5. Polaris
What Makes Polaris a Great Character: To begin with, Polaris wields the same electromagnetic powers as Magneto. Those are the benefits you reap when you're his illegitimate child. But it's that rich history she shares with him and others, and not just her powers, that make her a character to watch. Lorna Dane was, in a way, the first X-Man following the original five making her first appearance in X-Men #49. She wasn't exactly a mutant, however, but a human possessing a latent mutation in her genes. This gene was tampered with to unleash her hidden powers and the superheroine Polaris was born. Through many years Polaris embarked on a romance with Cyclops' younger brother, Havok, and the two attempted to live normal lives outside of superheroing and humanity's growing intolerance of mutants. Of course, this was to no avail.
Why She is So Under-Rated: Talk to any hardcore X-Men fan and Polaris is usually among their most favorite of characters especially when you ask about the women. So why is that? Well, other than wielding her powers with incredible force and precision she also houses a lot of depth that many fellow characters lack. Some writers explored this potential while others gave her the cold shoulder or simply abused her character for unforgivable storylines. Actually, in-between issues of Uncanny X-Men #219-250, Polaris was possessed by the evil psychic entity Malice and upon being released was involved in an awful storyline involving her supposed sister and the Savage Land. It seems that Lorna is always in the shadow of other characters. Sharing the same powers as Magneto, she is usually cast aside when discussions arise as is typically the case when it comes to Magneto's other children, and Lorna's step-siblings, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Even her longtime romance with Havok is overshadowed by that of Cyclops and Jean Grey despite enduring just as much hardship and with seemingly even more true love between the two! To see Lorna at her best check out Uncanny X-Men 425-426 for an incredible display of power, including reversing the blood flow of fellow teammates to render them powerless.
Where She is Now: Lorna was one of the mutants to lose her powers following M-Day, but recovered them through less-than-conventional means. She spent a lot of time in space, and away from many important events, fighting against Havok and Cyclops' misguided brother, Vulcan. Polaris joined up with former teammate, Jamie Madrox, as part of X-Factor Investigations. Unfortunately, there seem to be no plans to bring the character to the big screen once again highlighting her under-rated status.