salarta

Okay. I literally just finished reading Magneto #20. There are SPOILERS in this post. They are also immediate first impressions, subject to potential change.

Here are my thoughts. And they are all Polaris-focused.

First, I’ll say it’s good that Polaris isn’t dead. I was afraid that could happen given how Marvel has undermined most of what she’s been involved in, and the X-Men franchise as a whole. The increased representation for her through AU versions and here after years of her being ignored raised red flags, and when it comes to the possibility of her death, I’m glad I was wrong.

… But it looks like something just as bad may have just been done to her.

If I’m reading this the way I think it’s meant to be read, Magneto was just written as taking Lorna’s powers away from her completely. There are other panels, where Magneto’s apologetic about doing what he does to her and justifying it as saving her life by shouldering the burden, but none of that changes 1) that this was unnecessary, and 2) that if it IS taking her powers away completely, they just essentially killed her off without actually doing so.

Before I continue, I want to note: IF that’s what happened, I do not blame Cullen Bunn. I blame Disney and Marvel, and the executives and upper editorial, and I will assume they demanded such a direction to get rid of Lorna for the “crime” of being an X-Men character people increasingly want to read.

Okay. That out of the way, I also need to note: it is possible she still has her powers. That’s why I’m using the word ‘if’ so much here. The language is so vague that Magneto could mean her powers become his only for this moment. After all, you can siphon the charge from a battery without making it incapable of ever holding a charge again.

Do I think that’s likely? Honestly, no. I think when Magneto says “our powers working in concert” and “your gifts become mine,” he means the equivalent of “I need even the foundation of your gifts.” But again, the phrasing is vague enough that I can see it turning out the other, better way. The way I’m actually willing to accept.

Now, if she HAS lost her powers… then this is an incredibly shitty move on Disney and Marvel’s part. And unless she has her powers restored SOON, as in by December soon, I’m done with both Disney and Marvel completely.

I can be fine with storylines that involve a character losing his or her powers, BUT under the right circumstances. The current circumstances are not right.

Lorna was left out of the Magnus family in Children’s Crusade, AvX, No More Humans and Axis. Her origin story issue in X-Factor #243 and all of All-New X-Factor, especially ANXF #14, was never promoted, and in some cases outright undermined. She was left off the X-Men anniversary covers while the O5 and Havok got to be on them.

Add on top of it how Marvel is trying to undermine the X-Men franchise as a whole due to film rights, and it’s clear that IF Lorna had her powers taken away from her, it wasn’t because they think it would tell a great story. It would be because they don’t want her to potentially draw more readers to the X-Men books.

It would also be incredibly shitty because Lorna’s ALREADY had her powers ripped away from her TWICE, and JUST got them back 10 years ago when she was forced to become Pestilence. If Marvel takes her powers away completely for a third time, it’s worse than the overused “Lorna was mind-controlled to do evil deeds” trope. Not only is it played out to hell, it’s a thinly veiled excuse to get rid of her when someone at the company hates her or thinks she’s an “obstacle” to some terrible agenda.

Story-wise, Magneto really, really didn’t need to do this, and we know he didn’t. Two bodies can handle strain better than one, and if it really is the amount of strain Magneto’s making it out to be, he’d be dead before his body could make full use it.

I wish I could talk about the good elements of Magneto #20, but unless we have confirmation Lorna still has her powers, this is the only thing about the issue that seems worth discussing to me.

So, in sum, I’m glad Lorna’s not dead in the literal sense, but I will be royally pissed off if she’s dead in the figurative sense, where she no longer has her powers and as such is as good as dead anyway. We know sure as hell that if that’s what happened, Marvel did it not to provide an intriguing new narrative direction for Lorna, but to get rid of her.

And I won’t abide by that, especially after the forced retcon on the Maximoff twins.