shire-randall-semijanhost-fullRANDALL SHIREshire-randall-semijanhost-face

Real Name: Randall Shire

Identity/Class: Terrestrial human mutant;
    formerly possessed/augmented by extraterrestrial;
    Australian citizen

Occupation: Unrevealed;
    formerly controlled to be a would-be mass-murderer and/or world-conqueror while preaching Harmony
    at least former owner and performer in a carnival

Group Membership: Unrevealed;
    former leader of the Harmony movement;
    at least former owner/head of Professor Randall Shire and his Miracle Makers carnival in Australia

Affiliations: Key (Lachlan Patterson), Wall (Mick Patterson);
    although they opposed his Semijan-possessed plot, these beings' efforts liberated Shire from Semijan: Professor Berger, Blaquesmith, Cable (Nathan Summers/Nathan Dayspring Askani'son), Beast (Hank McCoy), Clarity (and his agents Greg and Lea), Jean Grey, Sheik Hamid;
    formerly enslaved by Semijan;
    while possessed by Semijan, over 100,000 people were enslaved to his will, including G.W. Bridge and at least one other unidentified S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, as well as Jason Cross and Karen Gleason;
    while not directly associated, his powers became part of the Collective

Enemies: Aentaros and his possessed victims (Blockade/Dexter Parrish, Andy Carmody, Domino/Neena Thurman, Irene Merryweather), Azazel, Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), Semijan;
    while possessed by Semijan: Professor Berger, Blaquesmith, Cable (Nathan Summers/Nathan Dayspring Askani'son), Beast (Hank McCoy), Clarity (and his agents Greg and Lea), Jean Grey, Sheik Hamid, Key;
    those enslaved by Semijan/Shire likely would likely have considered him an enemy upon regaining their wills: over 100,000 people were enslaved to his will, including G.W. Bridge and at least one other unidentified S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, as well as Jason Cross and Karen Gleason;

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Professor Shire

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York;
    formerly mobile across unspecified portions of Australia

Education: An aide referred to him as Dr. Shire, which would indicate that he either had a Ph.D. in something or was otherwise a physician or something to earn that title;
    however, it is also possible that he merely assumed that title and was not an actual doctor of anything

First Appearance: Cable II#79 (May, 2000)

Powers/Abilities: Shire low-level "psycho-morph" (see comments), Shire can vocally project his emotions to people close by. His power cannot affect others via radio, TV, or presumably any other form of remote transmission.
    However, it is still effective via microphone amplification of his voice.

    Shire lost his powers (and ceased to be a mutant) on M-Day, and they became part of the Collective.

    He was a mild-mannered man, content with his small, traveling show and role as an entertainer.

    While possessed by Semijan, anyone who heard his voice was instantly enslaved by him and followed his will completely. This influence remained even after leaving his presence.
    His influence could be prevented by either wearing sound-blocking earplugs or using something to distort the sound of his voice.

    While possessed by Semijan, he could not resist Semijan's lack of caring for living beings, seeking to enslave and/or kill others, and/or conquer the world.

    Key clearly opposed the Semijan-possessed Shire, but he was forced to obey his will; however, Key's power to unlock any system enabled him to find ways to get around this, acting indirectly without Shire's knowledge, sharing information with those that might help, etc.shire-randall-semijanhost-carnival

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'9")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 165 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown (including mustache and "soul patch")

History:

(Cable II#82 (fb) - BTS) - Randall Shire was a low-level mutant.

(Cable II#82 (fb) - BTS) - Randall Shire ran the small, traveling carnival Professor Randall Shire and his Miracle Makers in Australia. He and the brothers Key and Wall performed all over the continent.

    Shire, Key, and Wall were each low-level mutants. Key and Wall could open any locked system and possessed great strength and durability, respectively.

    When Shire said positive things, the crowd was happy; when he spoke of sad news, they were sad. He made a wonderful clown and a marvelous actor.shire-randall-semijanhost-clown

(Cable II#82 (fb) - BTS) - One day, in the midst of one of Shire's clown performances, Semijan -- a member of the non-corporeal, extraterrestrial beings known as the Undying -- possessed him, taking complete control of his mind and body and boosting Shire's powers to astonishing heights.

    Whenever Shire spoke, he now bound people to him by the sound of his voice. Anyone who heard him became his slave, and whatever he wished became their purpose, starting with Key and Wall; thousands in Australia followed.

    Ambitious, Semijan led Shire to America, from which he intended to conquer the world while preaching a message of peace, unity, and most of all harmony.

(Cable II#79 (fb) - BTS / Cable II#84 (fb) - BTS) - In this unbalanced situation, Azazel (the sentience of the starship that regulated the "game" amongst the Undying of who could kill the most beings) chose Aentaros, another member of the Undying, to execute Shire.

(Cable II#79 (fb) - BTS) - When the Semijan-possessed Randall Shire prepared to speak before a large crowd at Manhattan's Madison Square Garden, Aentaros possessed family man Andy Carmody.

(Cable II#79 - BTS) - Forewarned of this threat by the Fates, Cable rushed to Madison Square Garden and contained Andy in a force field. After ranting about killing Shire, Aentaros caused Andy to activate a pair of hand grenades, killing Andy and allowing Aentaros to escape his form.

(Cable II#79) - At Semijan/Shire's request, Key noted that there were 18,975 attending his lecture, which brought his monthly total to 74,327 slaves. Shire countered that he preferred to think of them as his Harmonious Family, but Key again noted them to be slaves. Key subsequently informed Shire/Semijan of the man who had killed himself at the building's northeast entrance eight minutes before, as well as noting apparent mutant involvement due to the presence of the force field and that the man had said "Aentaros" right before he had committed suicide.shire-randall-semijanhost-face=energy

    Shire/Semijan correctly realized that Azazel had acted to prevent Semijan from accumulating too much power, and he noted that Aentaros would be back in one body or another as he was very determined. When Wall assured Shire that Aentaros would not get past him, Shire/Semijan expressed confidence in him but instructed him not to kill Aentaros, as they needed him alive.

    When an aide advised him that there were five minutes until show time, Shire prepared to speak to his waiting crowd. Key noted, "poor suckers," but nonetheless assured Shire that he would monitor all security camera and police units for anything unusual. Wall assured Shire that there was nothing to worry about, as Wall never failed. Smiling, Shire/Semijan remarked that all he needed was a few more months, and this world was his.

(Cable II#79 - BTS) - Aentaros subsequently possessed Blockade and resolved to kill Cable first and then Shire.

(Cable II#80) - Randall Shire/Semijan spoke at Madison Square Garden, apparently bringing another approximately 18,975 people (including Jason Cross and Karen Gleason) under his control with his message of harmony.

(Cable II#81 - BTS) - Subdued by Cable, Aentaros forced Blockade to break his own neck, killing Blockade and liberating Aentaros to possess another.

(Cable II#81) - S.H.I.E.L.D. agent G.W. Bridge and his assistant met with Shire, intending to warn him of the threat to his life and learn what he might know about Blockade's recovery. However, as soon as they met Shire, they fell under Semijan's influence and agreed to his instructions to station twenty agents to watch over him each night, changing the guards each night so he could take control of them as well. They further agreed to bring some of their colleagues from the Defense Department.

    After they left, Semijan/Shire considered that Aentaros' attempt to stop him had delivered federal law enforcement into his hands and that within a week he would control the entire US government. With his accelerated schedule, Key projected that Shire would conquer the world in 23 days, and Semijan/Shire noted that thereafter, the killing would begin.shire-randall-semijanhost-armageddon.jpg

(Cable II#81 - BTS) - Cable subsequently enlisted his ally Blaquesmith to create a portable immobilizing trap he could use to keep the Undying paralyzed for hours, no matter what it's strength.

(Cable II#81 - BTS) - Cable met with Bridge and discussed Blockade, after which Bridge tried to convince Cable to come see Shire speak.

(Cable II#82 (fb) - BTS) - Blaquesmith worked on a device to prevent the Undying from escaping a host.

(Cable II#83 (fb) - BTS) - Aentaros possessed Domino (Neena Thurman).

(Cable II#82) - Semijan/Shire told Key and Wall that everything was going so well, and that it was too bad that they all must die. Key suggested that Shire might rule the world instead of destroying it. Semijan considered that it would be amusing, although the others would complain, as it was not part of the rules. However, as Semijan further considered that if he ruled the world, he could change the rules, Key secretly sent information to Cable's associate Clarity without directly defying his master's wishes.

    When Shire questioned what he was doing, Key assured him that it was the usual, checking security, monitoring news reports, and following orders. Shire further asked him if he was obeying his every wish, and Key confirmed that, like everyone, he was captivated by his voice and could not disobey his orders. The phone then rang, and Key answered it....

(Cable II#82 - BTS) - Having survived possession by Aentaros after Cable induced cardiac arrest and then resuscitated her, Irene Merryweather noted that Randall Shire was also possessed by one of the Undying.

    After Clarity had located Azazel, his associate Greg further detailed to Cable information sent from Key regarding Shire.

(Cable II#82) - Bridge (presumably the person who had called to arrange a meeting) informed Shire/Semijan of Blockade's death but warned that another, more deadly mercenary was now after him. As Bridge had men stationed at the airports, highways, and train stations, Semijan/Shire refused to cancel his lecture, and he instructed Bridge to double or triple his security agents if necessary and to kill anyone who tried to stop him.

    Although he did not know who the would-be assassin was, Bridge assured Shire that he or she would be stopped, dead or alive.

(Cable II#82 - BTS) - Meanwhile, Cable communicated with representatives of both Reality-2775, who told him that if Cable saved Shire from an assassin that night that Shire would establish the Ranshi Empire, ruling Earth and eventually the Milky Way Galaxy; and of Reality-22073, in which the assassin slew Shire, but he was martyred, leading his religion, Harmony, to prosper, although mutants were prevented/outlawed.

    Eyla Cire of the Harmonists told Cable to let Shire die and that humanity would finally achieve peace and harmony, and their medicines would cure his techno-virus, and that he could live with her in paradise. Sandella of the Ranshi instead told Cable to save Shire and Earth would rule the cosmos, and he could rule by her side.semijan-undying-cable83-semvsaent1

    Regardless, someone from the two realities told Cable that Domino (Neena Thurman) was to be the assassin. 

(Cable II#83) - Blaquesmith supplied Cable with the weapon he sought, after which Cable met with the Shire/Semijan-controlled G.W. Bridge, who had snipers prepared to kill Domino or anyone who approached Shire. When Cable argued against this, Bridge told him that Dr. Shire brought a message of peace and harmony to a troubled world, and that that was a lot more important than friendship or loyalty.

(Cable II#83 (fb) - BTS) - Blaquesmith further supplied Cable with "microscope sound-shifters" for his ears, distorting the sound of Shire's voice, ensuring that Cable would not be captivated by him.

(Cable II#83 - BTS) - As Cable waited for Shire to come on stage, five minutes before the critical divergence point, he was visited in a vision by the Fates, who advised him, "Tonight, by your hand, reality trembles."

(Cable II#83) - As Shire stepped out from behind the curtains, with Wall behind his back, Domino attacked, and as Wall stepped in front of Shire, Cable took out Bridge to prevent him from trying to kill Domino. Ultimately, Cable used Blaquesmith's weapon to immobilize/incapacitate Domino, with Aentaros trapped within her.

    Listening as Semijan taunted Aentaros telepathically, Cable pressed a switch on the side of his weapon, causing the forcefield to flicker and allowingshire-randall-semijanhost-gagged Domino/Aentaros to lunge forward, causing Shire to scurry behind Wall.

    Semijan/Shire then verbally expressed his hatred for Aentaros/Domino, and his voice was amplified via microphone. His message of hatred amplified by his own powers led the crowd to both hate him and to be freed from his influence. This resulted in diverging both the Ranshi and Harmonist futures from Reality-616.
    Both of the groups of members of the Harmonists and Ranshi Empire who had been dealing with Cable and had departed their own realities found themselves cut off from realities that had seemingly ceased to exist (but which were just diverged from Reality-616's futures).

    Now hating Shire, Wall grabbed him by the face, covering his mouth and silencing him.

    Cable then instructed Bridge to gag Shire and put him in solitary confinement, and to place Domino in maximum security. Cable subsequently met with Wall and Key, and they agreed to help him against the Undying.

(Cable II#84 - BTS) - Cable -- joined by Key, Wall, and X-Men Beast (Hank McCoy) and Jean Grey -- traveled to the door of Azazel.

    As Key determined the code and unlocked the door, Azazel sent a distress signal, summoning the Undying back to their host bodies in stasis.

(Cable II#84) - As the Undying were recalled, Randall Shire, Domino, and other hosts were freed from the Undying's influence.

    Still restrained and gagged in front of armed guards, Shire realized that explaining his way out of this mess would not be easy, but he did not mind: All that mattered was that he was free!

(House of M I#8/New Avengers I#19 (fb) - BTS) - Following the events of M-Day, in which the reality-manipulating Scarlet Witch depowered most of Earth's mutants, the expelled energy of the depowered mutants -- which included Randall Shire -- had nowhere to go and erupted into space a short distance away from the planet Earth.

Comments: Created by Robert Weinberg, Michael Ryan, and Andrew Pepoy.

    He may or may not have been resurrected with his mutant powers restored on Krakoa.

shire-randall-semijanhost-banners    So...psychomorphism means attributing mental processes (thoughts and feelings) to animals and inanimate objects, and is similar to anthropomorphism, which is attributing human characteristics to animals and inanimate objects.
    I think Weinberg pieced together the words "psych" and "morph" and literally took their means, so something like "mental" or "mind" and "form"
    He was probably thinking of the word metamorphosis, which means to transform, and meant change...but morph refers to the form, rather than the changing.
    Either way, something like mind-former or mind-changer...manipulating the thoughts of others.
    As Shire's power was emotion-manipulation via his voice, he could have just called him a vocally-projecting empath.

    As Shire's power's affected people who could hear him directly (although I guess it still works via microphone), I don't see why he would have lost his influence on anyone who did not hear his message of hate directly at Madison Square Garden. Regardless, once Semijan left Shire, I would think the power amplification would have faded, and he would have lost any remote/long-term control.

Three futures associated with Randall Shire:

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Randall Shire should be distinguished from:

Jason Cross & Karen Gleason

shire-randall-semijanhost-cross-gleason-preshire-randall-semijanhost-cross-gleason-pre(Cable II#80) - Jason Cross and Karen Gleason were veteran New York City reporters. They were sent by their paper to cover the increasingly popular Randall Shire and his message of peace and harmony. Like most rational-minded people, they considered him to be a fraud.

    But, like the rest of the audience, they found something about the unimposing Shire's voice to be compelling and hypnotizing. Soon, all their doubts were gone. They knew, and they believed.

(Cable II#84) - Presumably once Semijan was called out of Shire's body and back to Azazel, if not before, Jason and Karen were freed from Semijan/Shire's control.

--Cable II#80
unidentified S.H.I.E.L.D. agent
shire-randall-semijanhost-shieldagentface(Cable II#80) - After the Aentaros-possessed Blockade broke out of a S.H.I.E.L.D. military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, an unidentified S.H.I.E.L.D. agent accompanied Commander G.W. Bridge to the facility. He explained to Bridge that Blockade had escaped despite having been catatonic and that the escape had caused eight deaths, with another 23 injured and 28 missing.

    After a soldier reported that they had the security video ready, the agent accompanied Bridge in watching the video. The agent noted that the symbol on Blockade's head reminded him on an old serial murder case of the "Circle Killer." Bridge told him to investigate that, but the agent explained that it was a cold trail as the Circle Killer had been caught and executed 50 years ago.

(Cable II#81) - The unidentified S.H.I.E.L.D. agent accompanied G.W. Bridge to meet with Shire, although he told Bridge he was not exactly sure why their were going to see this "charlatan." Bridge explained that one of the survivors of the Bethesda massacre had heard Blockade mutter something about "killing Shire." Bridge reasoned that with all of the publicity Randall Shire had been generating that he was the likely target, and that they were there to pass on a warning. shire-randall-semijanhost-shieldagentfull

    The unidentified S.H.I.E.L.D. agent commented that they might also see if Shire knew how a man in a catatonic state might make up and devastate a hospital. Bridge agreed that that was a good idea: He didn't care what kind of con-artist Shire was; all he wanted was the truth.

Both men discussed Shire as being a fraud, and the unidentifed agent noted that he must be very good, as he had thousands of followers...including a lot of important people. "Glad I'm not that stupid."

They were let into Shire's room by Key, and they met Shire as he sat, with Wall at his side. However, as soon as Shire began to speak, they fell under Semijan's influence, and they agreed to his instructions to station twenty agents to watch over him each night, changing the guards each night so he could take control of them as well. They further agreed to bring some of their colleagues from the Defense Department.

    As they departed, Bridge commented to the unidentified agent that Shire was wonderful and truly brilliant. The agent agreed, replying, "Amazing. A dynamic leader. Too bad he's not in politics." Bridge replied, "Funny. That's exactly what I was thinking."

(Cable II#82 - BTS) - The unidentified agent was nowhere to be seen when Bridge met with Shire to discuss security at his next seminar/speech at Madison Square Garden.

(Cable II#83 - BTS) - The unidentified agent was nowhere to be seen as Bridge was present at Shire's seminar/speech.

(Cable II#84) - Presumably once Semijan was called out of Shire's body and back to Azazel, if not before, the S.H.I.E.L.D. was freed from Semijan/Shire's control.

--Cable II#80

Note: I always find it frustrating when a character appears and has a significant impact on the storyline, especially if appearing in more than one story...and then never is identified by name.
This character appears in 2 consecutive issues and could be recognized in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe's S.H.I.E.L.D. profile and elsewhere...but he is doomed to obscurity because he never got a name.
Hence the unidentified, unnecessarily awkward, and unmemorable sub-profile...

    Brown eyes; light brown hair in  #80, blond in #81 (may have just been the dim lighting in #80 that made his hair appear to be darker)

    He appears to be maybe 2-5 inches shorter than GW Bridge

images: (without ads)
Cable II#80, pg.6, panel 2 (full);
          panel 3-4 (Jason Cross & Karen Gleason);
       pg. 13, panel 6 (SHIELD agent face);
    #82, pg. 9, panel 2 (face);
       pg. 13, panel 2 (SHIELD agent full);
       pg. 15, panel 1 (Professor Randall Shire and his Miracle Makers carnival);
          panel 4-5 (as clown and possessed by Semijan);
       pg. 17, panel 4 (face with energy);
    #83, pg. 19, panel 2-3 (Semijan with spiteful telepathic and verbal messages to Aentaros);
    #84, pg. 9, panel 3 (bound Shire freed from Semijan)

Appearances:
Cable II#79 (May, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#80 (June, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#81-82 (July-August, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#83 (September, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Walden Wong (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#84 (October, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Nathan Massengil & Andrew Pepoy (inkers), Mark Powers (editor)
 House of M I#8 (December, 2005) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Olivier Coipel (pencils), John Dell, Scott Hanna, Tim Townsend (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
New Avengers I#18 (June, 2006) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Mike Deodato, Jr. (pencils), Joe Pimental (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
New Avengers I#19 (July, 2006) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Mike Deodato, Jr. (pencils), Joe Pimental (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)

All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#12 (December, 2006) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Michael Hoskin, Stuart Vandal, Al Sjoerdsma, Eric J. Moreels, Sean McQuaid, Chad Anderson, Mark O'English, Anthony Flamini, Ronald Byrd, Jacob Rougemont, Mike Fichera, Madison Carter & Chris Biggs (writers), Michael Short (assistant editor), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#12 (March, 2010) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Mike Fichera, Markus Raymond, Mike O'Sullivan & Madison Carter (coordination assistants), Stuart Vandal, Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin, Mike O'Sullivan, Ronald Byrd, Mike Fichera, Madison Carter, Rob London, Gabriel Shechter, Eric J. Moreels, David Wiltfong, Jacob Rougemont, Chris Biggs, Rich Green, Kevin Garcia, Jeph York, & Mark O'English (writers), Brian Overton (copy editor), John Denning & Alex Starbuck (assistant editors), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)

First posted: 07/15/2023
Last updated: 11/23/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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