WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Devil’s Reign: X-Men #3, now on sale from Marvel Comics.
Being born a mutant in the Marvel Universe could be considered a curse and a blessing, depending on how you look at it. While the widespread prejudice that many humans hold against mutants paints a target on their backs that will follow them until the day they die, the incredible superhuman abilities that they’re born with grant them an innate edge over “normal people”, and a select few are blessed with powers that only grow more powerful as they grow older.
One of the most prominent examples of a mutant whose powers have radically changed over time is Emma Frost, who’s gone from being a relatively “vanilla” telepath to an Omega-Level mentalist with the ability to control other people’s minds, rewrite memories, and project powerful blasts of psionic energy. However, while the new abilities that Emma’s gained have made her much more competent in combat, her baseline telepathy has always been her most useful ability, and Devil’s Reign: X-Men #3 (by Gerry Duggan, Phil Noto, and VC’s Cory Petit) has expanded its utility by revealing that the White Queen can communicate with animals.
Although Mayor Wilson Fisk’s efforts to drive out or imprison all of New York City’s costumed superheroes have been largely successful, Emma used her status as the ambassador of the newly-formed mutant nation of Krakoa to undermine Fisk’s attempts to do the same to the X-Men. Further pressured by Emma’s detailed knowledge of his past criminal dealings, Kingpin retaliated by accusing her of kidnapping Isabelle, a young girl who vanished without a trace many years ago. While in reality, Emma saved Isabelle from being executed by Fisk’s henchmen after she’d accidentally witnessed Elektra assassinating several people on Fisk’s orders and used her connections to smuggle her into the United Kingdom, Emma was arrested in London by Union Jack and scheduled to be extradited to the United States. However, Emma was able to escape during her transfer by telepathically ordering the police’s German Shepards to attack Union Jack and the other police officers, taking some time to thank the dogs before she flees.
Emma’s ability to communicate with animals is a surprising revelation that gives her a unique advantage over Marvel’s other telepaths. While mutant telepaths like Jean Grey and Quinten Quire surpass Frost in terms of raw power, few have demonstrated the ability to communicate with non-humanoid lifeforms, adding a unique dimension to Emma’s telepathy that gives her an edge over other telepaths. While other Marvel heroes can communicate with animals, including Squirrel Girl and the X-Men’s own Danielle Moonstar, they lack Emma’s ability to do so telepathically, making the White Queen’s ability to communicate with animals even more impressive.
This new aspect of Emma’s telepathy opens up many exciting, and terrifying, opportunities to the veteran Hellfire Club member. Emma’s natural charisma and willingness to exploit the personal secrets of those whose minds she infiltrates has allowed the White Queen to use her abilities to exert her will over others and expand her sphere of influence, and her newly-revealed ability to bend the wills of animals makes her an even greater threat to those who get on her bad side. While it may not be seen as an overtly useful ability when compared to more flashy powers like superhuman strength or energy projection, the Earth is home to a diverse collection of dangerous animals that can easily kill the average human with little effort, and Emma’s ability to control these creatures could allow her to summon unconventional and unexpected allies in the heat of battle. Even seemingly harmless animals like pigeons can be dangerous in large numbers, and the sheer abundance of them that live in most enemies men’s that Emma is almost always in command of an army.
On top of all that, the Marvel Universe is home to a wide variety of powerful beasts that don’t exist in the real world, giving Emma access to even deadlier creatures. With the X-Men’s influence expanding into both alien worlds and alternate dimensions, Emma could theoretically use her telepathy to control the mythological creatures of Otherworld or the monstrous aliens that inhabit the most primordial corners of the Solar System. While Emma could have difficulty keeping these creatures under control, the ease with which she can command the highly-evolved minds of humans implies that influencing the comparatively simpler minds of animals wouldn’t be an arduous task.
Although Emma has always considered herself a people person, her ability to communicate with animals could prove t be her most useful ability yet. While it’s ultimately her bond with the now-adult Isabelle that allows the White Queen to prove her innocence and continue defying the former Kingpin, her kinship with the Earth’s other non-human inhabitants will be an invaluable asset in her mission to promote the interests of Krakoa.
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