Able to assume an unbreakable crystalline form, Emma Frost was a former student and lover of fellow mutant Charles Xavier. She broke up with him after disagreeing over Homo Superior's role in society. Charles felt mutants could avoidracial conflict with humanity by policing themselves, while Emma felt mutants must become role models and educators. Emma moved to Chicago, becoming a school teacher and running running mutant education seminars. After the public debut of Xavier's X-Men, Emma approached the government with a proposal to create a group of popular, attractive mutant spokespeople from various backgrounds and ethnicities to win over public opinion and launch her education campaign. Though a number of of her candidates were rejects, the President approved her plan. She recruited Alex Summers, elder brother to the X-Men's Cyclops, an energy generator who had turned down Xavier's school; Allison Blaire, lead singer of the punk band Dazzler, who could absorb sound and generate light; and Hank McCoy, aka Beast, a disenchanted Xavier dropout. At the President's behest, Emma also added S.H.I.E.L.D. Black Ops agnet Xi'an Coy Mahn, codename Karma, who could possess people. However, at the group's press launch on the Capital steps, rogue government elements that feared mutant influencing the President unleashed Sentinels. Beast was killed saving others from the Sentinel attack. The X-Men intervened to destroy the Sentinels, and Karma revealed Nick Fury placed her to uncover the anti-mutant conspiracy within the President's inner circle. In the aftermath, Frost and her remaining charges moved into Xavier's estate to re-evaluate their mission.
After a brief stay, Frost and Alex departed for Chicago, still feeling the X-Men were taking the wrong path. Frost established the Academy of Tomorrow, which accepted all outstanding individuals, mutant or not. Among her new students were computer genius Doug Ramsey; mutant speedster Jean-Paul Beaubier, aka Northstar, son of Canadian ambassador; Alex's magnetic-powered girlfriend Lorna Dane (Polaris); Sam Gurthie (Cannonball), able to generate a protective force field and fly; and Roberto DaCosta, known as Sunspot because he could generate solar blasts. While trying to rescue people from a fire, Polaris seemingly lost control of her powers, causing the deaths of three people. To prevent all her students from being arrested, Emma handed Polaris over to S.H.I.E.L.D., who incarcerated her in the Triskelion. Her loss of control was actually due to a device planted by Bortherhood of Mutants' Forge, who knew that due to the similar nature of their powers, she would be imprisoned in the same cell as Magneto. While Doug tried to figure out the real reason Polaris lost control, the rest of her classmates decided to break her out. Learning of these palns, the X-Men moved to intercept the Academy students before they turned themselves into fugitives, but instead both groups ended up clashing with one another and the Ultimates, unwittingly providing a distraction which enabled the Brotherhood to free Magneto. In the aftermath of the Academy's incursion into the Triskelion, Polaris was freed thanks to evidence found by Doug; Nick Fury would have imprisoned Havok for leading the break-in, but the X-Man Wolverine blackmailed Fury into dropping the charges. Angel joined the Academy, apparently expelled from Xavier's, but in truth acting as an undercover operative for Professor X, who believed Emma could not be trusted to keep an eye on her students. And the openly gay Northstar asked Colossus to the Homecoming Dance, finally giving the metallic X-Man the courage to come out to his teammates.
Headmistress:
Emma Frost
Known Students:
Havok
Polaris
Northstar
Cannonball
Sunspot
Doug Ramsey
Colossus
Former Members:
Beast
Dazzler
Karma
Angel
