When I talk about Polaris and her relationships, I normally talk about her family. The order tends to be Scarlet Witch, then Magneto, then Quicksilver, with the occasional other character.

I’ve decided to list some characters Lorna’s interacted with in the past that could lead to story opportunities. And, because Marvel can’t seem to give a damn about Polaris and use her at all, I’m going to talk about what could be done in her relationships with these characters. It’s not like there’s any risk that anyone at Marvel won’t write any of it due to me pointing it out.

It’s not an exhaustive list. Feel free to add other characters when reblogging if you wish.

Iceman (Bobby Drake)

Technically, this one may not count in the minds of some people. Bobby was the other potential love interest for Lorna in the love triangle with Havok way back in the late 60s, when Lorna was introduced.

Some people think the recent revelation of Bobby being gay means Lorna will never get to interact with him. I can absolutely see why some people think that. Lorna’s status as past love interest is the only way they’ve ever allowed her to interact with Bobby, e.g. Marjorie Liu’s arc. But, I think this presents a golden opportunity for Lorna to serve as young Bobby’s mentor and “older gal pal.”

She’s the only past love interest of Bobby’s that was there shortly after the time young Bobby was pulled from. She can provide fresh, unique insights into who Bobby was back then and who his present self had become, something nobody of the present or past O5 can do (most present cause they’re active elsewhere or dead). Same goes for Professor X. Teen Jean looks like an easy “replacement,” but she doesn’t have the kind of insights Lorna can bring.

Jean Grey

In the very beginning, Lorna and Jean had a slight dynamic where Jean was meeker and Lorna was more outspoken. As time went on, Marvel fleshed Jean out more, but started taking things away from Lorna. People started associating Jean more with Storm due to Claremont writing them heavily working together, then with Emma Frost via rivalry.

If Marvel really wanted to, they could have allowed Lorna to act as young Jean’s mentor. Like with Bobby, Lorna was there very shortly after the time teen Jean was taken from. Emma was only around at the time as a villain, and Storm showed up as a “dominant black goddess” type moreso than a “take-charge friend” type. Lorna’s the only woman from teen Jean’s time that knew her as a truly equal teammate, peer and friend. There is also, of course, commiserating over the Summers brothers. P.S. Madelyne Pryor.

Lastly, if we want to talk about the risk of teen Jean losing control like her older self… Lorna is the only one who can give Jean real insight. Emma’s never truly experienced that loss of control. Lorna’s lost it over and over and over, from Malice possessing her (akin to the Phoenix Force possessing Jean) to mind control. Emma may be able to “teach” Jean how to control herself, but only Lorna can help Jean understand on a personal, emotional level.

Apocalypse

Obviously, this comes from Lorna’s time as Pestilence. Apocalypse chose Lorna as one of his Horsemen. But it’s more important than some might think.

Apocalypse chose her. He had a choice between Polaris or Leper Queen, and her chose Lorna. Not only that, he chose Lorna in spite of multiple obstacles toward using her. He had to restore her powers, which required the use of Celestial technology. He had to abduct her while Havok was around to fight back. He had to brainwash her into serving his interests, which took time and effort when he could have picked someone more willing… if that’s all he wanted. With the resources he poured into her, Apocalypse picked Polaris as Pestilence for a reason that goes beyond simple convenience.

There’s also the anti-Apocalypse cult that was trying to kill Lorna – an abandoned story thread that had a lot of potential. Between those two possibilities, there’s absolutely no reason that Lorna couldn’t figure into stuff dealing with Apocalypse. She could’ve been in the recent Apocalypse event if Marvel cared about making use of opportunities.

Rachel Summers

Stuck out in space for five years our time, even Rachel raised the annoyance of their long absence from the X-Men books on the page. Rachel was present to witness how War of Kings affected the galaxy, she was there during Lorna’s Inhumans interaction, she was there when Lorna got tortured by Vulcan, and she was there while Lorna and the others were mind-controlled by Friendless.

Together, Lorna and Rachel could spearhead interactions with the Inhumans from the mutant side of the coin. Of course, Cullen Bunn’s statement about “big plans” for Havok makes me suspect he will fill that role instead despite not having the familial connections of Lorna or the Korvus and Shi’ar history of Rachel.

Crystalia Amaquelin & Luna Maximoff

By the same token as Rachel, Lorna helped Crystal in a diplomatic sense to become “The People’s Princess.” She also ribbed Crystal about marrying “Lord Ronan,” which could have been a subtle way of pushing for her and Pietro.

Meanwhile, Lorna got to have aunt-niece time with Luna, both out in space and at X-Factor’s office at Serval. Lorna could help Luna in understanding Pietro from a view other than Crystal or Pietro himself, while Luna could use her abilities to help Lorna sort through her own emotions and understand all the traumas and mind manipulation/alteration she’s endured throughout her life.

Gambit (Remy LeBeau)

Here’s one that’s both expected and unexpected, depending on who you are and how much you know. Lorna’s had a thing for Gambit at least since the Austen era (early 00s). She felt more open to express it when she was “crazy” and thus presented lowered inhibitions/self-limitations. In that case, it came in the form of a shapeshifting mutant stripper that made himself look like Gambit for Lorna’s bachelorette party.

Later, they were on the X-Factor team started by Serval and led by Lorna. Personally, I think Peter David dropped the ball on them from ANXF #2-6, but he was getting better and had some good scenes before Marvel abruptly canceled the comic.

In particular, they had a moment where Remy kissed Lorna. On some level, they have feelings for each other. They haven’t really been explored, and Gambit’s the only male character other than Iceman (who is no longer available for good and obvious reasons) that she’s had romantic overtures with.

A common thing pointed out between them is that they are both often depicted as the “lesser” of their significant others, and at times jobbed or abandoned when it’s convenient for their most common partners. Handled well, I think they could become a thing. Plus, they were both Horsemen of Apocalypse, so they have that in common.

Storm (Ororo Munroe)

In short, Lorna suffered a lot during the Claremont era as a trade-off to him promoting Storm. At some point, he seemed to think the book could only have one badass female with electrical powers and chose Storm. But, they didn’t start out that way.

In their very first interaction, Polaris and Storm worked together to hurtle Krakoa into space. Storm supercharged Lorna by sending lightning to her, and Lorna used that power to boost her magnetic abilities. In terms of powers, they could easily play off each other as allies. Storm’s powers tend to emphasize the open skies, bringing up winds, rains, snow, etc. Lorna’s powers being magnetic are more earth-based. And they both have electrical powers, just in different forms.

In the hands of a writer that cares, they could easily be two sides of the same coin; similar yet unique.

They also both have experience as royalty; Storm as Wakanda’s queen, Lorna as a Genoshan princess (and secretly standing in for Magneto while he was in bad health). They could be quite a pair in diplomatic terms.

Wolverine

Limited though they’ve been, there’s been a few interactions between Lorna and Wolverine. Their interactions tend to be with Lorna in a more dominant, clear-headed or potentially flirty position. Which kinda makes sense, if you consider she could control him via his metal if she wished.

They could also work pretty well as a romantic relationship, or as a simple battle partnership. Relationship-wise, Gambit has more of a debonair mystique approach with lots of intellect and class, while Wolverine would offer Lorna something closer to a “raw instincts” attitude. Gambit would bring out the charmer in Lorna, but Wolverine would bring out her dark and suggestive sides.

Nurse Annie 

Nurse Annie is one of those many, many characters that’s introduced by a specific writer and then largely abandoned. Chuck Austen introduced her as a human nurse with a mutant son, and whose son mentally influenced Annie and Havok into entering in a relationship. This, of course, came with the consequence of Lorna getting left at the altar. Lorna and Annie then often got into moments where Lorna acted pretty damn abusive toward Annie, but this was also her post-Genosha dark phase.

More recently, Marjorie Liu had both Lorna and Annie in a story arc for Iceman about his past loves (before the reveal of him being gay)… but they never really interacted. Lorna and Annie were found frozen together and treated together in the hospital, but we never saw what, if anything, they talked about.

Aside from obviously commiserating about Havok, Lorna could go to Annie and apologize for her behavior. More importantly, I can see them building bridges by Annie becoming a medic supporting character to something featuring Lorna.

Honorable Mentions

Other characters that Lorna has interacted with and could build relationships with, but which I don’t have pictures to help make my case, include Emma Frost, Psylocke, and Rogue. Emma Frost was there during Lorna’s mental issues post-Genosha and knows what she’s been through. Psylocke restored Lorna’s powers by accident after the Shadow King incident by her psi blade going into Lorna’s head. Rogue has fought alongside Lorna on a few occasions, and headed up the team that rescued Lorna and the rest of the Starjammers out in space.

Conclusion

Across 48 years in comics, Polaris managed to build certain connections and associations even despite Marvel refusing to truly use and acknowledge her. “We only have so much panel space, we have to focus on the core characters” is no excuse, especially when Marvel creates entirely brand new characters to fill roles that Lorna could very easily fill and have much more to offer.

As always, feel free to add your own mentions in reblogs if you wish.