Emma Frost is one of the most complex and nuanced characters in the X-Men universe, but if your main point of contact with the franchise is X-Men: The Animated Series, you wouldn’t know it.
In the ’90s cartoon, Frost mostly shows up as the villainous White Queen, leader of the Hellfire Club. Voiced by Tracey Moore, she played a pivotal role in the “Dark Phoenix Saga,” using her own mutant telepathy to unleash Jean Grey’s cosmic powers. But in the decades that followed, Frost evolved into a more morally gray character, and in some cases, a hero who even served as leader of the X-Men.
“The main thing about Emma Frost is she is always self-assured,” says Zehra Fazal, who voices Frost in X-Men ’97 season 2. “She is always in it for her own reasons — for ill or for good — but what’s really wonderful about Emma is that beneath her perfect diamond exterior is a true warm heart, especially when it comes to the younger X-Men. All in all, she’s so self-assured and confident that any move she’s making is the right one.”
Frost played a crucial supporting role in X-Men ’97 season 1, leading up to the mutant genocide in Genosha, which she survived after unlocking her ability to transform into pure diamond. She shows up in season 2 episode 2 to briefly betray Cable’s X-Force team, showing once again that Emma isn’t always a reliable ally.
However, Emma’s greatest betrayal has yet to be seen in any X-Men adaptation. In the early 2000s, in the X-Men comics, Frost and Scott Summers (aka Cyclops) carried out a telepathic affair, which began after Scott turned to Emma for counseling over marital problems with Jean Grey. When Jean died in the comics in 2004, Emma and Scott officially got together, and remained a couple until 2016.
This all happened after X-Men: The Animated Series wrapped up its original run in 1997, and hasn’t been addressed so far in X-Men ’97 or any other onscreen adaptations. So could Scott and Emma’s affair happen in season 2 or beyond? Fazal isn’t ruling it out.
“I think Emma and Scott look great together,” she says. “I’ll ship that.”
As for Frost’s future role in X-Men ’97, Fazal can’t reveal much, but hints that we definitely haven’t seen the last of the White Queen.
“Fans are in for a really fun ride in season 2, and as we go forward into season 3, I’m excited for folks to see what might develop for the X-Men in general, but also for Emma Frost. There’s a lot of stuff to look forward to.”
X-Men ’97 is streaming on Disney Plus
