Polaris Appreciation III

[.A²]

Meh, I think I'll stick to the Lorna that has a lot of interest behind her from hardcore Polaris fans and the casual audience alike.

I think the "hardcore fans" are those that keep up with her actual comic book appearances, rather than those who cling to cartoons, and delusions of what could be.

[salarta]

From http://darthvandola.deviantart.com/a...days-147334517



From http://theamat.deviantart.com/art/Wo...dies-302660795



Incidentally, I saw a picture of Agent Brand that was mislabeled as being a picture of Polaris. That, or the person simply picked up on how so much of Agent Brand's current role is the typical stuff Marvel does of sucking away options for lesser known veteran characters to promote brand new ones instead of using the brand new ones in brand new ways. http://x-cynix63.deviantart.com/art/...icon-319099959

Seeing these images gives me an overall feeling as if as fans of Lorna, we owe it to these new and potential fans to try our best to push for a brighter future for the character even if the company and people at it are not willing to listen.

[salarta]

Eh, what the hell, I'll post one more set. I have others but I'll keep them in reserve for when I need them later.

From http://dalexisstpierre.deviantart.co...amie-266399314



From http://thejason10.deviantart.com/art/X-Factor-97765436




I kept my searching limited to deviantart this time, and I tried to do a search of "Polaris X-Factor" for the heck of it. Not as many hits as "Polaris X-Men" or "Polaris Marvel," but that's what you would expect when you use terms for whole properties instead of terms for a specific book or team within those properties. Most of the non-official pictures that came up when I did my search for "Polaris X-Factor" were of her early 90s run on the team including Peter David's time writing her. I mention that only because I find it a little fascinating. I normally expect older content to get less drawn of it than newer content. I've seen plenty of cases for video games where regardless of whether the new stuff was good or bad and whether or not the old stuff was classic, the new stuff still gets a lot more fanart simply because it's new. Or maybe I did a poor search, or things are different when it comes to comic books.

Edit: Oh, and let's not forget that picture drawn by someone in Japan I found a few years back that showed Lorna and Rahne standing side by side wearing kimonos. That's from the 90s X-Factor too.

[zulu]

Agent Brand is a high-profile character. X-factor is a book for extras. It shouldn't be difficult to distinguish them. If there's a green-haired mutant appearing outside of X-Factor and is interacting with real X-Men characters, it is most likely Agent Brand.

[jmc247]

Hate or ridicule or shout down what I'm saying all you want, I'm not here to play mind games like everyone else does. I'm here to say what I have to say because I need to say it.

I haven't read any Marvel comics since the new costume reveal, including X-Factor. It's not a "boycott." It wasn't even a conscious decision. I intended to continue buying them, and reading them, but I don't want to anymore. I've lost all incentive I had. I've also canceled all plans I had to commission any more art of her. It no longer matters. It's not going to lead to a better future. She has none.

I started reading Marvel comics, and buying calendars and figurines, and commissioning art, because of Lorna. I loved the character. I loved everything she could become. She had so much potential. She could have been such an amazing character.

She has no future because of her fans. All of her fans are short-sighted. All of them are petty and selfish. I've been that way too, because I was part of that fan culture. Nobody cares about the common good for the character. Nobody thinks beyond their favorite book, or their favorite character for her to interact with, or their favorite era interpretation of her, and especially not beyond a few years from now.

You had a choice between a bright long-term future or short-term instant gratification, and you chose short-term instant gratification. You could not wait for a more suitable time to get what you wanted, when sales improved and you had tons of fans rallied behind the character fully aware of who she was. You had to have it now. This probably reads as angry, but it's not. I'm not angry. I'm sad, and disappointed. I thought we could be better than this.

Some of you have claimed that this isn't the end for her, but that's a lie. It does not matter how well or how long Peter David writes her, as soon as his run is over, that's the end for her. This is the last time she will ever be written halfway decent. The lot of you are too divided in your interests to come together in any meaningful way to stop Brevoort or anyone else from ruining the character. As long as they barely cater to one subgroup of you, they can do anything they want. Recent casual fans will not save the character in your stead because her costume change guarantees none of them will continue to read what she's in, and so won't care what happens to her. More importantly, if X-Factor ends during Brevoort's reign, her costume will not change. Some of you think it will change when she's off X-Factor, but it won't. The costume serves his needs beautifully. The X-Factor fans will push for her to keep it as a testament to her time on X-Factor, and Lorna keeping the costume ensures she will not regain any of the casual fans she's going to lose for the rest of her time on X-Factor.

Hate me, feel disgusted with me, ridicule me or say I'm wrong or overreacting, it's what you do best when someone says something you don't want to hear, and it doesn't matter anymore. I have no incentive to be afraid of what you are going to say about me and this post. Lorna has no future, and nothing any of us says is going to change that. I hope all of you enjoy the last time Lorna Dane will be written well while it lasts.

Just a reminder you don't believe that Lorna has a future and we are wasting our time trying to work for a better future for the character.

[salarta]

Thoughts shift over time based on a multitude of factors. Those quoted comments came before I saw the fanwork that I saw today. When you go from hardly seeing Lorna drawn at all, to after several months continuing to see fans include her in fanart that both highlights meaningful dynamics and includes her alongside iconic X-Men characters, it shows that there is still enough interest and unified desire to see a better future for the character that it's not a lost cause after all.

Also, I want to clarify that if my comments on my posts today, mainly the last two paragraphs of my prior post, are seen as an attack of some sort, then I'm genuinely sorry.

The first sentence of the first post I made today was regarding focusing my interests for future discussion more on Lorna as she has been more widely known up to now. That's why I did not respond to .A². This is why I said "from hardcore Polaris fans and casual fans alike," it means the versions of Lorna that are enjoyed by a wider pool than just hardcore Polaris fans. If I left it only at "hardcore Polaris fans," that would imply that anyone that likes current X-Factor Lorna couldn't be a "real" fan, and that would be very insulting. Likewise, I don't, and did not, think of it as saying X-Factor and its fans do not matter. It's obvious that they do; I've always felt that any creative work, regardless of who or how many read it, has worth. I don't think I'm insulting anything by implying that casual fans likely aren't following current comic events she's in, considering the idea of a casual fan is more or less "rarely if ever reads the actual comic books unless a major event takes place, otherwise tends to stick to other media." I wouldn't expect casual fans to be following what is happening on X-Factor unless a major event takes place akin to Schism or AvX, or if we're talking casual Lorna fans, then only when things like X-Factor #243 happen that are specifically focused on her. If X-Factor became the centerpiece of a big Marvel event where all the casual readers are reading it too, then what I said would no longer apply. If that reads as an insult then sorry for that too.

As for the two paragraphs of my prior post, that was genuine curiosity and wonder about the trends in fanart that I saw. I saw trends, it made me wonder what factors might be playing into it, and I asked the question openly. I consciously and explicitly included "maybe I did a poor search, or things are different when it comes to comic books" for this reason. I don't know why I see that phenomenon, there are many possible reasons and I wonder what they are. In retrospect, maybe I should not have asked those questions at all. Thinking on it in connection to past posts of mine, I can see how it could be taken negatively.

This is one downside I've found to online forum posting; without getting to see body language or hear the tone of a person's voice, it's easier to interpret it one way when the poster means it another way.

[Siena Blaze]

Love that Happy Holidays Polaris costume! I hope she gets a Christmas solo cover!!!

[GoingGreen]

From http://paper-stars.deviantart.com/ar...etty-262074710

Their vaginas must be SCREAMING...

[blanchett]

I think the "hardcore fans" are those that keep up with her actual comic book appearances, rather than those who cling to cartoons, and delusions of what could be.

This is pretty much my feeling too as I've said before there are some people who are far more interested in Polaris: Magneto's daughter than Polaris. Doesn't mean that I'm not disappointed that aspect of Polaris isn't going to be explored any time sooner either but I recognize it's an aspect all the same.

[jmc247]

This is pretty much my feeling too as I've said before there are some people who are far more interested in Polaris: Magneto's daughter than Polaris. Doesn't mean that I'm not disappointed that aspect of Polaris isn't going to be explored any time sooner either but I recognize it's an aspect all the same.

Salarta gave up on X-Factor and the poster said he/she stopped reading it when her new costume was released pre X-Factor 245, it had nothing to do with her relationship to Magneto.

I obviously had an issue along with TGM about her depiction in X-Factor 245, but it was far more related to her view on mutant rights and philosophy then anything Magneto related. I did say I thought her comments about him I thought was overly harsh, but that is it.

I know Magnus family fandom online and while they aren't happy with what she said about him or that as most think that she won't be interacting with her family for a very long time to come, right now who is Lorna Dane as a character is a far bigger up in the air question for most Magnus family fans I know. Are we getting a new Lorna who is more of a generic hero that doesn't care much about mutant issues, has a black and white view of the world, etc? Those are the bigger questions being asked right now in Magnus family fandom then will she hate her 'bad dad' long term and will she interact with her family any time soon.

Lorna's discussions in X-Factor 245 questioned the basis of who she is as a character in a significant way and to be blunt its the first issue in over two decades I downright disliked Lorna as a character. I have been disappointed with her in some issues, but this Lorna came off judgmental, hypocritical and self-absorbed to the level that I disliked her at a personal level.

It reminded me of why I came to hate Capain America as he was increasingly shown as a insular and a hypocritical ass who decides who is good or bad based on his own arbitrary self-centered prejudices. Wanda is good because she was possessed by a great power that drove her mad which she asked for. Scott is bad because even though he was possessed not by his design unlike Wanda by a somewhat similar great power and went crazy... well um... he just is bad and should be kept in jail I Captain America say so.

[blanchett]

Salarta gave up on X-Factor and the poster said he/she stopped reading it when her new costume was released pre X-Factor 245, it had nothing to do with her relationship to Magneto.

I obviously had an issue along with TGM about her depiction in X-Factor 245, but it was far more related to her view on mutant rights and philosophy then anything Magneto related. I did say I thought her comments about him I thought was overly harsh, but that is it.

I know Magnus family fandom online and while they aren't happy with what she said about him or that as most think that she won't be interacting with her family for a very long time to come, right now who is Lorna Dane as a character is a far bigger up in the air question for most Magnus family fans I know. Are we getting a new Lorna who is more of a generic hero that doesn't care much about mutant issues, has a black and white view of the world, etc? Those are the bigger questions being asked right now in Magnus family fandom then will she hate her 'bad dad' long term and will she interact with her family any time soon.

Lorna's discussions in X-Factor 245 questioned the basis of who she is as a character in a significant way and to be blunt its the first issue in over two decades I downright disliked Lorna as a character. I have been disappointed with her in some issues, but this Lorna came off judgmental, hypocritical and self-absorbed to the level that I disliked her at a personal level.

I think your being a bit harsh on Lorna look at it from her perspective. Her relationship with Magneto has never been perfect. It's been up and down. Now she's discovered that he had an affair with her mother to conceive her. She's a cuckhold. She killed her parents with what she's inherited from him, her powers. After their death he abandoned her in a bunch of wreckage at the age of three. He also had someone manipulate her mind, even you see it as altrusitic given Lorna's history she won't. Her mind has been messed with too many times. You can argue he was doing what's best for her but it's perfectly understandable that she doesn't see it that way particularly when the wounds are that fresh.

Also as we've discussed on here there are a bunch of reasons why she could have been so harsh on Scott down to personal dislike, thinking Utopia was doomed to fall like Genosha was, identifying that the Phoenix Five were losing control, resenting Emma for manipulating her mind and making her bow, she might have just been lashing out at Alex in the moment. It's too soon to tell. Wait a few issues.

It reminded me of why I came to hate Capain America as he was increasingly shown as a insular and a hypocritical ass who decides who is good or bad based on his own arbitrary self-centered prejudices. Wanda is good because she was possessed by a great power that drove her mad which she asked for. Scott is bad because even though he was possessed not by his design unlike Wanda by a somewhat similar great power and went crazy... well um... he just is bad and should be kept in jail I Captain America say so.

Totally agree.

[The_Greatest_Username]

My primary interest in Lorna's parentage is more of a side effect of the aspect. I don't NEED to have her be Magneto's daughter, but because she is Magneto's daughter it's openned up a lot of story potential for the character even before she had a biological connection to him, so essentially I do NEED her to be Magneto's daughter but it isn't something I like to harp on. I think Lorna was pretty cool up until The Twelve when she joined Magneto, then I thought she was fantastic.

Just my two cents.

[jmc247]

I think your being a bit harsh on Lorna look at it from her perspective. Her relationship with Magneto has never been perfect. It's been up and down. Now she's discovered that he had an affair with her mother to conceive her. She's a cuckhold. She killed her parents with what she's inherited from him, her powers. After their death he abandoned her in a bunch of wreckage at the age of three. He also had someone manipulate her mind, even you see it as altrusitic given Lorna's history she won't. Her mind has been messed with too many times. You can argue he was doing what's best for her but it's perfectly understandable that she doesn't see it that way particularly when the wounds are that fresh.

You seem to think I am furious about Lorna being angry with Magneto in X-Factor 245. No, all I said was I thought it was a bit more harsh then I think it needed to be to get the point across that Lorna is enraged at him and they won't be interacting for a long time.

My interest at least in regards to her family connections is finding some way to make it relevent and interesting again to fans even though they won't interact for what I suspect may be a number of years. To be pretty blunt I have never seen less interest in Lorna's relationship with her family at any time since I got back into Marvel comics in 2004. Now there are far greater factors at play in all of this, but I don't know how to turn that around and get fans to think its relevant as they won't be interacting and she won't be interacting with Wanda and Pietro either.

Anyway X-Factor 250 will have a Clay Mann Variant Cover.

http://www.comiclist.com/index.php/l...for-11-07-2012

And the cover to issue 248.

[blanchett]

You seem to think I am furious about Lorna being angry with Magneto in X-Factor 245. No, all I said was I thought it was a bit more harsh then I think it needed to be to get the point across that Lorna is enraged at him and they won't be interacting for a long time.

My interest at least in regards to her family connections is finding some way to make it relevent and interesting again to fans even though they won't interact for what I suspect may be a number of years. To be pretty blunt I have never seen less interest in Lorna's relationship with her family at any time since I got back into Marvel comics in 2004. Now there are far greater factors at play in all of this, but I don't know how to turn that around and get fans to think its relevant as they won't be interacting and she won't be interacting with Wanda and Pietro either.

I don't think the tone of that panel was actually enraged. I think she's just really sad about the whole thing. It's more she can't cope with it right now which I think is PAD trying to cover for the fact he can't use Magneto right now. Hopefully that will change in the future.

[kcekada]

Lorna's appearance in today's X-Factor.

I hope she loses the cape.