5 Times Emma Frost Was Ice Cold (and Absolutely Right)

Throughout her life, Emma Frost has shown time and again why she is the “Ice Queen” of the Marvel Universe. When Frost was introduced in 1979, she was the cruel and manipulative White Queen and one of the leaders of the evil mutant secret society, the Hellfire Club. As a powerful telepath with the additional ability to turn her body into solid diamond, she is one of the strongest mutants in the world. With her cold and calculating personality, she quickly became a fan-favorite villain of the X-Men. But over time, she learned the error of her ways, repented, and joined the X-Men as both a teammate and a teacher. While becoming a teacher for the next generation of mutants has brought out her softer side, make no mistake that Frost’s cold and ruthless edge is still very much alive. Because of the dangers the X-Men face every day, there are times when Frost was absolutely justified in crossing the line to deliver cold, hard, justice.

One of Marvel Comics’ most beloved anti-heroes, Emma Frost, has no problem showing humanity why they shouldn’t mess with her or the X-Men.

1) Forcibly Pacified an Angry Mob

Telepathic mutants like Professor X and Jean Grey rarely use their powers to alter or damage the minds of other people because it’s too much power for anyone to have over another person. Frost, on the other hand, is willing to cross this line if it means the safety of her students. When an anti-mutant protest gathers outside the gates of the Xavier Institute, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Emma Frost confront them and attempt to resolve the situation peacefully. Of course, the protesters are having none of it and continue to throw accusations and slurs at them, with some becoming physically aggressive. While Jean and Cyclops try to talk to the crowd, Frost had enough of this whole farce. With a thought, she pacified the mob by making them overcome with bliss. Jean protested this mental violation, but Emma couldn’t care less because she was protecting the school.

2) Erased a Villain’s Only Happy Relationship From Her Mind

When you mess with Frost’s kids, you receive the full force of her wrath. One of the most famous members of the X-Men, X-23, is a teenage female clone of Wolverine, who was raised from birth to be a perfect killing machine by the secret organization known as The Facility. Part of her programming was to be beaten regularly by the sadistic super-soldier Kimura. After X-23 escaped The Facility and found a new family with the X-Men, Kimura was sent to kill her. However, before she could pull the trigger, Kimura was stopped by Emma Frost. The White Queen telepathically paralyzed Kimura and probed through her mind, discovering that the soldier’s abusive tendencies are due to her abusive upbringing. But Kimura did have one person who used to love her, her grandmother. Frost stripped those memories away from Kimura, causing her to forget her grandmother and the only happiness she had ever experienced in life. Now that is cold.

3) Manipulated Her Kidnappers into Killing Each Other

From a young age, Frost learned that to survive, sometimes you must be ruthless. An origin mini-series recounts the early life of the future White Queen and how she developed her powers and cold personality. Because she was the daughter of a wealthy family, she was kidnapped and held for ransom by the Boston mob. Her father agreed to pay the ransom. But as a teenager, Frost was developing her telepathy and with that new power, Frost learned that her kidnappers are planning to kill her anyway. To survive, she used her powers to sow seeds of doubt, distrust, and anger into the kidnappers. She subtly plants ideas into each of them about how they will betray each other. This causes them to lash out and kill one another. Emma forced the sole survivor to release her and handcuff himself to a pipe as the police arrived. This moment helped to shape Frost into the cold-hearted White Queen she is today.

4) Faked a Sentinel Attack on the First Day of School

While Professor X tries to teach his students through kindness and empathy, Frost shows her students the harsh reality they will face. One time, Frost was giving a welcome speech to the school’s newest students when she and Cyclops became the temporary co-heads of Xavier’s Institute while Professor X was away on sabbatical. Everything was going well until the roof suddenly seemed to collapse as Sentinels attacked the building. However, before anyone could respond, Frost turned off the holograms, revealing that there were no Sentinels. Frost did this to prove a point. That no matter how many fights the X-Men win, as mutants, they always will be hated and feared by humanity. As the Sentinels were built to defend humanity against mutant aggression, Frost wanted to show her students why they must remain non-violent: out of fear of human retaliation. She also said that while they must give ordinary people respect and understanding, they must never mistake it for trust. This was a harsh, but fair lesson that her students needed to learn if they ever wanted a chance to survive in a world that hates and fears them.

5) Erased Sebastian Shaw’s Memories

Even when Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw were the leaders of the Hellfire Club as the White Queen and the Black King, they were bitter rivals. Emma loathed Shaw because of how he manipulated and abused her for years. After Frost left the Hellfire Club and joined the X-Men, the pair’s hatred for one another only grew. Shaw committed countless horrible acts to hurt Frost and the X-Men, including destroying the island of Genosha, which was densely populated with innocent mutants. Frost was the only mutant to survive this attack because she was able to transform into her diamond form. She was scarred and horrified by this event. However, she was able to get her revenge for everything Shaw had done. Frost erased almost all of Shaw’s memories, leaving behind only his memories of everyone he has ever killed. This left Shaw a broken husk filled with nothing but regret. You know what they say, revenge is a dish best served cold. And Emma Frost is cold. 

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