The X-Men are a team that barely holds itself together, and Emma Frost's long-simmering grudge match is about to finally come to a head. Given that Kitty is an unstoppable force and Emma is an immovable object, they're very evenly matched, and no one can predict what will happen in the fallout.

While Kitty and Emma worked out some of their hostilities during the X-Men's Krakoan era, working together in close proximity in Exceptional X-Men has unburied some old hatchets. Now that Orchis is defeated, the X-Men are rising "From the Ashes," and that includes restoring Xavier's school and training new mutants. Readers will see how this causes Shadowcat and White Queen to clash in November's Exceptional X-Men #3 by Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero.

Kitty and Emma’s fraught relationship dates back to their very first comic appearances - both in 1980’s Uncanny X-Men #129 by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, so even as they grow and change, Kitty always has a distrust of Emma. For her part, Emma seems to respect Kitty, even when they’re at odds, but that doesn’t mean she’s willing to put up with her.

Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde's Rivalry Goes Back to Their First Appearances

One of Emma Frost's first acts in Uncanny X-Men was to try to recruit Kitty Pryde to the Hellfire Club. She approached the Prydes at their Chicago home, disguised as a recruiter for an elite school. She left just as Charles Xavier arrived with his own headhunting team. Just as Kitty was learning about her mutant abilities from Storm, the Hellfire Club attacked and captured the X-Men. Kitty controlled her new powers just enough to sneak onto Emma's ship and help the X-Men, so her first "mission" cemented Emma Frost as a perpetual bad guy in her mind.

Kitty still holds this grudge from her childhood. In 2004's Astonishing X-Men #2 by Joss Whedon and John Cassady, she tells Emma, "When I think about evil...yours is the face I see." A match-up between the two would be epic, as their power sets nicely complement each other. Emma Frost can turn into a hard diamond form, and Kitty Pryde can phase right through her. Emma's telepathy is also weak against Kitty, as when she phases, her mind is much harder to read or control. There is no clear winner, except for the comic readers who get to watch their complicated relationship pan out.

Kitty and Emma Have Very Different Teaching Methods

In one of the previous times the two women worked together as teachers, in Astonishing X-Men #1, Emma Frost kicked off the school year by using the Danger Room to simulate a Sentinel attack. It not only disturbed the students, but also her fellow teachers, who resented both the shock and her scare tactics of telling the kids that the world hates them. Kitty tried to take a gentler tactic with the students, emphasizing the mutant community, and teaching them that working as a team with love will win out over fear. These same dynamics will play out in Exceptional X-Men, and we can't wait to see what happens next between Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost.

Exceptional X-Men #3 will be released on November 20 from Marvel Comics.