X-Men Gives Magneto’s Daughter Polaris the Perfect New Codename
As Polaris fends off a supervillain and reflects on her reasons for joining the X-Men, a supervillain gives her a nickname fans are hoping will stick.
You Are Reading :XMen Gives Magnetos Daughter Polaris the Perfect New Codename
Warning: spoilers for X-Men #5 and X-Men: Trial of Magneto #3 ahead!
Doctor Lorna Dane, otherwise known as the magnetic mutant Polaris, has been a longtime X-Men member, despite their frequent clashes with her father Magneto. Lorna has rarely received the respect she deserves, which is what made it such a surprise when (thanks to a real-world fan vote) she was elected as one of the new X-Men, committing to reinventing herself as one of mutantkind’s most important heroes. In X-Men #5, the team’s newest enemy, the mysterious Doctor Stasis, gives Lorna a new nickname that will hopefully stick around as a permanent part of her reinvention.
A sometime member, sometime enemy of the X-Men, Lorna has struggled with the role of ‘superhero’ in the past, and even spent some time in space as a member of the less morally upright Starjammers. Polaris has also had a longtime on-and-off romance with Alex Summers (Havok), and at one point both of them actually left the X-Men together and moved to Nevada, where they pursued and obtained Masters in Geophysics.
In X-Men #5 – from Javier Pina, Ze Carlos, and Gerry Duggan – the X-Men face a group of human-animal hybrids, but only Lorna takes the time to figure out they’re being watched. A shady figure behind the scenes calling himself Doctor Stasis is impressed with Lorna’s deductive abilities and states to himself, “Smart cookie, Polaris. Correction: Dr. Polaris. She did the work and earned the title.” Lorna’s doctorate is actually brought up earlier in the comic when she refers to herself as “Dr. Dane,” and was mentioned in the recent X-Men: Trial of Magneto #3, where she reminded her former X-Factor teammates that she has a PhD.
While it may seem weird to celebrate a compliment from a violent supervillain, it is nice to see a character call out the misogynistic trend of dropping the “Doctor” from women’s codenames, while keeping it in men’s such as Doctor Stasis, Doctor Strange, Doctor Octopus, and Doctor Nemesis. Polaris has received little respect in X-Men comics history, so acknowledging her genius and agency is a fantastic way to celebrate a proven fan favorite.
Hopefully, when Doctor Stasis meets the X-Men face to face for the first time he will continue to address Lorna as Doctor Polaris, because the name would work on a number of levels, and also help the emotionally lost mutant begin to reinvent herself. There would be an irony to Polaris changing her name to Doctor Polaris because stereotypically, characters with a codename beginning with “Doctor” tend to be villains (in fact, DC Comics has not one, but two villains named “Doctor Polaris.”) Not only is Polaris the daughter of the long-time ex-villain Magneto (who may be re-entering villainhood in the near future), but her brutal behavior in X-Men #5 sets her apart from her other X-Men teammates when she manipulates an unconscious Wolverine’s adamantium-lined body and rips the teeth out of the Reavers. Her slightly darker edge is presented as commendable, similar to how Kate Pryde has evolved over in Marauders, and adopting the “Doctor” honorific would help to codify her as a hero with more bite than some of her teammates.
While a shift to calling herself Doctor Polaris might not seem like a huge change for Lorna, it presents her with an opportunity to embrace a part of her identity that she has rarely brought into her super heroics, and also celebrates the STEM background that so often goes ignored in the character’s adventures. As X-Men comics continue, here’s hoping Doctor Stasis’ nickname for Polaris catches on, paying off on the recent moment where she admitted to Magneto that she isn’t sure who she is anymore, but wants to find out.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/xmen-doctor-polaris-magneto-daughter-new-name-comics/