A Touch of Hellfire: The Hellfire Club Thread

[Shadowcat]

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Welcome to the world of debauchery, depravity, kink and capitalism. The Hellfire Club began in England as a club for the upper echelons of English society to indulge in their inner sexual demons. After watching an episode of the Avengers, Chris Claremont and John Byrne came up with a group of wealthy and powerful Mutants and humans who would use their status to enrich themselves and influence the government to their whims. Over the years we’ve seen several faces come in and out of the group. From being completely decimated in the early 90’s, to seeing different rosters, but they haven’t seen a return to prominence since the 80’s. Who are your favorite members? Favorite storylines involving them?

[Shadowcat]

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Elias Bogan: Lord Imperial of the London Branch of the Hellfire Club, and rumored to be the original inspiration for the Club, held no official role at the New York Branch, yet was deeply connected in the upper echelons. He originally came into contact with a young Sebastian Shaw, who gambled a poker game for the freedom of Emma Frost for Shaw’s fortune, and Shaw won, thanks to the aid of Tessa. He’d later abduct Sage, and give her the bleeding eye tattoos. His abilities include possessing others who exhibit blood from their eyes while under his possession. He prefers to possess telepaths in order to increase his influence. He’s thought to be an immortal mutant, and a telepathic entity like the Shadow King.

[Shadowcat]

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Sebastian Shaw: The Black King, became a self made millionaire by 30, and a billionaire by 40, joined the Hellfire Club due to his great personal wealth, would join the Inner Circle after catching the attention of then White King, Ned Buckman. After losing his first wife, Lourdes Chantel to a Sentinel attack, heband Emma Frost went to work on rebuilding the Inner Circle with Mutants and super powered individuals to advance their own desires. He and the Hellfire Club would clash several times over the years with the X-Men, until after a fight with futuristic Sentinel, Nimrod, forced them into an uneasy alliance, resulting in Magneto and Storm joining the Inner Circle. He’d soon fall victim to an assassination attempt at the hands of his son, Shinobi, as part of a plan by the Upstarts to take the former Inner Circle’s places.

He’d return after a few years, reclaiming his role as Black King, but unfortunately was never able to reach the glories of Inner Circles past.

[Bafflement]

Shouldn't Trevor Fitzroy be on the voting list?

[yogaflame]

Shouldn't Trevor Fitzroy be on the voting list?

Was he a Hellfire Club member? I thought he was an Upstart, you know, the group who systematically destroyed the Hellfire Club.

[Bafflement]

Was he a Hellfire Club member? I thought he was an Upstart, you know, the group who systematically destroyed the Hellfire Club.

Well, Shinobi Shaw's already on the list. As far as I know the Upstarts were lower-ranked members of the club who wanted to take over. Leadership of the Hellfire Club was meant to be the ultimate prize in their game.

[yogaflame]

Claremont's Hellfire Club was an interesting addition to the X-Mythos. After him, it fell in significance to the point of becoming a parody. While he ultimately wasted it in his Hellfire and Brimstone arc, I did enjoy Millar's more direct correlation to real world secret societies(Freemasonry, Illuminati, etc).







Given Emma's reapplication since Morrison as an X-Man, even if she has apparently gone 'bad again', I doubt modern Marvel will lean into the more obvious occult aspects of the concept in lieu of just 'rich people being naughty', as it is often positioned as, but in theory the Hellfire Club could be a very potent, and scary, antagonist for the X-Men.

I would love to see a re-imagined Inner Circle of Amahl Farouk, Selene, and straight up evil Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost just go hard with the debauchery and evil magick and all that, trying to enslave the world under their iron fist, but such a story is probably too much for Disney-Marvel at this point.

[yogaflame]

Well, Shinobi Shaw's already on the list. As far as I know the Upstarts were lower-ranked members of the club who wanted to take over. Leadership of the Hellfire Club was meant to be the ultimate prize in their game.

I thought they were like the 'soiled brat kids' trying to remake the world in their own image by first destroying what their parents had built. Fitzroy was a spoiled brat illegitimate child of a Shaw from the future, though, and not a member of the current day Hellfire Club to my knowledge.

[Bl00dwerK]

Harry Leland, and Uncanny X-Men #209 is why:

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[WallStreeter]

Claremont's Hellfire Club was an interesting addition to the X-Mythos. After him, it fell in significance to the point of becoming a parody. While he ultimately wasted it in his Hellfire and Brimstone arc, I did enjoy Millar's more direct correlation to real world secret societies(Freemasonry, Illuminati, etc).







Given Emma's reapplication since Morrison as an X-Man, even if she has apparently gone 'bad again', I doubt modern Marvel will lean into the more obvious occult aspects of the concept in lieu of just 'rich people being naughty', as it is often positioned as, but in theory the Hellfire Club could be a very potent, and scary, antagonist for the X-Men.

I would love to see a re-imagined Inner Circle of Amahl Farouk, Selene, and straight up evil Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost just go hard with the debauchery and evil magick and all that, trying to enslave the world under their iron fist, but such a story is probably too much for Disney-Marvel at this point.

Throw Madelyne Pryor into that line up and it would be awesome.

Sadly the Hellfire Club as you know has become a parody, and Selene has made her own bids for power independently in Necrosha and in Captain America. Emma had her mutant homeland during the whole Hydra takeover. To me Sebastian Shaw has been ruined beyond repair.

He was thrown out by Magneto, and killed by his son. The only time it seemed like he might do something worthwhile is when he reformed the Hellfire Club with Selene (Including Maddie Pryor, Tessa, Fitzroy, and Scribe). Unfortunately the overall X-Office in the 90s really didn't like magic, so nothing was ever really done with this lineup, despite the challenge it could have opposed for the X-Men.

Later on truly stupid things were done with the club such as a kiddy club. Emma taking over as Black King has been the best club story in a long time. She's a lot more dangerous and sneaky than Shaw, and there's no reason why she would let him lead. Now if you had a re-magined inner circle with the Shadow King, Selene, Maddie Pryor, Sebastian Shaw, and Emma Frost with neither of them as outright leader and a true inner circle I would love that. Sadly the X-Men are in a 90s rehash phase at the moment, not sure if we'll see a mystical Hellfire Club.

Brian Wood had reconstituted the Sisterhood consisting of Arkea, the Enchantress, Lady Deathstrike, Selene, Madelyne Pryor, and Typhoid Mary. Two members were already members of the Inner Circle, and this could have been a reconstituted inner circle. Brian Wood got busted for sexual harassment and quickly left Marvel. No one else had any interest in continuing this storyline, sadly. Part of it was editorial, as in those days Marvel was going to further diminish the mutants because they had no X-Men film rights and why write good stories in the comics that could provide inspiration for Fox? Fortunately the deal will completely close soon so we don't have to worry about that.

[Havok83]

This poll doesnt have a question

[Shadowcat]

This poll doesnt have a question

Who’s your favorite member of the Hellfire Club. I guess I should have put a question mark after the burning sensation.

[yogaflame]

I just like the idea of Selene being in on it as she is such an ancient mutant and powerful sorceress. She brings a lot of narrative meat to the concept, even if she does prefer to be her own thing. I'm not really into Maddie though. I liked her in the old Claremont run, and it was very sad they did her dirty to clean house for a resurrected Jean. She's dead to me though. Shaw is kinda washed out at this point, but I'd just reset him to his prime. Emma's takeover in her recent Black issue was just kinda 'bleh' to me. Her history with Shaw has been so twisted in the modern era; making her into an abused stripper just rubs me the wrong way. I liked her better as a self-possessed Machiavellian villain, in full control of her point of view. She definitely showed a bit of that in Black, lying to the X-Men, using them as pawns, while she mercilessly took control of the Club for herself. I don't know, maybe she could do something interesting, but as you said, I don't see her going the dark magic route.

[Snoop Dogg]

The Hellfire Club should expand into a general Marvel Universe concept so it can escape from the trappings of boring X-Tropedom and become a device to drive interactions between the MU's elite such as rich baddies like Fisk, rich heroes, and X-folks instead of cyborgs and vampires and strippers, but mostly strippers.

[PrezValentine]

The Hellfire Club should expand into a general Marvel Universe concept so it can escape from the trappings of boring X-Tropedom and become a device to drive interactions between the MU's elite such as rich baddies like Fisk, rich heroes, and X-folks instead of cyborgs and vampires and strippers, but mostly strippers.

Already done through Aaron, but only with villains.