One of my favorite things about comics, aside from the immensely talented people involved with making them and the amazing art and stories that are released, is rather the fun extreme we can go to as fans when following these funny books. Powers, continuity and other storytelling devices can be discussed and argued ad naseum with your friends and other folks on websites like this one. Every now and then, a funny conversation occurs that just reminds me of how much fun it is to be a fan. And given what we do here at iFanboy, I had the opportunity to chase down the answer that we were looking for.
A while a go on Twitter, fellow staff writer Jim Mroczkowski (Are you following him on Twitter? If not, you really should be) posed a simple question:
"Where the hell did Havok & Polaris & Rachel go?"
It was just an innocent question that I saw fly by on my TweetStream, and I went to respond with the answer, being the Marvel cosmic books & X-Men expert in our parts. As I began to craft my 140 character answer I realized, "Crap, I don't know where they are either." I realized that as the War of Kings evolved into the Realm of Kings in the Marvel cosmic books, through various ongoings and mini-series, I hadn't seen Havok, Polaris or Rachel Summers-Grey (aka Marvel Girl, Phoenix) in a while. Last I knew, they were in space as members of the StarJammers. But as I remembered reading the mini-series Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard, I remembered seeing the StarJammers but didn't remember seeing the former X-Men on board. I scratched my head and wondered, "Just where the hell are they?" I responded in kind, and a few others joined into the discussion where we ultimately netted out was that no one knew where they were, as summed up masterfully by Jim, yet again.
So I called upon my contacts at Marvel Comics and poised the same question to Bill Rosemann, editor of Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy and Nick Lowe, editor of the X-Books. After apologizing for my inherently fan-esque question I assured them this was all in the name of journalism! Jim, myself, and tens of people on Twitter were dying to know where some of these beloved characters were! They were kind enough to indulge me and provide some answers.
When I spoke to Marvel about the last appearance of Havok, Polaris and Marvel Girl, cosmic books editor Bill Rosemann pointed out that "Havok, Polaris & Rachel were last seen in the Cosmic Corner in War of Kings: Who Will Rule?", a one-shot released last September. So I immediately dove into my longboxes and dug out that one-shot and sure enough – there they are, the three of them talking to Gladiator. The conversaton ends with Havok attempting to tell Gladiator something, but is cut off as Gladiator assumes he knows what Havok is about to say and then falls deep into inner monolgue via narration boxes. You can see this exchange below (click to see the entire page):
And so above we see the last known appearance of Havok, Polaris and Rachel. What was Havok about to say to Gladiator? Was he going to explain where they were going? We don't know! Now it could be advised that one should leave well enough alone assured with the fact that the writers and editors at Marvel have a plan for these characters and all wil be revealed. But then I had a horrible thought. What if they don't? What if they slipped through the cracks and are somewhere in limbo between the cosmic books and the X-Books? These are three of my favorite X-Men! I must know! So I continued to dig deeper.
Using my Google skills, I began running searches on the character names and other search combinations (I really wish I kept a list of the searches I did because some of them were pretty funny) and I stumbled upon this discussion on the Marvel.com message boards no less. A user called Rodyega posted the news that Havok, Polaris and Rachel are on their way back home to Earth! Referencing an article on Wikipedia, it says there's a clue in Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #2: "However, Ch'od [of the StarJammers – RR ] says that Polaris and the others have departed for Terra(EARTH)"
NOTE: The Wikipedia article that Rodyega has since been edited (as it often is) and now reads: "Through Ch'od, and apparently due to the incident of Rachel and Korvus both loosing the connection to the Phoenix Force, it is known that Polaris, Havok, Rachel and Korvus have departed for Earth."
So they're headed for Earth? (And when did Rachel lose her connection to the Phoenix force? That could be a question for another day…) Well, I know better than to trust Wikipedia, so back to the long boxes! I dug out Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #2 and found the line from Ch'od in question and I can see how I could have missed/forgotten it, but like with any development in comics, it doesn't provide any solid answers, and possibly just raises more questions. Here is the panel being referenced (click to see the entire page):
So what do we know? Ch'od says that Havok (Alex), Polaris (Lorna) and the others (Rachel) are on Terra. Ok, but what is Terra? Is Terra the homeworld of the Shi'ar? No. According to the Marvel Comics Database, the homeworld of the Shi'ar is called Aerie and the throneworld is Chandilar. So where/what is Terra? A quick lookup of the word "Terra" in Wikipedia shows that it is a common name for…EARTH! So perhaps Rodyega was correct.
Based on this, I've come up with the following theory:
Havok was about to tell Gladiator that he, Polaris, and Rachel were going to go back to Earth, but never got the chance to. He did tell Ch'od and the other StarJammers though, since they were their team.
So the only open questions now are:
How are they getting back to Earth? And, what will happen to them when they return?
Remembering my contacts over at Marvel Comics, I also asked if there were any plans for these characters in the future at all? To which X-Books editor Nick Lowe said, "The answer to that is MYSTERY! They may still be in space, or they may be on their way to your house! MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CLEAN LINENS!"
And so there you have it. I immediately dragged out my air mattress and got some clean sheets ready, as I prepared for some houseguests.
But seriously, based on the clues in the cosmic books, and the fact that when I posed the question as to the future of these charactersto both Rosemann and Lowe, and Nick Lowe was the one who responded, I think it's pretty safe to say that Havok, Polaris and Rachel will be finding their way back in to the X-Men line of books soon. Perhaps with the return of Kitty (close friend to Rachel) and the space angle with that story line, it could be sooner than we think. But until then, we just have to wait.
Unfortunately, there was no way I could fit this into 140 characters, and so I hope you enjoyed my spiral down obsessed continutity way and if you're a Havok, Polaris and/or Rachel Summers-Grey/Marvel Girl/Phoenix fan, hopefully I've helped you be able to sleep better at night.
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Some rights reserved.
Strange how they couldn’t have drawn at least one panel with Havok saying "We’re heading back to Earth…BYE!" This seems like a sloppy afterthought way of dealing with their status with Ch’od just mentioning it off the cuff. Oh well…mystery solved, I guess?
This was amazing. Could you find out whats going on with the Prowler for me? haven’t seen him in spidey since…damn i don’t remember when. I know he was captured for not registering during CW
Maybe someone got bored and did it on purpose to see if any fan would slip into Detective Chimp mode and work it out. I’m sure they are now reading this (awesome!) article right now, giggling and yelling out the door "IT WORKED!"
I’ve been working here a year and a half, and following all these creators on Twitter, and never once would it occur to me to go, "I didn’t get what happened in that comic. I’m gonna call the guy who made it and ask him." That is why Ron gets the big bucks.
An amazing piece of comics scholarship, if I ever saw one. 🙂 In all seriousness, Rachel’s loss of the Phoenix Force might be related to X-Men: Second Coming, and Alex and Lorna’s return might fit in nicely with that event as well. Now, if you ask me, leaving those characters up in the air (or in outer space) was a mistake…
I think the clue lies in the pages of the regular X-Books. Recently the Cuckoos dropped unconscious, and the Phoenix force was seen leaving them. This seemed to roughly coincide roughly with Hope and Cable about to return to our time.
I think we can see what is building here. Hope is a powerful redheaded telekenetic, raised by Cable. The Pheonix force has abandoned the Cuckoos and Rachel Grey. An X-Man is going to die soon.
-I believe that Hope will be the new Phoenix, but not the reincarnated Jean Grey. Presumably, Emma Frost, Rachel Grey, and Scott Summers will all have pretty strong reactions to that, in their different ways.
Also, when Kitty Pryde returns, very soon, we will need Rachel, Colossus, and Illyana all there. With Magneto also back, one of his children would make a nice addition to the scenario, so Lorna returning is nice.
We have also been teased than an X-Man is going to die. Presumably it will be someone close to Scott, so we’d want the whole family together for that moment.
Fun article. I, too, was worried about where Havok and Lorna where after all of this and realized… they’re nowhere. I would imagine they’re going to pop up somewhere soon, but one never knows.
Ron, as to where/when/why Rachel lost her connection to the Phoenix Force: It happened in X-MEN: KINGBREAKER. In the middle of a big fight, the Phoenix just up and leaves Rachel’s body (as well as rendering that Korvus guy’s sword impotent). In what is a huge tip off for what’s to come, Rachel yells out "Please, not now Mom!" in response to the phoenix power going elsewhere. This is why she currently has the hound tattoos back.
Geeky question: How do we all pronounce Havok? I know it’s supposed to just be pronounced like havoc (So Ha-vic) but I was always fond of the hard k sound so I pronounce it HA-vock. I’m just curious.
I was aware of this, but I find it strangely reminiscent of the 70s when both characters disappeared off panel at the end of the first Shi’ar storyline. We learned that they moved to Muir Island.
I’m hoping they show up in one of the X-Men titles — maybe Legacy as I find it a bit of a snoozefest with Rogue as the main character. They had a few good moments in space, but except for Guardians, those books have become a bit tired.
Rachel did lose her contact with the Phoenix force on panel. It was in the X-Men: Kingbreaker mini series.
I had always just assumed that that the three of them were going to take lead to get Kitty back, or at least provide transportation.
@Prax-I stick by how I pronounced it as a kid, so like your second pronunciation, kinda rhyming with ‘rock’.
I was thinking it would be a nice coincidence to have Rachel, Polaris and Havok rescue Kitty – as they were all but abandoned into space by the X-Men. Also, who better to stop a big metallic bullet than a character with magnetic powers?
This should be a new feature: "Ron Richards: Continuity Detective!"
Interesting. I asked my wife this exact question over breakfast yesterday. We’re divorced now…
@stuclach-It was probably more a result of your tone, rather than the subject matter. 🙂
Thank god I’m not crazy! The whole time this was going back and forth on Twitter I was picturing that page from War of Kings: Who Will Rule but I couldn’t find it when I was digging through the various piles of comics in my house …although I could have sworn I read something somewhere with Havok and the Fault, so maybe I am a bit mental.
@PraxJarvin – Havok is not a Vulcan. I’ll keep pronouncing it like the word ‘havoc".
@Ron – I’m sure that when Havoc got cut off, he wasn’t about to say that they were going home, since he prefaced it with "It’s about the succession.."
I’m going to pretend that the full quote is "It’s about the succession. We think that you should appoint Barack Obama to Majestrix, so that Marvel can publish even MORE comics books featuring appearances by him!", but then Quesada realized that the comic book market was getting a little flooded with Obama, and decided not to let Alex finish his sentence. Do I get a No-Prize for that?
@Prax-Ha-vic is how I pronounce it.
T’was an interesting bit of detective work you’ve done here, Mr. Richards. I tip my hat to you.
Crap. Before someone calls me out on it, I do realize that Obama would be Majestor, not Majestrix, since he is a dude. And that I mispelled Havok’s name. Whoops, my bad.
@MisterJ – It’s always my fault.
I know where they are – the quarter bins!! ZING!!!
Seriously – nice detective work. While I’ve never been a big fan of any of those characters*, I’m sure I’ll do a little fist pump when the inevitable last-page reveal happens.
* (save Polaris when she was possessed by Malice – whatever happened to that character? Hmmm…)
Good job with your research. But, I very strongly doubt Kitty’s return has anything to do with the X-Jammers.
I also strongly suspect the X-Men in space (other then Kitty) won’t be seen in the comics for a long time to come.
Amazing. I want a "where are they now"-article every week.
Where is Cecilia Reyes nowdays?
Ch’od says that Havok (Alex), Polaris (Lorna) and the others (Rachel) are on Terra.
Oh man, poor Rachel, she’s got the Cosmic X-Men’s Professor & Maryanne spot in the dialog. What hurts more "the others" is more letters, space, and syllables than just saying Rachel. Poor thing.
Man, if these three aren’t the ones who save Kitty’s bacon, that is one wasted opportunity. I mean, they’re already out there.
I’m picturing a heated conversation between the Summers brothers now. "Why didn’t you call and tell me? We must have flown past, like, three giant space bullets on the way back here. Now I have to get back in the ship and go all the way back…."
And who would be better suited to stop a giant bullet than someone with magnetic powers.
Beware, Ron, this way madness lies.
A lot of work just to find two characters. lol
But great article man. I’ve been there on reading a comic and thinking to myself ‘Wait, where did they go!?’
Great article, Wouldn’t mind seeing more of these in the future.
Before Christmas Jay Faerber said in his blog that Marvel Asst Editor Ben Morse had commissioned him to do a story which had to be passed off to editor Daniel Ketchum and it was "too bad he had to pass it off to another editor, because it features characters Ben and I are both especially fond of".
Now the stories that Ben Morse had been editing were Space Office, whereas Daniel Ketchum is X Office.
Not many characters could pass between the two offices apart from Havok and Polaris surely?
now THIS is the sort of content that makes me a paying member of iFanboy. nowhere else on the internet can i receive this stuff. well played, ron!
Ron, sir, you are the man! I was, believe it or not, getting ready for work yesterday, and wondered out loud, "Whatever the hell happened to Havok?" As I’ve always liked the character from his X-Factor days.
Thanks!
-J.
Thanks for the solving the mystery.
I agree that it would be a wasted opportunity for them not to save Kitty.
Yeah, Ron. I’m honestly surprised there was never a mention of that moment in Kingbreaker where they spend a couple of panels foreshadowing Jean Grey’s return. That was such a huge moment for X-books. I keep thinking, "Why didn’t Ron mention that on the show?" It was my own mystery, much like this Havok, Polaris and Rachel thing was for you. And here we have our answer. He skipped it.
I don’t care about these characters at all BUT this was an incredibly entertaining article and despite not being an Xfan I read the whole thing because I wanted to know the mystery too!
Ron, please please please do more of these. Can we commision you like a private eye? I would love to know what happened to Plastic Mans sidekick Woozy Winks after he decided to "go evil" in that back up in Countdown to Mystery. Did any other Plas fans read that?
for future help with these problems, I’d suggest using either ComicVine.com or comicbookdb.com, as they both are very good at tagging character appearances. uncannyxmen.net is probably good to since we’re talking about X-characters.
I agree that they should be involved with Kitty’s return. it would really make a lot of sense.
and @PraxJarvin: in the X-Men animated series episode "Cold Comfort", someone, either Polaris or Forge, pronounces it like "havoc", so that’s how I’ve always said it.
@Everyone, Thanks for chiming in on the pronunciation thing. Like I said above, I know it’s supposed to just be a variant spelling of havoc, but I honestly just prefer the sound of HA-vok to hav-ic/hav-uk. Nice to see I’m not the only one that pronounces it like I do.
@birdseyeview Yeah, I recall that too. I was a fan of the character before I ever saw his episode of the Animated Series (I missed the first run, and waited through years of reruns to catch the few I missed. Like how I saw all but the last episode of Quantum Leap and could never "track it down.) so I think I just used my 7 year old mind to sound it out. To wit, I believe a lot of writers don’t even know which one to pronounce, on panels I’ve heard both and such.
Ron Richards, continuity detective, would be a fantastic regular feature.
@TimmyWood: How about, what happened to Plastic Man in general? Yeah he was in JLA recently but….he’s not doing anything!
@Crippler: With Sherlock Holmes gear on and a huge magnifying glass? Yes we need a picture of that.
Ok Ron, you just birthed a creature of monster proportions! I’m sure the Ifanbase has a shite load of these..Whatever happend to…?
Weekly feature!weeklyfeature! Inquiring minds NEED to know!
Dan Abnett was emailed about Alex, Rachel and Lorna not being in RoK: IG, and he replied that he was not allowed to use them because they were reclaimed by the X-Office and were now involved in X-Continuity. So, when Abnett wrote that they were on "terra" he was under the impression that Alex, Lorna and Rachel were going to be returning to X-books immediately.
Based on what Lowe, Yost and others have said the past 6 months, there was never any plans to bring them back to X-books, so who knows why Abnett thought he couldn’t use them or wrote that they were on Earth.
Yost was surprised about it when he was told about RoK: IG #2 on CBR’s forums. And from what Lowe told iFanboy, it doesn’t sound like he told the Cosmic Office that they needed to return to Earth ASAP.
The mystery deepens..
Thank you, Ron. Marvel isn’t making it easy to to keep track of my favorite character in comics, Rachel Summers/Grey.
If it’s not these three who save Kitty, then it’s a comically missed opportunity.
I can just see the X-men gearing up for a big mission to save Kitty. Colossus, Nightcrawler, Rogue and Cypher all have just taken off in a spaceship. Some of the younger X-men are wiping away tears of faint hope. Just then, Havok, Polaris and Marvel Girl touchdown. "Hey guys!" Havok calls out as he waves a friendly greeting. Someone shouts out: "Who’s that?" Cannonball says "Oh my gosh, y’all, we totally forgot about you guys. Too." Flashback to a week previous, as unseen by the three X-men aboard, Kitty’s giant space bullet rockets past one of the Starjammers’ windows as Havok is catching up on Mad Men DVDs. As Kitty is slowly dying, Havok chortles and says to himself, "oh that Don Draper."
@Prax: Thanks for Finding were Rachael and Korvus lost the Phoenix force. I remembered what happened but I could find what issue it happened in.
I would have liked to see them stick with the Star Jammers or join the Guardians of the Galaxy.
So… where are Havok and Polaris?
I love that Jimski decided to revisit this after 5 months.
I’m pretty sure we still don’t know.
There have been some pretty weird personnel decisions in X-land over the past few years, and marooning those characters is one of them.
This thread should be dead.
Why are there new posts?
Polaris is cool.
Anybody seen Wyatt Wingfoot?
Still waiting………………..