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Emma Frost: The White Queen
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The 1970s saw the emergence of a number of super-heroines who were clearly
created in response to the development of the feminist movement in the previous
decade. Established super-heroines were also fundamentally re-vamped in order to
appear more in tune with the changing social climate. The writer most active in this
process at Marvel was Chris Claremont, who invented Ms Marvel and Storm, and
re-invented Jean Grey (aka Marvel Girl) as the Phoenix. 1 At DC, Wonder Woman
had always been a heroine who fought at close quarters, and whose superpowers
included sheer physical strength. Supergirl and Power Girl are characters created in
a similar tradition. 2 But until Ms Marvel's appearance in 1976, Marvel's superheroines
were equipped with either what are sometimes called ‘stand and point"
powers (such as The Scarlet Witch, or the original Marvel Girl) or with powers that
required them to disappear from the action in order to be used (The Invisible
Woman, The Wasp). 3 Claremont’s ambitions also included changing the way that
female super-villains were portrayed, and his introduction of Emma Frost (aka The
White Queen) into the X-Men should be seen in this wider context.
Emma’s Frost’s first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men 129, cover-dated January
1980. The issue was written by Chris Claremont and pencilled by John Byrne,
during their stellar run together on the title. 4 Issue 129 marks the beginning of a
six-part story arc which narrates the X-Men’s first encounter with the Hellfire
Club, a group of super-powered individuals in pursuit of global power from behind
the cover of their eponymous and exclusive New York gentlemen’s club. The
Hellfire Club narrative is itself part of a longer, nine-part story which culminates in
the release of the Dark Phoenix from within the psyche of Jean Grey (aka Marvel
Girl). 5 The overwhelming power of the Phoenix, first manifest within Grey in an
earlier X-Men story, 6 causes her to undergo extreme personality changes. Into this
storyline – arguably an example of the tendency to problematize the super-heroine
who possesses too much power – is adduced Emma Frost, seemingly an example
of a woman already completely corrupted by the superpowers she deploys.
Frost is introduced to us as the Hellfire Club’s White Queen: their plan is that Jean
Grey will subsequently replace her and become their Black Queen. 7 Frost is also
Chair of the Trustees of the Massachusetts Academy, an educational institution in
competition with Professor Xavier’s Westchester Academy for Gifted Youngsters.
Both schools are in the business of recruiting and training young mutants. X-Men
129 sees the two academies competing head-to-head for another key character
making her debut: 13-year-old Kitty Pryde.
Despite being published during the crepuscular days of the Comics Code, 8 the
Hellfire Club storyline is deeply concerned with the sexuality of its characters. The