. Or at least that we'd occasionally talk about panels/pages of her with huge boobs from back then.

To me, this kind of claim getting out there is one of those things that I see as a good sign for the character. Like when she was rumored to become playable in a Marvel vs Capcom game. If Lorna's being talked about alongside "household name" characters like Power Girl in this fashion, it means people are seeing her as a character with enough history and clout to deserve to be seen as on par with them. The claim could've gone to Storm, or Jean Grey, or some other female character, but it went to Lorna.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Or whoever started the rumor used Lorna so that they wouldn't incur the wrath of the Storm and/or Jean fans and such, but then again Power Girl isn't exactly Wonder Woman level of a character either so who knows...and I don't remember Lorna having a boob window either...

[PsionicHero]

IMG_0013.jpg

My work in progress based on Kris Anka's design.

[Soulsword323]

Nice! Love the power signature you included.

[Heroine Addict]

ThanX for sharing, PsionicHero, keep up the good work!

[Heroine Addict]