#havolaris

[salarta]

I hate Havok/Alex Summers now. Havolaris is now very clearly a completely unsalvageable relationship that always, ALWAYS has an element of sexism (usually subtle, sometimes blatant). And it all comes down to Jordan White, Tom Brevoort, Beau DeMayo, and a majority of Havok fans demonstrating why I should by how poorly they treat and view Polaris/Lorna Dane to promote him.

I’ve been a Polaris fan since 2009. Over a decade and a half. In that time, I used to say one very clear and definitive thing. I used to say that if they kept the Havolaris relationship apart for a decade, focused on Polaris and Havok as their own characters and did enough meaningful with Polaris in that time, they could come back together as a good couple.

This is what happened instead.

Jordan White forced Havok into EVERY depiction of Lorna under his control except Duggan’s run, ONLY because she won the X-Men vote. Something he found distasteful enough to try and dismiss her win as happening only because she was on Gifted. And every time Havok got forced into Lorna’s affairs, it was to frame Lorna as incompetent, weak, or incapable of having any identity outside of being his (ex-)girlfriend.

Beau DeMayo told the Genoshan genocide story without Polaris anywhere in sight, even though she was one of the core survivors in the comics. She had fucking PTSD because of it for an entire X-Men run! She had an issue, New X-Men 132, almost entirely dedicated to finding her in the rubble and her broadcasting Genosha’s final moments! But no. Not even in the fucking background. Instead, Lorna’s only appearances were two reminders of her as Havok’s girlfriend on 90s X-Factor, and a split second animation of her as a future slave.

And we have Tom Brevoort. Who among so many other things I could say, most recently had Polaris repeatedly treated like a weak damsel on the just ended X-Factor with a clear goal of fucking her over just after her great showing in Fall of the House of X all so he could force her back into relationship with Havok.

And then there’s the Havok fans. I know not all Havok fans are the same. But the ones I saw the most of, who I had the most interaction with? They ALWAYS insisted that Lorna “needs” to be in relationship with him. They ALWAYS insisted that any bad treatment of Lorna in any of this came down to Havok being treated poorly instead. That if their woobie perfect cis straight blonde white man just got a little more of the endless opportunities they keep giving him but never Polaris in her own right, it would trickle down to Lorna.

Cause we know trickle down economics works for fiction even though it doesn’t in real life economics, right?

The Havok fans I’ve seen and talked to never want Lorna to be her own fucking character with her own thoughts, feelings, experiences. Her own worth independent of Havok. They want the relationship forced onto Lorna because in truth? They’re fucking afraid that he really is a nobody ass clown and can’t hack it on his own without Polaris reduced to his ever-present manic pixie dream girlfriend. They can’t give her a single second, nevermind ten years, just being herself and building herself up toward a future benefit.

So fuck Havok.

I gave the idea of Havolaris a chance. I gave the character a chance. I gave them a decade and a half of my life to fix this shit. But they’re all just too goddamn committed to fucking Polaris over any time she gets the tiniest scrap of something good. They all love their nostalgia, with its origins of rampant sexism meant in its original time to kill the feminism she had on creation, way too much.

They have all proven to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that Havolaris will never not be sexist self-insert fanwankery, and that Havok himself will never be anything but a fuckboy who always requires making a hot green-haired woman look more pathetic and useless than him to garner any semblance of appeal.

Which still isn’t enough to keep a book from getting canceled cause it sucks shit and the majority of people don’t want to read sexist trash. But hey. That’s apparently what Havok fans want, and what people at Marvel want cause it’s the only place they can get away with being sexist (since they can’t be sexist toward Jean, or Storm, or Emma and get away with it).

Anyone who wants to try to make me think differently, don’t bother. You’re competing against a decade and a half of direct personal experience. You’re not changing my mind with a half-assed bit of gaslighting.

[polarivere]

HAVOLARIS YURI WIN

[capybaratrix]

Preview of X-Factor Volume 5 #2. F**k Havolaris. But the Queen looks beautiful? Yes, she looks beautiful 🤧

Artist: Bob Quinn

[salarta]

So here’s the thing. All of us want a storyline with Lorna leading a rebellion, kicking ass and taking names. It’s exactly where she should be.

The problem is that they’re couching it in X-Factor, while Havok is leading it, and putting the concept forward as a conflict mainly between Lorna and Havok.

They can very easily do this with Lorna WITHOUT forcing her onto X-Factor, or into interacting with Havok. They’re very specifically doing this to try to leverage interest in her for Havok’s benefit (to sell this book that hardly anyone would want to read otherwise), while holding back her potential.

If the issues with Lorna in them succeed, they’ll falsely claim it’s because of interest in Havolaris, or in Lorna on X-Factor, and keep her stuck with that.

If the issues fail, they’ll falsely claim there’s not enough interest in Lorna, despite her winning the X-Men vote.

It’s an asshole plot by Brevoort, who showed he had no respect for her a decade ago when he misused his editorial power on the Avengers books to try to exclude her from the Magnus family.

I CALLED IT!!!!!!

MUTANT REBELLION LEADER LORNA DANE, I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!!! FINALLY!!!

[havolaris]

I could not stop thinking about the way Lorna Dane's desk would look

[mokonahapuuuuuu]

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14027004/1/Someone-s-Watching

Alex and Lorna go on a date. Evolution verse.

[doyouwanttoseeabug]

Anyway unpopular opinion (I think?) but lets put Havolaris back together again and also lets not let Leah Williams anywhere near Polaris ever again

[thefluffyviolin]

Preview of Hellions #12

Looks like the unpopular kids of Krakoa are not invited to the fancy Gala but showed up anyway... that’s why Magneto looks so pissed here. That’s the only reason. *cough*

[hxtwasabi]

“ Alex, we're in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a war, we have no idea if the professor is dead or alive, or if we'll ever see our home again. And today we held off an entire regiment of anti mutant soldiers. Just shut up and kiss me “

Lorna Dane & Alex Summers Moodboard Relationship

Made by me,Mary

If you liked it,hit the ♥/reblog

[salarta]

Bypassing Lorna's Comics Kobayashi Maru

I'm having some unexpected clarity. Some of that clarity is from being slightly drunk. Ironically, sometimes impairment brings clarity.

In the past month or so, it's become more apparent that Lorna is going to appear on X-Factor for the billionth time. This time, there are actually some elements shown for her that are good... if they weren't on X-Factor, and weren't used in service of promoting Havok.

This is the text solicit for X-Factor 2.

POLARIS VS. X-FACTOR! • There’s a new mutant rebellion, and Polaris is at the forefront of it all! • But how do they know so much about X-Factor’s classified missions? • Havok must seek out a traitor on the team…but how can he if it’s him?!

For those of you not aware, this iteration of X-Factor is a team co-led by Angel and Havok, two straight cis blonde white dudes. It's also attempt number 47942748921741212321 to make Havok happen by making him a leader of teams. Which I don't really mind.

When there isn't an element of screwing Lorna over involved.

Or when Lorna isn't being given no chance to shine while Havok gets a billion of them just cause straight cis white male editors fantasize about being him with their nostalgia.

Here's what I deduced out of this scenario. My analysis of the intent.

Tom Brevoort wants this book to sail. He wants an excuse for Havok to get top billing. It's why he wanted Havok over on Uncanny Avengers when he was overseeing that book. He also knows Lorna has real star power, but doesn't respect the character.

So what does he do?

Put Lorna on this book. He knows the Havolaris shit is something people don't want, but he also knows Havok is fucked if he doesn't force Havolaris shit. He knows Havok has no chance on his own merits, or else he would pursue those merits without dragging Lorna into it.

What that means is, he puts Lorna on the book with the initial setup that Lorna fans want, but it's all in service to promoting Havok, not Lorna.

This is supposed to be a Kobayashi Maru for Lorna fans. It's supposed to be a "fucked either way" situation. If the book succeeds with this Lorna storyline, it's spun as an excuse to support Havok more, and an excuse to force more Havolaris. If the book fails, it's used an excuse to claim Lorna being more forceful and leading a rebellion isn't the direction for Lorna that readers want, or that fans don't actually want more of Lorna.

All things told, I think we've reached the point where editors at Marvel actually give a shit about what fandom has to say about Lorna. They just haven't crossed the crucible over to themselves giving a shit about Lorna herself, only how she can be exploited for what they give a shit about.

I've had this on my mind for weeks. And after most of that time, I think I found the way out.

The Way Out

This is how we win the Kobayashi Maru scenario concocted by Brevoort.

Let's get a few details out of the way for those of you not in the know. Some of which is me getting myself in the know as I type this.

This is the cover for Scarlet Witch 4, with the following solicit.

CHAOS UNLEASHED! At the end of all things, the Scarlet Witch chose a new beginning. But as the battle for Lotkill’s future rages on, the price of such freedom may prove more monstrous than Wanda bargained for…

Steve Orlando is the writer, and he's open to Lorna. He wrote an issue last year of Lorna and Wanda working together, each having a specialty that complements the other - Wanda magic, Lorna science.

I'm not suggesting this because Wanda is doing gangbusters. That's just a nice bonus. I'm suggesting this because Orlando has shown respect for what Lorna offers when he's used her, and an eagerness to explore the Magnus family dynamics even if the twins aren't considered part of it right now.

On the Orlando side, the biggest plus in this column for me is the fact that at a later date, he addressed the elephant in the room of Lorna and Wanda not talking about Magneto's death with each other. It was a BIG criticism how Marvel as a whole gave zero insight into Lorna's reaction to his death, and Lorna and Wanda not talking about it last year was a big miss.

Orlando addressed it in-universe, on panel as Wanda thinking Lorna would bring it up but they never ended up talking about it. To me, that was Orlando both saying he expected the X-Men side to address it, and showing that he sympathizes with Lorna fans and agrees something should have been done there.

Or to put it another way: Orlando cares about Lorna. He respects the character and what she has to offer. Not just for Wanda. Not just for his current work. In general, as a character in her own right. What we've seen so far, Orlando wants to do right by the characters he writes.

That's the writer Lorna needs. Someone who cares regardless of if they're a fan of her or not.

BUT WAIT. That's not all there is to this. Let me introduce you to the other half of this equation.

Russell Dauterman.

See, what I'm getting at here is more and deeper than you might think. Take a look at this article. This quote in particular is essential for what I'm getting at.

“I love that there’s nothing stereotypically witchy about the crown, but it still gives a witch vibe. I tried to move that mystical feeling forward with the starry effect on Wanda’s skirt and hair — nodding to her son Wiccan’s Jamie McKelvie-designed costume and her sister Polaris’ look in the ‘Dark Seduction’ era — a visual signifier that this is a magical character.”

Dauterman is doing the covers for the Scarlet Witch solo book, and in general providing a shit ton of visual inspiration and concepts that help it succeed. As an artist, he a) sees Lorna as Wanda's sister, and b) saw an element of Lorna's design in past comics (most notably a comic from when she was on Genosha) as inspiration for things he could do with Wanda.

And then we have the concept art above. Dauterman has notes demonstrating real, deep thought that he put into the Hellfire Gala design he put forward. It wasn't rando design time for him. He considered who Lorna is, what her powers do, what history she's had, and poured all of that into the design he came up with.

Which resulted in a design far, far better than the one made for her with the first Hellfire Gala. Not that the first Hellfire Gala dress was "bad" in and of itself, but it was the sort of thing that a) didn't have any clear character elements to it, and b) didn't rise to the occasion of the gala. Would've been fine if it was a random dress at a random event. Not so much the first mutant gala.

My point is this. Scarlet Witch has a winning team in Orlando and Dauterman. Not because they're writing Scarlet Witch and she's riding high in pop culture right now. It's because both of them actually care about the work they're doing with all the characters they work on. And when it comes to Lorna specifically, they both like and respect her.

So What's The Play?

Here's my proposal.

Avoid X-Factor.

Go all in on Scarlet Witch.

Brevoort is banking on Lorna fans feeling desperate to flock to the only X-Men book she's on and feeding his monster, then getting stabbed in the back when he flips the switch or the story she appears in is trash.

Orlando and Dauterman offer another way. They're the winning play. If the issue(s) with Lorna succeed (especially if they rise higher than issues without her), and the X-Factor ones do not, it makes clear that a) Lorna IS a star that people want to see, and b) the X-Factor and Havolaris stuff is very much not what Lorna fans want. It shows fans care about Lorna for Lorna, not for her being forced on a 90s nostalgia title and stuck playing supporting character to a man she's too often been treated poorly around.

The Scarlet Witch book is the future. X-Factor is the past. Simple as that.

That wraps up my post. Took me a couple weeks to fully wrap my head around the thing, but I finally got it.

[polarivere]

WELCOME BACK REAL LOVERS

[chelsea13sophie]

alex summers (havok) & lorna dane (polaris)

“ be careful “

                             “ aren’t I always? ”     

“ not since I remember”              

[havolaris]

my account is fully named havolaris and i have one (1) single havolaris art. they are my favorite. i almost feel intimidated to draw them.

[thefluffyviolin]

If you love me, you'll buy me this two pack of 90's X-Factor Havolaris.

[hxtwasabi]

Do you guys rememer that I said I was going to write a fanfic with Lorna and Alex? I’m going to do in the Wattpad but in Portuguese. But if you guys want to I can put here and in English!