Art of Polaris and Iceman by seanykitten!
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Tag: iceman
Polaris soundtrack – other characters selection
I’ve posted and re-posted a Polaris soundtrack I put together previously. This time, I feel like pulling out the portions of it that involve other characters.
Decision, Xavier or Magneto: I Radio Heaven by Over The Rhine (lyrics)
Attraction (Iceman): Magnetized by Garbage (lyrics)
- This one’s heavily inspired by Iceman’s sexual orientation and light shed on it in recent years, and how Lorna relates to it.
Freezing Feelings (Iceman): Blue Caravan by Vienna Teng (lyrics)
- The lyrics at the end are the key reason behind this pick.
Self-Exile (Havok): Now I Can Die by Nina Gordon (lyrics)
- Setting: Polaris living the “civilian” life with Havok after leaving the X-Men. My POV for this pick is… not a nice one.
Left at the Altar (Havok): The Reckoning by Halestorm (lyrics)
- Lorna
was in an emotionally vulnerable state. The wedding was a bright spot
after so much bad… then Havok took it away from her at the worst
possible moment. This being Lorna’s response to being screwed with after
all she’s been through.
Altar Aftermath (Havok): So We Can Stay Alive by Garbage (lyrics)
Warrior (Quicksilver): Warrior by Charlotte Martin (lyrics)
- Pietro’s view of Lorna, inspired entirely by All-New X-Factor #13.
Lost Brother (Quicksilver): Unbroken by Missy Higgins (lyrics)
- Technically more of a Quicksilver song, from Lorna’s POV.
Magnus Sisters (Scarlet Witch): Daughters of Darkness by Halestorm (lyrics)
Polaris vs X-Men, Magneto and Xavier: Joan of Arc by In This Moment (lyrics)
- Took
this from another fan here on Tumblr (name I forget) who suggested this
for Gifted version Lorna. In this case, I think it would be an
excellent song for Lorna in a theoretical event where she’s like Jean
during Phoenix Saga or Scarlet Witch during House of M. Magneto, Xavier,
the X-Men in general have a history of taking her for granted and not
caring about what happens to her for various reasons (especially in the
Claremont era). Here’s Lorna questioning their “morality” and how easy
they seem to find disregarding her feelings and experiences while
exploiting her for their own interests.
I just got done responding to a guy on a message board presenting as a Polaris fan (I’m starting to question whether or not he is) who posted in a Polaris-based thread badmouthing three characters. I feel like I need to make a post detailing my opposition to any such claims from him or anyone else.
He badmouthed Quicksilver as supposedly being “whiny and a crybaby character.” He claimed Emma Dumont was saying she wanted to dress as female Pietro for Halloween “in jest” despite her repeatedly speaking well of her interest in him.
He badmouthed the idea of Scarlet Witch exploring magic storylines in her solo comic book, framing it as if it was a mistake entirely because it didn’t focus exclusively on the Magnus family. I will say here that I think Wanda’s severed connections did hurt the book a great deal and led to its low sales, but this guy was acting like magic storylines for Wanda themselves are bad, in essence saying she has no worth beyond any ties she might have.
The worst was his attitude about Iceman. He put down the idea of Lorna interacting with him while badmouthing his recent reveal as gay. The guy called Iceman’s reveal of being gay “forced,” “dumb,” and said things like “he don’t know if he’s gay or not.” He tried to spin Iceman’s homosexuality as some kind of barrier to other stories being told, instead of the additional character aspect to be explored alongside other stories that it actually is.
So let me be clear: every single one of these “complaints” was bullshit.
Pietro, Wanda, any character out there is full of amazing potential both for their relationships and all by themselves. That’s what makes characters interacting with each other so amazing. They bring their own things to the table. Anything entirely one-sided is an injustice to all characters involved and the full potential of whatever story is told.
Iceman being gay is not a limitation. It’s an awesome opportunity full of potential. There is so much that can be done on his own and specifically with Lorna and her long history with him. Representation matters, and I want to see their interactions with that representation fully intact.
If someone that’s a Polaris fan or someone claiming to be a Polaris fan is badmouthing your favorite character, or attacking much-needed representation, then I apologize for what they’re doing. They don’t speak for me, and I doubt they speak for most Lorna fans.
Relationship Options for Polaris
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.
Great list and insights! Aside from the many X-Factor characters (many of whom have been retired it seems for the time being) I would love to see Lorna pair up with Emma. First of all their shared misery over Genosha. Second, Emma stood up for Lorna against Alex after he left her. Third, both have tendencies for “darkness” (plz excuse the simplicity I am typing on my phone); Emma was the Hellfire Club’s queen and Lorna has said she thinks there is good and bad in everyone (and she was more than willing to work for a super shady corporation- I always thought her line about Serval being do gooders was naive at worst, wilful ignorance maybe, or a straight up lie bc honestly).
Also I would love to see her interactions with Mystique. They were on a team when Mackie wrote X-Factor (while Victor Creed was interested in both of them – a stalker storyline that we have seen alluded to but never really played out between them).
Also I wanna meet Lorna’s mother’s family, and her step father’s family. We see so little of them in comics I almost believe she was estranged from the people who raised her.
Thank you! And that last one is a VERY good and interesting point! I think you hit on something with Lorna’s mother’s family and foster parents that’s been very overlooked by every Lorna fan out there until now, including myself.
The reasoning behind the original forced retcon for Lorna, which claimed she isn’t Magneto’s daughter, was some supposed investigation Iceman did into Lorna’s family history.
This becomes very interesting for a few reasons. Why and how is it that Iceman met with Lorna’s parents, entirely off panel, but Lorna didn’t? How did Iceman manage to “conclusively” learn that Magneto supposedly wasn’t Lorna’s father with such a short turn-around time of investigation, in a pre-Internet age where everything was on books and print newspapers and microfiche?
There are a lot of possibilities, but personally, I think the easiest explanations are 1) Lorna’s foster parents had some kind of bias or vested interest in convincing Iceman that Lorna wasn’t Magneto’s daughter (possibly because Magneto was perceived as purely a terrorist at the time), and 2) Lorna is estranged from her foster parents, just as you said. You’d think one of the very first things Lorna would’ve done on hearing Magneto was her father was contact her foster parents to learn more.
About Lorna being part of Serval’s X-Factor, and her claiming they’re do-gooders. In all honesty, I think Peter David’s intent was for her to be stupidly naive and eventually have a “shocking revelation” down the line. But, I think it would be more true to her character if she knew Serval was bad but wanted to turn their resources toward good, hoping to change the company from within. The scene where Pietro speaks highly of Lorna as an inspiration in one of ANXF’s issues would’ve been great lead-in for that, and it could’ve also been build-up for why Lorna has supported Havok so often.
It would also fit well with the thoughts on both Lorna and Emma having darkness in them. Lorna seems to deny her dark side most of the time rather than explore and indulge in it, and trying to help others avoid it might be her way of denying it within herself.
I wanted to say something about Mystique, but I couldn’t think of much to say to make a case there.
My head’s spinning now with thoughts about Lorna’s mother’s side of the family now. 🙂
Relationship Options for Polaris
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.
About a month ago, I had an idea for a Polaris-centric Magnus family mini-comic. I’ve been able to afford paying for commissions of Polaris stuff, but I know I wouldn’t be able to afford something on this scale. For that reason, I’ve decided to post the idea as I wrote it down a month ago.
The idea is essentially an emotional criticism of how Marvel keeps destroying or refusing to use all of Lorna’s family and friend connections, and all the potential they have to offer.
Panel 1: Polaris happily approaching Wanda, who has her arms outstretched ready to accept a hug. Lorna: “Wanda! I’m so glad to see you!”
Panel 2: As soon as Lorna puts her arms around Wanda, Wanda’s body dissipates into red smoke and energy. Lorna: “!?”
Panel 3: Pietro appears to be speeding toward Lorna from the side, as Lorna turns and opens her arms to greet him for a hug. Lorna: “Pietro!”
Panel 4: Only Pietro’s costume reaches her; the rest of him seems to speed by like gusts of wind. Lorna’s really starting to look sad here.
Panel 5: Dark silhouette Magneto fair distance behind Lorna. Lorna’s starting to turn around toward him, looking over her shoulder. Lorna: “… Father?”
Panel 6: Magneto’s helmet, cape, armor, etc collapse into a heap on the ground with green electricity sizzling around it.
Panel 7: Zoomed out shot; Lorna on her knees in despair, surrounded by costumes and items associated with her lost family (and a lot of empty space); e.g. crashed model plane for the plane crash, maybe extend to Bobby and include melting ice or Jean and include her Marvel Girl costume. Lorna: “Gone… they’re all gone…”
I never really got why some people got annoyed about the reveal of Iceman being gay. I rather liked the news myself.
Yeah, he has dated the following women in the past; Judy Harmon, Zelda, Darkstar (Laynia Petrovna), Polaris (Lorna Dane), Annie Ghazikhanian, Shadowcat (Katherine Pryde), Mystique (Raven Darkholme), Opal Tanaka, and Mirage (Marge Smith). However, they all were either from when he was very young (sixteen-ish) or generally didn’t last long and ended badly. The story even gives an excuse for them, via Iceman’s own admitted self-denial and attempt to act straight.
I will admit, part of me wish it came sooner, so he could have been paired with Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier), since there was a slight mini-character plot over Northstar’s secret feelings for Iceman.
But oh well, I am still looking forward to see how this is taken and hopefully Marvel does not go back to being apprehensive again, like they tend to be with same-sex relationships. Hopefully its not another six-year long wait, like we had with Wiccan (William “Billy” Kaplan) and Hulking (Dorrek VIII / Theodore “Teddy” Altman), or anything worse…such as Marvel’s horrific handling of Freedom Ring (Curtis Doyle).
These pages came from Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1, Issue #600.
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I don’t have a problem with it either. I technically “could” have one because Bobby’s the only potential love interest not named Havok that Lorna’s been allowed to have with any exploration, but I think that history actually puts Lorna in a prime and unique position no other woman Iceman dated could match… if Marvel stopped sucking and made actual use of Polaris and her potential.
Polaris is the first woman older Iceman dated, and of the love interests Bobby had, Lorna is the earliest. Unlike the young Jean Grey, Lorna can verify young Iceman’s mannerisms and attitudes matching up with the older present day Iceman’s when he WAS young Iceman. Better yet, Lorna is in a prime position where she could serve as Iceman’s female mentor or support, in a similar way as Emma’s done with young Jean Grey (Lorna would’ve been good with young Jean too, but too late now).
There’s also Lorna’s comments about Iceman at the bachelorette party of her wedding that never panned out. There, Lorna says sex with Bobby is something you “endure.” The comment matches up well with the idea that Iceman was bad at it only because he was trying to force himself to act like he had romantic feelings for women he really didn’t have.
But, Marvel being Marvel, I guarantee we’ll instead see something like older Iceman filling the mentor role, and young Jean Grey or a random new character they create filling the gal pal role. Because Marvel hates Polaris and everything she has to offer for no good reason.
salarta 