pragnificent:

slacksimoff:

polariswasright:

amazingxmen:

MAGNETO #20  

That is one disturbing cover, ugh…

Why do they always do this

there is nothign about this that I don’t hate. 

Okay! I need to respond to all of this, because I think there’s some assumptions taking place here. Apologies in advance if I’m off base with what I’m about to say.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that this is a cover, specifically a cover for the Magneto solo. We’re already dealing with two very specific things to bear in mind when interpreting the art.

Since this is a cover, you can’t always take what you see literally. I know that much is obvious to everyone, but what may not be obvious is that the symbolism itself may not be “literal” symbolism, I’m going to say. Who’s the focus? Whose perspective is the cover supposed to represent?

For that answer, we get into the second piece: this is a solo comic book for Magneto. When you combine the symbolism of covers and the perspective we’re supposed to look at the covers from, what we have is a symbolic representation of how Magneto sees whatever situation is going on inside the comic.

… And Magneto is not very kind to himself. He sees himself as a prideful demon, someone that ruins and reduces everything close to him. We’ve seen that in the Magneto solo up to this point many times.

In other words: I strongly believe that what we have here ISN’T an implication that Lorna is just her father’s puppet. I believe what we have here is a window into how horribly Magneto will see himself if he gets Lorna to help him, or if she offers help and he accepts. Magneto is a master manipulator, and he’s used those skills for his own ends in spite of what anyone he uses would think and feel. It’s only natural that a fear of treating his own daughter the same way he’s treated so many others would bleed into his mentality.

And just for clarification: I’m someone that complained about the Joker variant Batgirl cover, and have argued with people that naively think DC pulling it was “censorship.” That Batgirl cover, intended for use with her ongoing solo, basically said Batgirl is and always will be a victim first and foremost, with the implication that she’s only a wannabe hero.

Another important detail, Cullen Bunn said in a live chat yesterday that one of the exchanges between Lorna and her father will involve Lorna calling Magneto out for being a terrible father. That alone shows that in the issue itself, Lorna won’t be a pushover her father easily manipulates.

I’m absolutely NOT saying “Don’t complain if you still find the cover offensive.” If there’s something wrong, Marvel needs to know why it’s wrong so they can do better next time. All I’m saying is whether or not you find it offensive, please at least try to see what they intended. I truly believe this cover was not meant to be offensive, which is something I can’t say about the Batgirl cover.