Ferrous Friend or Foe?
Polaris: “Sometimes I’m able to convince myself that there’s no such thing as kindness in this world. No such thing as courage. I tell myself there’s only redemption and penitence. There is only reticence and pain. I am, thankfully, often wrong on such things”
X-Factor #4 (2020)
A green-haired woman flies above a battlefield. Bullets and missiles stop in mid-air and fall harmlessly away. She raises a hand and the weapons below crumble to pieces. A squadron of drones open fire on her. Her powers instinctively shred the lead plane. Then her eyes widen in horror.
She can hear her parents arguing. See the ground rushing towards her. A familiar voice in her ears. She looks around and sees the dead begging for help as they’re cut down. Her mind… are they trying to take it again? Where is she?! WHAT’S HAPPENING?!
An hour passes before she stops screaming.
Her throat aches. She looks around. Every weapon and vehicle has been destroyed, trapping terrified soldiers. Everyone is alive. This time. She has to leave. Polaris flies away from the battlefield, knowing she can’t escape the carnage in her mind.
Polaris was the first permanent addition to the X-Men. She is powerful, but unreliable. So who is she? How did she join up? What is Polaris’ connection to one of their greatest foes? Let’s find out.
Scene Select
Polar Opposites: Polaris’ Backstory
Lorna: “Clever is my middle name.”
All-New X-Factor #15 (2014)
Gambit: “Really?”
Lorna: “No, it’s Sally, actually.”
Gambit: “Your initials are LSD?”
Lorna: “Explains a lot, doesn’t it?”
Polaris debuted in X-Men #49 in 1968. She was created by Arnold Drake and Jim Steranko.
Lorna Dane was three years old when she murdered her parents. Her pilot father accused Mrs. Dane of cheating on him. Their argument traumatized Lorna and activated her magnetic mutation. She tore the airplane apart, only surviving because of her new powers.
Magneto found Lorna and knew she was too young to be involved in the fight for Mutantkind. He altered her memories so that she wouldn’t remember causing the crash and delivered Lorna to her relatives. She grew up as a normal child aside from having green hair.
A Mutant cult discovered Lorna and lured her to their lair. The X-Men protected her from their leader, an android that believed it was Magneto. The android claimed that Lorna was Magneto’s daughter, but the X-Men weren’t sure and the real deal couldn’t confirm it. Lorna chose to join the X-Men as Polaris and oppose her maybe-father.
Magnetic Flux: Polaris’ History
Wolfsbane: “Ye’ve always been so together, I never knew ye carried around so much hurt in yer heart.”
X-Factor #90 (1993)
Polaris: “Yeah, well… cut me, and I bleed.”
Polaris struggled while adapting to her new life. Her powers were difficult to control and could damage her mental state. Several psionic villains tried to possess her, turning Lorna into a villain twice. But her greatest struggle was whether she could oppose Magneto.
She eventually left the X-Men and joined X-Factor, a U.S. government-backed team focused on Mutant crimes. Polaris began building a relationship with Magneto beyond their prior fights. He became the leader of a Mutant-led nation called Genosha. She often visited him and was treated as a pseudo princess by the citizens.
The Fall of Genosha and murder of sixteen million Mutants ruined Polaris’ life. Her powers kept her safe, but she was driven mad as she watched her people die all around her. Polaris rejoined the X-Men as an unstable, militant anti-hero.
Polaris’ mental state continued spiraling, damaging her relationships, and causing rampages. Magneto helped stabilize Lorna by confirming that he was her father. He had an affair with Mrs. Dane and watched over Lorna, despite being unsure that she was his daughter. Magneto suspected that his prior memory manipulation was the source of her mental health issues and offered to help her overcome them.
Reverse The Polarity: Her Powers and Personality
Polaris: “I am a big gun. Or have you forgotten?”
X-Factor #6 (2020)
Polaris has the same magnetic powers as her father. She can manipulate metal, fly, create force fields, and absorb energy. Polaris has finer control of her magnetic powers than Magneto, but can’t match his raw strength. Her powers can also damage her mind when used at their full potential, forcing Polaris to limit them.
Magnetism isn’t Polaris’ only powerset. She was once brainwashed into serving as Pestilence, a Horseman of the Apocalypse. He gave her the ability to absorb and combine diseases. She lost those powers when she was freed, but remains immune to disease and poison.
Polaris has a lot of issues. She copes with accidentally killing her mother, frequent battles against her father, and has survivor’s guilt from the Genosha massacre. Polaris is cynical, snarky, and suppresses one hell of a temper. She occasionally terrifies her allies when they remember how strong she is and how little control she has over her power.
The Actors Who Play Her
Mary Long – X-Men: The Animated Series
Liza del Mundo – Wolverine and the X-Men
Emma Dumont – The Gifted
Neve Campbell – X-Men ‘97
Didya Get All That
A traumatized survivor, just like dear old dad.
Image: Emma Dumont as Polaris in The Gifted, 2017. Courtesy 20th Century Fox.
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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