| Polaris | |
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Polaris and her magnetism, featured on the cover of X-Men: Kingbreaker #3. Art by Brandon Peterson. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The X-Men #49 (October, 1968) |
| Created by | Arnold Drake Don Heck Werner Roth Jim Steranko |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Lorna Dane |
| Species | Human Mutant and Human Mutate (cyborg) |
| Team affiliations | X-Men X-Factor "Defenders for a Day" The Twelve Acolytes Horsemen of Apocalypse Starjammers |
| Notable aliases | M2, Magnetrix, Pestilence, Malice, Magneto the Second |
| Abilities | Currently: Internal technology replicates lost mutant ability to manipulate electromagnetic energies allowing flight, force-fields, concussive blasts and the manipulation of ferrous metals. |
Polaris (Lorna Dane) is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books. Created by Arnold Drake, Don Heck, Werner Roth and Jim Steranko,[1] Polaris first appeared in The X-Men #49 (October, 1968). For most of her publication history, she has been a superheroine, and a member of either the X-Men or one of its sister groups, such as X-Factor, though from 1987 to 1989, she was possessed by a villainous telepathic entity, and functioned as the supervillain Malice.
A mutant, Polaris can control magnetism, much like the supervillain Magneto, whom she long suspected to be her biological father, a fact confirmed in Uncanny X-Men #431 (2003), making her also the half sister of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.[2] She has also had a complicated long term relationship with the X-Man Havok, to whom she was engaged.
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Polaris was created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Jim Steranko, and first appeared in X-Men #49 (October 1968). She first appeared as a member of the X-Men in X-Men vol. 1 #60, in 1969, and remained a member of the team until just after the debut of a new team of X-Men in Giant-Size X-Men. Polaris appeared as a supporting character for the team for several years before joining a new incarnation of the X-Factor team in X-Factor #70 (Sep 1991), remaining with that team until X-Factor #149 (Sep 1998).
Lorna Dane met the original team of X-Men while still a student.[3] When the villain Mesmero used his "psyche-generator" to summon mutants in North America with latent powers,[4] Lorna found herself compelled to travel to San Francisco, where Mesmero was. There she encountered the X-Man Iceman, who tripped her with a piece of ice and convinced her to come to his apartment. Soon after she discovered the X-Men, and they in turn learned that she was a latent mutant. Mesmero and his android Demi-Men captured her and took her to their desert headquarters, with the X-Men in pursuit.
When the X-Men attempted to rescue her, Magneto seemingly revealed himself as the leader of the group behind her abduction—and, more importantly, claimed to be Lorna's father. Despite the X-Men's assertions that Magneto is evil, Lorna could not bring herself to fight her own father.[4] Iceman returns from meeting with her foster parents who told him that her birth parents had died in a plane crash years earlier. This information caused Lorna to turn against Magneto.[5] Unbeknownst to Lorna, the Magneto who claimed to be her father is revealed to be an android. Shortly after, Lorna was captured by Sentinels, but was rescued by the X-Men.[6] Lorna joined the X-Men and began living at Xavier's mansion.[7] Lorna aided Havok and the X-Men in repelling the alien Z'Nox's attempted invasion of Earth.[8]
Lorna Dane's first "code name" was Magnetrix, but she quickly decided that she did not like this name. However, that did not keep Havok from continuing to use that name as a way to annoy and flirt with her.[9]
Lorna, with Havok, is later seen battling the Hulk.[10] When the old and new X-Men fought the mutant island Krakoa, Lorna displayed the full potential of her powers for the first time by disrupting the Earth's magnetic field, which sent Krakoa into deep space.[11]
For a while, Iceman was attracted to her, but Lorna did not truly reciprocate the feelings.[12] She did however, fall in love with her teammate Havok.[13] The two leave the X-Men to pursue their mutual interest in geophysics. They moved to the Diablo mountain range in California, and later joined Moira MacTaggert at her facility for genetic research on Muir Island.[14]
Lorna received a new costume of Shi'ar design, when her mind came under the domination of the Shi'ar Intelligence agent Davan Shakari, also known as Erik the Red. It was Erik the Red who gave Lorna the codename Polaris, which she has continued to use ever since. At the time, Shakari served D'Ken, then emperor of the Shi'ar Galaxy. Shakari kidnapped Alex Summers and Lorna, and subjected them to a powerful form of mind control. He turned them against the X-Men in an attempt to assassinate Professor Charles Xavier. A massive battle ensued at Kennedy International Airport, with the duo battling the X-Men. Polaris was defeated by Storm, but Shakari managed to escape with both her and Havok. Xavier eventually freed both Polaris and Havok from Shakari's control.[15]
Polaris and Havok remained inactive as members of the X-Men, though they did return from time to time to assist the team. With the X-Men, they battled Proteus on Muir Island.[16] For the most part, Lorna and Alex remained in civilian life for a number of years, settling in New Mexico and completing their college degrees. They were forced to reluctantly help the X-Men in Arcade's Murderworld.[17] Their new life was interrupted when the Marauders ambushed them around the time of the Mutant Massacre. Polaris’ mind was overtaken by the psionic being known as Malice.[18]
Under Malice’s control, Lorna attacked the X-Men as leader of the Marauders.[19] Shortly thereafter, the Malice entity found that it had become permanently bonded to Lorna’s body.[20] She led the Marauders against the X-Men during Inferno.[21] After Mister Sinister was seemingly killed, Malice's hold over Lorna weakened. Temporarily regaining control of her own mind, Lorna was able to place a phone call to the X-Men in Australia for help, but they arrived too late. Lorna had been taken to be with her alleged half-sister Zaladane, a priestess for the Savage Land's Sun People.[22] The X-Men arrived in time to witness Zaladane's getaway, though Havok managed to infiltrate her army in disguise while the X-Men followed. In the Savage Land, the X-Men found that Zaladane had amassed an army of Savage Land natives who were being mentally controlled for her by Worm, one of the Savage Land Mutates. Zaladane revealed that she is in fact Lorna's sister and, using the High Evolutionary's machinery, stripped Lorna of her magnetic powers, taking them as her own. In addition, the process managed to finally separate Lorna from Malice. Zaladane and her forces clashed with Ka-Zar and the X-Men. During the encounter, Lorna's secondary mutation activated: she grew in height, became invulnerable, and gained superhuman strength. Zaladane's army was released from Worm's control, and Lorna finally regained her freedom.[23]
Having nowhere else to go, Lorna went to Moira MacTaggert's mutant research station on Muir Island. On her way there, her secondary mutation activated again, as evidenced by a sudden increase in height. At this time, she discovered that her new mutation also affects those around her, amplifying negative emotions such as anger and hate.[24]
Upon examination, Dr. MacTaggert was at a loss to explain Lorna's new mutation, although she did confirm that the only way Zaladane could have taken her powers away was if she had been a biological sibling.[25] Shortly after her arrival, Lorna joined the Muir Island X-Men team formed by Moira and former X-Man Banshee.[26] This team defended Muir Island from the attacking Reavers, who were hunting for Wolverine.[27]
Prior to this time, it had not been clear that Polaris was actually drawing strength from being a nexus for negative emotional energies. Polaris’ status as a nexus, however, was perceived by the villainous Shadow King. The Shadow King used Polaris as a gateway to allow him access to the physical world from the astral plane, causing a world-wide increase in anger, hatred, and violence in the process.[28] Polaris was freed of his influence with the help of X-Factor and the X-Men during the Muir Island Saga.[29] Upon the defeat of the Shadow King, Polaris’ magnetic powers return due to a combination of Zaladane's death a short time before and the neural-disruptive psionic blade of the X-Man Psylocke, leaving no trace of her increased size, strength, or emotion-control powers.[30]
Polaris was then asked to join the newly formed X-Factor by Valerie Cooper, and, tired of hiding out on Muir Island, she accepted.[31] Havok and Polaris were set as its leaders. Although joining X-Factor offered Polaris the chance to reunite with Havok, their relationship remained largely unresolved.[32] Polaris was able to come to terms with her experiences with mind control thanks to psychiatrist Dr. Leonard Samson, helping her to develop her confidence.[33] Polaris developed a strong belief in Xavier's dream while a member of X-Factor.[34] Polaris became the government's secret weapon against a possible attack from Magneto, with the government hiring the mercenary Random to test her abilities.[35] Malice later returned to bother her once more but Havok and Polaris, out of their love for each other, each tried to absorb her, preventing the other from being possessed. In the end, Malice perished at the hands of Mister Sinister.[36]
Shortly thereafter, Havok was kidnapped by agents of the Dark Beast, who forged a note explaining that Havok needed to get away from Polaris. This devastated Polaris, causing her to feel abandoned and betrayed.[37] X-Factor's atmosphere changed as the criminals Mystique and Sabretooth were forced by the government to join the group.[38][39] Polaris began to question her place on the team after this, especially as most of her original teammates were no longer active. She discovered Havok's fate as he attacked X-Factor with the Dark Beast's agents, apparently under mind-control. After Havok was defeated, Polaris tried to reach out to him, only to be attacked and severely injured when she felt she could trust him.[40] When Sabretooth betrayed and attacked the team, Polaris was severely injured.[41]
After recovering from her injuries, and learning that Havok's "terrorist" activities had been a front for his true undercover work, Polaris forgave him, although she rejected him romantically.[42] She also agreed to join Havok's new X-Factor team. However, during their first team meeting, she could only watch as Havok was seemingly killed in the explosion of a faulty time machine constructed by the mutant from the future, Greystone.[43] Although Havok had left Polaris in charge of his team while trying to stop Greystone, she apparently did not feel like she could keep the team together, and they disbanded shortly thereafter.[43]
Weeks later, Nightcrawler encountered Lorna in a church and she confided in him that she felt she was being followed and that she was sure Alex was still alive.[44] A group of Skrulls working with Apocalypse were indeed shadowing her and broke into her apartment to retrieve the headgear from Havok's original costume. Lorna then learned that she was one of The Twelve, a team of mutants supposedly destined to usher in a new golden age for mutant-kind.[45] Polaris journeyed with the X-Men to Egypt to battle Apocalypse. During the encounter, Magneto, another member of The Twelve, discovered that he could use Lorna to tap into the Earth's magnetic field with incredible force, effectively hiding the reduced state of his powers at the time.[46]
After Apocalypse was defeated, Polaris returned to Genosha with Magneto to supply him with power and help him keep order. She believed she was doing it for the greater good, but also enjoyed the education in her powers that she received. Magneto launched a full-scale assault on Carrion Cove, the last city opposing his rule, in order to gain access to technology that would restore his full abilities. Polaris attempted to stop him, but she was defeated and left the country with the Avengers. She later returned with Quicksilver to help oppose Magneto's tyrannical rule.[47]
Although Quicksilver was discovered and forced to leave Genosha, Polaris maintained a low profile in order to covertly transport refugees from the war to other nations, as well as monitor Magneto’s actions.[48] After Magneto’s spine was severed by Wolverine, Polaris was able to steal a blood sample from his medical tests, which she used to confirm that Magneto was her biological father.[49] When Cassandra Nova’s Sentinels destroyed Genosha and massacred millions, Polaris was one of the few survivors. She was left emotionally scarred after witnessing the massacre after being unable to save them.[50]
Later, some of the X-Men went to Genosha to survey what occurred there. They encountered a nude and deranged Polaris in Genosha sometime after its population was massacred by Cassandra Nova's Sentinels.[51] When Polaris rejoined the X-Men, the extremely traumatic experience had left her with a darker, more ruthless personality, even killing some members of the anti-mutant Church of Humanity. Havok broke up with Polaris after they were about to be married, leaving her at the altar for nurse Annie Ghazikhanian. Traumatized and humiliated, the unstable Polaris went berserk and commenced to go on a rampage that nearly resulted in her killing Alex. Juggernaut succeeded in knocking her out.[52] She remained this way until some psychic therapy with Professor Xavier. Polaris promised to do no more harm and she was accepted back to the X-Men.[53] It was also confirmed that she is the daughter of Magneto, and her mother was an American college student named Suzanna Dane. Suzanna's relationship with Magneto was short, and when she was killed in a plane crash Lorna was then adopted by an unnamed uncle and aunt.[50]
Iceman later admitted to Polaris that he still had feelings for her and after some mild flirtation, the two began a relationship.[54] The relationship was not to last, however, since Lorna's other relationships (namely with Havok) were still unresolved. Havok has confessed to still loving her after Annie had left him, however, Polaris pushed him away.[55]
It was revealed that Polaris had lost her powers on M-Day,[56] but had avoided telling her teammates. When confronted by Valerie Cooper, who has knowledge of her power loss, Polaris claimed that her power loss is psychological and she believes she is preventing herself from using them. Polaris eventually was forced by circumstance to accept that her powers were gone and admit the fact to the rest of the team — whereupon all the other members of her squad, except her would-be-paramours Iceman and Havok, revealed to her that they had already guessed it. She then left the mansion with Havok to "search" for her lost powers, irrationally convinced they lay with an alien named Daap, a seeming twin to the deceased X-Statix member Doop, who she had seen on a recent mission in space. Daap soon crashed to Earth and kidnapped Polaris and the Leper Queen, the leader of the anti-mutant group known as the Sapien League.[57]
Apocalypse took them both, restrained the Leper Queen, and forcibly transformed Polaris into the new Pestilence. Seemingly mind-wiped, she ingested viruses from the World Health Organization and was attempting to create a meta-plague. In the climactic battle between the X-Men, the Avengers, and Apocalypse, Wolverine discovered a choking Pestilence was Lorna.[58] She was recovering in the X-Mansion when former Horsemen of Apocalypse Gambit and Sunfire returned to take her away. She arose and refused to go with them, but also decided to quit the X-Men.[59] Polaris decided to leave that night to search for Apocalypse in Egypt. She went alone and was later hunted until Havok and the new Uncanny X-Men team saved her. Emma Frost has also noted that her powers seem to be mutating, and that Apocalypse fused unknown technology to Lorna's nervous system to replicate her lost magnetic powers.[60]
After being rescued from an anti-Apocalypse cult by the new team, Polaris agreed to join Professor X, Darwin, Havok, Marvel Girl, Nightcrawler, and Warpath on their mission to stop Vulcan.[60] Her current relationship with Havok is still developing. Polaris seemed to finally show concrete signs of forgiving Havok, telling him to "just shut up and kiss me" after the team won their first battle against the entire regiment of Shi'ar soldiers in their beginning struggle against D'Ken and in support of Lilandra.[61] Although Havok initially rebuffs her advances, hesitant to "start up again after" everything that happened between them, Lorna says that he needs to "blow off some steam" and the scene ends with them kissing. Polaris helps in the big fight and seriously hurts Vulcan and Gladiator with her powers, but in the end she is one of the X-Men left behind.[62]
Following the death of Corsair at the hands of Vulcan, Polaris joined the newest incarnation of the Starjammers, intending to kill Vulcan and restore Lilandra Neramani to the Shi'ar throne.[62] Their mission proved unsuccessful and Polaris, along with Havok, Ch'od, and Raza, was captured and incarcerated on an underwater planet by Vulcan.[63]
Lorna was later shown to still be a prisoner of Vulcan and his forces. While being tortured, it is revealed that she has some form of healing factor that helps her fight off toxins and poisons. Vulcan ordered her to be heavily drugged so they can further study this.[64] She was later freed by Havok and the other Starjammers, who vowed to kill Vulcan.[65]
Polaris and the Starjammers played a large role in the War of Kings storyline, which also featured Vulcan, The Inhumans, Nova, and The Guardians of the Galaxy.[66] Pursued by a Shi'ar superdestroyer after escaping, Lorna uses the fact that she is Crystal's sister-in-law to allow the Starjammers through the Kree's defensive shield.[67] After the Shi'ar Imperial Guard's attack on Crystal and Ronan's wedding, Lorna plays a minor but pivotal role in regaining Kree popular support for the Inhumans by making sure that Crystal's humanitarian acts towards the injured Kree civilians are broadcast all over the Kree networks.[68] After this, she once again joins the Starjammers on their mission to rescue Lilandra. They promptly commandeer a Shi'ar Ironclad (which she helps capture by magnetizing the Starjammer to its hull) which they then use to join the main Shi'ar fleet until their cover is blown when they rescue Rocket Raccoon and his Guardians of the Galaxy.[69] Following the surrender of the Shi'ar to the Inhumans, Lorna remains on the Shi'ar homeworld along with Havok and Marvel Girl.[70]
Through Ch'od, and apparently due to the incident of Rachel and Korvus both losing the connection to the Phoenix Force, it is known that Polaris, Havok, Rachel and Korvus have departed for Earth.[71]
Polaris along with Havok are seen joining Wolverine's side due to Polaris wanting to maintain her self away from her father Magneto.
Polaris' powers enable her to sense and control magnetism, including manipulating metals which are susceptible to magnetism. Her powers come from technology wired into her nervous system which imitate her former mutant powers of magnetism.
Polaris can generate magnetic energy pulses, create force fields, manipulate the Earth's magnetic field, and allow herself to fly,[72] By concentrating, Polaris can perceive the world around her solely as patterns of magnetic and electrical energy. She can perceive the natural magnetic auras surrounding living beings as well. She has bright green hair, the first indication of her mutation. At first, she dyed her hair brown to hide this, but later she appears with her characteristic green hair.
Briefly in her history, Polaris lost her magnetism power, but gained the ability to absorb negative emotions from the environment and use it as strength, endurance, invulnerability, and the ability to temporarily increase her height and mass.[23] She eventually lost these additional powers and her original magnetic powers returned.[73]
Polaris was among the mutants depowered by Scarlet Witch during the House of M storyline, and as such no longer possesses her natural mutant powers. However, due to Apocalypse's recent manipulations, Celestial technology was hardwired into her nervous system (as well as her skull and spine) which artificially replicated her natural magnetic abilities. The limits of her "new" magnetic powers are unknown, but Lorna has said they bear a resemblance of the power she used to possess and they are more dangerous and harder for her to control. In Uncanny X-Men #476, she is referred to as one of the biggest threats of the current team by the opposing Shi'ar Imperial Shockers, cybernetic guards. In the "Emperor Vulcan" storyline it became obvious that her power level is significantly heightened, as she shields the Starjammer against the attacks of a whole fleet of starships and was shown to directly destroy at least one enemy battleship with a magnetic blast.
As the Horseman Pestilence, Lorna has shown the ability to ingest virulent diseases without harm, absorbing their traits, and according to Apocalypse is able to spread a "meta-plague" that will kill anyone who has not been inoculated with the virus' vaccine, the Blood of Apocalypse. She has also been shown to fight off toxins and drugs quicker than normal.[64]
Lorna possesses expertise in geophysics, and has earned a Masters degree in that field.
Polaris in the Age of Apocalypse reality was one of the many prisoners in Sinister's Breeding Pens, and a victim of the Dark Beast's tests. She had been rendered nearly powerless because Rogue had permanently absorbed her powers when the two had a fallout prior to Rogue being taken to the X-Men. Prelate Scott Summers frees her, but she cannot recognize him; she mistakes him for Magneto, whom she believes is her father. Dark Beast states that he performed a DNA test which ruled out any relation to Magneto.[74]
Magneto becomes romantically involved with Susanna Dane an American exchange student in Europe who is helping smuggle him from place to place. When Magneto finds out she is having a child he tells her to go home because what she is doing is likely to get her and her child killed. Lorna Dane grows up in California and watches Magneto declare war on the human governments as a child.[75] Eventually Magneto reveals he is her father when he becomes ruler of Genosha. Polaris is shocked and storms off due to him never having been there for her. She eventually comes around as she is seen later when the new world order began, where mutants were the ruling class and with Magneto being their monarch. Lorna is still residing with him in his palace on Genosha with all his children. Polaris, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were considered royalty in this reality, and Lorna eventually develops a close relationship with her father.[76]
Polaris works as a long-term member of the X-Men, after Magneto takes over from an ill Professor Xavier. This Polaris knows she is the daughter of Magneto. The X-Men briefly fight and lose against an insane Madelyne Pryor. Later, they seemingly perish in an atomic explosion but survive this as well. Polaris is one of the victims in the reality-threatening battle involving Pryor and the Beyonder. Badly injured, she dies in her father's arms, reassured that everything will be okay.[77]
In the Ultimate Marvel continuity of Ultimate X-Men, Polaris is an attractive teenage mutant girl who is a member of the Academy of Tomorrow, a mutant peacekeeping squad led by Emma Frost. In this continuity, she is also the girlfriend of Havok but as a twist, she was also the ex-girlfriend of his brother Cyclops, whom Havok resents with a passion.[78]
Polaris is framed for killing dozens of people with her powers during a rescue mission, and imprisoned in the Triskelion of the Ultimates with mutant terrorist Magneto. After beating him at Chess after only 12 or so games, Magneto beats her into unconsciousness with a chair, and then uses her to goad Havok into rescuing her, so that he can escape the maximum-security cell by swapping places with Mystique. In the end, Polaris' name is cleared and she returns to the Academy of Tomorrow.[79] Magneto has her killed in Ultimatum along with the rest of the Academy of Tomorrow except for Havok.[80] There is no indication that this version of Lorna was ever related to Magneto, despite having similar powers.
An alternate version of Polaris is drafted onto the interdimensional superhero team the Exiles. Originating from Earth-8149, she is seemingly killed in battle with a group of Sentinels engineered to destroy her, but is plucked out of time moments before her death to join the Exiles.[81]
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