Hello! I’m going to post me thoughts on this issue. There are SPOILERS in this post, including pictures from the issue.

Short version: I liked it a lot. From this, if I find out Polaris is going to join X-Men Blue as a regular, I’ll start reading it with the first issue.

Right out of the gate: I assumed that we would discover everything in these two issues was a fabrication of Negasonic’s mind, a twist on reality warping ideas. It appears this was an alternate future after all. I don’t know if that was the plan all along, or if the plan changed because people were starting to guess it could be a fabrication of Negasonic’s mind.

Alternately, it’s still possible it was all in her head. It’s not so likely anymore, but it’s still left open enough for that direction.

Deadpool at the start of the issue spoke closer to my mental image of his personality. That kinda lends to the idea that perhaps the Deadpool that came across so serious in the alternate future was because of what happened over that time.

I liked the banter between Polaris and Domino a lot here. They seem to be playing off each other, assessing each other as they talk. Also I wholly welcome any dynamic that makes me think “NOW KISS” like this one did. I think Bunn did a good job of establishing Lorna’s character and connections in the short time he had to do it. This issue makes a better case than the previous one for the idea that this story should’ve been across more issues.

I also really like the use of complete darkness over her face and eyes in these panels. It’s an excellent artistic touch to demonstrating a darkness to Lorna that isn’t normally explored, as well as a ruthlessness she’s showed inklings of but which has never gone quite this far. The artist and/or Bunn know(s) when to not use it as well, as in the first panel in the last image. That helps show some humanity behind her darkness.

Oh, and her hair floating all over the place is awesome. It’s a nice subtle way of demonstrating that she’s coursing with unbridled power.

Also, speaking of Lorna and Domino.

So, when is Marvel launching Little Miss Magneto’s Tea Party of Evil Mutants? Will we see Magneto in a pink tutu?

For real though, I welcome this idea for Lorna. I also started to get this feeling that perhaps this is a team Bunn pitched to Marvel for a book that Marvel rejected. Which is to be expected; Marvel will reject basically anything that gives Lorna much attention, and regularly leading a book with this team would’ve given her a lot of it.

Also.

I had to set this one aside for an important reason. Polaris is a LOT more hostile to Inhumans here than she’s been in the past. It’s fair here; this Lorna is five years into the future. She’s seen a lot, lost a lot of people, especially mutants. She’s bound to be really pissed off at the Inhumans. But, if it were present day Lorna, I would think her being this hostile already would be a bit much. She’s had very good relations with Crystal and Luna, from helping Crystal become “The People’s Princess” to playing with Luna in space and letting Luna stay around X-Factor to be with her dad Pietro.

There’s a page where Negasonic talks about Genosha, how she expected to die, and how she survived it. How she didn’t want to end up in a situation again where she survives but everyone else dies. This raises a fascinating question: if Negasonic’s powers are reality warping, and her powers saved her… is it possible that Polaris was saved by Negasonic or died but was immediately brought back to life by her?

When I thought this was all a fabrication from Negasonic’s head, I surmised Polaris here would be a reflection of Negasonic’s perception of Lorna and the value Negasonic places in her. Whether or not that’s what happened here (most likely not), Polaris was essentially a hero to the Genoshan people. She was their princess and Magneto’s heir. It wouldn’t be very strange for Negasonic to want Lorna to survive. If Lorna is an idol to Negasonic, then the loss of her would’ve been even more devastating to Negasonic. Possibly too much for her to take.

Moving on. We’ve got this great splash page fight.

It’s an awesome splash page. Everyone’s so dynamic. It gives a strong sense of battle scope. Machine Man down at the bottom is funny. There’s just one thing that personally seems a bit strange to me about it. It’s VERY minor, not a huge deal, it just seems strange to me.

Wouldn’t it make more sense for Polaris to take down Sheath as well?

Sheath’s attacking Domino. Those two are probably well matched, so it makes sense there. However, Sheath’s power is to create metal shards from her body and use those to fight. An explanation can be given that Polaris has her hands full with Lash, but still. You’d expect Lorna would use Sheath’s power against her, or steal Sheath’s shards for use in combat, or maybe even throw Sheath at Lash or use her as a shield. Not taking Sheath down is sorta like Magneto fighting the X-Men and letting Wolverine and Sabretooth duke it out when he can just fling Wolverine off into the distance and have one less enemy to fight.

Again, it’s minor. It’s not make or break for me. It just seems strange.

All in all, like I said, this was a good issue. I’m betting it’s the last time we’ll see any version of Polaris for at minimum one year, because Marvel hates her and wants to keep her from breaking out like she should. But it was good while it lasted.