HELLFIRE CLUB - ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS: Page 3 of 3

Cast of the Past

According to the Ultimate X-Men book by Peter Sanderson and material released at Marvel’s own website, the Hellfire Club was founded around 1760 in London. It began as a meeting place for the highest ranks of British Society. In the 1770s two of the Club’s leading members, the wealthy trading company owner Sir Patrick Clemens and his mistress, Diana Knight, emigrated to New York City, where they founded the American branch of the Hellfire Club. These historic informations have yet to be confirmed in the issues.

Philadelphia – 1780/81
In the latter days of the American Revolution, the Hellfire Club was already active in Philadelphia, however not much is known about that era. Membership is not fully explained and the positions of those who seem to belong to the Club‘s Inner Circle are not named.

Sir Patrick (Clemens)

First appearance: X-Men Hellfire Club #2
All Hellfire Club appearances: X-Men Hellfire Club #2

Powers: none, human

The last name Clemens was never used on panel, it stems from Marvel’s own website and the Ultimate X-Men Book by Peter Sanderson. As founder of the American Branch, Patrick apparently held the title of a King.

Lady Diana Knight

First appearance: X-Men Hellfire Club #2
All Hellfire Club appearances: X-Men Hellfire Club #2

Powers: none, human

Sir Patrick and Lady Diana apparently shared some sort of physical relationship, or as Patrick himself said it they had regular “liaisons“. As founder of the American Branch, Diana apparently held the title of a Queen.

Lady Grey

First appearance: X-Men Hellfire Club #2
All Hellfire Club appearances: X-Men Hellfire Club #2

Powers: none, human

Lady Grey seemed to be a high ranking member of the Club, apparently a Queen. Also to note is her resemblance to the woman that Phoenix saw when she experienced her mysterious “timeshifts“ in which she found herself re-living parts of the life of a possible ancestor in the late 18th century. The timeshifts were hallucinations caused by Mastermind with the help of the White Queen. It might be the case, that they used the Club’s vast resources to find out about this ancestor and make the scenarios as real as possible.

Elizabeth Shaw-Worthington

First appearance: X-Men Hellfire Club #2
All Hellfire Club appearances: X-Men Hellfire Club #2

Powers: none, human

Major General Wallace Worthington

First appearance: X-Men Hellfire Club #2
Last appearance: X-Men Hellfire Club #2

All Hellfire Club appearances: X-Men Hellfire Club #2

Powers: none, human

When Elizabeth Shaw was thirteen, she moved from England to America. She hoped to find better life in America, but she had become a peasant forced to steal to survive. Elizabeth then drew the attention Lady Grey, who surprisingly invited her to join the Hellfire Club. Elizabeth did, and the Club's Inner Circle used her to exploit the weakness of Major General Wallace Worthington, Philadelphia’s commandant, and to find out military secrets so as to have the revolution fail. The problem was that Elizabeth actually started to fall in love with Wallace so Lady Grey and the club decided to take the matter into their own hands. When the Hellfire Club went to Wallace's house to see if they could get the secrets out of him, he refused and his house was burned with him in it. That era’s Captain America, who was really Wallace’s friend Captain Rogers, pulled him out of the house just as Elizabeth arrived. Wallace told her that they wanted secrets but he told them nothing. Those were his last word before he died

Wallace and Elizabeth had no children, they can’t be the direct ancestors of Sebastian Shaw and Warren Worthington.

Commander Clinton

First appearance: X-Men Hellfire Club #2
All Hellfire Club appearances: X-Men Hellfire Club #2

Powers: none, human

London – 1859 In Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #2, En Sabah Nur and Nathaniel Essex attempt to ally up with the Hellfire Club. When they laugh about their ideas, Nur transforms into Apocalypse and demonstrates his powers by killing one of the members. This version of the Club included a Lord Braddock and a Mr. Shaw, who was the great-grandfather of Sebastian Shaw, according to Cable (2nd series) #50.

Boston – 1872/74 Cable (2nd series) #49 mentions that Donald Pierce’s ancestor Anton Pierce bought the Randall House in Boston in 1872. He had made a fortune from the trade of cotton, rum and slaves. In the same year he was admitted into the Hellfire Club and already two years later, in 1874, he joined the Club’s Inner Circle.

London – 1915 The little info that is known of this era was provided by Lady Jacqueline Crichton, aka Spitfire, whose father was Lord Monty Falsworth, the first Union Jack

Sir Harry Manners

First appearance: X-Men Hellfire Club #3
All Hellfire Club appearances: X-Men Hellfire Club #3, Cable (2nd series) #50

Powers: none, human

Harry Manners tried to invite Lord Monty Falsworth into the Club, unaware that he was actually the Union Jack. Falsworth pretended to be interested and at night he changed into his costumed identity to check out the mansion’s basement where he found some strange machine (containing Apocalypse’s Harbinger). He was discovered and fought by Manners and his security guards, though in the fight Manners was hit by a stray bullet. The Hellfire Club inherited Manners’ huge mansion in London and uses it from time to time as a secret base.

Waltham Pierce

First appearance: X-Men Hellfire Club #3
All Hellfire Club appearances: X-Men Hellfire Club #3

Powers: none, human

Waltham Pierce tried to invite Esau Shaw into the Hellfire Club, which annoyed his younger brother Jacob Shaw (the father of Sebastian), who had been overlooked his entire life. He was approached by Mr. Sinister who gave him shapeshifting abilities, and wearing Waltham’s face he killed his brother. Later, the Union Jack arrested Waltham for this and various other crimes.

Waltham might be a direct ancestor of Donald Pierce.