The Hellfire Club is a fictional society appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Hellfire Club often comes into confrontation with the X-Men mutant superhero team. Although the Club appears to merely be an international social club for wealthy elites, its clandestine Inner Circle seeks to influence world events and advance their agenda.
The Hellfire Club was created in 1980 by the Uncanny X-Men writer/artist duo of Chris Claremont and John Byrne, who were inspired by a 1966 episode of the British television series The Avengers ("A Touch of Brimstone"). The name "Hellfire Club" was borrowed from a notorious set of gentlemen's clubs in 18th century England and Ireland. In the Marvel version, the Inner Circle hierarchy of the Hellfire Club is modeled on the pieces of a chess set, with Black and White sets of Kings, Queens, Bishops and Rooks.
The Hellfire Club and its Inner Circle were introduced in "The Dark Phoenix Saga", attempting to subvert the X-Men's Jean Grey. This incarnation, composed most notably of Black King Sebastian Shaw and White Queen Emma Frost, would remain prominent for many years. After their initial confrontations, the Hellfire Club and the X-Men settled into an uneasy alliance. This eventually changed as endless power struggles perpetuated a series of upheavals within the Inner Circle. The club has appeared in two X-Men animated series (X-Men: The Animated Series and Wolverine and the X-Men), both times being renamed as simply The Inner Circle, due to an aversion to using the term "hellfire" in a children's cartoon. Members of the Hellfire Club appeared in 2011's X-Men: First Class as the main villains, led by Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, Azazel, and Riptide. The Hellfire Club's Inner Circle also appear as the main antagonists of the second season of the television series The Gifted, led by a character named Reeva Payge (played by Grace Byers) and the Frost sisters (played by Skyler Samuels).
Contents
Publication history
In creating the Hellfire Club, Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne drew heavily upon a 1966 episode of the British spy series The Avengers entitled "A Touch of Brimstone". In the episode, agents John Steed and Emma Peel attempt to infiltrate a secret society named after the Hellfire Club of the 18th century, whose members of the "Inner Circle" wear period costumes. Peel's guise as "the Queen of Sin", dressed in a black leather corset, would be the model for the Club's Queens, and her first name borrowed for White Queen Emma Frost. The leader of the episode's club was played by actor Peter Wyngarde, best known for his role as Jason King, forming the basis for Mastermind's new "Jason Wyngarde" identity.
Claremont and Byrne similarly drew the names and faces of the other Hellfire Club members from famous actors: Sebastian Shaw was based on actor Robert Shaw, Harry Leland on Orson Welles (who acted as Harry Lime in The Third Man and whose film Citizen Kane featured a reporter named Jed Leland), and Donald Pierce was based on Donald Sutherland (the surname alluding to his Hawkeye Pierce character from M*A*S*H).
Later writers would add references to The Avengers: Sir Patrick and Lady Diana, from the Philadelphia branch of the 1780s, are named after actors Patrick Macnee (John Steed) and Diana Rigg (Emma Peel); conversely, the Black Queen of the London branch was revealed to be named Ms. Emma Steed.
Overview
The Hellfire Club counts among its members the most famous, wealthy, and influential members of society. Membership is passed on to descendants, and can also be earned through wealth or influence. While many accept the invitation simply for the pleasures that the Club offers, others seek wealth and influence. In fact, the purpose of the Hellfire Club is to obtain and exert power through politics and economic influence instead of outward conquest and domination. Since its foundation, the Hellfire Club has been involved in wars and assassinations to further the agendas of the Club's most powerful members.
The Club has branches in New York City, London, Hong Kong, Paris, and Buenos Aires; the various branches are all overseen by the Lord Imperial (a position long-held by Sir Gordon Phillips). Sebastian Shaw, the Black Bishop, began securing allies within the Club, meeting Harry Leland, Emma Frost, and Donald Pierce, as well as his loyal assistant, Tessa. Buckman, no longer having a use for the dangerously-ambitious Shaw, ordered a Sentinel attack on Shaw and his allies, resulting in the death of Shaw's lover, Lourdes Chantel. That night, Shaw and Emma Frost purge the entire Council of the Chosen, remaking it as the Lords Cardinal and appointing themselves Black King and White Queen.
Shaw's Inner Circle soon turned their attentions to the X-Men, kidnapping several of their number. Mastermind, as Jason Wyngarde, was made a probationary member pending his subversion of the X-Men's Jean Grey. Grey was in fact the Phoenix, a god-like cosmic entity who became unstable after Mastermind's psychic manipulations, turning into the Dark Phoenix. The Hellfire Club had failed, and the X-Men had taken their toll: Phoenix had driven Mastermind insane, Colossus had crippled Donald Pierce and Wolverine nearly killed Harry Leland and several guards.
Despite such setbacks, the Inner Circle continued to pursue its agenda. Shaw secures a government contract for Shaw Industries to manufacture Sentinels, profiting from the state of fear concerning the "mutant menace" despite secretly being a mutant himself. Frost meanwhile ran the Massachusetts Academy, a prestigious preparatory school affiliated with the Hellfire Club that secretly trained a team of young mutants, known as the Hellions. The Inner Circle also underwent some personnel changes, notably the expulsion of Donald Pierce for conspiring against his mutant colleagues, and the addition of Selene as Black Queen.
Organization
Lord Imperial
The Lord Imperial is not a member of the Inner Circle or any particular branch of the Hellfire Club; the Lord Imperial is the true leader of the Hellfire Club and oversees all branches of it. As such, only a few individuals have held the title. Sir Gordon Phillips, while unknown at the time, ruled as Lord Imperial for most of the club's modern history, holding the position from before the club's introduction until his death: killed by Sabretooth on a cruise ship filled with humans infected with the Legacy Virus.
Sir Gordon Phillips
Elias Bogan
Sebastian Shaw
Roberto da Costa (Sunspot)
Inner Circle
The constant intrigue, backstabbing, blackmailing and politicking that plague the Hellfire Club have resulted in many changes of the Inner Circle, as new players seek out membership in order to obtain influence, power and wealth. The following lists the membership of each incarnation of the Inner Circle and the title they held; in descending order of rank are Kings and Queens, followed by Bishops and Rooks.
The original Inner Circle (existing prior to the club's introduction) consisted of:
Edward Buckman - White King
Paris Seville - White Queen
Sebastian Shaw - Black Bishop
Sebastian Shaw was instrumental in the Hellfire Club's funding of Stephen Lang's resurrected Sentinel program, but having completed his purpose, White King Edward Buckman sought to eliminate the ambitious Black Bishop. After a Sentinel attack on Shaw's beach house resulted in the death of his lover, Lourdes Chantel, Shaw and his ally Emma Frost purge the Council and appointed themselves Black King and White Queen.
Shaw renamed The Council of the Chosen as The Lords Cardinal following his takeover of the New York branch, and appointed a number of allies to key positions. Frost began running the Massachusetts Academy at this time. Jason Wyngarde, also known as Mastermind, later became a probationary member pending his subversion of the X-Men's Jean Grey into the Club's Black Queen.
Sebastian Shaw - Black King
Emma Frost - White Queen
Donald Pierce - White Bishop
Harry Leland - Black Bishop
Jason Wyngarde (Mastermind) - A probationary member who was presumably intended for one of the two Rooks.
Members
The following characters are members of the Hellfire Club, many of them being extremely influential, but were not part of any of the Inner Circle incarnations mentioned above. Membership is either hereditary, or obtained through personal invitation from the branch's King. Known members include:
Warren Worthington Jr. and Kathryn Worthington (both deceased) - invited by Ned Buckman
Howard Stark (deceased) - invited by Ned Buckman
Sir James Braddock (deceased) - invited by Ned Buckman, former Black Bishop of the London Branch, left the Inner Circle when his inventions were used for anti-mutant purposes.
Senator Robert Kelly (deceased)
Warren Worthington III (Angel) - inherited membership from his father.
Candace "Candy" Southern (deceased)
Elizabeth Braddock (Psylocke) - inherited membership.
James Braddock Jr. - inherited membership.
Berhard Van Ostamgen - failed entry into Inner Circle
Ronald Parvenue
Dwayne Taylor (Night Thrasher) (deceased)
Anthony Stark (Iron Man) - inherited membership from his father
Norman Osborn (Green Goblin)
Bianca LeNeige
Vance Astrovik
Oliver Ryland - Elias Bogan's protégé
Staff
The Hellfire Club has employed a large number of mostly-anonymous armed guards. A few have been named:
Wade Cole
Angelo Macon
Murray Reese
Samuel Guthrie (Cannonball)
Richard Salmons
Randall Chase
Chet Andrews
Cole, Macon and Reese were savagely wounded by Wolverine in the Hellfire Club's first confrontation with the X-Men. They would return to duty as cyborgs before leaving the Club to join Lady Deathstrike in seeking revenge against Wolverine, eventually joining the Reavers. Sam Guthrie worked as a Hellfire guard for a brief period before joining the New Mutants as Cannonball. Kade Kilgore also recruited two survivors of private military company Blackguard, who were augmented with adamantium skeletons, and laser claws as his personal bodyguards.
The Hellfire Club also employs a number of servants, escorts and strippers. Sharon Kelly was a waitress at the New York branch who was chosen by Sebastian Shaw to seduce Senator Robert Kelly. The couple quickly married, but soon afterwards Sharon was killed in a battle involving the X-Men, further fueling her husband's hatred for mutants.
Massachusetts Academy
The Hellfire Club was aligned with the prestigious prep school the Massachusetts Academy, run by Emma Frost, for a number of years. In addition to its large, traditional, student body, the Academy secretly trained a team of young mutants known as the Hellions. Due to their affiliation with the Club, the Hellions were often present at its social functions. This group would entertain a rivalry with Professor Charles Xavier's students at the time, the New Mutants.
After the death of the Hellions in an attack orchestrated by the Upstarts, Frost left the Hellfire Club. Re-aligning herself with Professor Xavier, the Massachusetts Academy became the new site for Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and a new class, known as Generation X.
Hellfire Academy
The seventh incarnation of the Hellfire Club have since founded the Hellfire Academy, a rival to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. It is located on an unnamed island. According to Kade Kilgore, the purpose of recruiting newly empowered mutants is to train them to be supervillains so he can then profit from the fear generated by them through his Sentinel program.
Staff outside the Hellfire Club's leadership include:
Mystique - Headmistress who also teaches Intro to Evil. Joined in Wolverine and the X-Men #20.
Sabretooth - Headmaster. Joined in Wolverine and the X-Men #3.
Dog Logan - Brother of Wolverine. He teaches physical education. Joined in Wolverine and the X-Men #29.
Dr. Xanto Starblood - Self-proclaimed Extreme Zoologist who teaches Xenobiology. Joined in Wolverine and the X-Men #30
Husk - Former X-Man. She is the lunch lady and librarian. Joined sometime after Wolverine and the X-Men #19.; later rejoined X-Men
Lord Deathstrike - Brother of Lady Deathstrike who works as a recruited resourcer. Joined in Wolverine and the X-Men #20.
Master Pandemonium - He teaches Hell Literature. Joined in Wolverine and the X-Men #20.
Madame Mondo - Female member of the Spineless Ones from the Mojoverse. She works as the Public Relations teacher. Joined in Wolverine and the X-Men #20.
Sauron - He works as a science teacher. Joined in Wolverine and the X-Men #20.
Silver Samurai -The son of the original Silver Samurai who works as a designer. Joined in Wolverine and the X-Men #20.
Hellfire Trading Company
In the wake of the establishment of the mutant nation of Krakoa in the 2019 series House of X and Powers of X, Emma Frost reforms the Club and reorganized it into the Hellfire Trading Company, the distribution arm for the Krakoan drugs produced by the mutant nation-state. Sailing out of Hellfire Bay, its ships the Marauder, the Upstart and the Mercury perform public delivery of mutant goods, while also smuggling the drugs illicitly and freeing mutants from unfriendly nations. The company is run by a new Inner Circle which is compose of a triple dynasty of black, white and red Hellfire royalty.
White Palace
White Queen: Stepford Cuckoos: Emma Frost (formerly)
White Bishop: Christian Frost
White Knight: Callisto
Blackstone
Black Queen: Lourdes Chantel; Sebastian Shaw (formerly Black King)
Black Bishop: Shinobi Shaw
Black Knights: Andrea and Andreas Strucker
Red Keep
Red Queen: Katherine Pryde
Red Bishop: Lucas Bishop
Other versions
Bishop's Future
The Hellfire Club retains its position as one of the world's major powers in the future timeline of Bishop. The Club is ruled by Anthony Shaw, a descendant of Sebastian Shaw; he also has an illegitimate son, Trevor Fitzroy. Malcolm, a colleague of Bishop and member of Xavier's Security Enforcers (X.S.E.), was also a member of the Club.
Clan Hellfire
In a future dominated by Trevor Fitzroy, calling himself the Chronomancer, one of the forces opposing his rule is Clan Hellfire, led by a Samara Shaw.
X-Men: Ronin
In one alternate reality in which the X-Men are based in Japan, the Hellfire Club is ruled by Professor Xavier. The White Queen Emma Frost is a junior member who, along with Tessa, believes Xavier to be their biological father. The Club controls the Shadowcat Clan of ninjas, which includes Pyro, Iceman and Colossus.
Marvel Noir
In X-Men Noir, the Hellfire Club is an exclusive S&M club owned by Sebastian Shaw.
Ultimate Marvel
An alternate universe iteration of the Hellfire Club appears in the Ultimate Marvel imprint, led by Sebastian Shaw and consisting of Gerald Lavine, Shinobi Shaw, and Emma Frost. This version of the group worship a pagan "Phoenix God", who they believe to be incarnated in the body of Jean Grey.
Ultimate Universe
An alternate universe iteration of the Hellfire Club appears in the Ultimate Universe imprint, with Emmanuel da Costa as Black King.
In other media
Television
The Inner Circle Club appears in X-Men: The Animated Series, consisting of Sebastian Shaw, Jason Wyngarde, Emma Frost, Donald Pierce, and Harry Leland. Following a cameo appearance in the episode "The Phoenix Saga - Part IV", they attempt to brainwash Jean Grey into joining them during the four-part episode "The Dark Phoenix". After being foiled, Shaw, Pierce, and Frost escape while Wyngarde is left catatonic and Leland goes missing following a fight with Wolverine.
The Inner Circle appears in Wolverine and the X-Men, consisting of Sebastian Shaw, Harry Leland, Donald Pierce, Selene, Emma Frost, and the Stepford Cuckoos. Similarly to the Ultimate Marvel incarnation, this version of the group seek to gain the Phoenix Force's power. After spending most of the series infiltrating the X-Men to locate Jean Grey, Frost kidnaps her so the Inner Circle can perform a ritual to extract the Phoenix Force and place it into the Stepford Cuckoos. However, they are unable to control it, leading to Leland and Pierce being killed by falling debris while Frost subdues Shaw and Selene before sacrificing herself to release the Phoenix Force into space.
The Inner Circle appears in Marvel Anime: X-Men, consisting of Jason Wyngarde; Rat (voiced by Manabu Sakamaki in the Japanese version and by Michael Sinterniklaas in the English dub), who can project metal discs from his body; Marsh (voiced by Yuichi Nakamura in the Japanese version and by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn in the English dub), who can dissolve into liquid; and Neuron / White Bishop (voiced by Yutaka Aoyama in the Japanese version and by Dave Wittenberg in the English dub), who possesses a shell and can amplify a target's senses via strips from his body. Additionally, Harry Leland and Emma Frost appear as members of the group in flashbacks. Following a failed attempt to manipulate Jean Grey into using the Phoenix Force for their purposes before she sacrificed herself to stop them, the Inner Circle attempt to use a reality-warping mutant named Takeo Sasaki. However, Rat, Marsh, and Neuron are killed by the X-Men while Wyngarde is killed by Takeo.
A live-action television series titled Hellfire was in development at 20th Century Fox Television and Marvel Television, with an early 2017 airdate. However, on July 12, 2016, Variety reported that the project is no longer moving forward.
The Hellfire Club appears in The Gifted, consisting of Reeva Payge, the Frost sisters, Andy Strucker, Lorna Dane, Fade, and Sage. Under Payge, this version of the group pursues mutant liberation.
Film
The Hellfire Club appears in X-Men: First Class, led by Sebastian Shaw and consisting of Emma Frost, Azazel, Riptide, and Angel Salvadore. This version of the group seeks to cause World War III to accelerate mutant evolution and create a new world order with mutants as Earth's dominant species and Shaw as their leader. To this end, they manipulate American and Soviet government officials into instigating the Cuban Missile Crisis, prompting CIA agent Moira MacTaggert to supervise the initial formation of the X-Men to oppose them. Ultimately, Shaw is killed by Erik Lehnsherr, who unites the remaining Hellfire Club members under his leadership.
The Hellfire Club were originally planned to appear in Dark Phoenix, consisting of Frost, Harry Leland, Friedrich von Roehm, the Strucker Twins, Shinobi Shaw, and the Red Lotus Gang, but they were ultimately cut from the film.
Video games
The Hellfire Club appears in:
X-Men, with Sebastian Shaw as a prominent member and boss.
X-Men: Gamesmaster's Legacy, with Shinobi Shaw as a prominent member and boss.
Wolverine: Adamantium Rage, with Selene and Shinobi Shaw as prominent members.
Marvel Avengers Alliance, with Selene and Sebastian Shaw as prominent members, Emma Frost as a former member, and various foot soldiers as minor members.