Emma Frost’s True Love Revealed (And It’s Not Who You Expect)

Emma Frost first premiered way back in “The Dark Phoenix Saga”, one of the greatest X-Men stories ever, and has spent decades developing into one of the most interesting characters in the X-Men mythos. Emma joined the X-Men back in 2001 and since then has become a leader of the mutant race. She helped lead the mutant nation of Krakoa as a member of the Quiet Council and led the resistance against the Orchis Initiative after that. She’s currently starring in Exceptional X-Men, along with Kitty Pryde, training a group of new mutants to use their powers. Exceptional X-Men #7, by Eve Ewing and Carmen Carnero, is technically a crossover to the X-Men crossover “X-Manhunt”, but the issue barely touches on that story. However, it does answer a rather important question about Emma Frost, one that gives readers a window into who she is.

The issue starts with Emma Frost thinking about her true love. Emma has had several highly placed lovers in the Marvel Universe, including two of the most popular characters in Marvel history, and the issue shows pictures of several former beaus. However, the actual answer to who — or what — Emma’s true love will shock readers.

Emma Frost’s True Love Plays into Her Passion

Emma Frost’s two most important relationships say a lot about her and who she is as a person. Emma’s most well-known relationship is with Cyclops, and it shows off a very particular side of Emma. When Emma and Cyclops first met, he was still married to Jean Grey, and you get the impression that her pursuit of him was more because she wanted to cause trouble for Jean Grey — who she’s never liked — and because it was something to do. However, she and Cyclops grow closer and closer, entering into a psychic affair that turnrf into love. After the death of Jean, Emma and Cyclops became the X-Men power couple, working together to lead the mutant race through M-Day and the dangerous years after it. Their relationship imploded after Avengers Vs. X-Men, when the two lovers became Phoenix hosts and eventually came to blows. The return to life of Jean Grey basically ended any hope of the two of them being together, but there have been enough flirtations between the two to make it obvious that they still love each other.

Her next most important relationship is the newest and probably the one most destined to be forgotten — her marriage to Iron Man. The two of them basically teamed up to fight the Orchis, the anti-mutant organization having helped a man named Feilong steal Tony Stark’s corporation, and married as a strategic move. Unlike Cyclops, it never really seemed like Emma actually loved Iron Man, but their relationship was quite useful to her, as it allowed her to battle her enemies more efficiently. However, neither Cyclops or Iron Man are Emma’s greatest love. In fact, Emma Frost’s true love is… Krakoa. Not the living island, but the idea of Krakoa, and this makes perfect sense for Emma Frost.

Emma Frost’s True Love Was Mutants Having Safety and Power

Emma Frost can seem like a shallow character, but nothing is further from the truth. Emma Frost comes off as mean and shallow, but she’s actually a deep character who loves her people more than anyone ever expects. Emma Frost grew up in a loveless family, the members of which were set at each other’s throats by her monstrous father. She has spent her entire life trying to create a world where mutants like her could be happy without having to do someone else’s bidding, and has always gloried in teaching young mutants how to be just like her — powerful, poised, and perfect. Teaching is Emma Frost’s true passion, and she does it because the thing she loves more than anything else is for her people to be safe. Krakoa represented everything that Emma Frost loved for her people, and it’s loss changed her life forever.

Emma’s thoughts on the matter of true love are brought up by her sadness that the new mutants she’s training never got to set foot on Krakoa and never got to feel what it was like to be truly safe. Emma did everything she could, including working again with Sebastian Shaw, who she hated, in order to keep Krakoa going. Emma wanted a world where she never had to worry about her students’ safety — she had previously lost two separate groups of mutant students to Sentinels in her day. Krakoa gave her such a place and with it gone, the fear that she’ll lose more students is always with her.

Exceptional X-Men #7 is on sale now where ever comics are sold.