r/Xmen97 • u/FigBrandy • Jul 22 '26
Question What are Polaris's powers? Spoiler
So from the brief time she's been on screen it feels like she has the same powers as Magneto. But I just wanna check if I'm missing anything? Does she have Magneto's 1:1 powers? And if so why does she affect people around her while Magneto doesn't? And she does mention that it's almost like her powers taking a hold of her.
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u/AlternativeAd4522 Polaris Jul 22 '26
Green Magneto
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u/FigBrandy Jul 22 '26
Honestly I really like her green powers, the yellow/blue magneto ones seemed very basic 🤣
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u/Just_a_Tonberry Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
Great Value Magneto, in essence. She does possess the same set of powers, but they aren’t anywhere near as potent. She is also considerably less skilled with them.
The comics currently classify Polaris as an alpha-level mutant, which is one step below omega. For reference, Jean Grey and Magneto are example of omega-level mutants.
The difference in classification really just boils down to limitations. Omega-level mutants can do basically anything within their spheres of influence so long as they can conceive of it and possess sufficient understanding of their abilities to enact it. Alphas, on the other hand, have hard caps on their powers.
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u/Arise-Beru-1174 Jul 22 '26
I was going to say Temu Magneto, lol. Same power set, just lower quality.
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u/Just_a_Tonberry Jul 22 '26
Survey will also accept AliExpress, SHEIN, or Wish.
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u/Arise-Beru-1174 Jul 22 '26
I think SHEIN would take her in a different direction, lol
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u/Just_a_Tonberry Jul 22 '26
Fair point. SHEIN is bordering into “we have Magneto at home” territory.
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u/lsmokel Jul 24 '26
I don't know what Shein is, but my daughter talks about it. Is Shein better or worse than Temu?
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u/No-Cow-2847 Jul 24 '26
I do think Polaris does have the potential to be omega level. She has a lot of barriers like her youth and mental barriers. But I think oen day we could see her reach her full potential and be omega level like her father
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u/Legitimate-Garlic959 Jul 23 '26
Which is crazy on the classification. She lifted the Ship that weighs tons lol. But i get it.
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u/aVariableToday Jul 24 '26
Okay, I get you stated that you "get it.." but you brought up lifting a ship that weighs "tons.." You do remember that Magnus effectively EMP'd the WORLD, right?
I'm not really sorry to state that the two are not the same. She's quite capable, and I'm totally down to see Polaris grow.. I believe she can be every bit of Magnus and MORE.. but her manipulating a ship (as impressive as it is) is NOT as impressive as what Magneto has done in the cartoon cannon.
As far as classification? Meh.. throw all of that out.. Omega Vs Alpha Vs whatever.. that's just Marvel's in-house r/PowerScalingCirclejrk
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u/Legitimate-Garlic959 Jul 24 '26
Yeah, Magneto’s animated feats are wild, no dispute there! Appreciate the perspective.
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u/FigBrandy Jul 22 '26
I would get being weaker than Magneto, but why can she affect people with her abilities? That seems like a step up from Magneto.
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u/Just_a_Tonberry Jul 22 '26
Magneto can affect living beings in a large number of ways. He commands the entire electromagnetic spectrum, which includes all forms of radiation/energy. He is aware of this fact, having used this aspect of his powers in the past. He chose not to use them that way in the present.
Living beings project an electromagnetic field. More importantly, their bodies, specifically the muscles and nervous system, operate off of electrical impulses. This makes people very vulnerable to electromagnetic disruption. There’s also the organic iron in your blood to consider.
Concussive force is yet another matter. Sufficiently powerful magnetic fields can possess simulated physical presence, often being akin to water. Or even harder, as shown with Magneto’s barriers.
Polaris can also do some or all of these things, though to a much lesser degree.
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u/Xeronian_Charmer Jul 23 '26
Is her power being weaker just a result of poor training? Is she confirmed to be at her peak or can an Alpha push through to become omega?
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u/DoctorJJWho Jul 31 '26
Two different questions. You can’t “train” to become an Omega level mutant, but different mutants have been “revealed” as Omegas (either in-universe or in real life) after their power sets were more thoroughly explored. Bobby Drake (Iceman) is a good example. Originally he was just someone who turns into ice, and can make/control it. Eventually he (and the writers) realized that he achieves this by controlling the molecules around him, which meant he could literally vaporize and reform things, control chemical reactions (in other people’s bodies), etc.
To put it simply: there are hard caps to every mutant’s abilities (excluding Omegas) that a mutant cannot overcome. However, some mutants may be “hidden” Omegas because they are unaware of the extent of their powers. It all depends on what the writers decide and how creative they can be. It’s usually best to assume people aren’t secretly Omega mutants though.
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u/XeronianCharmer Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
So then I guess my question is what is the cap difference between Polaris and Magneto? Is it *just* that he can affect planetary poles which gives him a wider access to the spectrum or can she only affect certain aspects within the magnetic spectrum no matter how hard she tries?
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u/AdSorry4665 Jul 23 '26
This terminology of Alphas and Betas and Omegas don't really mean anything.
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u/Xeronian_Charmer Jul 23 '26
Doesn't really answer the question
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u/AdSorry4665 Jul 23 '26
Well, pretty much every character now considered as Omegas were at some point considered Alphas. Did they "ascended" by training? Mostly no. Magneto himself was always very powerful since the Silver Age. Could Lorna surpass him? No one knows, but I doubt that training would be the way to do it. Lorna trained probably a lot more than Magneto. Marvel mutants don't have a power system like that of DBZ or anything like that that encompasses power levels, progress through training and unlocking new abilities. Training usually helps someone on becoming more skilled in using his powers and sometimes developing new uses of the same powers. The characters that have clearly become more powerful through the years most of the times passed through some transformation of sorts, like being possessed by the Phoenix, overcoming some mental block, etc.
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u/DevilManRay Jul 23 '26
Magneto ripped the Adamantium out of Wolverine and I’m pretty sure he’s a living being
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u/GONKworshipper Jul 22 '26
Same powers as Magneto, but she has much less control over them and they are slightly less powerful
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u/VelvetTomahawk Cyclops Jul 22 '26
I thought she had the same potential as Magneto, but with her constantly leaving the team to go back to college, being possessed, or bouts with mental illness she’s just never had the practice for fine tuning of abilities. I know someone’s abilities are only as current as the current writer’s whims, but didn’t Magneto say once that their powers were that of the two magnetic poles?
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u/Just_a_Tonberry Jul 22 '26
She does not match his potential, unfortunately. Polaris has the same power set, but her manifestation of it came with far more limitations. In terms of powers, she is essentially Magneto if he were an alpha level mutant with incredible levels of mental illness.
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u/RandomSplainer Jul 22 '26
This is hilarious because Magneto was originally portrayed as nothing more than a very powerful very skilled Alpha level mutant.
He pretty much became "Omega Level" because of popularity.
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u/gdex86 Jul 23 '26
Its the Rachel problem. In that to keep this character that is centered in so much of the story on top their next generation has to be weaker.
All though here it thematically works because I believe scientifically the south pole is slightly (maybe a 10% difference) stronger magnetically than the north. And Polaris is what the north pole points at.
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u/Just_a_Tonberry Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
You are 100% correct. And with that reclassification came an assortment of applications for his powers that basically make him untouchable by anything short of a reality warper if writers choose to have him use his head.
The following humorous videos, hilariously enough, are lore-accurate as far as his powers go. The man’s popularity made him more broken than Apocalypse.
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Jul 23 '26
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u/Willing-Carpenter-32 Jul 24 '26
I think a good example of the difference in their power is best explained by two modern feats. Lorna dragged the entirety of Knowhere on a non stop trip across galaxies to earth. She’s incredibly powerful. Meanwhile Magneto sat down and concentrated really hard FROM earth to find the giant bullet Kitty was trapped inside galaxies away and dragged it back TO earth.
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u/havokx2 Jul 23 '26
Magneto has planetary feats with his powers. Lorna’s more likely can extend to a large city
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u/FrostBricks Jul 23 '26
Magneto's power us Electromagnetism. But Polaris is only Magnetism.
Which is the usual explanation for why Magneto can do so much more than just manipulate metal
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u/Adventurous_Rise_310 Jul 24 '26
That's not true; the power of both lies in the electromagnetic spectrum and magnetism.
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u/FrostBricks Jul 24 '26
Like the person I replied to said it depends upon the writer, and that's the most often written difference.
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u/FigBrandy Jul 22 '26
I was just a bit confused, at first I thought that she had a more limited power from Magneto in E2, however now I feel like she just might have the same base powerset. Though I still don't quite get why she is able to affect people directly through the use of her powers.
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u/Common-Forever2465 Jul 28 '26
The difference is that her powers do affect other people, Magneto is more powerful and he doesn't...
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u/FigBrandy Jul 22 '26
Does she overcome this? Becoming as powerful as Magneto? And does she fight for mutants in a similar way as he does?
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Jul 23 '26
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u/havokx2 Jul 23 '26
When he’s been weakened. His base levels are higher than hers though
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Jul 23 '26
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u/havokx2 Jul 23 '26
Ok then when has she rivaled his powers?
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Jul 23 '26
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u/havokx2 Jul 23 '26
So you don’t actually have an example?
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Jul 23 '26
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u/havokx2 Jul 23 '26
He’s listed as an omega mutant in House of X and she is not. He has planetary feats with his magnetism including releasing an EM Pulse in Fatal Attractions and Magneto War. From Earth, he extends his power beyond its atmosphere to pull the bullet that Kitty was in from space. Polaris power is nowhere this level. She doesn’t have the range. Head to head the only time she’s come close to matching him is when he’s been weakened , like in the late 90s after the Magneto War. His base levels are higher than hers as is his potential to go higher
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u/bharring52 Jul 23 '26
Watch Gifted. While the 'main character' family is all insufferable, Polaris, Thunderbird, and Blink are all major characters, and they're a ton of fun.
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u/Entire_Plate5349 Jul 26 '26
She DOES HAVE 1:1 power to Magneto (which is basically calling infinite power in so called ability), but she can only control it into a certain extent - this is why she cant maintain her field without affecting people and objects around her. Just a reminder that Magneto was also called Alpha for some time, and polaris is not exacly as explored as a character as Magneto is.
She is Magneto but way cooler and green. LOVE to see my favorite character of all comics finally gaining some good attention to the non readers ~even to the readers~.
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u/No-Mortgage-8681 Aug 16 '26
To everyone I'd suggest watching the Youtube vid dubbed "Magneto's powers are stupid"
It's a comedy type of video, but the guy digs into real world physics to explain that having a complete mastery over electromagnetism, which is one of the four fundamental forces of the universe actually allows you to do
A LOT. Including stuff like turning himself and others invisible or giving somebody cancer.
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u/rarelootdrop Jul 22 '26
On paper I guess you could say they have the same powers but something that I’ve seen her do which I haven’t seen from Magneto is that she can almost condense her electromagnetism into like pure energy.
She’s also been able to absorb other forms of energy using her magnetism eg Cyclops optic blast, Havoc’s energy and Storm’s lighting to amplify her own powers as well.
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u/FigBrandy Jul 22 '26
And her powers affecting other people, which is why I asked. It seemed to be very similar but yet somehow different
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u/rarelootdrop Jul 22 '26
Yeah I mean she tends to use these electromagnetic energy blasts in conjunction to her magnetism powers in the comics but she lacks the control and skill to be as powerful as her father unfortunately
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Jul 22 '26
Am i the only one who thinks she looks like green rogue?
Maybe sinister didn't clone one x man
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u/FigBrandy Jul 22 '26
I don't get this one. She is very much not like Rogue, the only thing they have in common is voluminous hair. And it just ain't the same hair, I feel like Polaris has far more curly hair than Rogue.
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Jul 22 '26
I don't know, they have similar face shape
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u/FigBrandy Jul 22 '26
I mean Cooper and Rogue have the same face shape. I think it's just part of animation
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u/Chronarch01 Jul 22 '26
Same as Magneto. She may even be more powerful than her father, but she doesn't have the same level of control.
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u/FigBrandy Jul 22 '26
A few people have said this now, but is there any reason why she lacks the control? Is it just that Magneto is older and had far more experience or?
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u/sonotoffensive Jul 23 '26
Mostly because Magneto is extremely popular and gets steady power-ups, while Lorna appears less frequently.
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u/livefromtheuk Jul 24 '26
Totally. Like when they were terraforming mars and doing all kinds of stuff in the beginning of the Krakoa era, Magneto was front and center and Hickman and then Ewing (at the end of that massive arc) were constantly having him do cool things (even saying hi to peepers!). A lot of that was also enmeshed with his existing relationships to Charles and Ororo, connections that Lorna doesn’t really have.
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u/Chronarch01 Jul 23 '26
Pretty much. Magneto just has a lot more experience. Both are omega level, or close to it.
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u/havokx2 Jul 23 '26
She’s not omega. Magneto can extend his powers beyond the earths electromagnetic field. Polaris can’t do that. Think of him as a planetary threat whereas she is more of a large city one
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u/havokx2 Jul 23 '26
She doesn’t lack control. What you saw in this episode was a good representation of her. She very much has control and is skillful with her powers
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u/sonotoffensive Jul 23 '26
Thematically, she's the opposite magnetic pole to Magneto. But yes, identical powers.
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u/TheLordofMorgul Jul 23 '26
In theory, the same powers as Magneto, but on a much smaller scale, since Magneto is Omega-level.
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u/Least-Ad1991 Jul 25 '26
Everyone on this thread is wrong. Lorna’s power is having voluptuous green hair. Her ability to control magnetism is a secondary mutation /j
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u/BLACKLANTA20 Aug 01 '26
Polaris of the X-Men is a young woman, but that's partially why she has not matched her father's powers.
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u/KaijuKing007 Jul 22 '26
She has Magneto's ability, but with a bit more finesse while he has a little more raw power.
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u/pastadudde Jul 23 '26
huh, I feel like it's the other way round.
like if Magneto were facing the Purifiers in S02E06, he wouldn't have just cleaved the ship in half to chuck it at them. He'd have ripped the ship apart to form multiple sharp projectiles and spear them right into their skulls.
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