Wolverine and the 25 greatest X-Men characters of all-time

16. Emma Frost

Emma Frost started as one of the X-Men’s most dangerous villains. As a member of the Hellfire Club, Emma and the rest of the inner circle used their powers, wealth, and influence to manipulate events from the shadows.

Later, Emma left that life and became a teacher (something she was amazing at) and then an X-Man. She even fell in love with Cyclops. Someone who’s her exact opposite. It may have seemed like she was using him, but, surprisingly, she wasn’t. As Emma put it, she loves Scott Summers with all her predator’s heart.

What makes Emma Frost so great is her depth. She may have started as a cold-hearted villain, but she matured into more than that. Her origin story shows that she wasn’t always the secure woman we see today. She came a long way. Watching her go from an apprehensive teen, to villain into hero to “I’ll do anything to save mutants” was done masterfully. An argument could be made that no one has had the kind of growth that she did.

Let’s ignore what we saw of Emma in X-Men: First Class. She played the evil role decent, but where was the depth? There’s no way she would have just gotten ice for Sebastian Shaw without at least a snarky remark. She’s no one’s servant. The introduction to the Hellfire Club in the MCU is going to be glorious.