Shadow Weaver is pretty powerful in the She-Ra universe. She’s always defeated, of course, by She-Ra, but Weaver is still one of the Horde’s most effective evildoers.
Polaris, meanwhile, is part of the X-Men franchise — a member of X-Factor. She looks like she’d fit right into She-Ra’s universe, actually.
Polaris is pretty powerful. She can sense and control magnetism, including manipulating metals which are susceptible to magnetism.
She can also can generate magnetic energy pulses, create force fields, manipulate the Earth’s magnetic field, and allow herself to fly.
That’s a lot to deal with. Shadow Weaver can hover, usually a foot or so off the ground, and she can cast a variety of spells.
The problem is: she probably can’t cast powerful enough spells fast enough to counteract Polaris’ variety of powers.
Yesterday, how much interest exists for Polaris/Lorna Dane on Twitter came into question. Well, I’ve been compiling tweets about Lorna for several months now. I’ve saved screenshots of over 200 tweets in that time. I’m sifting through and making use of some of them.
This post serves one purpose: to show those tweets I’ve found that demonstrate a strong desire that people have to see more of Polaris.
No commentary from me. Just a couple introductory “rules” and disclaimers to what I’m presenting.
No tweets about Gifted.
Will attempt to not use the same person more than once – can’t guarantee I won’t slip up.
For the top 10 lists, I opted not to save all the tweets including her cause I thought that would be annoyingly and unnecessarily repetitive.
With that, here we go. 72 tweets on this post. Broken down by category.
In the comics, I think Magneto wouldn’t have felt compelled to mindwipe Lorna and have her being a mutant hidden. That in turn means she could’ve had counseling for her trauma, and grown up feeling like she was able to be part of society rather than being an outcast who has to hide her hair color.
I don’t know about Gifted. I stopped watching and I don’t really care what they do as long as they don’t ruin public perception of Lorna. I’ll leave someone else to answer that. 😛
I have another post to make later. Tonight if I have the time and I’m not too tired. But this is overdue.
People are starting to talk about how it’s Lorna’s 50th anniversary next month. Marvel won’t acknowledge it, but others will.
Yep. People are increasingly aware of how shitty Havok has been for Lorna’s history. Having Lorna’s return and use on Blue hijacked by Havok to promote him and then Havok leading a team book while Lorna gets nothing doesn’t help that sentiment whatsoever.
I include this one because literally nobody has liked or retweeted it, vs the one it’s quote-retweeting getting 3 retweets and 19 likes.
Concern is rising about this. I don’t feel like writing extensively at the moment. Just. It’s pretty much what I warned could easily happen on this show after Dreamer was killed off so poorly.
Another to go with the Havok stuff up there. Guy’s trolling obviously. But it’s the same sentiment as the guy I ran into back in 2009/2010 that said Lorna should be left in space limbo to “keep her away from characters that matter.”
Couple new top 10 posts.
Segura doesn’t work for Marvel, but this is a vivid show that there are writers that would like to write Lorna in some capacity.
If they don’t work at Marvel right now, then it’s an issue that Marvel isn’t hiring people that would want to write her. They’re hiring people that match their personal sentiments that disadvantage Lorna.
Talk rising of how Lorna should be included in MCU based stuff with the rights going back to Marvel.
Remarks of how mental health issues are common in the Magnus family, and also questioning the trope of women “going crazy” in comics. I’d say a more accurate point here is women with great power suddenly turning out shitty or evil when they get it. Jean Grey, Scarlet Witch, Polaris, Sue Storm, Monica Rambeau (when Avengers leader), there’s a tendency in many past comics to paint women in a bad light.
Actually, I’d say Lorna could be bi too. But lesbian would fit just fine. Say that dating Havok was self-loathing. And it’s not like Marvel has any other characters in her history to deal with. They haven’t allowed her to date anyone that isn’t Havok.
Just some WATXM value.
The issue he’s talking about is, I believe, Uncanny X-Men #442 or #443 (I’m too lazy right now to make sure I got the number right). Austen’s run. Which shows how that run was integral to her character.
General fandom and character gushing.
Damn right she is!
This is an example of how interest in Lorna has spread. Again, people are dyeing their hair green specifically because of their interest in Lorna. People don’t do that over characters they don’t care much about.
Final tweet to highlight, for its great point. Marvel tries to seem progressive and supportive of diversity, yet they have all these great female characters that they don’t utilize in any real and proper way. Which, of course, includes Lorna.
That’s all here. I will have a post in the near future with no commentary, just tweets posted, to make a very specific point when I send someone the link.
I think I’ve seen enough to confirm that Marvel is blacklisting anything having to do with Polaris/Lorna Dane.
Obviously, there’s the fact they have nothing planned for her. It’s her 50th anniversary, there’s a TV show where its idea of her is the most popular character out of all of them. There is no reason for them not to use her.
There’s also this tweet by Gail Simone which to me, gives away that Marvel is shooting down anything having to do with Lorna.
How would a Polaris book be a “hard sell” unless people higher up at Marvel are getting in the way?
But here’s what I consider the final piece of evidence: as they’re reprinting Uncanny X-Men in the 00s, they’re deliberately skipping over the most important issues for her.
There’s only one possible reason to have no plans for Lorna, to skip over her essential issues of a run, and for a writer to think it’s not possible to convince Marvel to accept a solo book pitch for her: Marvel has Lorna blacklisted.
And if she reappears as “Havok’s girlfriend” or some bullshit like that, I’m still right. Because that will mean they’ve blacklisted Lorna the actual character. Using Lorna only as a way to promote Havok is not using Lorna. It’s using a plot device with the name and visual appearance of Lorna.
An update to this: earlier today, JDW said Lorna’s not blacklisted, and she’ll be in Uncanny.
I’m thankful for his response to that. It’s good to know that she’s going to show up in Uncanny, and to have words of assurance that she’s not blacklisted. I’m taking his word on both things.
But, I still think it’s a problem that we’ve seen so little of Lorna. Until his tweet today, for all I knew, the big image teaser for Uncanny X-Men we’ve already seen is the only place she would show up. A character on her 50th anniversary, version of her popular on TV, recently used to promote Havok on Blue, shouldn’t be as out of the picture as she is right now. Any other character with this combination of traits would be given a little bit of something.
Gee, look what happened by pure fucking coincidence.
They can put the whole O5 on there. They can put Havok on there. They can put Dazzler, Doop, Sunfire on there.
But they can’t be assed to include Polaris. In this or anything like it.
And even you don’t think Sunfire is not important than Lorna tho, he is the first asian X-Men along side other international members so he has his own importance imo.
Is there something that says this, about it being a personal piece that he got the official license for? Because I immediately took it as that Marvel either commissioned him to make it, or gave him the license under stipulation of what characters would/wouldn’t be on it.
I don’t think Sunfire isn’t important, and I’m glad you highlighted that he’s the first Asian X-Men member because I didn’t know that (or I did but I forgot). So his place is justified, but my overall point remains that these other characters are present, but not Lorna.
talking abt naomis “arc” in mgs4 always feels like trying to make a red string conspiracy diagram with pins and corkboard but half the connections are just in the middle of the room and you have to pin them to the air with your unassailable conviction. however i have gotten pretty good at Doing That.
My theory is still that Naomi didn’t actually die, and lied about either the cancer or the syringe so she could fake her death and go on to lead a normal life.
I think I’ve seen enough to confirm that Marvel is blacklisting anything having to do with Polaris/Lorna Dane.
Obviously, there’s the fact they have nothing planned for her. It’s her 50th anniversary, there’s a TV show where its idea of her is the most popular character out of all of them. There is no reason for them not to use her.
There’s also this tweet by Gail Simone which to me, gives away that Marvel is shooting down anything having to do with Lorna.
How would a Polaris book be a “hard sell” unless people higher up at Marvel are getting in the way?
But here’s what I consider the final piece of evidence: as they’re reprinting Uncanny X-Men in the 00s, they’re deliberately skipping over the most important issues for her.
There’s only one possible reason to have no plans for Lorna, to skip over her essential issues of a run, and for a writer to think it’s not possible to convince Marvel to accept a solo book pitch for her: Marvel has Lorna blacklisted.
And if she reappears as “Havok’s girlfriend” or some bullshit like that, I’m still right. Because that will mean they’ve blacklisted Lorna the actual character. Using Lorna only as a way to promote Havok is not using Lorna. It’s using a plot device with the name and visual appearance of Lorna.
An update to this: earlier today, JDW said Lorna’s not blacklisted, and she’ll be in Uncanny.
I’m thankful for his response to that. It’s good to know that she’s going to show up in Uncanny, and to have words of assurance that she’s not blacklisted. I’m taking his word on both things.
But, I still think it’s a problem that we’ve seen so little of Lorna. Until his tweet today, for all I knew, the big image teaser for Uncanny X-Men we’ve already seen is the only place she would show up. A character on her 50th anniversary, version of her popular on TV, recently used to promote Havok on Blue, shouldn’t be as out of the picture as she is right now. Any other character with this combination of traits would be given a little bit of something.
Gee, look what happened by pure fucking coincidence.
They can put the whole O5 on there. They can put Havok on there. They can put Dazzler, Doop, Sunfire on there.
But they can’t be assed to include Polaris. In this or anything like it.
Wanda and Pietro being restored as Magneto’s kids shouldn’t mean Lorna loses, but there’s fair reason for the worry.
Before the forced retcon on the twins’ parentage, an editor at Marvel was absolutely adamant that Lorna “couldn’t” be Magneto’s daughter. Not only did the editor try to make up excuses, he deliberately excluded Lorna from every single thing having to do with her family. Children’s Crusade, Avengers vs X-Men, No More Humans, Axis. The editor went as far as to have a House of M picture redrawn to remove Lorna.
All this, while the editor also tried to find ways to “replace” Lorna with other characters. From having colors tweaked to make Enchantress look like Lorna on an Axis cover:
To post-Axis trying to give the twins a new “sister” that was conveniently monochrome.
To add, during Axis, the cover to All-New X-Factor #14 – where Lorna actually got to spend time with Wanda – was kept from release until the Friday before the issue would be available for purchase.
And then there’s Marvel itself. The company has a hard time showing any respect for Lorna in general. They especially don’t seem to want to acknowledge and respect her actual roots as a character, seeming to prefer how later writers ruined her by making her a lesser supporting character for Havok.
I want to stress, though, that the twins should still be restored. The family should be whole again. They have great stories together when all of them are treated with respect. Lorna only loses if a) Marvel goes through with retconning Lorna out after restoring the twins, and b) there isn’t enough pushback if Lorna gets retconned out again.
As a Lorna fan, I’m glad that she’s Magneto’s daughter. I want that explored in good ways. I want it to exist as a part of her identity, adding stories to be told, while avoiding it defining her and limiting her stories. When the whole family is together, that’s even better. My favorite family moments have been Lorna and Wanda interacting, even though most of it is only seen in AUs.
That editor who wanted Lorna not to be Magneto’s daughter, felt that way because he secretly thought it would “take away” from Wanda being “special” – another case of artificial scarcity of roles for women in comic books. Just like the “lists” of importance (A-list, B-list, Z-list, etc). It’s one of the most insidious aspects of persisting comic book attitudes from past decades.
It’s really up to fans to break those molds and push for Marvel to be better. Catering to those molds by not wanting the twins to be restored just so Lorna’s at less risk of being retconned helps nothing.
salarta 