Time for me to admit something.
Many of the times I insist on/demand something for Lorna, I know that in the eyes of Marvel, they consider it “unreasonable.”
That does not mean I do not genuinely feel that way. I mean what I say. I think what I’m demanding is absolutely reasonable. There’s a disparity between what I know is reasonable, and what Marvel – and people who cheerlead and defend them – thinks is reasonable.
But I can’t (and won’t) base what I want and push for based on what Marvel thinks is appropriate and reasonable. Here’s why.
Polaris’ history is one of constantly being underappreciated, misused and misrepresented. The opinion of her at Marvel is very low. The attitude there alternates between thinking she’s good fodder for promoting other characters (mostly men, e.g. Havok) and nothing else, and thinking she’s completely worthless. There have been attempts to replace her with other characters. Multiple times.
What you push for sets a bar. In ordinary, good scenarios, a company would attempt to meet or exceed that bar. Marvel does not do this. They always, always strive to come up short of that bar. My top theories as to why being that they think Lorna doesn’t deserve it, and that they don’t want fans to feel like Marvel will do whatever they want.
If you want Lorna to get something, you have to demand it. Even if you think Marvel won’t go for it. When you do, you have a higher chance of at least getting something that may not be quite what you wanted, but it’s at least closer.
By contrast, if you go with the bare minimum of what you want, the least effort that will satisfy your needs… Marvel is never going to give it. If you want Lorna to lead a team, maybe she’ll get to do it for one story arc. If you want Lorna to be a team member, you might get lucky and see her show up for one arc of a team book as a temp replacement. If you want Lorna to appear in a story arc, you might be lucky if she shows up in one issue. Want her in one issue, maybe she’ll show up as wallpaper in the background.
With Lorna, you have to set the bar high to receive anything. Otherwise you get nothing.
That’s my admission tonight.
salarta 