It would be fair to say that Emma Frost, the White Queen of the X-Men, has the brains to match her beauty. According to Marvel’s official Power Grid, the White Queen has an intelligence rating of four out of seven — putting her on the same level as Peter Parker, Stephen Strange, and even Nathaniel Richards. As it turns out, intelligence is also a key thing the icon mutant looks for in a romantic partner.
Invincible Iron Man #13 by Gerry Duggan and Juan Frigeri teams the White Queen with Tony Stark and Starfox. Their mission is to steal a cache of the rare metal Mysterium from a deep space casino vault. Starfox, however, has other things on his mind, and tries to use his infamous charm powers on Emma. It doesn’t work, but not for the reasons that Tony Stark imagines.
White Queen is sapiosexual
Tony attempts to apologize for Starfox’s less than subtle efforts to seduce the White Queen. Emma dismisses the apology, saying that she doesn’t need to worry about that kind of manipulation. Emma further explains that she is a sapiosexual, meaning she is only attracted to intelligent people.
As such, Starfox’s “free love claptrap” holds no attraction to the White Queen. Since Starfox’s powers can only lower inhibitions and heighten pre-existing passions, she was completely immune to his charm. Even if his powers could override her telepathic defenses, she was in no danger of falling for the infamous womanizer. (Plus, with an intelligence rating of three, Starfox is only slightly above average.)
Are Iron Man and White Queen actually becoming an item?
Emma’s sexuality came into play later in the issue, as she and Tony spent some time together in public. While Emma Frost and Tony Stark are currently married, it is a marriage of convenience meant to mask the two working together against Orchis. It has been hinted, however, that love may be growing between the two heroes. This would make sense if the White Queen is sapiosexual. (Tony stark has an intelligence rating of six, after all.)
The comic closes with the couple ice-skating at Rockefeller Center, reenacting the date enjoyed by the Skrull mercenaries that publicly impersonated them while they were in space. The two wind up bonding over their similarly awful families. It is a small thing, but it could snowball into true love in time.
Invincible Iron Man #13 is now available in comic shops everywhere.
