Emma Frost (aka the White Queen) is known for being one of the X-Men’s most cold-hearted members — but in one alternate universe, she develops strong feelings for Spider-Man, taking Peter Parker by surprise. In most of her depictions, Emma is a manipulative woman who uses her telepathic abilities to make people do whatever she wants. When she meets Spider-Man, however, she discovers what she really wants isn’t something she can force out of anyone.
The story "A Sense of Responsibility" by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli appears in Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #53, a comic book that reimagines Spider-Man’s early adventures in a modern setting. In this parallel world, Emma Frost is a teenage delinquent who lives life on her terms by forcing people to give her expensive clothes and jewelry. However, Emma also wants friends, so she hangs out with Sophia “Chat” Sanduval, a young mutant who can talk to animals.
When Emma and Chat nearly get killed by a falling sign, they’re saved by Peter Parker. Catching a glimpse into Peter’s mind, Emma learns his secret identity and convinces Chat to go to Peter’s school to get to know him better. Once there, Emma links with Peter’s mind again and shows Chat how he got his spider-powers, causing Chat to become attracted to his sense of responsibility. Asking Emma to “arrange” things to let her go to school with Peter, Chat begins dating Peter.
Meanwhile, Emma goes back to her larcenous lifestyle — but a few months later she reappears as the costumed villain “The Silencer.” Using her telepathic powers to knock out people and keep them from hearing her coming, she gets into a fight with Spider-Man, who learns about her previous relationship with Chat. While this puts a strain on Peter and Chat’s relationship, they eventually make up, but then things start getting weird. Chat forgets Spider-Man’s secret identity or that she and Peter are dating. Luckily, her animals help her regain her lost memories, and she realizes that Emma has been manipulating her mind. Angrily confronting her former friend, Chat sends a flock of birds after Emma, knowing that animals are immune to Emma’s telepathic powers. When Spider-Man and Chat finally corner “The Silencer,” Emma gives up — and admits that she manipulated Chat’s mind because… she likes Peter.
According to Emma, most minds she comes in contact with are full of pettiness and greed — but Peter’s mind is full of genuine nobility, throwing everything she thought she knew about people into doubt. Although Emma wanted to date Peter, Chat got to him first and Emma attempted to separate the two out of jealousy. Ashamed of her misdeeds, Emma agreed to give herself up to the police and even chose to remain in a juvenile incarceration facility even though she could escape at any time with her powers.
Emma would reappear several issues later to save an injured Spider-Man from Doctor Octopus before voluntarily returning to jail (but not before kissing Peter). Later, she apparently works out a deal with the authorities and teams up with Chat and Spider-Man to take down a crime family. Although she seems to have no interest in joining the X-Men, this version of the White Queen appears to be going down a path of genuine heroism in contrast to her more self-serving mainstream counterpart.
It’s an unexpected direction for Emma Frost — but one that makes a weird sort of sense. If telepaths can tell what a person is truly like, coming into contact with a responsible hero like Spider-Man would definitely shake up their world view. Had the mainstream White Queen met up with Spidey as a teenager, it’s possible her jaded view of humanity would have been radically altered and Peter Parker could have helped reform a criminal not by webbing her up but by inspiring her with his heroism.