Art by Jim Steranko
- Name: Lorna Dane
- Code Names: Polaris, Magneta, Malice, Magnetrix
- First Appearance: X-Men #49
- Powers: Mastery of Magnetism
- Teams Affiliation: X-Men, X-Factor, Starjammers
About
How important is your parentage? Are you defined by who raised you or your genetic code? For Lorna Dane it wasn’t that simple. She wavered between the person she thought she was, and the person she was fated to be. She wanted desperately to be normal, but normal was never going to be an option for Magneto’s daughter. It comes down to a classic question, nature or nurture. And the answer, it’s not so clear.
Lorna didn’t remember much before the plane crash. There was some yelling, someone was angry. Then screams, someone was afraid. The young Miss Dane blacked out and awoke to viridian hair and dead parents. From there she grew up fairly normal, and without Cerebro she would have remained that way. The X-Men came to recruit her for their school, but so did Mesmero, a servant of the master of magnetism himself. Mesmero hypnotized her and brought her to meet the man who claimed to be her true father, Magneto. Their shared control over magnetism seemed to cement their relationship but after a complicated plan, one that involved Cyclops dressing up in Viking bondage gear, the X-Men were able to save the girl. She joined the Xavier School and trained to become an X-Man.
Art by Jim Steranko and John Tartaglione
At the school, she met Havok and the two quickly fell in love. They dreamt of leaving their adventuring lifestyle behind them and were given that opportunity when the Professor recruited a team of all-new, all-different X-Men. The lovebirds decided to pursue their dreams and worked on their education in geophysics in the American Southwest. That concept of a “normal life” would always be out of Lorna’s grasp as she and Alex were mind controlled by Erik the Red (who was an alien dressed in the same Viking, bondage gear that Cyclops wore) and attacked the X-Men.
Art by Dave Cockrum, Sam Grainger, and Don Warfield
They would spend the next few years alternating between trying to live a normal life, finishing their PhDs, and getting drug into superhero shenanigans. Lorna’s life would get derailed when the Marauder/evil choker necklace known as Malice took over the body of Polaris. Malice controlled Lorna as the Marauder’s continuously attacked the X-Men after the mutant massacre, but the death of Mr. Sinister weakened Malice’s hold over the girl. This was just in time for Zaladane, the Savage Land priestess, to convince her that they were secret sisters because the “Dane” at the end of their names. I want to take a moment to point out that a basic understanding of how last names work would have solved all of this, but I digress. Long story short, Lorna got rid of Malice, figured out how sisters work, and got mysterious flying brick powers that no one ever explained. This was not good times for Lorna Dane.
Art by Marc Silvestri, Dan Green, and Joe Rosen
Polaris went to Muir Island to try and understand her new powers, and wouldn’t you know it, she got possessed again. This time by the Shadow King, because of course she did. After the X-Men saved the day, Lorna was approached to join the new government sponsored X-Factor, once again alongside Havok. They had changed in the years apart, and their relationship didn’t start as smooth as it had been. The final straw broke when Havok turned heel and became a mutant terrorist (he was actually undercover but whatever). After that, the team got darker, too dark for her taste, and she left X-Factor.
Art by Joe Quesada, Al Milgrom, and Marie Javins
Lorna was determined to discover the truth about her parentage which led her to Genosha, the mutant nation under Magneto’s control. The locals loved Magneto and treated Polaris as a princess. It would have been a good life but the former X-Man couldn’t watch as her father reverted to the maniacal villain she always feared he was. Worse for her, she discovered that all the metal on her parent’s plane was magnetized before the crash. She left several times but she was drawn back to the island.
Soon, Cassandra Nova attacked Genosha and killed over sixteen million mutants who lived there. Polaris was able to survive the onslaught, but was traumatized by the genocide around her. She was a blank slate when the X-Men found her, wandering naked though the devastated island. With her, were the magnetic patterns, recordings, of the last moments of Genosha. It drove her nearly mad, she had to boost the signal. Of all the voices she kept, all the ambient magnetic fields, Magneto’s was the loudest. She broadcast his final moments throughout the island, accepted his death, and was calm for the moment.
Art by Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning, Chris Chuckry
She returned to Westchester, and to Havok. Lorna was erratic, the stress of Genosha had crippled her mind. She was desperate for some sort of normal, some sense of stability, and asked Alex to marry her out of the blue. It was a short engagement, rushed even, but Polaris didn’t take the groom’s absence well. Her mania came to the surface and she attacked the guests while wearing a Magneto helmet fashioned out of the spoons and forks from a reception that would never be. The X-Men let her stick around after that and it wasn’t long until she lost her magnetic powers in the Decimation. She tried to hide it from the others, but when her deception came to light, she was strongly encouraged to take a break from super heroing.
Art by Philip Tan
Lorna was soon approached by Apocalypse with an opportunity, serve him as Pestilence and regain control over metal. For the daughter of Magneto it was no choice. She attacked her former friends as Apocalypse tried to fill the power vacuum after M-Day. The X-Men were able to save their friend from Apocalypse’s control and Lorna wanted to atone. She made it her mission to destroy the Clan Akkaba and set off to Egypt.
Art by Salvador Larocca
Professor Xavier recruited her to join his X-Men on their mission to stop Vulcan. Havok was on the squad too. When they were unable to stop Vulcan from becoming the King of the Shi’ar Empire, Lorna and Havok led the Starjammers in rebellion. After many battles, Polaris and Havok were captured by the Shi’ar and left to rot in prison on some backwater world. They escaped, as one does, and assisted the Guardians of the Galaxy in defeating Vulcan in the War of Kings.
Art by Paco Diaz, Vicente Cifuentes, and Brian Reber
With the mission over, Havok and Polaris returned to Earth. After some coaxing from Wolverine, they took over X-Factor Investigations from a presumed dead Jamie Maddrox (he came back). Earth brought back memories, and Polaris began dwelling on her parents again. With the help of Longshot, Ms. Dane was able to see what really happened that fateful day. Her parents were fighting in the cockpit, her father found out about her mother’s affair. She didn’t want them to fight, or yell, or get a divorce. She was so scared. The plane shook, the bolts came loose, and Lorna’s powers manifested there and then, ripping the plane in two. This revelation left Lorna in a daze, she began drinking heavily and soon ended in the care of Harrison Snow with an offer.
Snow was putting together an all-new X-Factor. A corporate superhero team for his multinational, Serval Industries, and he wanted Lorna to lead it. She was a strong, determined leader for the squad but the project soon fell apart. At the end of the world, the final incursion, Polaris made peace with her father, Magneto, and used her power to supercharge him as he tried to prevent the end of all things. She hasn’t been seen since.
Art by Kris Anka
Must Read
I’m gonna be straight with you, the best Polaris story has yet to be written. In lieu of something good, why not try something interesting like her first arc in X-Men #49 – #52. It is a truly bizarre arc that emphasizes everything cool about Silver Age comics. The plot doesn’t make much sense, the motivations are vague at best, but the art is killer and the story is absurd enough to enjoy. Check it out on Marvel Unlimited.
Art by Marie Severin and Joe Sinnot
Ranking
I know there are a ton of people out there who really like Polaris. I am not one of them. She spent too many years alternating between mind control and parentage drama that would make Maury a little leery. I can’t think of a single thing to describe her that doesn’t involve her powers, her family, or her hair color. She is just so inconsistent in all of her appearances that I can’t form an attachment to her. I legit like Skullfire more than her, same with Darwin. Mastermind has the Dark Phoenix working for him so she drops below him, but Sage has nothing going for her. That’s why Polaris is squeezing in at number 54 in the Xavier Files.
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Zachary Jenkins runs ComicsXF and is a co-host on the podcast “Battle of the Atom.” Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside of all this.
