hello! this is a bit of random question but you're the biggest comics lorna stan i know so i'm curious... what did you think about marco/eclaris on the gifted, and how would you feel about him/it bleeding over to the comics? the show is long over now, so i don't necessarily think it's something marvel is likely to do, but i really liked him/them as a pairing (and imo it's way better than what 616 lorna has actually going for her re: romance). i don't know that much about lorna in the comics, though, so i wonder if it could even work out there, with her background being so different from the show

[So sorry it took me 37 years to respond to this, I hope you see it, anon.]

First, let me start with -

I have never been so flattered in my life, thank you 😭

Anyway, on topic.

I didn’t actively ship Marcos/Lorna in the show for personal reasons completely unrelated to the quality of the pairing, but I did love their dynamic.

Any adaptation would have to deal with certain issues of plot, but given a bit of creativity and the nature of comics that’s a pretty small hurdle. Since Marcos is original to the show, his backstory could be easily manipulated as necessary.

Easiest option, you just swap out “…and after becoming disillusioned with the cartel, Marcos was approached by Lorna Dane [and Proudstar] to join the Mutant Underground”, with “…after becoming disillusioned with the Thieves’ Guild, he was approached by Lorna Dane to join the X-Men,” and you’re pretty much good. (Or X-Factor Investigations, or the Krakoan citizenry, what-have-you. Whatever team she’s on at the time. If I had free choice I’d put him on one of the 2012-2015 X-Factor teams, but that ship has, y’know, flown.)

I think the aspects of their dynamic that I like in the show would actually translate over perfectly to the comics (and, uh, make for a better relationship than basically any other she has in the comics).

- Marcos respects Lorna, on all levels. He respects her physical power (and is fully aware that she is far more powerful than he is), but also -

- He respects her agency and right to choice. That’s, uh, something that tends to be an issue for Lorna, in the comics, from every side. The X-Men put her in a mutant-suppression collar; Magneto manipulates her and uses her as a battery; people on all sides keep alternately magically causing and “curing” her mental health issues; etcetera, etcetera. Beyond the mechanical use of powers to remove agency, most of her friends and family - and especially people she’s paired with romantically - tend to treat her as though she doesn’t have a right to free choice, or the capacity to choose “correctly”.

- He respects her as a person with a severe mental illness. He provides support as necessary, but also knows and accepts that not everything a mentally ill person feels or thinks is because of their mental illness - they can have “”“real””” emotions and thoughts too. And having an illness doesn’t mean a person should automatically be treated as incompetent to make decisions.

- He supports her, on all levels.

- He recognises that she is awesome and sexy and the absolute shiz and that is #relatable content.

- None of that means that the relationship is perfect and boring.

In fact, some of the things that make the relationship good are also the ones that, when taken too far, cause problems. Respecting your partner’s agency is great! But if your partner blows up a plane takes your kid and runs away to join a terrorist organisation… uh, an organisation that’s a bit further along on the freedom fighter to terrorist scale than yours is… it’s fair to request that a bit of discussion be had.

And he is, himself, very far from perfect, which is very Good And Important. They take turns reminding each other about that whole morality thing, and how ends do not necessarily justify means, but also sometimes you need to remember about the bigger picture and not sacrifice many people for a single person.

Which would fit perfectly with comics!Lorna.

(Overall, Lorna really doesn’t need to be in the ‘which one’s the crazy amoral one and which one’s the perfect long-suffering partner sacrificing for them getting nothing in return’ pairing cliche. And The Gifted did a fairly decent job of avoiding that, across the show as a whole.)

In conclusion look at this scene and picture how much better it would have been with Marcos “simp” Diaz instead of Alex “can’t remember my girlfriend’s a girlboss bc I’m too busy hanging out on my undeserved moral high-horse” Summers. Thank you

Where the Girls Go Wild and the Boys Play Hard - The Subtext in Swayze’s Bar - 15x07 Last Call

Well, I guess now we know why Swayze always gets a pass... (a shared crush with an old flame).

And I guess we also know that the silent word in the episode title Last Call is booty... as in Last (Booty) Call - or, the tragic end to an old fling.

Ok, so I’m late to the party (I’m sure there is a party, right?) as I’ve just watched the episode and I’ve been avoiding spoilers! 

No doubt the queer subtext in this episode, regarding the nature of Dean and Lee’s previous relationship, has already been the subject of much discussion, many meta and gifs. So, apologies for any repetitions, but I’m gonna give it my best shot.

Firstly I was struck by the name of this old hunting “brother” of Dean’s - Lee. I know Lee Webb was a country singer. But, in the larger mythos of Supernatural, which Kripke based on Kerouac’s On the Road (Sam = Sal Paradise and Dean = Dean Moriarty) Lee would fit as a reference to Old Bull Lee, another character in On the Road, based on Kerouac’s friend, the writer William Burroughs (who was of course, gay).

There are many elements we’re used to - Sam/ Eileen (now overtly on the edge of something romantic) paired in the narrative whilst Dean/ Lee are paired; sharing drinks as substitutes for erotic intimacy (here, dick-touching):

which SPN has used before, notably back when Dean got infected by Nick the Siren by sharing his hipflask with him in Baby in 4x14 Sex and Violence (a subtextual kiss).

Then there’s the reference Dean and Lee make to a good ol’ time of theirs back when they shared an encounter with triplets (of unspecified gender) whilst hanging out with Lorna, in a situation at Swayze’s which could, potentially, turn into a present-day threesome, given Lorna’s earlier overt sexual interest in Dean, and the subtextual tension between Dean and Lee.

This reference to triplets (of unspecified gender) of course, reminds us of those other triplets (also of unspecified gender) to whom Crowley and Deanmon did “extraordinary things” together back in 10x01 Black during their “summer of love”.

But it was the intimacy of Lee’s line to Dean from the stage: “You can’t just sit around lip-synching to Eye of the Tiger when no-one’s watching,” that punched me in the gut. Dean had allowed himself to really be seen by this guy, i.e. shared his secret dream to be a rock star with him, which we’ve previously seen him reveal to another old love, Robin, in 9x07 Bad Boys. 

So yeah it turns out, as Rowena said, “What’s bi is bi,” - and sometimes bisexual lighting is bisexual lighting:

“Making their way, the only way they know how... that’s just a little bit more than the law will allow...” 

The Duke’s of Hazzard theme song, sure, but also, in this context, of course, an anthem, for Dean and Lee, to “outlaw” (queer, closeted) sexuality. 

Then there’s Lee’s bar, Swayze’s, itself, which sheds new light on Rocky’s Bar, the “happiness-trap” dream mind-bar which AU!Michael created in Dean’s head in 14x10 Nihilism in order to subdue him:

Looks like Dean and Lee shared a dream about owning a bar together, way back when Sammy was off at college and Dean and Lee were “hunting buddies”.

And look, Cosmic Cowboy makes an appearance inboth Swayze’s and Rocky’s: 

Yeah, I know it’s a real Family Business Beer Co beer, but that don’t mean it can’t play a role in the subtext additionally, where it connects these two old lovers’ dream bars:

I’ve written previously about the queer-coding of bars in SPN over the years:

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/50661253249/the-bar-scene-in-8x23-spoilers-detailed

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/115759833784/dean-winchester-bars-and-m-m-encounters 

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182142619479/rockys-bar-a-closer-look-in-deans-mind-14x10

And there’s plenty of queer-coding in Swayze’s. Just look at those two guns crossed on the wall between Dean and Lee:

Sure, they’re about to fight, so that’s one layer, but as with the touching beer bottles above, this is also dick-on-dick symbolism 101.

And would you look at that freaking TV screen with the man on the end of a pier at sunset? Yup that also appeared in Rocky’s:

As I’ve often discussed before, pier symbolism has come, in SPN’s visual subtext, to stand for the intimate connection between Dean and Cas, from that pivotal scene in 4x20 The Rapture in which Cas entered Dean’s fishing dream, rebelling against Heaven to do so, and tried to warn him about Heaven’s plans.

Notice The Rapture is also referenced in 15x07 because the case Dean is investigating was reported in the news as a girl being “raptured” (taken up to Heaven). And that pier scene from The Rapture was referenced last week too, as Cas mused about Dean’s love for fishing’s “meditative qualities” during his Jenny Lake case in 15x06 Golden Time. The profound bond may presently be under strain, but oh boy, is the subtext singing from its hymn sheet.

Cas’ absence (and Dean’s longing for him) is layered into the subtext of both Rocky’s and Swayze’s bars. In 15x07 Dean has left the bunker because (we may infer) he’s finding Sam’s burgeoning happiness with Eileen hard to deal with, given his own break-up with Cas, and yet, the poor sod goes and runs, tragically, into another lost love. 

And then this dialogue hits us, and Dean, with break-up feels:

Dean: “Best friends don’t just up and leave without saying goodbye...”

Lee: “Unless they deserve it...”

You have to wonder if the similarities between Rocky’s (which was a fiction, an illusion) and Swayze’s, contains an ominous hint of Chuck’s handiwork. Perhaps he set up this painful scenario (by association, also a fiction) for Dean, to cruelly toy with his emotions. 

The reference to 4x06 Yellow Fever really made my subtext-dar go off, in terms of the multiple layers Jeremy Adams managed to deftly work into Last Call. Dean laughingly tells Lee about catching “ghost sickness” that one time (and of course, Lee’s Eye of the Tiger reference also recalls Yellow Fever for us). 

Yellow Fever, Dabb’s first episode for the show, is, in subtext, a study in queer-panic, which the “ghost sickness” (which infects Dean, not Sam) stands in for. See my queer reading of that episode, here:

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182874642184/old-timey-spn-a-fresh-queer-look-at-4x06

“Ghost-sickness”, aka queer closeted anxiety, becomes deeply poignant here, hanging between Dean and Lee, like the ghost of their old intimacy, which they never vocalise, but which may (if we choose) be read in the way they touch each other.

Overall, this was a beautifully written episode by Jeremy Adams, and the final, tragic (sublimated) penetration of Lee by Dean with the pool cue - a real death echoing, in subtext, with all the “little deaths” (yes, sex) they’ve shared before, was acted to perfection.

Lee’s noises and grunts are the noises of a fight, yes, but close your eyes and listen to that scene. “Wait, wait,” Lee says breathlessly, and Dean pauses, before Lee tells him it’s ok to pull out. And Dean can’t freaking look Lee in the eye because this terrible new intimacy is layered ontop of older intimacies:

So is Dean’s bisexuality still subtext, after this episode?

Yes, given that out there in the fly-by-night froth of mainstream entertainment journalism, it remains (as far as I can see, in my admittedly brief trawl) unremarked upon in 15x07 episode reviews and recaps:

https://tvmoviefix.com/supernatural-season-15-episode-7-last-call-review-recap-spoilers/

https://ew.com/recap/supernatural-season-15-episode-7/

But, Dean does slay the monster in the closet that gives you fake happiness if you feed it the blood of innocents. And in that, we might read a metaphor - for Dean slaying his own closetedness (as much, anyway, as the CW will permit): 

My usual disclaimer applies: reading SPN’s queer subtext does not imply or promise textual confirmation is on the way. 

Lorna is going to be in X-Factor! How do you feel about the line up? Her new outfit looks really cool! What do you think is going to happen with her?

It’s been a while since I got one of these.

Based on your excitement, I don’t think you’ll like my answer, and I’m sorry if that disheartens you at all.

I don’t like or support Lorna being on the upcoming book, for a lot of different reasons.

In the broader scope, from the start of HoX/PoX/DoX (not even considering pre-HoX), Marvel’s ignored everything about Lorna except “Havok’s girlfriend, Magneto’s daughter.” They haven’t acknowledged her experience with Genosha. They haven’t acknowledged the fact she launched Krakoa into space. They didn’t include her in the X-women variant cover, while including others like Mystique and Dani Moonstar, despite Lorna being the second female X-Men member starting back in 1968. Marvel’s only used her to have men (Magneto and Cyclops) talk at her about things that matter to them. As a whole, Marvel’s shown nothing but disrespect toward her, seeming to see her only as a pretty object.

Now specific to X-Factor.

I don’t like that Lorna’s being thrown onto a book titled X-Factor while not being the leader and/or doing bigger and better things elsewhere. It comes off to me like Marvel not only locking her into a backwards nostalgic perception of her that says she can never move on from X-Factor, but also comes off like a demotion. From leader in All-New X-Factor, to what? A consultant? A glorified team member? Being called “the north star” means nothing if it’s still a demotion. Going from tech support to department head and then back to tech support isn’t not a demotion just because the title is changed to “senior tech support.”

I don’t like the original press release. Leah Williams could have cited so many things about Lorna to inspire interest and faith in what she might do with the character. Even accounting for “no spoilers,” she could’ve very easily brought up how Lorna and Rachel previously worked together in space. Instead, the only thing Leah brought up is how she talked to a big Havok x Polaris fan and that apparently led her to see the pairing “in a different light.”

Marvel’s spent the past few years bending over backwards to try to force Havok on Lorna every chance they could, doing things like including a flashback of Lorna kissing him in Prisoner X while simultaneously ignoring the fact she’s a Genosha survivor.

Maybe Leah’s read every single thing Lorna’s ever been in. Maybe she’s read nothing at all. I don’t know. But a press release where all she seems to know or think matters about Lorna is “she used to date Havok” instantly kills any faith I could have in the book doing anything good with her.

Even if the book somehow turns out to do good things with her starting out, the fact Leah thought the most important thing to cite about Lorna starting out was her relationship with Havok means I’d spend every single issue just waiting for The Day (TM) that Leah shoehorns Havok into it and makes Lorna all about promoting him at her expense. Like Marvel’s done countless times over the decades.

The backwards nostalgia and “exists to be Havok’s girlfriend” problems are further exacerbated by the 90s X-Factor variant cover. That’s Marvel pretty much confirming the reasons she’s a) on X-Factor, b) not doing more elsewhere, and c) had everything else about her ignored.

I also don’t like the costume, but that’s kind of a moot point. I already don’t like her being on the book or how little thought there seems to be toward who she is, so the costume is just there. I’m generally opposed to Lorna in team costumes unless there’s a very good reason for the costume besides “lol costume.” All-New X-Factor was a rare case where there was an actual good reason for a team costume, on account of it being a team for a company.

This costume’s also lacking her essential headgear at a time when Marvel knows full well how important it is after what the show Gifted did with it, and wouldn’t dare to take Scarlet Witch’s headgear away in similar fashion.

The only real positive I can say about X-Factor is that it’s being written by a female writer, which is something I’ve said Lorna should have in hopes that a female writer would be more considerate of Lorna’s POV than male writers have been to date. But that positive is undone by all the negatives.

All in all, I’m not buying or reading X-Factor. I’m obviously not going to hold it against someone if they do, but I’d generally suggest waiting to see what’s in each issue before buying. Nothing’s happened so far to make me think that Lorna wouldn’t be better off not used by Marvel at all during DoX, left to fandom doing actual good things with her until Marvel is run by better people some time post-Hickman.

Again, sorry if this brings disappointment for you. It’s simply how it all looks to me.

The defiant HMS Thunder Child attacks the Martian abominations. 

I've always wanted to view The War of the Worlds from another perspective. My new vision would remain in the same steampunk realm of Victorian Britain. I admired that era in history. I thought it would be exciting for a reader to see the apocalyptic world through another pair of eyes.Many of us fantasise about escaping into a domain of science fiction. I still live inside a schoolboy’s imagination where I can go on grand adventures and battle mythical Titans. Of course, I always defeat them. I also enjoy historical stories. The feel of being in the land of yesterday is stimulating. From an early age, my mind has always been full of fantasies. I was captivated by the notion of dystopian lands or themes with a turbulent and exciting past.The War of the Worlds fits into sci-fi and historical genres. I freely admit to being biased towards this story on account of it being British based. I'm compelled by much that has a British feel. I also know there are fabulous and wonderful stories from across the world that deserve applause.I remember enjoying The Day of the Triffids and The Chrysalids. Both the novels were written by John Wyndham. I read them during my English literature course. On the historical front, I had fallen madly in love with Lorna Doone. I thought R.D. Blackmore's compelling story was a joy. I never wanted it to end. I wanted to be John Ridd winning the affections of the fairest lady of my fantasy.In my English literature class, the teacher (Mrs Foster) would get each pupil to read allowed for a few pages before selecting another student to continue. Gradually, we developed confidence as we read aloud. My English teacher was very good at encouraging us to be bold and clear when reading. Those pupils that were slow at first, began to read with seasoned ease after a short time. Sometimes the teacher would stop and explain issues that the author was trying to get across. Mrs Foster was also very articulate. When she spoke to the class we listened. She had total control of all us adolescent boys. Many of us fancied ourselves as Jack the lad. But not in Mrs Foster’s class. She was not a strict teacher and was never given to scolding us. She did not have to. This was because she had that infectious enthusiasm to get us into the books. It worked. We all lived inside the pages and chapters. We were encouraged to dive into these worlds and escape. My adrenalin would soar. My imagination knew no bounds. I wanted to live in a world of danger.I’m certain the idea of writing my own story germinated in those English literature classes back in the seventies decade. A happy time when I was at my secondary school. It left me with a love of books. When I started work in the city of London, I always looked forward to commuting. I would have my book to read going to, and coming home from work.When I first read The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, I started to imagine how I might be a Victorian British sailor from the time of 1898. This occurred when reading a particular episode that compelled me to dwell on the incident for a long time afterwards. Perhaps a little on the obsessive side. I was on board the HMS Thunder Child. I could see H.G. Wells’ horrendous portrayal of Britain in panic. The alien fighting machines shooting heat rays and blanketing the conquered land with sterilizing black smoke. In reality, I was sixteen and going work in London. The year was 1977 and the train was rolling along. I was a low-grade filling clerk in a Re-insurance company. I watched underwriters dealing with Re-insurance brokers from Lloyds. Yet I wanted to be sixteen and in the Victorian Royal Navy of 1898. In this illusion, I was low-grade sea cadet watching the powers that be deal with this uncanny situation. A surreal world where giant Martian contraptions stalked the Earth.I wanted to know more of the HMS Thunder Child and her plucky crew. The intrepid ship was a monument of heroism. The most valiant vessel on Earth. Mythical, but real in my mind's eye. A reader could live in that danger and return to a cosy chair afterwards. How did the Victorian ship arrive at such a circumstance? Perhaps the crew had never seen such things as the Martian fighting machines. The HMS Thunder Child would be at sea. News of such alien abominations would come via strange semaphore messages. Imagine the surreal information coming from the shore stations. Invaders from Mars striding about and destroying the entire fabric of human civilization. Would you believe such outrageous fixations? The HMS Thunder Child would be alive with speculation and disbelief.As readers of the original story, we would know these sailors would be destined to confront three Martian fighting machines. The huge monster tripods that will wade into the River Blackwater to attack a paddle steamer full of fleeing refugees. The small ironclad would steam to the rescue. The coal-driven engines would move her between the Martians and the escaping boat. The HMS Thunder Child against the monumental three. Each abomination, a colossal edifice of battle. That would be the final goal of the story. Everything must lead to the climactic conflict. The small section of the original story. A pastiche to lure an avid science fiction reader.

When the time was right.One day, I decided I would go further with my pretence. I would go aboard the legendary ship and invite others who might wish to come along. I would write a pastiche story dedicated to The H.M.S. Thunder Child. I began to imagine the captain and other ranks. I looked through history books and decided the ship would look like HMS Devastation. I knew my aim for the story. I had an end before the adventure had started. Now I needed a beginning and a compelling storyline between start and finish. There were so many rudimentary ideas. With these basic concepts, I begin to write things down. As I did, more thoughts began to manifest and soon my appetite for the tale began to take control.

I Needed a New Perspective.The classic sci-fi tale could be shown from a new and unique perspective. I wanted to re-create the dystopian world of Victorian Britain in chaos. Being on board the HMS Thunder Child would be a magnificent way to offer a fly on the wall account. Watching from the sea as though one could be a spectator from a safe distance. A new viewpoint through the eyes of the Royal Navy crew. The pastiche novel had to convey a greater understanding and appreciation of the original classic.

The Pastiche Project

Step1. The Tale Begins to develop 

The book was an enjoyable venture and many fine ideas fell into place. The delightful indulgence took the best part of a year. A little here and there. It became my hobby. A forbearance that took up much of my free time. A tolerance that I easily allowed for myself. It was like being an artist trying to paint a landscape. Except my panorama was with words and it could move. The whole endeavour was wonderful and very absorbing. Gradually I got to the finishing line of my written work contribution.

Step 2. The Next Phase of the Story’s Creation

No matter how pleased we should be with ourselves we must stop and think. We are pleased because we have got all of our wonderful words down on a canvas of creation. We must get a liberated assessment. Especially if the writer is an independent author. There will be many mistakes and a good critic will wade in and unpick every sentence.I knew that the next step for my story would require proper editing. I put my project before a board of qualified editors. They began to bid for the editorial work of my story. These bids came with an overall price and some sample pages to show what the editorial work looked like.

Step 3. Choosing Your Freelance Editor

It is important to know that good online editorial agencies have a list of qualified editors. These people must have all the relevant qualifications. The agencies will check these and only recruit freelance editors that make the grade. It is important to know that there are a lot of predators out there.I selected an editor after some sample pages came back. There were many that were good and choosing from so many fine bids was hard. I was spoilt for choice. Then the professional editorial work followed, chapter by chapter. There were many errors that I had missed time and again. I was pleased that I had accomplished the written work but realised I could not see the wood for the trees. Each page seemed to be a sea of red. Nothing escaped scrutiny. I got my page in red and the edited one side by side. Although I was shocked by the many errors, when I read the newly edited version, I was thrilled by how better the story flowed. I would advise any independent author to get good editorial work done.

Step 4. I Needed a Front Cover to Capture One’s Imagination.

After the editorial work came the front cover. Again, there were so many artists that put in bids for this work. There were lots of wonderful samples. I felt guilty having to choose one and reject so many other fabulous bids. I think the completion of the cover design caused my excitement to reach a new and undreamed of height. This was it. The moment had arrived.Finally.My adaptation was done. A science fiction and alternative history pastiche of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. The Martians did fall from the sky in 1898. I could offer science fiction lovers a chance to join the crew of the HMS Thunder Child as she embarked upon her incredible voyage. Walk her decks before her courageous battle with three Martian tripod fighting machines. An action that takes place on the River Blackwater in the county of Essex, England, the UK. The golden age of Queen Victoria's Empire. An alternative British Empire in a more dreadful circumstance. An empire that is vanquished within days.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1484088263/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_lm4rAbV18Z6E7

There was an argument between a couple different accounts on something I reblogged, that I saw because Tumblr has me on this experimental “subscribed” function. The argument was more or less about how Lorna was written in the final episodes.

I don’t have much I can say about that because I didn’t watch it. I assume if I had watched it, I probably would’ve liked it, because I had been liking most of what Gifted was doing with Lorna before the writers royally screwed up with Dreamer.

There’s a bit I can say though. Pertaining to Dreamer, and certain characters and dynamics following her death.

Thunderbird x Blink (Thunderblink)

Okay, so supposedly this pairing got more push after Dreamer’s death, and subsequently, I’ve seen some fans of the pairing talking about how glad they are that Dreamer was killed off so she couldn’t “stand in the way” of this pairing.

To which I say this: if Thunderbird x Blink really couldn’t happen unless Dreamer got killed off, then they’re a pretty shitty pairing. Good pairings don’t require killing off all possible “competition” to become viable. If they’re actually, legitimately good, they’ll be able to develop and thrive regardless.

All Dreamer’s death does for this pairing is make it look forced and disingenuous, like the writers and fans of the pairing are so terrified the pairing sucks in the eyes of everyone else that they need extra assurances to make people accept it.

Esme/Cuckoos gaining prominence

I’ve also seen some people act like Dreamer was either an obstacle to Esme gaining prominence, or somehow redundant because she has psychic-like powers. And they’re cool with Dreamer’s death and how poorly it was handled for that reason.

If you think Esme couldn’t rise unless Dreamer died, that says the same thing as the Thunderbird x Blink pairing: that you think she’s too shitty to stand on her own merits and needs all “competition” removed.

If you think having Esme around means Dreamer is “redundant” and needs to go away for that reason? Well for one, you’re reducing the character exclusively to her powers. Which is stupid. Two characters with the same powers can use them in different ways. For another, if we say they’re all exactly the same, then why does going away have to mean death, and why did that death have to be done so poorly?

Polaris’ darker turn

I’ve seen some people try to claim Dreamer’s death was necessary for Polaris to take a darker turn. That it “had” to happen.

Which isn’t true. First and foremost, there are a LOT of things they could’ve done instead of character death to get the same impact. Dreamer could have been physically or psychologically tortured. She could’ve lost limbs being experimented on. There are so many options that could’ve inflicted a level of suffering that could push Lorna to the breaking point. There are so many options that could’ve taken her to a mentality of “They should be glad I’m killing instead of torturing.”

Second, Lorna already had a lot of trauma and baggage to begin with. Her time in prison alone would’ve been enough to drive her into darker mental modes.

Third, it’s not like it wasn’t possible for the writers to potentially reveal something like Lorna had suppressed memories, Dreamer and/or the Cuckoos bring them out, and that drives Lorna to be darker.

Lorna going dark did not require Dreamer’s death, and to say it did sells Lorna and her potential very, very short. It robs her of some actual real personal development she could’ve received, in favor of making her darkness out to be from a death that was written so poorly that it makes everything to come from it look cheap and half-assed.

Polaris and Esme/Cuckoos dynamic

Lastly for the moment, I’ve seen some people suggest Dreamer had to die so Lorna could have more of a dynamic with Esme and the Cuckoos.

This is the same as the Thunderbird and Blink relationship: if seeing it pursued requires killing off a character, it’s a shitty dynamic. A good dynamic, with a good foundation to work from, can work without “competition” getting “removed” for its sake. If Polaris and Esme/Cuckoos working together was a truly viable angle, it didn’t need Dreamer’s death. It would’ve worked with her still around.

As I said about Esme/Cuckoos gaining prominence, Dreamer’s dynamic with Lorna could have differed greatly. Even if they’re on the same side, Dreamer could have been the softer side to Esme/Cuckoos being hardassed and vicious.

If Dreamer stayed with Mutant Underground, next season could’ve seen her role as Lorna’s best friend trying to get her to come back from her dark side. Some would think of this as redundant with Marcos, but it wouldn’t be, because best friend and lover have differing perspectives and qualities. Or is Marcos gonna try to get Lorna back to the Mutant Underground by reminding her that the two of them could go back to the days of flirting with guys at bars to get intel for missions, instead of talking about the baby and building a family?

Conclusion

Whatever “reason” may be given for why Dreamer getting killed off was somehow good, is a false reason. There is literally nothing about her death that could not have been done better in some way that kept her alive. Especially with how poorly the show’s writers wrote her death.

The show threw away a good character with tons of potential for no reason other than because the writers were either too lazy to put more effort in an alternate route, or too terrible at writing to feel confident in their ability to write various characters and relationships/dynamics well with her presence intact.

My Attitude/Pessimism Toward Marvel

I’m tired but can’t sleep. That means writing a post about Polaris and my general pessimism toward Marvel.

I’m putting this behind a cut because I know some people out there don’t want to see it, and I won’t push it on them when they search. Others have probably seen it over and over and are sick to death of seeing it. Here I go.

I’m extremely pessimistic about Marvel these days. I expect a mix of nothing, backhanded/sabotaged use, and empty gestures that function in the most technical sense possible but don’t actually amount to anything.

Preface: when I note a specific person, do not harass them. I am not just saying this. I mean it. Harassment is bad. It sucks. Don’t do it.

Introduction to Marvel

I learned about Polaris in 2009. I’ve been putting up with Marvel’s behavior for the past 8 years. I’m jaded and pissed off.

When I discovered her, it was at the precise moment when Marvel was shutting down the good things going for her and trying to discard her in space. I loved Jeff Parker’s Exiles run. They abruptly shut it down after six issues; Jeff Parker even had most of a script for issue #7 done when they did it. I loved Lorna’s presence in the Wolverine and the X-Men cartoon. They abruptly canceled it after one season, despite the team having plans as far out as season 3.

My introduction to Marvel’s attitude toward her was already on a sour note. In spite of it, I entered into Marvel with optimism. I naively thought that perhaps with enough positivity and shows of support, things would change.

But then I got to Tom Brevoort. Presently Senior Vice President of Publishing.

Introduction to Editorial/Executive Individuals

Back around 2012, Brevoort was very openly negative toward Polaris. When the matter of Lorna’s parentage came out, he was more than happy to try to claim Lorna couldn’t possibly be Magneto’s daughter, yet somehow Siryn could be Banshee’s daughter, with some convoluted excuse about “genetics breeding true.” When someone asked about Polaris possibly being in the Avengers vs X-Men event, his response was to say that Lorna couldn’t be part of it because “events are only for A-listers and B-listers.” Meaning he blew off any potential value she could have to the story, and looked down on her as a “lesser” character.

This is in addition to Brevoort bending over backwards to exclude her from family events in things like Children’s Crusade.

My first experience with someone at Marvel in an editorial/executive role was someone who had nothing but contempt for my favorite character and looked for any excuses he could find to devalue her and exclude her from anything he could.

Handling Lorna’s Return From Space

At the time I got into her, Marvel comics had Lorna shoved into space, same with Rachel Summers and Havok. You know how important they seemed to see her? They kept her in space limbo for a year. A full year lost, because according to what I’ve read, the X-Men and space offices didn’t know who had control of the characters.

Think about that. If this was someone like Wolverine or Storm, they would’ve been on top of making sure who could use them. Instead, they cared so little that they spent a year just letting her hang with no writers able to use her.

When they did finally bring her back? They shoved her back onto X-Factor.

X-Factor

Now, a lot of people love X-Factor, and they love Peter David. I understand that. I had a volatile start here, and if I’m completely honest, I didn’t give Peter David a fair shot before judging at the time. But I need to explain why I was volatile over this.

Polaris was in X-Factor in the 90s. She had a lot of major development afterward. She joined her father Magneto and her step-siblings on Genosha, developing her powers, gaining vital skills, building a reputation. She survived the genocide and dealt with trauma afterward. She lost her powers from Scarlet Witch stripping them from her. Got them back when Apocalypse forced her to become Pestilence. She went through Hell.

... Then Marvel decided to kick her back down to where she was before all of that development. They shoved her back on her old 90s team. Forced her to remain Havok’s supporting girlfriend. The reveal cover even had her standing behind Havok to drive this point home.

To me, it felt like a symbolic “fuck you” to everything Lorna suffered through, all the growth she had, all the ways she established her own character.

This was my first experience with, in my eyes, Marvel technically fulfilling something I and other fans wanted while undermining it. Fans wanted her back from space. They brought her back from space... then put her on a book that at first glance turned back the clock on all her development, and with a writer who is deeply opposed to characters he’s writing being involved in crossovers and broader Marvel events if he can help it.

Marvel traded exile in space for exile on X-Factor. They didn’t solve the problem. They just changed where the problem existed.

But like I said. I don’t think I gave Peter David a fair shot at the time. He did do some good things.

Sabotaged Milestones

I want to note going into this that I had some major problems with some of Peter David’s writing. I was very upset when he wrote Lorna saying he could do without seeing her father for the rest of her life; giving Marvel an excuse to never use that relationship. All-New X-Factor #3-6 also treated Lorna very, very poorly. It lacked empathy in writing her “rage” moments, and undermined her leadership to make Gambit look better.

I wanted to get that out of the way for context.

X-Factor #243 told Lorna’s origin story. She’d gone over 40 years without it being told. And it was good! Much better than I expected.

All-New X-Factor let Lorna lead a team in her own right! It also took over 40 years to happen. Until then, she only got to be “replacement leader” for other characters’ absences.

All-New X-Factor in general let her interact with Quicksilver, and #14 let her interact with Scarlet Witch! It was the first time she got to spend time with her siblings in around 10 years.

... And Marvel refused to promote any of it.

Marvel did nothing to promote Lorna’s origin story getting told after 40 years of Marvel never telling it. They didn’t promote ANXF at all. When ANXF #14 was coming out, they went so far in trying to keep people from knowing about it that they withheld its cover until a week before release. Too late for most people to order it. Not to mention it was the second issue of a double shipping month.

But wait. It doesn’t just stop there. It also goes into Marvel trying to use attributes of Lorna while refusing to actually use Lorna herself.

“Replacing” Lorna, Not Using Her

At the same time as ANXF #14′s release, Marvel had promoted Axis with a cover months in advance of Scarlet Witch paired with Enchantress, with Wanda’s hair tinted red and Enchantress’ hair tinted green. So basically? While Marvel tried to bury ANXF #14 happening, they tried to exploit the visual of Lorna and Wanda to sell more copies of Axis.

Then, after Axis forced a retcon that made Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver suddenly not Magneto’s kids anymore, Marvel decided to do something else dickish. They created a character called Luminous, to be a “sister” to Wanda and Pietro.

That’s not one, but two times Marvel - mainly the Avengers side, meaning most likely Brevoort - tried to replace Lorna instead of actually using her. One, a character they saw as “more worthy,” and another brand new character they created for the sole purpose of occupying the role she had. That’s how much Marvel looked down on Lorna: they decided they’d rather create a character than use her.

Forced Limbo

Marvel canceled All-New X-Factor “due to low sales.” Notably, when they put out the Scarlet Witch solo, they let that book last for a year despite having sales just as low starting with issue #2.

The last time we saw Lorna in anything before her return this year was Secret Wars in 2015. At the time, I was excited. She was going to be able to interact with her father. Her broad family ties were acknowledged with Secret Wars: House of M. Various alternate reality versions of her had cameos.

I started dreading that Marvel doing so much for her all at once was a sign they planned to throw her into limbo afterward, and this was just to smooth things over before they did. I kept it to myself though because I wanted to believe Marvel intended to do better by her from that point onward.

Except I was right.

For two years, Marvel kept her in forced limbo. No appearances. No cameos. Nothing. The absolute most she got in that time was Sabretooth talking about how she smelled. Marvel looked at interest in Lorna, and for two years said “Fuck her, let’s use literally anyone else.”

Oh, but she’s back now, so it’s all fine! Right?

No. It’s not.

Beneath Men On Return (X-Men Blue)

Her first appearance this year was an alternate future in Deadpool and the Mercs for Money. There, she wore an all green costume with Magneto’s helmet and Magneto’s chest element. At the time, I made the mistake of supporting it. I should have seen and treated it as a bad omen of things to come.

When she finally got re-introduced with X-Men Blue #8 and #9, I was pretty damned jaded by Marvel. After everything I explained above, after two years of forced limbo, I expected she would briefly appear and then get thrown back into forced limbo. It turns out, how she’s been written and still being written makes me wish Bunn would stop writing her.

X-Men Blue #8 spends a ton of time building up Havok. He gets to be a threat to the teen X-Men. He gets to lead a brand new team of his own. He gets to interact with Briar Raleigh and get introduced as working with Emma Frost. He gets to establish connections. He gets all of this.

Then Polaris gets introduced. And how is she introduced? With dialogue exclusively emphasizing that Havok is her ex. And a description text box that describes as only one thing: “Daughter of Magneto.”

Think about that. Imagine Havok bursts into a room Polaris is in and all he says is “I know you were my girlfriend, but I won’t let my feelings for you hold me back.” Imagine Magneto shows up, and the only thing Marvel thinks you should know about him is “Father of Polaris.” Nothing else.

X-Men Blue #9 proceeds to reinforce this. It takes great pains to re-frame Lorna’s long-held “Mistress of Magnetism” title into looking like something she’s only allowed to have because Magneto is her father. When Lorna uses her powers to make two team members leave, one of them says it’s a sign she’s definitely Magneto’s daughter.

Because, y’know, a silly woman like Polaris couldn’t possibly want to do that of her own accord. It must be because of her daddy. Right?

Then, in a future issue (I think the next one), Bunn writes Lorna acting surprised by an attack on the team’s base - just so he can write Magneto “correcting” her about how attacks can come at any moment.

This is Polaris. A woman who’s been attacked out of nowhere repeatedly for decades. She survived a genocidal massacre that came out of nowhere and killed millions, for fuck’s sake. There’s no way in hell she’s going to not expect an attack while in a base of operations. She wasn’t safe in the heart of Genosha, she’s not going to think a piddling mansion will somehow be safer. I found this very insulting as a whole.

In the latest event, Lorna is put in the Malice costume at one point. Her reaction can be summarized as “Oh wow, this is one weird costume alright! How strange. Oh well.” While the scene is designed to heavily emphasize Mutant Massacre, the horror of dead mutants in the sewers, and Magneto’s outright about it.

Here’s the thing. Malice possessed Lorna and used her body to hurt and kill people, including those she loved. She was a passenger in her own body, forced to witness the horror of it all. For Lorna to have no kind of real reaction at all is insulting. The book plays it like it’s just for fun and thrills and doesn’t care at all about how Lorna would actually behave.

And something that doesn’t help is occasionally forcing dialogue where Lorna says ‘father’ or ‘dad’ in spots that are completely unnatural, just to remind everyone that he’s above her in that fashion. As I write this, I’m trying to remember if I saw Magneto refer to Lorna as “daughter” like this at any point.

The consistent pattern in everything Bunn’s done with Lorna so far is this: “Magneto and Havok are great, Lorna is beneath them and that’s the only value she has as a character.”

Odds and Ends

I’ve said a lot here, but there’s some pieces throughout the years that didn’t fit above.

The X-Men franchise had its anniversary in 2013. Marvel made covers meant to combine into one big image. Polaris was on none of them. Yet, Marvel included Havok alongside four of the original five X-Men on one cover.

In general, Marvel has been forcing Havok into every major development for Lorna while never raising her profile when things happen for Havok. When he went to Uncanny Avengers, the most she came up was unnamed as a “crazy girlfriend” he’s glad to be away from.

Yet, when Lorna’s origin story was told, Havok got to be involved. When Lorna led a team of her own, Havok got to be forced in as spying on her via Quicksilver with the reason being that Havok in sum thinks she’s not smart enough to avoid being taken advantage of by Harrison Snow. And then X-Men Blue, where he got to be the primary focus of what was being played up and promoted as Lorna’s big return after 2 years of forced limbo.

With regard to Avengers vs X-Men, Brevoort did technically relent to include her... as a nameless cameo. Who gets mind-controlled into submission by Emma Frost. And who Magneto completely ignores being treated that way after having gone into space to help rescue Lorna just a month prior.

When Occasional Good Isn’t Enough

As you may be picking up here, Marvel did allow some good things for Lorna during these past 8 years.

She returned from space. Magneto is her father. She got to interact with Wanda and Pietro. She got her origin story told. She got to lead a team of her own. She got her first playable appearances in video games. She got a figurine after a decade without one and lots of fan demand in top 10 lists. Arguably (cause Nix took the initiative to ask to use her), Marvel allowed her to be a star on Gifted, which is the best writing she’s had in a long time.

A person might look at the good stuff she’s managed to get in the past 8 years and think: what’s the deal? Why be pessimistic and negative about Marvel when they’ve done good things for her in that time?

Here’s the thing. Doing the occasional good thing does not undo massive heapings of bad that happen at the same time. If you burn down my house, giving me a brand new car isn’t going to bring my house back, nor is it anything close to a replacement for what I lost.

I’m not “ungrateful,” I just don’t let the rare nice thing from Marvel blind me to all the times they’ve screwed over the character I care about and keep doing it. I don’t let the occasional nice thing make me forget that Marvel’s spent most of her nearly 50 years of existence cheating her out of everything she can be.

My attitude toward Marvel is a reflection of Marvel’s attitude toward what I care about.

Some people are quick to play nice over that occasional good. I see doing so as a mistake. It’s giving Marvel permission to keep treating Lorna poorly as long as they throw a tiny breadcrumb over every so often. I think it’s part of what’s allowed Marvel to hold her back for literal decades. They don’t have to do anything more than the bare minimum if the bare minimum looks like it’s enough for Polaris fans.

Some people are afraid Marvel will at some point “punish” demanding more from Marvel after the occasional good. My stance is this: if Marvel is genuine, if they really want to do right by Lorna, then they’ll try to do right by her no matter what I say. If they try to tear down Lorna for things I’ve said, then they were lying any time they said they support her or that they said they try to be a good writer/editor. At which point they require more criticism and complaint, not less.

This post was long, but necessary for me. I needed to say all this.