Forget Cyclops and Jean Grey, This is the X-Men’s Greatest Romance

Superhero comics are often called “soap operas for boys” and nowhere is this more apparent than the X-Men. A huge part of the appeal of the X-Men is that their web of relationships is just as exciting as their battles against evil. The X-Men’s popularity was cemented in the late ’70s, when writer Chris Claremont started to focus on the interpersonal relationships between the members of the group. Many of the best relationships in the Marvel Universe come from the X-Men side of things, including one of Marvel’s longest lasting relationship — Cyclops and Jean Grey. The two of them have been together since the Silver Age, one of the few relationships at Marvel that has stood the test of decades. People love Cyclops and Jean Grey as a couple, but their love isn’t the X-Men’s greatest romance, although it does involve one of them. The greatest X-Men romance is Cyclops and Emma Frost, and it isn’t even close.

Cyclops is the X-Men’s greatest leader, and his time with Emma saw him truly live up to that appellation. Cyclops and Emma Frost seemed to start as just a new source of drama for the X-Men, coming at a time when change was in the air for Marvel’s merry mutants. However, it soon became the most important relationship in the modern X-Men comics, one that set the tone for several major eras of the X-Men.

Cyclops and Emma Frost Made Each Other Better

Cyclops and Jean Grey’s life together has some of the X-Men’s most epic moments. No one is going to forget the ending of “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and their marriage in X-Men (Vol. 2) #30 remains one of the best feel good moments in X-Men history. However, one of the problems with Cyclops and Jean Grey’s relationship is that it really didn’t do anything interesting for either character. Cyclops being married to Jean Grey didn’t make either characters better, instead chaining them down to a relationship that was the definition of the status quo. That’s why the flirtation between Emma Frost and Cyclops was so interesting; it was the first time an actual wrench had been thrown into the relationship between Cyclops and Jean Grey, instead of the boring old Wolverine-Jean-Cyclops love triangle that everyone knew would never amount to anything.

Emma and Cyclops had energy that Jean and Cyclops didn’t, and there was the sense that Emma actually cared about him. This was an important part of Emma as a character. On the outside, she was the sarcastic ice queen, but her desire for Cyclops gave her a side that most readers could understand. The two of them ending up together at end of Morrison’s New X-Men was something of a shock, but it made a lot of sense. The X-Men were moving on from the old way and they needed a new relationship to form the nucleus of the X-Men. Cyclops and Emma Frost was something new, and it shook up the sometimes staid relationship between the X-Men as a team. Every character had an opinion on Cyclops and Emma Frost, and that added up to a lot of cool drama in the X-Men, especially in books like Astonishing X-Men, where the rivalry between Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde, partly over Emma taking Jean’s place, was a centerpiece.

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Cyclops was thrust into Professor X’s place in the X-Men after Morrison left the book. The old Cyclops never would have been able to survive that limelight. However, with Emma by his side, he changed. Emma’s disdain for the opinions of everyone rubbed off on Cyclops, allowing him to become the kind of leader who could actually run the mutant race, a contentious group that was always being pulled in a million different directions. Emma pushed him in ways that Jean Grey never would have and their leadership was a key part of post-House of M X-Men status quo.

There was also a passion to their relationship that was missing from Cyclops and Jean’s relationship. Cyclops and Emma actually felt like they loved each other in a way that Cyclops and Jean Grey hadn’t in a long time. There was something sexy about their relationship; they said things to each other that Cyclops and Jean never did and there was the impression that whatever they got up to at night was way more exciting than anything Jean and Cyclops did. Cyclops and Jean seemed like a nice couple, but there was no spark. Cyclops and Emma Frost had more than a spark; their love was a roaring forest fire.

Cyclops and Emma Frost Should Have Never been Broken Up

Cyclops and Jean Grey’s relationship is a part of the X-Men’s bedrock, but calling it interesting was a road much too far. It was never going to change and it ending was the best thing that could happen to Cyclops. It’s no surprise that Cyclops became a better character after her death, Jean was definitely holding him back, and a huge part of that is his time with Emma Frost. Emma and Cyclops made each other better; Cyclops stopped being such a Boy Scout, Emma’s hard edge sharpening him, and Emma became a more well-rounded character, showing that she was more than just the shallow, mean rich girl. Cyclops and Emma Frost gave X-Men fans something that they hadn’t seen in a long time — actual change. It changed both characters forever.

A lot of people would pick Rogue and Gambit for the best X-Men relationship, but even it can’t compare to Cyclops and Emma Frost. Rogue and Gambit may have changed over the years, but very little of that comes from their relationship. Cyclops and Emma Frost became more popular than ever together, and each of them benefited from the relationship. The characters have broken up and there’s something missing from both of them. Cyclops and Emma Frost should have never been broken up, especially since it just led back to Cyclops and Jean Grey, which is just as boring as it ever was.

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