Polaris Appreciation III

[Siena Blaze]

I'm going to refrain from posting there at least for the moment as I think my posting there is liable to do more harm than good at the moment, particularly since there are some people on this board that try to twist everything I say into its worst possible interpretation even when they know better, and other people let them carry on saying such things rather than correcting them. But, hopefully something good happens for Lorna.

LOL that's probably a good idea...hehehe luv u salarta!!!

[LoganAlpha30x33]

Remender doesn't seem to like a pairing if he didn't create it, he wrote Warren and Betsy badly, to the point that some people here seem to think that's how their entire relationship was...and by here I don't mean this particular thread or anyone in it. As long as she's on X-Factor she'll play second fiddle.

[kcekada]

In its current iteration, Lorna just seems like a bad fit for X-Factor. And I agree with whomever said above about modifying the character to fit the team. While I'm not against a change of wardrobe, Lorna just doesn't come across as a character to dress in a more subtle manner that was adopted by Madrox's team.

I think the best thing that could happen to Lorna is if she was picked to be part of a new X-Men series (maybe in a year or so to replace something else that gets cancelled), that includes some beloved/popular characters. Maybe Nightcrawler, Colossus, Rogue, etc. I know X-Factor has its fans, but it just comes across as a team of nobodies doing nothing that anyone else in the Marvel U cares about (which, I guess, is how PAD wants it).

[PSINGRAPHD]

I share your perspective on Polaris appearing "sentenced" to X-Factor, kcekada. Your view of it seeming forced sums up my feelings, as well. She doesn't mesh with them, it just doesn't seem natural. But my gut's tellin' me better days are just around the corner. So let's be patient if we can, wait a lil' longer, and see what happens. I'll be back later with some activities we Lorna fans can have some fun with, here in the her appreciation thread.

In the meantime, here's something to hold you over. Did ya ever notice that a lot of Polaris+Gambit shippers emerged from the W&tXM animated series? Apparently, enough of them felt strong enough about it to make some videos, which are actually pretty cool. Check some of 'em out:

[PSINGRAPHD]

Here's another:

[PSINGRAPHD]

And another:

[PSINGRAPHD]

And the last one...

... for now.

[jmc247]

Thanks for bringing the Gambit/Lorna videos over, yes I would like to have seen Lorna interact more with characters like Gambit in the comics even if not as a possible love interest.

[PSINGRAPHD]

You're just who I was looking for, jmc247. This is meant for all Lorna fans who regularly post in the Polaris Appreciation thread, but you in particular. If each of you would, please fill out the following with any random Marvel character* you feel represents the corresponding ranking:

A-list:
B-list:
C-list:
D-list:
Z-list:

* Except for SWITCH (acronym for Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, & Hulk - Copyright © Songbird/Diamondback, All Rights Reserved), they're A+, and of course - Lorna. Everybody else is fair game. Also, try & use females, if ya can. ThanX!

[The_Greatest_Username]

I ship Lorna with a lot of characters, Gambit being one of them.
As for using Marvel-women to fill out that activity...ummm...

A-List: Storm
B-List: Spider-Woman
C-List: Hellcat
D-List: Gamora
Z-List: Lorelei Travis

[salarta]

In its current iteration, Lorna just seems like a bad fit for X-Factor. And I agree with whomever said above about modifying the character to fit the team. While I'm not against a change of wardrobe, Lorna just doesn't come across as a character to dress in a more subtle manner that was adopted by Madrox's team.

It's why at the moment, I've decided to tack an excuse in my head onto the recent changes made to Lorna, saying that she's still completely insane post-origin-story, and that everything from her costume change to basically saying she never wants to see Magneto again is Lorna trying to run away from dealing with any of her issues. She only throws away her identity and takes up a radical new look (typically purple) when she's crazy and wants to pretend she's not herself. This time, she doesn't want to wear the clothes she's known for and has opted to take a costume that makes her blend into anonymity among the rest of the X-Factor team because in her current round of mental problems, she doesn't want anyone to know who she is or come for her. What better way to avoid actually facing herself and her past than to do everything humanly and mutantly possible to keep anything and anyone, especially her own family, from coming back into her life to give her the support she needs to do so? It's so much easier to act like she isn't Lorna Dane, Polaris, the Mistress of Magnetism if she's pretending she hates all the people that could actually give her the help she needs.

That explanation will tide me over until I see Lorna used more for her real potential through her unique identity, her history, and her connections, instead of as a background supporting character role that any character could fill. Or until she's put into limbo. Both work, but the first would get me to actually read X-Factor again and start praising it if it was doing the sort of great things that the origin story issue did, while the latter would simply get me to stop complaining about her being on X-Factor.

I think the best thing that could happen to Lorna is if she was picked to be part of a new X-Men series (maybe in a year or so to replace something else that gets cancelled), that includes some beloved/popular characters. Maybe Nightcrawler, Colossus, Rogue, etc. I know X-Factor has its fans, but it just comes across as a team of nobodies doing nothing that anyone else in the Marvel U cares about (which, I guess, is how PAD wants it).

If what I've been told of Peter David's policies is true (and no offense intended here... or any of this really, but extra disclaimer here), his policies are doing far more harm than good both for his writing and for the characters, even the ones he loves. What I've heard of his policies is that he is adamantly against any of the characters starring in his book being used outside of X-Factor. On the surface, this may look like a good thing: Peter David has full control over the characters so other writers can't "muck up" his vision, and nothing done outside X-Factor has an influence on what he writes, so there's no worrying about if something he does isn't acknowledged outside X-Factor or vice versa.

While those pros are true, the cons are far more dangerous. Not letting the characters do things outside X-factor means the characters under his pen do not get much exposure. Events bring exposure. Exposure means new people take notice. New people taking notice means two things: a chance for more sales through more readership, AND, what I assume Peter David cares more about, people actually acknowledging the character and things done with the character elsewhere. If people don't even know that a character exists, then stories written about the character on X-Factor, regardless of their quality, go unappreciated. The argument "who cares if they are unappreciated by the masses" doesn't work well here because the attention of the masses could very well result in one of Peter David's stories becoming viewed as the next Days of Future Past, praised and emulated throughout comic book history. Exposure could mean the difference between a ten year old learning about X-Factor, becoming a huge comic book fan and maybe one day even working at Marvel following the example set by Peter David... or never learning about X-Factor, and never reading a single Marvel comic his or her entire life.

There's also the obvious con that lack of acknowledgment due to lack of exposure means the characters may never have things that happened on X-Factor with them referred to again once Peter David is done writing them.

This last part is entirely subjective, but I honestly think that if X-Factor is going to be this isolated from the rest of the Marvel universe, then it may as well be an alternate universe book entirely using non-616 characters, akin to X-Men Forever and Exiles. It doesn't make sense to me to take characters full of potential in the 616 and segregate them from the bulk of things that have been built up for them with their character connections and histories. At least with an alternate universe, every single character Marvel owns is free to use at any time, and all the characters are essentially free to be used or reimagined in almost any way imaginable.

I feel a little bit bad saying Lorna is "sentenced" to X-Factor, like she's an outcast of society jailed up where all the undesirables are, because I'm aware that Peter David cares a lot about what he writes and puts a lot of effort into telling the stories he wants to tell. But that's really, honestly, heartfully what I think of her time on X-Factor. With the way her presence on X-Factor has been handled so far aside from the origin story, I think of it as a prison sentence or a curse. She's cut off from everything that makes Lorna Dane into Lorna Dane far worse than she ever had it when she was in space, and to be completely honest, the paranoid part of me thinks this is intentional as a way of Marvel giving fans of Lorna a slap in the face for ever "daring" to ask for her to return from space. I'd be much happier if Lorna either started having her potential given full and real use, or if she was allowed to go into limbo, even if it took a few years to half a decade for her to come out of limbo.

[jmc247]

You're just who I was looking for, jmc247. This is meant for all Lorna fans who regularly post in the Polaris Appreciation thread, but you in particular. If each of you would, please fill out the following with any random Marvel character* you feel represents the corresponding ranking:

A-list:
B-list:
C-list:
D-list:
Z-list:

* Except for SWITCH (acronym for Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, & Hulk - Copyright © Songbird/Diamondback, All Rights Reserved), they're A+, and of course - Lorna. Everybody else is fair game. Also, try & use females, if ya can. ThanX!

I actually typically have an F list and then a Z list.

In terms of right at this moment.

A. Storm
B. Colossus
C. Madrox
D. Layla
F. Pip the Troll
Z. Lorelei

[LoganAlpha30x33]

This does not show where I believe that Lorna could and should be but where Marvel has placed her

A-Storm, Logan, Cyclops
B-Lorna
C-Colossus
D-Madrox
Z-Not sure any of them stand out...

[The_Greatest_Username]

I actually typically have an F list and then a Z list.

In terms of right at this moment.

A. Storm
B. Colossus
C. Madrox
D. Layla
F. Pip the Troll
Z. Lorelei

Interesting choices, I considered putting an F-List as well. Mine would probably be Lila Cheney.

[Mitteloss]

A-list: Cyclops
B-list: Magik
C-list: Madrox
D-list: Dust
Z-list: Electron

Basically it would be great if Lorna hits B-List again- similar to where Magik, Rachel and Colossus are.

Not that it necessarily means Lorna will be getting good/bad characterization or development... she could get that in X-Factor, she already has, somewhat. It is just more likely to be longer-lasting on a bigger book.