UNCANNY X-MEN #314 (1994): Emma Frost becomes a “good guy”

Last issue, Emma Frost and Iceman got hit with an energy blast that somehow enabled Emma to become conscious (she’s been in a coma for several years’ worth of issues) and take over Iceman’s body.

The first thing she wants to do is make sure her students, the Hellions, are all okay.

They’re not. They were killed by Sentinels in Uncanny #281.

When she finds out they’re dead, she feels terrible…And Banshee convinces her to help him teach a new generation of X-Men. This will become Generation X, a new title that will launch soon.

At the end of the issue, she is able to leave Iceman’s body and awaken in her own. While she’s possessing him, there are many hints that Iceman’s powers are much greater than we’ve seen in the past.

There is also a subplot, where Bishop’s dead sister, Shard, is now part of the XSE team (Xavier Security Enforcers) being formed by Bishop in the 616 (it was his organization in the future timeline from whence he came). She is a virtual security expert, but appears to have the personality of the real-life version. I’m just keeping the Shard tag–not distinguishing the real from the holo versions.

I like everything about this issue. I love the way it reboots Emma. I love that her name is “Frost” and she takes over Iceman. I love that Iceman can’t figure out his own powers (and neither could Professor X, I guess), but Emma’s in his brain for half a day and recognizes how powerful he is. I love how it organically launches Generation X–one of the best X-books of the ’90s. Oh, and of course I love that Lee Weeks’ pencils are inked by Bill Sienkiewicz. Everything. This is a great issue.