Emma Grace Frost was born to a Boston mercantile family, which arrived from England in the 1600's. The second of three daughters, Emma also had an older brother, named Christian Frost, who had turned to substance abuse as an escape from the drudgery of his life and the abuse of his father. Unknown to their family or themselves, the three Frost sisters were mutants, whose telepathic abilities matured upon reaching their puberty. Deemed unfit in her father's eyes, Emma produced low grade point averages and was a social outcast while attending the Snow Valley School for Girls. As a result of her emerging powers, Emma also began to experience severe migraines. [12]
After the emergence of her powers, Emma used them to excel in all aspects of her life. Due to a crush that Emma had on a teacher of hers, Ian Kendall, Emma decided on a future in teaching, much to her father's disapproval, but, after being seen kissing Mr. Kendall in front of the Frost estate, Emma's father blackmailed her to give up her idea of teaching. After her brother's homosexuality was revealed to the family, her father Winston Frost began to alienate Christian, resulting in his drug abuse and attempted suicide. When it came time for their father to choose a worthy heir to the family fortune, Christian was automatically dismissed due to his drug problem and because he was gay. While the older sister, Adrienne Frost, seemed the most obvious choice, their father chose Emma. At the same time, Christian was sent to a mental institution, and Emma refused to be her father's heir, choosing to make her own way through life instead.[13]
Emma began to work minimum wage jobs and stayed at a hotel. After attempting to use her telepathy to pay for the meal with a newspaper instead of money, Emma was eventually caught and made to wash dishes, where she met Troy Killkelly, with whom she developed a relationship and eventually moved in with. Unfortunately, Troy owed money and Emma used her telepathy at a casino to erase their financial problems, but the loan shark insisted that they owed more, for interest. Troy suggested that they pretend to kidnap Emma and have Winston pay a ransom, but Winston refused, stating that his daughter was already dead to him. After Troy was killed, Emma absorbed all of the shark's knowledge of business through her telepathy. After her sister Adrienne took Emma's kidnapping video to the news, Winston was forced to pay the ransom. However, Emma freed herself using her abilities, took the money and moved to New York.[14]
Later, Emma found herself in a mental institution, the Essex Clinic, where she was drugged and kidnapped by the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Magneto took her to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, to use Cerebro and kill all humans, while bringing together all mutants. Beast created a device that shut-off access to the cosmic rays of the Evolutionaries and accidentally killed two of them. When Cyclops vowed to protect mutantkind, the remaining Evolutionary reluctantly left, but not before erasing the memory of their presence from the minds of the X-Men and Brotherhood and vowing to return one day. After the Evolutionaries returned Emma to the clinic, her head was clear and the drugs were out of her system.[15]
Emma dyed her hair blonde and enrolled into Empire State University, where she was reunited with Mr. Kendall. While attending class, Emma met her first fellow telepath, Astrid Bloom, and Astrid began to train Emma in the use of her abilities. After learning that Mr. Kendall was dating her roommate, Christine McDermott, Emma confessed her love for him and he pursued a relationship with Emma. Christine threatened to expose Mr. Kendall's relationship with students if he did not leave Emma, but Astrid influenced him to choke her. Upon learning the truth, Emma telepathically fought and defeated Astrid, absorbing her knowledge of telepathy, and saved Mr. Kendall's job, revealing her mutant powers to him. Despite having saved his job, Mr. Kendall left Emma in disgust upon learning that she was a mutant. [16]
These events led Emma to view humans as being beneath mutants and she began believing that there was no reason to practice restraint in using her powers. Emma inherited a good deal of wealth, but most of her large fortune was the result of her business successes. Emma rose rapidly through the world of business, thanks to her intelligence, drive, personal charm, and her secret use of her psionic abilities. Also, at some point, the Dark Beast met Emma and helped her rise to wealth and power.[17]
Superpowers[]
Emma Frost possesses telepathic abilities of a similar caliber to those of Charles Xavier, over which she had an extremely refined level of skill. Frost has been cited as a "World-class telepath",[81] "Omega Class Telepath"[7][82][83]Additionally, she has also been referred among the five telepaths on the planet capable of perfectly and seamlessly altering a mind,[84] has demonstrated the ability to stalemate Exodus[85] and overcome telepaths, such as Nate Grey,[86] Kid Omega, and Rachel Summers, through greater power, experience and skill.[87]
When Wolverine thought to be protected from her thanks to Level 9 Psi-Shields created by Charles Xavier, she stated she was herself Level 10.[88] Her abilities have been stated to rival that of Charles Xavier himself, and this statement only proven in her telepathic defeat of Professor Xavier.[89]
Telepathy: Since her introduction, Frost has displayed the telepathic standards of broadcasting and receiving thoughts, mind-control, altering perceptions and memories, projection of offensive blasts of psionic energy causing mental pain or unconsciousness, astral projection, mind switching, brain engram modification, mental sedation of unconscious victims, induction of mental pain by touch and limited psychometry.
- Psionic Shield: The ability to erect a psychic shield for protection of herself and other minds she is immune or highly resistant to any/all mental intrusion, including psychic or empathic powers, hypnosis, illusions, deception, etc. Mind readers only “hear” static, while mind controllers are incapable of manipulating her or those she shielded.
- Psionic Shields Removal: When Wolverine thought to be protected from her thanks to Level 9 Psi-Shields created by Charles Xavier, she stated she was herself Level 10 and could easily take them down, though their removal might leave Wolverine as the equivalent of a three-year-old child.[88]
- Telepathic and Mind Cloaking: The ability to telepathically mask her presence and the use of her abilities from being detected by other mutants and psychic entities. These defenses can be extended to others around them as well. Cloaking via telepathy is not perfect and powerful telepathic mutants may notice and 'see' through this ability. Also including the ability to rearrange the mental engrams of mutants so her distinctive mutant thought patterns cannot be detected by Cerebro-type devises or by other telepaths.
- Telepathic Illusions: The ability to create realistic telepathic illusions and cause people to experience events which are not actually occurring.
- Telepathic Camouflage: The ability to alter the apparent physical appearance of oneself and others by altering the perceptions of those around them. This can go so far as to make other people believe that the camouflaged people are not there (invisible). The only limit to this ability, if one exists, is only imposed by the number of people a telepath is trying to fool, not the number of people a telepath is actually camouflaging.
- Absorb Information: The ability to quickly process and store information, by mental transference.
- Download Information: The ability to place large amounts of information in another's mind.
- Astral Projection: The ability to project one's astral form from their body onto astral planes or the physical planes. In the physical plane one can travel in astral form over vast distances.
- Power Inhibition: The ability to place "psychic inhibitors" in the minds of mutant adversaries to prevent them from using their powers.
- Pain Inducement: The ability to induce mental pain merely by touching the brow of the victim.
- Trauma Healing: The ability to erase a person’s memories and to heal mental trauma through "psychic surgery", the power to stimulate or deaden the pain and pleasure centers in a person's brain.
- Intuitive Multilingual: The ability to intuitively translating new languages.
- Mind Blast:The ability to place large amounts of information into the minds of others
- Mind Control: The ability to control the thoughts and actions of others.
- Mind Link: The ability to develop a mental link with any person, which remains as a connection to that individual long after the link itself is broken.
- Mind Possession: The ability to possess the mind of another, and use that being's body, and any powers it may possess, as one's own.
- Mental Paralysis: The ability to induce temporary mental or physical paralysis.
- Mental Sedation: The ability to telepathically "sedate" one's victims so that, if already rendered unconscious, they remain so for as long as a telepath continues to "sedate" them.
- Mind Alteration: The ability to alter the minds of others by force of will, changing their personality partially or entirely.
- Mental Amnesia: The ability to cause loss of particular memories or total amnesia in another person or group of people.
- Mind Transferal: The ability to transfer both the mind and powers of the user into other host bodies should their own physical body somehow be killed.
- Neural Jumpstart: The ability to increase the speed of neural signals in the brain, allowing her to increase another mutant's powers to incredible levels, but the effect is only temporary.
- Mental Detection: The ability to sense the presence of another superhuman mutant within a small but as yet undefined radius of oneself by perceiving the distinctive mental radiations emitted by such a being.
- Telepathic Tracking: Enhanced psionic senses enable a telepath to track other sentient beings by their unique psionic emanations (thought patterns contained in the psionic portion of the spectrum), especially if they pose a threat to one's well-being in their immediate vicinity.
- Limited Psychometry: It is said that Emma possesses a form a psychometric powers, but she has yet to show them as they still could be a growth of her powerful telepathic abilities.
- Psionic Blasts: Can project psionic force bolts or blast waves which can do damage on either a physical or mental level and which can affect a victim's mind so as to cause the victim pain or unconsciousness and can even kill an adversary.
Telekinesis: Emma was also stated to be a potential telekinetic. Emma unintentionally levitated some utensils while facing a nightmare.[90]
- Telekinetic Blast:Power to emit blasts of telekinetic energy.
- Force Field:The ability to project powerful fields of manipulated energy.
Secondary Mutation[]
Organic Diamond Form: As a result of undergoing a body-wide Secondary Mutation[37] installed by Cassandra Nova,[92] Frost possesses the ability to transform her body into a flexible organic diamond form. In many ways, this is similar to Colossus' organic steel form. She must transform all parts of her body, rather than selectively transforming certain areas and can remain in this form for an undetermined amount of time. If she is rendered unconscious, Frost's body will automatically transform into its normal state. This transformation also alters Frost's personality, causing her to become rather cold-hearted and to lose her empathy for others. Emma does not have access to her telepathy while in her diamond form,[91] although she could during her first time after her Secondary Mutation.[37]
- Superhuman Strength: In her diamond form, Frost's physical strength is increased to superhuman levels. At her peak, she is able to lift approximately 2 tons.
- Superhuman Stamina: While transformed, Frost's muscle tissue becomes infinitely more efficient than the organic musculature of normal humans, or most other organic beings for that matter. Her muscles produce almost no fatigue toxins during physical activity, granting her almost limitless superhuman stamina, or at least until or unless she is forced to resume her normal state.
- Superhuman Durability: Frost's diamond form renders her highly resistant to most forms of physical injury. She is able to resist great impact forces, such as being repeatedly struck with superhuman force, without being injured. She has withstood being zapped by Young Cyclops' optic blast [93] ,blows from Hulk when he was on a rampage, and blasts from the Living Celestial. Despite the living celestial's blast breaking her arm off, this showed an incredibly powerful upper limit to Emma's powers, as a Juggernaut powered Colossus was hit by the same blast and was sent flying across the city with a hole through his chest. Her body is also resistant to temperature extremes, able to withstand temperatures as cold as -320 degrees Fahrenheit or as hot as approximately 7,362 degrees Fahrenheit before her form begins to melt. Frost is also self sustained while transformed, requiring no food, water or oxygen.
- Psychic Immunity: Emma has shown to be immune to other telepathic powers in her diamond form, but in turn, she is unable to use her own telepathic powers until she turns back.
| Former Powers |
|---|
Phoenix Force: Emma Frost was one of five avatars of the Phoenix Force which granted her the great cosmic powers of the Phoenix as well as greatly enhancing her telepathic abilities during her time as its host. At the time of her being a Phoenix avatar, she was stated to be an "Omega-Level Mutant Threat",[94] and demonstrated the following powers:
|
Abilities[]
Expert Technician: Emma Frost is highly skilled in electronic theory and electronics and has learned how to build devices that can amplify psionic energy and utilize psionic energy for various effects. She devised the mechanism by which Mastermind projected his illusions directly into the mind of the Phoenix Force.
Defense Training: Emma Frost is an above average athlete and has had some training in hand-to-hand combat. During a training session in which Emma did not have access to her powers, Banshee attempted to make an example of her. Emma quickly, efficiently, and easily dispatched Banshee, much to his embarrassment.[95]
Master Astral Combatant: Emma Frost is trained and excels in astral combat.
Weaknesses[]
- While in her diamond form, Frost is unable to access her telepathic abilities.
- Alcoholic: After killing her sister, she became alcoholic.[96]
Paraphernalia[]
Equipment[]
Mini-Cerebro.
Transportation[]
X-Men Blackbird, Magik.
Weapons[]
The White Queen has designed a gun-like device, which she once used to exchange minds for a period of time with Storm.
Trivia[]
- Emma once spent a extended amount of time in control of Iceman's body and used his powers in ways he never had before.[97]
- In a flashback story told by Frost herself,[98] she detailed a time she spent in a mental institution after being sent there by her parents. However, her early years were elsewhere depicted differently, and seem to refute this. She told this story so the young mutants could feel sympathetic to her. What happened to her brother served as an inspiration to her story.[99]
- The Emma Frost Vol 1 was planned to cover her life from high school until her first appearance as the White Queen, however, it was canceled at issue #18.
- Her brother Christian was the person who told her white was her color when commenting on a dress she was wearing to a high school dance.[99]
- Emma's known lovers have consisted of: Prince Namor,[24][66] Tony Stark,[100] The Black King[10] and Cyclops.[101][102]
- Emma actually briefly died during the Skrull Invasion of San Francisco. She attempted to take down the Skrulls' Mind-Wall, and her mind was completely separated from her body for several minutes. The Stepford Cuckoos were able to keep her body going until she was able to destroy the Mind-Wall and return to her body.[103]
- Emma was shown wearing glasses in New X-Men #131.
