Issue 142 - Polaris - Capes on the Couch

Intro
- Season finale
- New patron – Tamara
- Patreon paused for December
Background (3:05)
- Polaris (Lorna Sally Dane) created by Arnold Drake and Jim Steranko in X-Men #49 (October 1968)
- Lorna Dane summoned to the X-Men by the mutant villain Mesmero, who mentally called upon all mutants to help him fight the team
- Magneto showed up to rescue her and claimed to be her father, explaining why she has his same magnetic abilities – Iceman spoke to her foster parents, who told her that her birth parents died in a plane crash – she joined the team and began a relationship with Havok
- Erik the Red, a Shi’ar agent, telepathically controlled her and gave her the name Polaris – she was freed by Xavier, but kept the name
- Gained a secondary ability to manipulate emotions and use them to enhance her own powers – this was removed after a battle with the Shadow King
- She & Havok were reserve X-Men for many years, until joining X-Factor – left the team after his apparent death
- Helped Magneto run Genosha for a while, as she felt she needed to make amends – she also learned better control over her powers – during this time, it was confirmed that Magneto was her father
- Rejoined the X-Men after the Genoshan massacre, although she was suffering from trauma as a result
- Got engaged to Havok, who left her at the altar for a nurse that he had a psychic affair with
- Was transformed into Pestilence by Apocalypse, and served as one of his Horsemen – after she is returned to normal, she once again quits the X-Men
- Joins the Starjammers, where she helps the Inhumans as Crystal’s sister-in-law
- Later learns that her powers manifested at 3 years old – she witnessed her parents arguing about her mother’s infidelity, and her ensuing emotional response triggered her latent magnetic abilities, which crashed the plane they were all on – Magneto showed up and had Mastermind wipe her mind of the memories
- Currently living on Krakoa where she’s on a team investigating any mutant deaths

Issues (6:36)
- Jeanine – Dealing with constantly revolving powers
- Her powers impacting those around her, as well as the electrical impulses in her brain (11;51)
- Her revolving door relationship with her father (18:36)
Break (28:17)
- Plugs for BetterHelp, Take a Knee for Marvel Vs. DC, and Chris Claremont
Treatment (29:53)
- In-universe – Create a machine to use her powers to help regulate her emotions
- Out of universe – (34:15)
Skit (47:39)
- DOC: Hello Polaris, I’m Dr. Issues.
- POLARIS: So whaddya wanna talk about first?
- D: Just cut right to it, eh?
- P: Not one for beating around the bush. When you’ve seen the stuff I have, you don’t waste time.
- D: Fair enough. Well if that’s the case, I’ll leave it up to you to choose the topic, and we can go from there.
- P: I don’t like being manipulated.
- D: I’m sure you don’t, like most people.
- P: I don’t mean mislead or gaslit, I mean people actually getting into my brain and making me do things beyond my control.
- D: I’m…not sure how I can help with that other than to tell you to avoid situations where someone would get that opportunity.
- P: *bitter* Thanks for nothing.
- D: Wait! I’m not saying I can’t help you completely, I’m saying I don’t have psychic powers. I didn’t know if that’s what you were looking for; I didn’t want to mislead you…which kind of ties in, right? *nervous laugh*
- P: Nice save. Yeah, I understand if you thought about it from a mutant perspective. No, I don’t want any psychic stuff. I want…resilience I guess.
- D: You’ve survived, so that shows a baseline resilience. What sort of emotional and physical responses occur when you think about those situations?
- P: Everything. All of it. It’s horrible.
- D: No wonder it’s the first thing on your mind. Not to sound stereotypical, but trauma really does carry its own special kind of baggage. Is this recent stuff, or childhood, or both?
- P: This is where it gets weird. It started at childhood, but I didn’t know about it, and then there were other problems as I got older that were unrelated to that, but were a direct result of the kid stuff. It sounds convoluted when I say it like that.
- D: And yet, I was able to follow. Families hide things to theoretically protect the innocent, but there’s the risk of altering the relationship at a later age.
- P: Exactly! And then I have to sort out all of it. My father, my foster parents, Alex, the other ones who controlled me…it’s too much.
- D: It sounds like a lot-
- P: *interrupting* And don’t forget everyone that died…they didn’t HAVE to die…I’m not saying it’s my fault…but what if I didn’t do enough…I’m not some hysterical monster!
- D: Whoa, I didn’t say –
- P: And don’t say it’s not my fault. I had to be the embodiment of making the worst fears of humanity come true. Whenever someone powerful sees me, they automatically think of me as a commodity. And what’s the fix? Mind wipe. False memories. But all I ever do is keep digging. Nobody was able to keep me from my own truth.
- D: Do you have –
- P: *clear pattern of interrupting from this point* Anybody to help? Yeah. I really do, but how can they understand? They can’t. You can’t understand. *frustrated* Ugh, what’s the point of all this? I know that nobody else has the answers.
- D: What do you –
- P: I want trust! I want to be trusted, and to trust other people. Whenever I do, it backfires. I’m just so sick of-
- D: FIRST OFF, LET ME FINISH.
- P: Why are you shouting?
- D: *sigh* I’m trying to match your intensity…although that’s a difficult task. You have identified the problem accurately. For some people, that takes years of counseling, so you’re ahead of the curve.
- P: Well thank –
- D: I’m not done. HOWEVER, it’s clear you’re trying to compensate for a historical lack of control with an even bigger focus on commandeering a conversation to your whims. That won’t work for longer periods with a professional. And…
- P: *pause* and what?
- D: Oh, I’m sorry, I was just expecting another interruption. Anyway, the point is, trust is not a light switch, even if everyone around you treats it like one. Does that make sense?
- P: Sure. But try convincing anyone close in my life of that.
- D: Not gonna give you any BS on that. You’re going to struggle with this for a while. ***electrical sound effects*** what the hell is that?
- P: I didn’t do anything.
- D: ***walking effects*** oh, I think we just had a power surge. ***thunder effect*** Damn weather is going crazy. You’d think Storm was… oh no…
- P: *more electrical effects, possible female scream*
- D: Are you okay?!
- P: *calm* Okay with what?
- D: You just look like you got electrocuted. I think we have a blackout in the area.
- P: That sounds bad. Who are you, by the way?
- D: NO!
- P: Oh…well, If you’re gonna be a jerk about it, I’ll introduce myself first. I’m –
- D: I know who you are…do you remember anything that you already said to me?
- P: I asked you who you are, and you have this freaked out look. I’m supposed to meet with a therapist, so if you’re the assistant-
- D: Let’s just reschedule…no wait, I think if…*rubbing shoes on carpet* hopefully I can build up the static
- P: It looks like you’re a weird dancer so…*another electric shock sound*
- D: Ow! I hope that did it
- P: WHAT KIND OF SICKO PSYCHIATRIST ARE YOU SHOCKING ME LIKE THAT?! I spent all of this time pouring my heart out to you and you turn it into some joke?
- D: Um…you’re welcome?
- P: Ugh. You’re just like all of the others! *walks out of the office, door shuts*
- D: *shouting far* AT LEAST I GAVE YOU YOUR MEMORIES BACK!
Ending (52:44)
- Recommended reading: All-New X-Factor
- Next episodes: Winter break – back in January with new episodes, incl. Jessica Drew, Terra, and the Thing
- Thanks to all our Patrons: Humble Citizens Dan, Tamara, Kate; Local Officials Frank, Rey, Jonathan; Mayors Angela, Chad, Devon, Maggie, Matt, Ryan, Tasha; Presidents Ariel, Jeanine, Matt, and Ruby
- Plugs for social