Difference between revisions of "Hellfire Club"

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{{Villaininfo
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''This page is about the [[:Category: Phase 2|Phase 2]] incarnation of the NPCs. For other uses, see [[Hellfire Club (disambiguation)]].''
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{{Phase2}}
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{{NPCBox
 
| name    = Hellfire Club
 
| name    = Hellfire Club
| image  = Hfc.jpg
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| image  = Hellfire logo.jpg
| pb = Various
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| pb = various
| alias = New York Inner Circle - White and Black Courts; London Inner Circle - Red and Blue Courts
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| alias = [[Emma Frost]] (White Queen), [[Sebastian Shaw]] (Black King)
 
| teams = Independent
 
| teams = Independent
| socker =  Various
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| socker =  various
| plot = [[Hellfire]]
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| plot = [[Paradise Lost]]
 
}}
 
}}
  
  
<i>Then came a generation that wasn't content to rest on their wealth and settle for parties and perversions - though they didn't exactly forego those aspects either. This was to be a generation with broader horizons; a generation with an altogether bolder view of the future.</i>
+
Following [[M-Day]], the Hellfire Club had to reimage itself in order to protect its mutant members and an uneasy truce was struck between Black and White Courts.
  
The Hellfire Club is believed to be a social club, originated in 17th century England, and now located in a number of chartered clubs around the world, catering to high society. Once a bastion of the British colonial empire, the Club is now seen as a decadent exercise in anachronistic excess; a symbol of exclusivity and connections to the cream of society. However, its lavish galas and parties hide the true aims of those who comprise its Inner Circle and mask a complex history of influence, corruption and manipulation at the very highest level.
+
===Roster===
  
==='''First Appearance'''===
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[[Image: Hellfire Club.jpg|350 px]]
  
New York Hellfire Club: [[June 2003| June 22, 2003]]
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====White Court====
  
London Hellfire Club: [[Song of Isaac, Key of Solomon]]
+
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|width="100pt"| '''Inner Court: White Queen - [[Emma Frost]]'''
 +
|width="600pt"| [[Image:Xf emma.jpg|left]] Leader of the White Court, Emma is cunning, manipulative and intensely protective of her people.
  
===Details===
+
''PB: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000234/ Charlize Theron] ''
  
The Hellfire Club is a social club catering to members of the social and financial elite. Secretly founded by members of a secret cabal, the club is an offshoot of John Dee's Invisible College, established sometime in the sixteenth century. Similar to the Royal Society, but with an interest in the arcane and demonic spheres, the club gained a strong cabal of influential members, to the point that it was forced to hide behind the disgraced guise of other clubs to avoid being targeted by political or religious enemies. In the 18th century, the club used pawns like Phillip, Duke of Wharton and Sir Francis Dashwood to distract those who had heard whispers of their studies, instead sending them to drunken orgies and satirical farces of religious ceremonies. However, as the true club began to recruit the best from their fake counterparts, some of the attitudes began to seep in, changing the mores and focus slowly.
 
  
Over the years, secret chapters were begun, mostly following the trade routes of the empire, although occasionally making in-roads into the traditional grounds of other societies in Europe. By the mid-19th century, the Hellfire Club was able to shed part of its cloak of secrecy, transforming itself into the public eye as more of an exclusive social club. Wealthy men and women would maneuver for an invitation to one of their elaborate parties, and membership was considered to be a significant honour. The various chapters undertook a period of re-organization, eliminating small and mismanaged chapters, and laying out the court structure which still survives.
+
|-valign="top"
 +
|width="100pt"| '''Inner Court: White Rook - TBD'''
 +
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]]
  
Today, the Hellfire Club is seen as an anachronistic institution from an imperial past; barely noticed or known about by the public, only as visible as a thousand other private clubs and societies which occasionally provide quiet charitable support or fundraisers. Its private nature has allowed very little access to the media, and as a result, it enjoys the status of being functionally invisible.
+
''PB: TBD''
  
In theory, each Hellfire Club operates largely autonomously. Each Hellfire Club has a governing body colloquially known as the Inner Circle, taking the formal names of chess pieces and separated into two Courts; in the Americas they are separated into the Black and White Courts, in Europe, the Blue and Red Courts. These Courts tend to oppose each other in business and social matters in a Machiavellian competition for power, in manners both subtle and overt. Each Inner Court is dominated by a Lord and a Lady. The international chapters are divided up into spheres, and each sphere is dominated by a Royal Chapter. In the Americas, New York is the royal chapter. In Europe, London. The other chapters in their sphere are expected to show deference to the royal chapter, allowing them the authority to set mandates for the Court.
 
  
Above the Inner Courts sit the Lords Cardinal, who dominate the courts for their sphere. Each royal chapter has four Lords; the King and Queen of each Court. The Lords Cardinals will meet occasionally to discuss matters that impact the club as a whole, but such meetings are infrequent, and rarely face to face.
+
|-valign="top"
 +
|width="100pt"| '''Inner Court: White Knight - [[Doug Ramsey]]'''
 +
|width="600pt"| [[Image:Xf doug.jpg|left]] Ever loyal to Emma, Doug maintains his role as her Knight.  
  
Membership in the Hellfire Club tends to be hereditary, with only those deemed worthy by the Inner Circle admitted into full membership. Members of the Inner Circle tend to reach those spots either by selection (Kings and Queens choosing their Court) or by subterfuge and deception ([[Pete Wisdom]] usurping the position of White King). Most members of the Hellfire Club have little to no idea of the club's true history or purpose, using it as an exclusive and safe environment to indulge in their vices or peddle influence between members. Appointment to the Inner Circle often has unique requirements for each club - the New York Hellfire Club's Inner Circle is dominated by mutants and mutant related concerns. The London Inner Circle is similarly dominated and obsessed with magic and the arcane.
+
''PB: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000202/ Ryan Phillipe].''
  
The ultimate adjudicator of the Hellfire Club is a figure known as the Lord Imperial. The Lord Imperial has the ability to appoint or remove members from any position, dissolve chapters at will, and even issue orders demanding the obedience of all Hellfire Chapters. In practice, the Lord Imperial communicates rarely with the Lord Cardinals or the chapters, and virtually never issues direct orders. It is unknown what resources or powers that the Lord Imperial commands, but every instance of defiance against his office in the recorded history of the Hellfire Club has ended with the complete destruction of the wealth, social standing, political power and even chapter existence of those involved. The current Lord Imperial, Sir Gordon Phillips, has held his office for over sixty years, appointed by the previous Lord Imperial during the start of the Second World War.
 
  
While the Courts of the Hellfire Club are constantly in a state of cold war, there are some specific rules which govern their struggle for dominance. Courts from different spheres are forbidden to directly interfere with each other’s internal Court matters. None of the courts are ever permitted to suppliant or in any way constrain the structure of the opposite court. In the past, weak Courts have been made all but puppets to a dominant court, but they are not permitted to attempt to dissolve them or impose specific restrictions that only apply to one side. Finally, the most important rule; no court is ever permitted to knowingly endanger the ongoing existence of the Hellfire Club for personal gain.
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|-valign="top"
 +
|width="100pt"| '''Inner Court: White Bishop - TBD'''
 +
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
  
Often the machinations of the Inner Circle pit the resources of the entire Hellfire Club towards a certain goal, which in New York has brought them into conflict with the [[X-Men]] on more than one occasion.
+
''PB: To be determined.''
  
===New York Hellfire Club===
 
  
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|width="100pt"| '''Outer Court: White Squire - TBD'''
 +
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]]
  
 +
''PB: TBD''
  
====Black Court====
 
  
{| class="wikitable"
 
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''Black Queen - [[Belladonna Boudreaux-LeBeau]]'''
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|width="100pt"| '''Outer Court: White Herald - [[Hope Abbott]]'''
|width="600pt"| [[Image:Belladonna.jpg|100px|thumb|left|Black Queen]]Held by energy vampire and [[Magic|witch]], [[Selene]] until she was taken down by Pete Wisdom and magically imprisoned at the bottom of Jamaica Bay. In 2006, a [[Not So Plain Jane| mentally disturbed]] [[Jean Grey - Phase 1 | Jean Grey]] was set up as a potential new Black Queen, but, unsettled by the amount of power she had amassed in a short time, Shaw collaborated with the X-Men to have her removed. In [[April 2010]], Shaw brokered a deal with the White Court, supporting his choice of new Black Queen, Belladonna, in favour of Selene's permanent removal.
+
|width="600pt"| [[Image:HopeAbbotticon1.png|left]] After being mentored for a year by Doug, the current White Knight, Hope met with White Queen Emma Frost for an interview and on recommendations of Doug and Julian, the current White Squire, became the White Herald.  
  
''PB: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001401/ Angelina Jolie]''
+
''PB: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2645189/ Shelley Hennig].''
  
  
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''Black King - [[Sebastian Shaw]]'''
+
|width="100pt"| '''Outer Court: White Sentry - TBD'''
|width="600pt"|   [[Image:Shaw.jpg|100px|thumb|left|Black King]] A powerful industrialist, Sebastian Shaw is a dangerous and cunning opponent. His mutant status is a tightly-kept secret and while he has often been pitched against the [[X-Men]], he has on occasion used them as a means to an end. Currently, Shaw is reeling from the loss of significant financial and covert power following Pete Wisdom's infiltration and subsequent decimation of the Inner Circle's assets. In [[November 2012]], two-thirds of Shaw's funds were seized by the FBI [[Allumwandlung in Azure and Gules | in a massive sting]], which badly crippled the Black Court's underground influence and activities.
+
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
  
''PB: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005042/ Jason Isaacs]''
+
''PB: To be determined.''
  
  
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''Black Rook - [[Harry Leland]]'''
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|width="100pt"| '''Junior Court: White Page - TBD'''
|width="600pt"| [[Image:Leland.jpg|100px|thumb|left|Black Rook]] An esteemed Manhattan businessman, Harry Leland is also a member of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, serving as their Black Rook. After years of watching as Shaw chose ambition over decency, and avarice beyond even the levels encouraged by the Hellfire Club, Leland doubted his friend's position to lead Hellfire and began to plot the downfall of Sebastian Shaw, playing off of Pete Wisdom's usurping of the White King position in a subtle backstabbing that crippled Shaw financially, with the Black King remaining none the wiser. Having achieved a measure of secret revenge against Shaw, Leland has been assisting his friend in the rebuilding of his company; although now as a full partner with a controlling interest in [[Shaw Industries]]. A heart attack in 2007 has significantly weakened his position.
+
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
  
''PB: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002113/ Sydney Greenstreet]''
+
''PB: To be determined.''
  
  
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''Black Knight - ''vacant'''''
+
|width="100pt"| '''Junior Court: White Witness - TBD'''
|width="600pt"| Traditionally a younger member's role, the Knight is the protector and protegee of the Queen. This position has been held (briefly) by [[Amanda Sefton]] and more recently by [[John Lense]] before his death.
+
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
|}
 
  
 +
''PB: To be determined.''
  
'''Others'''
 
  
*'''[[Jason Wyngarde]]''' - minor level member of the Black Court; Wyngarde is a master broker and manipulater for the Black Court, disguised behind a thousand faces to present the wishes of the Court and break those who cross them. His unique powers of illusion keep him entirely off the scope of the White Court, who believe that Wyngarde is nothing more than a minor member of the Black Court; a sort of priviliaged 'chum' of Shaw's. In November 2012, his plan to overthrow the Blue Queen and Shaw backfired horribly when Adrienne Frost betrayed him, and he was left at the mercy of Belladonna.
+
|-valign="top"
 +
|width="100pt"| '''Junior Court: White Chatelaine - TBD'''
 +
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
  
 +
''PB: To be determined.''
 +
|}
  
*'''Scarlett''' - seen often in the company of Wyngade, this red-headed woman has attracted the attention of Emma Frost, but little is known about who she is and what she does.
+
====Black Court====
  
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|width="100pt"| '''Inner Court: Black King - [[Sebastian Shaw]]'''
 +
|width="600pt"| [[Image:Shaw.jpg|100px|thumb|left]] A powerful industrialist, Sebastian Shaw is a dangerous and cunning opponent. His mutant status is a tightly-kept secret and while he has often been pitched against the [[X-Men - Phase 1|X-Men]], he has on occasion used them as a means to an end. Since [[M-Day]] and the [[Paradise Lost|death of his Rook in jail]], he has grudgingly admitted things have to change, and in the area of mutant welfare, at least, has agreed to a truce with Emma.
  
*'''Astrid Bloom''' - telepath used by Wyngarde to trap Adrienne in a Reading during [[Santayana Effect]].
+
''PB: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005042/ Jason Isaacs], socked by Cai''
  
====White Court====
 
  
{| class="wikitable"
 
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''White Queen - [[Emma Frost]]'''
+
|width="100pt"| '''Inner Court: Black Rook - TBD'''
|width="600pt"| [[Image:hfc emma.jpg|100px|thumb|left|White Queen]] Having secured her place in the Inner Circle through her family connections, Emma rose to the position of White Queen by the use of both her intellect and her telepathy. She is now rebuilding the White Court, taking advantage of the chaos wrecked by Pete Wisdom.
+
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
 +
 
 +
''PB: To be determined.''
  
  
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''White King - ''vacant'''''
+
|width="100pt"| '''Inner Court: Black Knight - TBD'''
|width="600pt"| The position of White King has been vacant for some time. In 2005 it was filled by [[Pete Wisdom]] as part of a plot to depose the Black Queen, and he resigned the position as soon as that end was achieved.
+
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
 +
 
 +
''PB: To be determined.''
  
  
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''White Bishop - ''vacant'''''
+
|width="100pt"| '''Inner Court: Black Bishop - [[Harry Leland]]'''
|width="600pt"| Previously held by [[Shinobi Shaw]] and then [[Manuel de la Rocha]], the position of Bishop is one of diplomacy and cunning, centring around the Court's business interests and the gathering of information.
+
|width="600pt"| [[Image:Leland.jpg|100px|thumb|left]] An esteemed Manhattan businessman, Harry Leland is also a member of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, serving as their Black Bishop. Leland has been assisting his friend in the rebuilding of his company; although now as a full partner with a controlling interest in [[Shaw Industries]]. A heart attack in 2007 has significantly weakened his position, but he remains as Bishop, a modifying influence on the excesses of his King.
 +
 
 +
''PB: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002113/ Sydney Greenstreet], socked by Sam''
  
  
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''White Knight - [[Doug Ramsey]]'''
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|width="100pt"| '''Outer Court: Black Squire - TBD'''
|width="600pt"|   [[Image:hfc doug.jpg|100px|thumb|left|White Knight]] Traditionally a younger member's role, the Knight is the protector and protegee of the Queen. Before Doug was appointed by Emma, this position was held by Manuel.
+
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
|}
+
 
 +
''PB: To be determined.''
  
'''Others'''
 
  
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|width="100pt"| '''Outer Court: Black Herald - TBD'''
 +
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
  
===London Hellfire Club===
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''PB: To be determined.''
  
====Blue Court====
 
  
{| class="wikitable"
 
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''Blue Queen - Emma Steed'''
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|width="100pt"| '''Outer Court: Black Sentry - TBD'''
|width="600pt"| Steed, accomplished and intelligent, was unwilling to let previous Blue King Templeton leverage the power of the Blue Court to expand his own personal empire at whim, stymying a number of his plans.
+
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
 +
 
 +
''PB: To be determined.''
  
  
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''Blue King -''vacant'''''
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|width="100pt"| '''Junior Court: Black Page - TBD'''
|width="600pt"|  
+
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
|}
 
  
 +
''PB: To be determined.''
  
====Red Court====
 
  
{| class="wikitable"
 
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''Red Queen - Jane Hampshire'''  
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|width="100pt"| '''Junior Court: Black Witness - TBD'''
|width="600pt"| [[Image:hampshire.jpg|100px|thumb|left|Red Queen]] Daughter of Sir James Ransom Hampshire, British engineer and mechanical designer, Jane has multiple degrees and knows multiple languages. She was raised to the position of Red Queen from Red Rook following her role in the [[Allumwandlung in Azure and Gules]] matter.
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|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
  
''PB: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0030361/ Chloe Annett]''
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''PB: To be determined.''
  
  
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
|width="100pt"| '''Red King - Alan Wilson'''
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|width="100pt"| '''Junior Court: Black Chatelaine - TBD'''
|width="600pt"|  
+
|width="600pt"| [[Image:placeholder.gif|left]] (description here)
|}
 
 
 
===Former Members===
 
  
{| class="wikitable"
+
''PB: To be determined.''
|-valign="top"
 
|width="100pt"| '''[[Selene]] - ''Black Queen''''' - ''deceased''
 
|width="600pt"| [[Image:Selene.jpg|100px|thumb|left|Black Queen]] Energy vampire and witch, [[Selene]] was Black Queen until she was [[Hellfire and Damnation|taken down]] by [[Pete Wisdom]] and [[Lost In The Woods| magically imprisoned at the bottom of Jamaica Bay]]. She escaped briefly, but was [[Revenant| killed]] by Belladonna as part of her taking on the Black Queen role.
 
|-valign="top"
 
|width="100pt"| '''[[Not So Plain Jane|Jane Grey]] - ''Black Queen'''''
 
|width="600pt"|  [[Image:Black-queen-II.jpg|100px|thumb|left|Black Queen II]] In 2006, a [[Not So Plain Jane| mentally disturbed]] [[Jean Grey - Phase 1 | Jean Grey]] was set up as a potential new Black Queen, but unsettled by the amount of power she had amassed in a short time, Shaw collaborated with the X-Men to have her removed. 
 
|-valign="top"
 
|width="100pt"| '''[[Amanda Sefton]] - ''Black Knight'''''
 
|width="600pt"| [[Image:Lost in the woods.jpg|100px|thumb|left|Black Knight]] As the result of a [[Lost In The Woods| deal with Selene]] to address her magical addiction, Amanda Sefton agreed to a year's service as Selene's Knight. She changed her mind at the induction ceremony and barely escaped with her life.
 
|-valign="top"
 
|width="100pt"| '''[[John Lense]] - ''Black Knight''''' - ''deceased''
 
|width="600pt"| [[Image:X-character.jpg|100px|thumb|left|Black Knight II]] Made Knight by Shaw, John Lense was a survivor of the [[Mistra]] program who struggled after the program was forcibly dismantled. He blamed [[Nathan Dayspring]] for the loss of meaning in his life and it was this blame that eventually led to his [[Fiddler's Green| death]].
 
|-valign="top"
 
|width="100pt"| '''[[Pete Wisdom]] - ''White King'''''
 
|width="600pt"| [[Image:Hellfire and damnation.jpg|100px|thumb|left|White King]] In 2005 the position of White King was filled by [[Pete Wisdom]] as part of a plot to depose the Black Queen, and he resigned the position as soon as that end was achieved.
 
|-valign="top"
 
|width="100pt"| '''[[Shinobi Shaw]] - ''White Bishop'''''
 
|width="600pt"|[[Image:shinobi.jpg|100px|thumb|left|White Bishop]] Invited to the position of White Bishop as a snub to his father, the Black King, Shinobi filled the position until 2004.
 
|-valign="top"
 
|width="100pt"| '''[[Manuel de la Rocha]] - ''White Knight and White Bishop II'''''
 
|width="600pt"|  [[Image: manuel.jpg|100px|thumb|left|White Knight and White Bishop II]] Previously Emma's Knight, Manuel reluctantly accepted the role of Bishop after the injury that rendered him lame in one hip. Like all things he attempted, he focussed on it with ruthless determination, until an abduction attempt of his sister apparently by elements in the Black Court caused him to relocate to Spain.
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
===Plots===
+
====Former Members====
  
 +
*''Friedrich Von Roehm - Black Rook:'' a mutant, [[Paradise Lost|killed in a police cell]] when his [[Image inducer|image inducer]] failed and his position within the HFC was unable to prevent his arrest.
  
[[Hellfire]]
+
==Details==
  
[[Hellfire and Damnation]]
+
The Hellfire Club is a social club catering to members of the social and financial elite. Secretly founded by members of a secret cabal, the club is an offshoot of John Dee's Invisible College, established sometime in the sixteenth century. Similar to the Royal Society, but with an interest in the arcane and demonic spheres, the club gained a strong cabal of influential members, to the point that it was forced to hide behind the disgraced guise of other clubs to avoid being targeted by political or religious enemies. In the 18th century, the club used pawns like Phillip, Duke of Wharton and Sir Francis Dashwood to distract those who had heard whispers of their studies, instead sending them to drunken orgies and satirical farces of religious ceremonies. However, as the true club began to recruit the best from their fake counterparts, some of the attitudes began to seep in, changing the mores and focus slowly.
  
[[Lost In The Woods]]
+
Over the years, secret chapters were begun, mostly following the trade routes of the empire, although occasionally making in-roads into the traditional grounds of other societies in Europe. By the mid-19th century, the Hellfire Club was able to shed part of its cloak of secrecy, transforming itself into the public eye as more of an exclusive social club. Wealthy men and women would maneuver for an invitation to one of their elaborate parties, and membership was considered to be a significant honour. The various chapters undertook a period of re-organization, eliminating small and mismanaged chapters, and laying out the court structure which survived up until [[September 2015]].
  
[[Seven Minutes In Heaven]]
+
Today, the Hellfire Club is seen as an anachronistic institution from an imperial past; barely noticed or known about by the public, only as visible as a thousand other private clubs and societies which occasionally provide quiet charitable support or fundraisers. Its private nature allowed very little access to the media, and as a result, it enjoyed the status of being functionally invisible.
  
[[The Magnificent Seven]]
+
===[[:Category: Phase 2|Phase 2]]===
  
[[Fiddler's Green]]
+
Following [[M-Day]], it became obvious that things had changed for the Hellfire Club with the [[Paradise Lost|death of the Black Rook]] in police custody. Where formerly just citing his position with the Club would have seen him on his way, the fact he was a visible mutant in post-[[M-Day]] New York meant his position meant nothing. Faced with this new threat, White Queen [[Emma Frost]] and Black King [[Sebastian Shaw]] came to a reluctant agreement and restructured the NY HFC according to old lines. Part of the agreement was there would be no Black Queen and no White King - the existing 'royalty' would rule alone, in order to provide balance.
  
[[Song of Isaac, Key of Solomon]] ''(Jane Hampshire)''
+
The Black and White Courts were still, in most things, in a certain state of opposition. There were only certain things, primarily to do with mutant affairs that they joined together to work on. Part of the reason that they chose to do this, was that the world had changed since M-Day; despite the fact that they had quite a lot of influence in business and politics, all of the members of the HFC had to be considerably more careful about being outed as mutants. The Black Court, particularly as they had neither telepaths nor magic users to cover their tracks, were much less inclined to any overt use of powers in public or in front of non-HFC people they had to leave alive. They also couldn't just throw money and influence at problems they wished to mutually solve; anti-mutant sentiment was so strong that they couldn't simply make things go away or change. For example, they might have been able to convince politicians to go a certain way to softening anti-mutant laws etc but they were unlikely to have sufficient influence to overcome the political liability that would come from a politician being seen as a strong mutant sympathiser.
  
[[Santayana Effect]]
+
So, as part of that lessening of influence, they had fewer senators in their pockets - a few influential ones, who were very loyal to the HFC for a number of different reasons, but the Courts couldn't simply let those Senators know what they wanted and expect it to happen. They had to do a lot more work to get the results they wanted, so they expended the need for favours more carefully. In terms of business, they still had a LOT of money and a LOT of influence - but this was also the area where Black and White Courts were primarily in opposition. Frost and Shaw also remained business rivals, so they didn't tend to work together much in terms of undertaking Court activities through the business sphere.
  
[[Revenant]]
+
In 2020 that rivalry came to the fore at the annual Hellfire Gala, hosted in this instance by the Black Court. [[Operation: Dewey Deceptional System|A former Club member had willed some valuable books to the Black Court]], one of which contained pages from the highly rare ''Book of Cagliostro''. Warned by [[Nicholas Harkness]] that [[X-Force]] would attempt to steal the book as a way of currying favour and being allowed to join the Inner Court, the Black Court called up [[Emma Frost]] and [[Doug Ramsey]] to accuse them of the theft, only for the tables to be turned with the book in the vaults being shown to be a forgery and the "real" book found in Harkness' hotel room. With the Black Court hastily backtracking their accusations, the White Court came out ascendent once again.
  
[[Sing Me A Prayer]] ''(Jane Hampshire)''
+
==Plots/Events==
  
[[Allumwandlung in Azure and Gules]]
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[[Paradise Lost]]
  
===Meta===
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[[Operation: Dewey Deceptional System]]
  
 +
==Meta==
  
 
Socked by: Various
 
Socked by: Various
Line 199: Line 199:
  
  
[[Category: 2003]]
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[[Category:2015]]
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[[Category: Other NPCs]]
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[[Category: Allies]]
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[[Category: Other Organizations]]

Latest revision as of 22:38, 11 November 2022

This page is about the Phase 2 incarnation of the NPCs. For other uses, see Hellfire Club (disambiguation).

PHASE 2
Hellfire Club
Hellfire logo.jpg
Portrayed by various
Known Aliases: Emma Frost (White Queen), Sebastian Shaw (Black King)
Affiliations: Independent
Socked By: various
Introduction: Paradise Lost


Following M-Day, the Hellfire Club had to reimage itself in order to protect its mutant members and an uneasy truce was struck between Black and White Courts.

Roster

Hellfire Club.jpg

White Court

Inner Court: White Queen - Emma Frost
Xf emma.jpg
Leader of the White Court, Emma is cunning, manipulative and intensely protective of her people.

PB: Charlize Theron


Inner Court: White Rook - TBD
Placeholder.gif

PB: TBD


Inner Court: White Knight - Doug Ramsey
Xf doug.jpg
Ever loyal to Emma, Doug maintains his role as her Knight.

PB: Ryan Phillipe.


Inner Court: White Bishop - TBD
Placeholder.gif
(description here)

PB: To be determined.


Outer Court: White Squire - TBD
Placeholder.gif

PB: TBD


Outer Court: White Herald - Hope Abbott
HopeAbbotticon1.png
After being mentored for a year by Doug, the current White Knight, Hope met with White Queen Emma Frost for an interview and on recommendations of Doug and Julian, the current White Squire, became the White Herald.

PB: Shelley Hennig.


Outer Court: White Sentry - TBD
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PB: To be determined.


Junior Court: White Page - TBD
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PB: To be determined.


Junior Court: White Witness - TBD
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PB: To be determined.


Junior Court: White Chatelaine - TBD
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PB: To be determined.

Black Court

Inner Court: Black King - Sebastian Shaw
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A powerful industrialist, Sebastian Shaw is a dangerous and cunning opponent. His mutant status is a tightly-kept secret and while he has often been pitched against the X-Men, he has on occasion used them as a means to an end. Since M-Day and the death of his Rook in jail, he has grudgingly admitted things have to change, and in the area of mutant welfare, at least, has agreed to a truce with Emma.

PB: Jason Isaacs, socked by Cai


Inner Court: Black Rook - TBD
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PB: To be determined.


Inner Court: Black Knight - TBD
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PB: To be determined.


Inner Court: Black Bishop - Harry Leland
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An esteemed Manhattan businessman, Harry Leland is also a member of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, serving as their Black Bishop. Leland has been assisting his friend in the rebuilding of his company; although now as a full partner with a controlling interest in Shaw Industries. A heart attack in 2007 has significantly weakened his position, but he remains as Bishop, a modifying influence on the excesses of his King.

PB: Sydney Greenstreet, socked by Sam


Outer Court: Black Squire - TBD
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PB: To be determined.


Outer Court: Black Herald - TBD
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PB: To be determined.


Outer Court: Black Sentry - TBD
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PB: To be determined.


Junior Court: Black Page - TBD
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PB: To be determined.


Junior Court: Black Witness - TBD
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PB: To be determined.


Junior Court: Black Chatelaine - TBD
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PB: To be determined.

Former Members

Details

The Hellfire Club is a social club catering to members of the social and financial elite. Secretly founded by members of a secret cabal, the club is an offshoot of John Dee's Invisible College, established sometime in the sixteenth century. Similar to the Royal Society, but with an interest in the arcane and demonic spheres, the club gained a strong cabal of influential members, to the point that it was forced to hide behind the disgraced guise of other clubs to avoid being targeted by political or religious enemies. In the 18th century, the club used pawns like Phillip, Duke of Wharton and Sir Francis Dashwood to distract those who had heard whispers of their studies, instead sending them to drunken orgies and satirical farces of religious ceremonies. However, as the true club began to recruit the best from their fake counterparts, some of the attitudes began to seep in, changing the mores and focus slowly.

Over the years, secret chapters were begun, mostly following the trade routes of the empire, although occasionally making in-roads into the traditional grounds of other societies in Europe. By the mid-19th century, the Hellfire Club was able to shed part of its cloak of secrecy, transforming itself into the public eye as more of an exclusive social club. Wealthy men and women would maneuver for an invitation to one of their elaborate parties, and membership was considered to be a significant honour. The various chapters undertook a period of re-organization, eliminating small and mismanaged chapters, and laying out the court structure which survived up until September 2015.

Today, the Hellfire Club is seen as an anachronistic institution from an imperial past; barely noticed or known about by the public, only as visible as a thousand other private clubs and societies which occasionally provide quiet charitable support or fundraisers. Its private nature allowed very little access to the media, and as a result, it enjoyed the status of being functionally invisible.

Phase 2

Following M-Day, it became obvious that things had changed for the Hellfire Club with the death of the Black Rook in police custody. Where formerly just citing his position with the Club would have seen him on his way, the fact he was a visible mutant in post-M-Day New York meant his position meant nothing. Faced with this new threat, White Queen Emma Frost and Black King Sebastian Shaw came to a reluctant agreement and restructured the NY HFC according to old lines. Part of the agreement was there would be no Black Queen and no White King - the existing 'royalty' would rule alone, in order to provide balance.

The Black and White Courts were still, in most things, in a certain state of opposition. There were only certain things, primarily to do with mutant affairs that they joined together to work on. Part of the reason that they chose to do this, was that the world had changed since M-Day; despite the fact that they had quite a lot of influence in business and politics, all of the members of the HFC had to be considerably more careful about being outed as mutants. The Black Court, particularly as they had neither telepaths nor magic users to cover their tracks, were much less inclined to any overt use of powers in public or in front of non-HFC people they had to leave alive. They also couldn't just throw money and influence at problems they wished to mutually solve; anti-mutant sentiment was so strong that they couldn't simply make things go away or change. For example, they might have been able to convince politicians to go a certain way to softening anti-mutant laws etc but they were unlikely to have sufficient influence to overcome the political liability that would come from a politician being seen as a strong mutant sympathiser.

So, as part of that lessening of influence, they had fewer senators in their pockets - a few influential ones, who were very loyal to the HFC for a number of different reasons, but the Courts couldn't simply let those Senators know what they wanted and expect it to happen. They had to do a lot more work to get the results they wanted, so they expended the need for favours more carefully. In terms of business, they still had a LOT of money and a LOT of influence - but this was also the area where Black and White Courts were primarily in opposition. Frost and Shaw also remained business rivals, so they didn't tend to work together much in terms of undertaking Court activities through the business sphere.

In 2020 that rivalry came to the fore at the annual Hellfire Gala, hosted in this instance by the Black Court. A former Club member had willed some valuable books to the Black Court, one of which contained pages from the highly rare Book of Cagliostro. Warned by Nicholas Harkness that X-Force would attempt to steal the book as a way of currying favour and being allowed to join the Inner Court, the Black Court called up Emma Frost and Doug Ramsey to accuse them of the theft, only for the tables to be turned with the book in the vaults being shown to be a forgery and the "real" book found in Harkness' hotel room. With the Black Court hastily backtracking their accusations, the White Court came out ascendent once again.

Plots/Events

Paradise Lost

Operation: Dewey Deceptional System

Meta

Socked by: Various