Emma Frost

Powers and Abilities

The White Queen is a powerful telepath. She exhibits a remarkable variety of psionic  powers similar to those of Professor Xavier. Xavier himself considers Emma to be a telepath of prodigious talent.

Her specific powers include:

• The ability to read minds and communicate telepathically.
• Astral projection.
• Painful mind-blasts which can injure or even kill an adversary.
• 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.
• To subtly brainwash susceptible minds and persuade them to do her bidding.
• To telepathically sedate someone for as long as she continues to exert mental control.

Emma has been known to place “psychic inhibitors” in the minds of mutant adversaries to prevent them from using their powers. She recently revealed her ability to rearrange the “mental engrams” of mutants so their distinctive mutant thought patterns cannot be detected by Cerebro-type devises or by other telepaths.

The White Queen also uses her powers to create realistic illusions with apparent ease. She uses the latter power to mask her presence from those around her, to alter her appearance, and to cause people to experience events which are not actually occurring. Unlike Xavier, the White Queen has no compunctions about using any of these powers for her personal benefit.

While under attack in Genosha, a latent, secondary mutation activated in Emma. She now has the ability to turn her entire body into a diamond-like material. This is most useful for defensive purposes. Once the power has been activated, she may not use any of her normal telepathic abilities, except the purely defensive ones.

Turning the power off, immediately returns all her abilities to her. There are no other negative effects from her secondary mutation.

Emma is an experienced teacher and mentor of mutants. She also has an extensive background in business management and psychology. Furthermore, Emma is also highly skilled in electronics, and has created many sophisticated machines, including a device to enhance psionic powers, used by Mastermind during the Dark Phoenix saga.

Organisations

Frost Enterprises and Emma’s wealth

The White Queen is a member of a wealthy, aristocratic Boston family. Their roots in the USA can be traced back to the American Revolution. The family made its fortune in the New England shipping and merchant trades during the XIX^th century.

Despite her family’s resources, the White Queen achieved most of her fabulous wealth through her own ambition and skill. She employed her telepathic abilities for unfair competitive advantage and personal financial gain. She has frequently boasted of using her powers in this manner.

Emma gained control of a previously existing multibillion-dollar corporation, which she renamed Frost International upon becoming the majority stockholder. Emma maintains a townhouse in New York, a mansion near the Massachusetts Academy, and various other residences. She also owns a fabulous penthouse apartment in San Francisco.

Emma Frost is presently Chairman of the Board of Frost Enterprises, a large, publicly-traded U.S. corporation. It has been called “one of the hottest stocks on Wall Street”. OHOTMUDE refers to the company as “Frost International”.

Since both companies are described as the ultimate parent company of Emma’s operations, it is unlikely that one is a subsidiary of the other. Possibly, Emma decided to change the name to Frost Enterprises at some point.

The corporation owns a spectacular high-rise headquarters on New York’s upper West Side. The firm also owns properties in Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., and elsewhere around the world. The corporation’s core businesses as the manufacture of transportation vehicles (aircraft and ships), transportation services (shipping, passenger airlines, and air freight), and electronics.

The Hellions

The Hellions was the name of a team of young mutants recruited and trained by the White Queen (Emma Frost). They assist the Hellfire Club achieve its goal of world domination. The name reflects the group’s association with the Hellfire Club as well as the term’s connotation of wild youth.

Most Hellions appearances took place in the The New Mutants comic book. Although the Hellions were pawns of a ruthless, sinister organization, the team members themselves were not depicted as fearsome enemies of the New Mutants.

The relationship between the two teams is best described as a rivalry between competing schools. Nearly all members of the Hellions are now dead, and the team itself has been disbanded.

The founding members of the Hellions were Catseye, Empath, Jetstream, Roulette, Tarot, and Thunderbird. Firestar was recruited next, but because the White Queen had special plans for this powerful but naïve girl, Firestar was seldom allowed to study or train with the Hellions.

The eighth student to join was Magma, a former member of the New Mutants who felt she would be happier with the Hellions. Firestar and Magma may be thought of as “adjunct” members.

Magma and Empath subsequently took a leave of absence to visit Magma’s home in Brazil. They never rejoined the team. Beef and Bevatron were the last members to join. For a period of several weeks, the New Mutants themselves actually became Hellions.

Approximately 10 unnamed Hellions were layer briefly shown before they are killed. On several occasions, the White Queen indicated she sought young mutants from around the world, regardless of their power level. It can be inferred that the nameless teenagers seen in this episode represented a combination of newer recruits and less powerful mutants unsuited to combat training.

Nothing has been said about these unknown casualties since their death.

The Hellfire Club

This elite private club, which is over 200 years old, accepts only the world’s richest and most powerful people to its ranks. Membership is passed on from one generation to the next. The American headquarters is located on New York’s Fifth Avenue, near the Avenger’s Mansion.

At gala events, members dress in XVIII^th-century garb. They flaunt their disdain for modern moral strictures and to celebrate the decadence and cutthroat spirit of a bygone era.

Unknown to most members, the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club has a hidden agenda. They seek nothing less than complete control of major world governments and resources. The Inner Circle is governed by a small band of ruthless leaders known as the Lords Cardinal.

Following a bloody coup led by Sebastian Shaw, a group of powerful mutants assumed control of the Inner Circle and became the new Lords Cardinal.

The Inner Circle views mutants as weapons to be used and controlled. They are powerful resources in their quest for world domination. The definitive statement of this philosophy was made by Emma Frost as the White Queen: “The group…that possesses mutants has an incalculable advantage over those that don’t.”

To this end, the Hellfire Club seeks to recruit young and impressionable mutants as soon as the teenagers’ powers manifest themselves. The White Queen was the Lord Cardinal in charge of mutant recruitment and training.

The Hellfire Club’s first attempts to enlist young mutants involved the unsuccessful recruitment of Kitty Pryde (now known as Shadowcat) and a foiled kidnapping of Allison Blaire (the Dazzler). Since those early, failed attempts, the Hellfire Club viewed its continued efforts as a desperate contest with Charles Xavier for the allegiance of young mutants throughout the world.

This deadly competition mirrored a similar strategy followed earlier by Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and subsequently by such other groups as the Mutant Liberation Front.

The Hellfire Club’s Inner Circle first appeared behind the scenes (as the Council of the Chosen). Although all of the former Lords Cardinal have either left or been killed, the Hellfire Club still exists under the current leadership of Shinobi Shaw, Sebastian’s son.

The Hellfire Club is based on a real organization of the same name  that existed in 18^th century England. Founded by Sir Francis Dashwood in the 1730s, the original Hellfire Club was a secret enclave of wealthy reprobates who engaged in sexual hanky-panky and conducted Satanic rituals while dressed in monk’s robes.

Club activities took place in caves near Dashwood’s estate (West Wycombe Manor) and in the nearby Medmenham Abbey.

Club members included some of the realm’s most illustrious Peers, including John Montagu , the famous fourth Earl of Sandwich. The Club’s motto, translated from Old French, was “Do What You Want.” Subsequently, the term “Hellfire Club” has become synonymous with debauchery, and has been depicted in novels, plays, and movies.

As a side-note, the fondly remembered TV show The Avengers, had John Steed and Emma Peel investigating the revival of the Hellfire Club, in an episode entitled “A Touch of Brimstone.”

It is mentioned because the actor who played the leader of the Club was Peter Wyngarde, best known for his role as TV detective Jason King. (The “Dark Phoenix Saga” introduced Jason Wyngarde as the Mastermind’s alter-ego.)

Marvel’s Hellfire Club is loosely based on this historical prototype. The Marvel version was founded in England in the 1760s. Sir Patrick Clemens and Diana Knight founded the New York City chapter in the 1770s, becoming the first Black King and Queen.

History

Emma Frost’s first chronological appearance told the story of her ascension to the position of White Queen. Sebastian Shaw, Emma, and others used their powers to kill Edward (Ned) Buckman and his associates, wresting control of the Inner Circle from them.

The White Queen’s first encounter with the X-Men was precipitated by her attempt to recruit the young Kitty Pryde as a student at the Massachusetts Academy. She then captured members of the X-Men and tortured them, but her plans were foiled and the X-Men believed she had been killed by the Phoenix in its Jean Grey incarnation.

A second major confrontation also centered around Kitty Pryde. When Kitty’s parent’s ordered her to leave Xavier’s and enroll in the Massachusetts Academy, the White Queen used the opportunity to attack Storm with a “persona exchange gun,” transferring her mind into Storm’s body and vice versa.

While inhabiting Storm’s body, she gained Ororo’s weather powers, but lost her telepathic powers. Emma then infiltrated the X-Men and helped the Hellfire Club subdue the team. Once again her plans were thwarted, and the two women’s minds were restored to their original bodies.

Mastermind

Immediately preceding the Hellions’ first appearance, the White Queen was felled by a psionic attack from an unknown assailant. The culprit was later revealed as Mastermind, who used his enhanced abilities to confront her with “illusions so terrible… horrors so primal” that her mind retreated into a catatonic state.

This episode was resolved off-panel, and the White Queen later remarked that the Mastermind underestimated her courage and determination. In short, she “dragged herself out of that abyss” through her own force of will.

Mastermind went on to stage an ambitious series of insidious behind-the-scenes attacks on Mystique, Rogue (still a member of the Brotherhood), and various X-Men. These subtle machinations caused critical repercussions for the lives of several X-Men, but the Emma Frost incident was little more than a minor plot teaser.

However, it is interesting to note that the White Queen was the first enemy Mastermind chose to attack after his return to sanity. A flashback story explains the intense rivalry and mutual enmity shared by these two members of the Hellfire Club.

The Hellions massacre

The White Queen later solicited help from the X-Men against a brutal, unknown enemy. Trevor Fitzroy and his Sentinels attack the combined forces of the X-Men and Hellions. Jetstream and Beef were killed immediately, the White Queen and Jean Grey appeared to die, and the remaining Hellions were captured.

Fitzroy massacred the rest of the Hellions (except for Empath, Magma, Warpath and Firestar). Jean Grey, who had transferred her consciousness into the brain-dead body of the White Queen, was rescued by the X-Men.

Emma awakened from her coma, but her consciousness was in Iceman’s body. Fleeing Xavier’s, her first thoughts were to find the Hellions. This episode revealed a great deal about Emma’s motivations and methods of operation. She almost admitted to herself that she formed the Hellions for her personal protection, and to do her dirty work.

She, however, dismissed this thought and decided she did everything for the children’s sakes. When she broke into the headquarters of Frost Enterprises, she finally learned that the Hellions were dead. The news devastated her to the point of leading her to ask the security guards to kill her, but Xavier intervened.

When the White Queen realized the Hellions had been killed, and that she bore a large measure of responsibility for their fate, she began to confront her private demons. The process ultimately led to her role as co-teacher of Generation X (at the Massachussets Academy) and later as a full-blown member of the X-Men.

During an attack in Genosha, a latent, secondary mutation activated in her, enabling her to turn her entire body into a diamond-like substance.

She currently resides at the Xavier Institute of Gifted Youngsters as a mentor and teacher of mutants, and occasionally leaves for missions with the X-Corporation or to take care of business with the Frost Enterprises.

Description

Emma Frost is an attractive blonde with dark blue eyes who is very conscious about her looks. Thus, she is always seen clad in expensive, classic-style clothing, mostly in white colors. Her style is very similar to traditional English high-society clothing of the 18-19^th century.

While in her diamond form, she appears to have a glass-like skin, an effect that extends to her make-up, eyes and hair as well.

Also, being something of an exhibitionist, she sometimes, even while working, wears white clothing only covering her most private parts, showing lots of skin. An example is a white cotton lingerie set complete with leg step-ups.

She may be one of the only characters in the X-Universe who routinely buys her combat uniforms at upscale lingerie shops. It has also been revealed that Emma has done at least one nose-job as well as had surgically made breast implants.

Personality

Emma Frost is as icy as her name. Despite her vast powers, she relies primarily on cunning and charisma. She believes everyone has a right to privacy, particularly when it comes to his or her mind. Emma avoids battle, preferring to scheme behind the scenes. She can be ruthless, but cares deeply for her charges.

Until recently, Emma has been portrayed as a cold, scheming villain who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals. She never hesitated to use her formidable powers to torture her captives, kill her enemies, or cruelly manipulate anyone who could further her plans in the slightest way. Emma was consistently shown to be driven by greed and a lust for power.

The White Queen is supremely confident in her abilities and disdainful of others. Consequently, she tends to underestimate her adversaries and allies alike. As indicated in a backup story the White Queen also uses her sexual appeal as a weapon. She wears sexy, revealing costumes to keep men off-balance.

Emma feels tremendous guilt and personal responsibility for the deaths of her students. In Emma’s view, Xavier’s students survived and flourished, while hers were killed. This traumatic realization has led her to join forces with Xavier in training the newest generation of young mutants.

Perhaps Emma’s most defining personality trait is her desire to be in control—both of herself and her environment. She punishes her underlings harshly because she views their failures as her own.

Quotes

“Don’t gloat, child. It’s a sign of poor upbringing.”

“Why don’t you go wax your chest hairs ?”

“The first thing one learns as a telepath… hopefully… is to respect another person’s boundaries. Even I learned that. Eventually.”

DC Universe History

Know any prominent female telepaths in the modern days? No? Why not let Emma take the limelight as a character with complex motives and hidden agendas (as these telepaths go).

Of course, Emma Frost could be the ascendant of the Legion era’s Titanians, and Saturn Girl’s great, great grandmother.

Saturn Girl could thus believe, just like Cosmic Boy could do about his great grandfather Magneto, that the stories about Emma’s villainy were true (in which case Saturn Girl plays the hero to atone for her old relatives sins) or that Emma was a hero (in which case Saturn Girl continues a long heroic tradition).

An additional twist would be to make the name Saturn Queen a title of honor, derived from the name White Queen. It could be possible then that Emma is really an old legendary relative of Saturn Girl, but that the title was stolen by Saturn Queen at some point in order to promote her own status as a villain. This would further increase the rivalry between Saturn Girl and Saturn Queen and make it into a feud.

As to her modern era exploits, Frost Enterprises is on par with only the likes of Wayne Enterprises and Lexcorp. Thus, the companies will spend much of their time maneuvering around each other.

If Ms. Frost were to replace Lexcorp in reversing the “No Man’s Land” decision, that would pull Lex out of Gotham (where he never belonged), and give the Batman Family someone more interesting to deal with.

The dialogue between the mind-reading Ms. Frost and Batman and Family would also be most interesting and offer good possibilities for some serious role-playing.

To make Ms. Frost’s presence even more prominent in the DC Universe, you’d have her be the devious mastermind behind the latest formation of the Justice League. Behind the scenes, she would’ve manipulated the Know-Man and the White Martians, forcing the World’s Greatest Heroes to band together… for her own, as-yet-unrevealed purposes.

As a sidenote on the Hellfire Club ; it would exist pretty much the same way in the DC Universe, but there Ra’s al Ghul would probably run the show instead of Shaw.

By Dr. Peter S Piispanen.

Source of Character: X-Men Comics.

Helper(s): emmafrost.com , John Colagioia, Sébastien Andrivet.