ARC LIGHT: The Official Character Discussion Thread

[LEGO Spidey]

Now that it has all but been officially confirmed that Omahyra is indeed playing Arclight and *NOT* Stacy X (whew...), I think it's safe and timely to create this thread for all discussion regarding her character in X3. I'd like to open the discussion with something I noticed from the latest pics of the Brotherhood marching down Jean's old neighborhood that were released yesterday: did anyone else notice that both Arclight's hands are purple? If you zoom in a bit, you can see it clearly. Maybe this ties in to her powers? It's been mentioned that one hand will be able to heal (new to movie canon) while the other will create seismic tremors (old comic canon)...

 

[Norkie]

^^^dude there gloves.......

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

We already have a huge thread dedicated to this actress. The author of the thread can make arrangements with a moderator to have it retitled to reflect whatever "official" changes have been made...we don't have to make a new one.

 

[LEGO Spidey]

Purple gloves...? And it looks like "her" skin anyway.

 

[LEGO Spidey]

Lightning: I am aware of there being another thread devoted to discussion of Omahyra Mota's character, however, that particular thread seems to me as grossly outdated (it carries Stacy X in the title... 'nuff said) and ill-equipped to deal with discussion of the character we now KNOW Omahyra is playing... Plus, personally, I'd really like to get as far away as possible from making any connections between X3 and that wretched mutant concubine. The older thread has far too many of them to be bearable. Thank God Ratner opted for Arclight instead of a prostitute...

 

[-Æ-]

Amen

 

[-Æ-]

Amen

 

[-Æ-]

Real Name: Phillipa Sontag
Affiliation: Marauders
Status: Perpetually clonable
Alternate-X Versions: None
Codename Etymology: Pronounced ärk līt [from Latin arcus, "arch" + Old English līht]; The light of a lamp in which the electric current passes through gas.
Powers:*add* (Arclight also has superhuman strength) Arclight sends shockwaves through anything she hits. She usually uses her power to throw foes off balance or to smash things. At times she has been seen involved in a relationship with Scalphunter, but due to the impermanent nature of their lives, it's likely that nothing between them is serious.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

Lightning: I am aware of there being another thread devoted to discussion of Omahyra Mota's character, however, that particular thread seems to me as grossly outdated (it carries Stacy X in the title... 'nuff said) and ill-equipped to deal with discussion of the character we now KNOW Omahyra is playing... Plus, personally, I'd really like to get as far away as possible from making any connections between X3 and that wretched mutant concubine. The older thread has far too many of them to be bearable. Thank God Ratner opted for Arclight instead of a prostitute...

Okay, I see your point. And I know that it has been confirmed that Stacy is not in.

But where is the announcement that Arclight has taken her place?

 

[Kanon]

Wait a second, it's confirmed or not?

And I think we should edit the old post instead of making a new one...

 

[LEGO Spidey]

I think all the rumors circulating out there confirm Arclight's presence in X3 much more than they did Stacy X's (and I can't thank God enough for this...), as well as pegging Ken Leung as Sunfire. This close to production, most character rumors that emerge are moke likely to be true than, oh say, eight months ago. Yes, I know it's the Internet and we should take everything with a grain of salt - but I'm pretty positive Arclight is officially Omahyra's character.

My only complaint is that her outfit isn't even close to the comics version, it's one of the coolest I've ever seen with that shoulder-baring cut across her chest and the overall look of a suit of armor. I first saw her character in action in an old Captain America comic (here in Portugal everything is published out of order and with years of delay...) when she was enlisted to be a part of Superia's Femizons. I'd never read the Mutant Massacre by then, so I had no idea of her genocidal backstory... But I did love her uniform. Too bad she doesn't wear something like it (hey, black leather would be nice) in the movie

Oh, well... Still beats Stacy X!

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

So...basically we have two "official" threads of speculation devoted to one actress?

Okay.

 

[TNC9852002]

My only complaint is that her outfit isn't even close to the comics version, it's one of the coolest I've ever seen with that shoulder-baring cut across her chest and the overall look of a suit of armor.

Sure,..that's a reasonable complaint, but I'm thinking that she wouldn't necessarily require all of that armor because her powers automatically protect her harm, IMO...Also, her look in X3 is no farther a comic book departure than Deathstrike's, Toad's, Sabretooth's or many of the other characters in the movie so far.
As I've pointed out in many threads before, we can't always single every character out as if each one deserves priority treatment in terms of comic book closeness...Like for a GENERAL example, a popular character like Angel needs to be blonde, Caucasian, and have big, white, fluffy wings as part of his basic visual appearance. Everything else can is dictated by the actor and the story (eye color/costume: Why should Angel wear spandex?)..Whereas a secondary minor character like Deathstrike can be changed around in any way the story and tone sees fit but should still keep the essence of that character around in that particular incarnation...Characters like Arclight and Callisto fit into this group as well..

Heh...and it can't be a coincidence that this thread emerged not too long after I posted my little theory on the Arclight thing in the other thread:

Arclight's main power comes from her hands, right?..

Well, I just find it interesting that Mota is wearing those purple gloves that seem to stick out from the rest of her attire...

...

Two more reasons why I'm pretty sold on the Arclight idea is how Kinberg referenced how the reason why they didn't keep Avalanche in the film was because his powers would've been redundant...

Now think about this old-timers...The first set photos where we caught glimpses of Omahyra on the set was around the same time the Avalanche rumors were still fizzing around...Maybe something was going on with that..

Another thing to notice is Arclight's comic name (Philippa Sontag), which hints at some kind of hispanic descent, in which Omahyra Mota has..Actually, upon further research, I have found that Arclight IS Mexican (Stacy-X is confirmed to be American in the comics)...We know that it's one thing to have an Australian play a Canadian, but this is just a little different...(since ethnicity would a partial factor for Arclight; i.e., Deathstrike)


From an alternate X-Men site:
Powers: superhuman strength, endurance, reflexes, and resistance to injury, generate seismic energies around her hands that cause shockwaves and earth tremors...Sounds very similar to Avalanche now doesn't it?


Real Name: Phillipa Sontag
Nationality: Mexican
Occupation: Assassin
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Unrevealed
Place of Birth: Unrevealed
Marital Status: Unrevealed
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Marauders
Base Of Operations: Unrevealed
First Appearance: X-FACTOR #10
History: Arclight is a member of the Marauders, a group of mutants who slay other superhuman mutants. On the orders of their employer, Mister Sinister, the Marauders carried out the so-called "mutant massacre,"in which they slew most of the Morlocks, the mutants living in tunnel's beneath New York City.In the course of the massacre, the Marauders, including Arclight clashed with various superhuman champions, including the X-Men. Arclight and the other Marauders have also battled the X-Men on subsequent occasions

Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 126 lbs.
Eyes: Violet
Hair: Purple (dyed)

Powers: Arclight sends shockwaves through anything she hits. She usually uses her power to throw foes off balance or to smash things. At times she has been seen involved in a relationship with Scalphunter, but due to the impermanent nature of their lives, it's likely that nothing between them is serious.
Strength level: Arclight possesses superhuman strength enabling her to lift (press) roughly 50 tons.
Known superhuman powers: Arclight possesses superhuman strength.
Weapons: None
Notes: None


Also note that her hair and eyes are usually purple in the comics...Perhaps to visually isolate and/or individualize herself from the more recognizable Psylocke, the X3 costume designers decided not give her straight-up purple hair and instead go with the purple gloves (which also, as I mentioned, excenuiates(sp?) her powers)...

Another thing to analyze is the unusual hair style..They gave her short hair with an ARC (a half-circle swoop) that comes down to her forehead...Most of the few photos that I've found of Arclight online similarly has her hair down short and over forehead and near her eyes...Not exactly in a slicked swoop, but the base of the style is still there..

If you've been following the movie-making process of these movies so far, you've got to admit that these kinds of details are there for a reason..

-TNC

 

[snowball_83]

So...basically we have two "official" threads of speculation devoted to one actress?

Okay.

lol exactly.

and i hope she isn't playing arclight, as the character sounds dull. stacy x sounded much more interesting.

 

[PWN3R]

When did they CONFIRM they she is indeed Arclight?

 

[LEGO Spidey]

Yeah, 'cause Stacy X was such an ass-kicker... Please. I read the comic where the X-Jet crashes into Muir Island with her and the X-Men on board, and see her reaction to the overall situation and Warren's heart failure, and I feel like weeping... Why is that creature even with the X-Men?! She has no strategical importance whatsoever (the Brotherhood in X3 have Psylocke in their ranks, far more effective than Stacy X's abilities) and top it all off, she's a whining crybaby with *no* combat experience or composure.

Even Jubilee kicked ass when she first showed up, and she was frickin' *fifteen*!

Whereas Arclight is indeed a badass chick, she can create tremors (and heal in the movie, apparently), and she was a part of the Marauders, possibly some of the X-Men's most vicious enemies, who slaughtered dozens of Morlocks just for sport... This makes her a psychotic, deranged genocide with a fistful (literally) of power, and a foe to be reckoned with.

Compare that to Stacy X... What's she gonna do in the movie when she comes up against Wolverine, spend twenty minutes with him in the closet of Jean's house...? Come on.

BTW, for those of you asking who confirmed Omahyra as Arclight, check the latest batch of pictures that were released yesterday or so, and you'll see that the websites hosting them peg her as indeed Arclight plus Ken Leung as Sunfire (which also beats Scrambler and Silver Samurai, but not by much).

 

[PWN3R]

Just cuz some guy saved a pic as "arclight" does not mean its official. She prolly is Arclight, but I'll believe when it has been confirmed

 

[TNC9852002]

Most websites, for many months, had her pegged as Stacy-X too and many of them still do...It's just that the speculation has reached a level to the point where it would be safe to assume that that's who she's playing...

The fact IS that even though the evidence is undeniably strong either way, there is nothing that officially confirms or denies that Mota is playing Arclight..

-TNC

 

[PWN3R]

The fact IS that even though the evidence is undeniably strong either way, there is nothing that officially confirms or denies that Mota is playing Arclight..
-TNC

 

[LEGO Spidey]

Like there's nothing official to confirm or deny that any other characters besides the ones in the promo shots are the ones they are, and yet, here we are

Is she wearing gloves in that Brotherhood pic or are her hands colored purple?

 

[Super Flight]

Yea it was never confirmed who she was playing, but arclight sounds like a good pick, they prolly wont even call her by arclight they'll prolly call her by her real name phillipa, or by her last name sontag or somthing, (if she is archlight that is)

and as the glossery says she has super strength, endurance, reflexes, and resistance to injury, thats prolly why she'll survive well into the movie unlike some other brotherhood mutans people are caliming that they'll die.

 

[phoenix_force]

i'm just glad stacyx is out!

 

[Super Flight]

Is she wearing gloves in that Brotherhood pic or are her hands colored purple?

You can clearly see that they are gloves

 

[Super Flight]

Main Entry: gloves

Pronunciation: 'gl&v

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English glOf; akin to Old Norse glOfi glove
1 a : a covering for the hand having separate sections for each of the fingers and the thumb and often extending part way up the arm b : 1GAUNTLET 1, 3





Main Entry: blind

Pronunciation: 'blInd

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German blint blind, Old English blandan to mix -- more at BLEND
1 a (1) : SIGHTLESS (2) : having less than 1/10 of normal vision in the more efficient eye when refractive defects are fully corrected by lenses b : of or relating to sightless persons, Unable to see clearly

 

[TNC9852002]

Like there's nothing official to confirm or deny that any other characters besides the ones in the promo shots are the ones they are, and yet, here we are

You're technically right.. Officially technically..

-TNC