Polaris

Hey Lorna Dane: who is your daddy and what does he do? Magnetic, electrical, and gravitic fields are no match for Polaris, a super being with the ability to control and manipulate magnetism. Polaris's history is one of constant retcons. At first, her only mutation was that she had green hair. Then her magnetic powers were unlocked, and, since she was an X-Men character, she was assumed to be the daughter of Magneto. But it turned out that no, while she was adopted, her parents had been normal people who died in a plane crash - there were even genetic tests (performed by Beast) that showed she was no relation to him. So that's that. Except when House of M happened, she was part of Magneto's royal family, identified and recognized by genetic screeners, so now she was back in. Maybe Wanda re-wrote reality to give Polaris the family she'd always wanted? Although you'd be forgiven for confusing it, this is not Polaris' first costume. They look remarkably similar (as Rustin described it, "Green Scarlet Witch"), but this is the one she got about a decade ago when the X-Men went into space with the Shi'ar. As an X-Fan from the '90s, I'd have liked her X-Factor uniform better than this, but the reasoning behind this is clear: it's more iconic, and since the other one would have required a jacket and knee-high boots, they woudn't have been able to use one of their standard bodies for her - a new torso, upper arms and shins would have been needed, at the least. As it is, all she gets are bands around her forearms and a new cape. And it probably goes without saying that the head was going to be new. Yes, she wears a tiara thing just like her erstwhile half-sister has, but other than that the two women are... completely... different. Wait a minute, no they're not! This the same head sculpt as "Maidens of Might" Scarlet Witch! All they did was make new hair for her! It's not easy to spot, since the skintone and the paint are different, but from the tiara down, this is absolutely the same mold. Clever move, Hasbro; clever move. This is actually the second Polaris figure I got: the original had a paint error, so I had to get a replacement. The lower legs are molded in dark green, then given a lighter paint app above that to create the shape of her boots or leggings or whatever the heck is going on on her shins. Well, on the first Polaris I got, the light green app for the back of her calf got skipped, leaving the entire rear of the leg dark. That's why you always want to check your figures out before the receipt expires. The articulation is the same on this figure as it is on every other use of the mold, though the thigh swivels and the ankles on my figure are surprisingly stiff. The bands on the arms keep the wrists from flexing upward very far, unless you're willing to risk the plastic bending. She comes with the same kind of energy effects her boyfriend had, though hers are cast in a light green to match the way her power is shown in the comics. That part's nice, but this style, with the concentric rings and the bubbles, is disappointing. If not for the bracers, the clips probably wouldn't stay on the arms at all. The figure includes the leg of this series' Build-A-Figure, Warlock. Since he's a giant robot, this will make a decent piece of scenery for her even if you're not building the whole thing: imagine it's some chunk of metal she pulled out of a wall to throw at some enemy. If you're only ever going to make a single Polaris figure, then yes, it makes sense to put her in one of her green costumes. Besides, if they'd done her X-Factor uniform, we'd then be mad that there were no other X-Factor figures to go with her. -- 10/09/17

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