As an aside, looking at her profile info, I see she’s an actress and model – including as a body double and stand-in for Wanda in Captain America: Winter Soldier!
This is, apparently, a page from an upcoming issue of the Scarlet Witch solo. It promises to give the dirt on the twins’ “actual parentage.”
If I were the same person as I was 7 years ago, or at the start of 2014, I would be optimistic. I’m not. I expect the absolute worst.
As I’ve said before, I got into Polaris – and as a result the Magnus family and the broader world of Marvel – in 2009. In that time, I’ve seen Marvel technically do things for Polaris that should’ve been done decades ago, but taunt me by undermining them in the process. Give Polaris her origin story? Sure, but no one must know. Let Polaris lead her own team? Here you go, but we refuse to promote it in any way. Yeah, we’ll confirm Polaris is Magneto’s daughter, but she’s not allowed to interact with any of her family except her father. Then retcon her brother and sister from being her brother and sister to ensure she never does.
You see, the me from 2009 or early 2014 would’ve been upbeat and excited. That version of me would’ve bought the issue just in case it happens to be good news. That one would be diving in deep and excited by whims of fantasy.
What if the “a house divided against itself cannot stand” quote, and the later green-tinted version at NYCC, is a tease that there may be a House of M family thing with Polaris involved? What if Polaris was withheld from all things Marvel because the company wasn’t sure if they were bringing the family back together, and needed to know that before deciding what to do with her? What if Polaris is going to play a big role in the next X-Men film, or get to be used by Marvel in the MCU to fight alongside Wanda, and this is a precursor? What if, what if, what if.
But none of that is going to happen. This is Marvel. Marvel hates good things with massive untapped potential.
Here’s what’s going to happen. People get excited, spin theories. Marvel dashes all those hopes with some other new and stupid “twist” that nobody wants. The Scarlet Witch solo maybe gets a sales boost from this stunt, then goes right back down to sales numbers that are consistently lower than the ones that got both All-New X-Factor and Mockingbird canceled much sooner.
If this stunt boosts sales numbers, then maybe Marvel will try to use it as justification to keep the solo going despite not affording the same opportunity to Polaris or Mockingbird.
I’m so certain that what I’d like to see happen isn’t going to happen, that I’ll make a wager. If the Magnus family is restored – that means Magneto is the father of Polaris, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver – then I’ll at least buy and watch Age of Ultron, and buy and read that issue of Scarlet Witch.
That might not sound like much, but it’s a lot for me. Even if a miracle takes place and Marvel restores the family, I currently don’t trust that they won’t force the retcon all over again. I’ve learned my lesson from Marvel appearing to do something good, only to undermine it somehow very shortly after.
If there isn’t a “catch” or hidden dagger to it, then I’ll expand from there.
Lastly, before someone says it: no, I don’t expect Marvel to care what I think or say. Why would I? They haven’t cared so far. Individual writers have, but not Marvel itself. This is largely a matter of principles for myself, the same principles behind why I don’t buy Marvel stuff that doesn’t have Polaris in it due to the forced retcon on Wanda and Pietro’s parentage. Marvel doesn’t care, but I do, and that’s what matters to me.
salarta 