Polaris (Marvel)

Revision as of 13:15, 10 July 2021

Polaris in X-Men: Blue v1 #9.

Polaris is a female comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

Lorna Dane was a female human Mutant born the daughter of Suzanna having an affair with Magneto. She returned to her husband Arnold where she tried to hide the fact that she had cheated on him. Suzanna came to be pregnant though with Magneto's child who was named Lorna Dane with Arnold initially believing the child was his own. This was until one day when he discovered the truth and as a pilot he convinced his wife to bring their daughter on a journey. Whilst on the plane, he confronted her about the truth about her infidelity and that Lorna was not his child. At the time, the young Lorna was sleeping when she woke up to a fight between her parents and asked them to stop. This caused her Mutant powers of magnetism to first manifest where she unwittingly created a magnetic pulse that caused the plane to explode thus killing her mother and 'father'. Lorna herself survived where her powers drew the attention of her biological father Magneto but he felt that she was still too young and needed a normal life. Thus, he had Mastermind Jason Wyngarde used his powers to alter her memories making her think that Magneto had destroyed the plane and killed her parents which spared her the memory of being responsible for their deaths. (X-Factor v1 #243) Weeks after the plane crash, the young Lorna was taken in by her father's sister and her husband who adopted her but kept the truth about her parentage from her. (X-Men v1 #52)

X-Factor

Upon gaining consciousness, she came to find herself captured by Apocalypse who offered her powers back and more leading to her transformation into one of his Horsemen of Apocalypse with her becoming the new Pestilence. (X-Men v2 #185) Under her masters commands, she was sent to break into the World Health Organization where her powers allowed her to absorb samples of SARS, cholera, anthrax, bubonic plague and other fatal diseases into her body. (X-Men v2 #182)

House of X

After the establishment of the nation of Krakoa, she was one of many Mutants that came to reside on the living island that was the home of their people.

Unknown to her, Saturnyne imprinted a set of information into the Earth's electromagnetic spectrum that could only be accessed by Polaris's magnetic powers. She returned to Krakoa where she requested the use of the Resurrection Protocols to bring back Rockslide as she felt responsible for his death. This was agreed with the Five attempting to bring Santos back but instead it brought someone else who was both Rockslide and yet was not him at the same time. A seeming corruption occurred that shorted out the Resurrection Protocols thus forcing them to sever the system and destroy the affected eggs. It was then discovered that the multiversal nature of Otherworld meant that it overwrrote the saved mental patterns of Rockslide thus making the Five bring a new entity in the form of Rockslide with the Santos they knew being dead. A distraught Polaris blamed herself for Rockslide's death as a result and during a meeting with the Quiet Council the imprinted information from Saturnyne activated causing her to reveal the prophecy regarding information hinting at the identity of the ten sword bearers to be chosen from Krakoa for the upcoming fight against Arrako. Meanwhile, Polaris used the dead remains of the old Rockslide to create a sanctum on Krakoa that contained 10 spots where each of the sword bearers was to gather where they would be transported to Otherworld for the tournament. (X-Factor v4 #4)

She then joined the new X-Men team as them came to operate from their headquarters at the Treehouse that was located in New York City. (X-Men v6 #1)

Overview

Personality and attributes

Mistress of Magnetism in X-Men: Kingbreaker v1 #3.

In appearance, Lorna Dane was a beautiful young woman who was born naturally with green hair though she used to dye it to avoid attracting the curious. Initially, when the Mesmero looked to recruit her they came to label her as the M-II Weapon. (X-Men v1 #49) At one point, she came to be one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse where she went under the name of Pestilence. (X-Men v2 #185)

After losing her powers, she longed to gain them back which was one of the reasons she ended up accepting Apocalypse's offer and became one of his Horsemen. (X-Men v2 #185)

Her mother was a woman named Suzanna whilst her biological father was Magneto after a brief affair between them. Lorna's mother was actually married and she had cheated on her husband Arnold but returned to him. At the time, she was pregnant with Lorna but made Arnold believe that the child was his daughter though he eventually came to learn the truth. (X-Factor v1 #243) After their death, she was adopted and raised by her father's sister along with her husband who never told her that she was not their biological child. (X-Men v1 #52)

After learning about her father, she became torn in her loyalty to him as she acknowledged that he committed evil acts but that they shared the same blood. It was this reason that she had times came to serve him and felt compelled to aid him. One account claimed though that this was a deception and that he was not her actual father. (X-Men v1 #52)

Powers and abilities

Using her magnetic powers in X-Factor v4 #4.

As a Mutant, Polaris came to inherit her powers from her biological father Magneto where she had the power to manipulate magnetic fields. Her powers first manifested far earlier than normal where she generated a magnetic pulse that destroyed a plane and all its occupants except for herself. Lorna's powers activating at such an early age was said to had been unusual but not an unprecedented occurrence. (X-Factor v1 #243) Afterwards, she did not experience any use of her abilities and was labelled as a latent Mutant. (X-Men v1 #49)

Whilst working for Magneto, he came to help her in the development of her powers. (X-Men v1 #52)

As the Horseman Pestilence, she was altered by the transformation of Apocalypse who gave her powers after she lost them on M-Day. (X-Men v2 #185) In this state, she had the power of ingesting and absorbing diseases, plagues and other viruses whilst having an immunity to their effects. (X-Men v2 #182) Exposure to them allowed her to combine them to create a powerful Meta-Plague that could wipe out entire species. ​(X-Men v2 #185)

Notes

• Polaris was created by Arnold Drake and Jim Steranko where she made her first appearance in X-Men v1 #49 (October, 1968).

Alternate Versions

In other media

Television

• In X-Men, Polaris guest starred in the 1990s animated television series in the episode "Cold Comfort" where she was voiced by actress Terri Hawkes.
• In Wolverine and the X-Men, Polaris appeared in the animated television series where she was voiced by actress Liza del Mundo. This version was shown as being the youngest daughter of Magneto who was fond of her father and lived with her sister Scarlet Witch on Genosha.
• In The Gifted, Polaris featured in the live-action television series where she was portrayed by actress Emma Dumont.

Video games

• In Uncanny X-Men: Days of Future Past, Polaris appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game.

Appearances

• X-Men v1: (1968)
• X-Factor v1:
• X-Men v2:
• X-Men: Kingbreakers v1:
• All-New X-Factor v1:
• X-Men Blue v1:
• Uncanny X-Men v1:
• House of X v1:
• X-Factor v4:
• X of Swords: Creation v1: (2020)
• Hellions v1: (2021)
• X-Men v6: (2021)

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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