20 Of Our Favorite X-Men Characters
Emma Frost (Image via Marvel)
17. Emma Frost
Okay, we’ve got enough room for at least one more female villain. This is sometimes treacherous territory, given writers’ propensity towards whore/virgin, evil/good sort of dichotomies. But, this is where the seemingly endless source of X-Men story lines comes in handy. You see, if a character sticks around long enough in the X-Men universe, they’ll eventually switch from evil to good, and then back again. Sometimes that’s annoying, but it makes for interesting character arcs.
Emma Frost is yet another telepath, though you may be pleased to learn that she possesses considerable strength in that arena. Seriously, though, was there a period of time where X-Men writers all suffered the same brain injury that made them forget every character was a telepath?
Otherwise, Emma is capable of turning herself into, no kidding, a giant human-shaped diamond. In that particular form, she possesses incredibly strength and durability, though it does dampen her telepathy. At one point, she was even strong enough to take on the Phoenix Force. In her diamond form, she has no need for food, water, or human emotion. Honestly, that sounds like it could be heaven in some situations.
She was born to a wealthy family who, in the great WASP-y tradition, are also ruthless and emotionally distant. She experiences brief downs, including homelessness and an attempted kidnapping, but manages to come out of it with a decent chunk of cash and a college education. Eventually, she’s invited to become the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, a secret evil organization. She also wears as little clothing as possible – I don’t know if I want to ascribe that to her character (in which case, go for it, I suppose) or if I need to roll my eyes at the comics artists again.
Like any major character, she eventually turns to the side of the X-Men and becomes deeply involved with their activities. After Jean Grey’s most recent death, she even enters into a romantic relationship with Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops. They, uh, kiss on top of Jean Grey’s grave. Awkward, but they didn’t seem to mind.