Harry Manners (Hellfire Club circa 1915 AD)

manners-harry-truefull SIR HARRY MANNERS

Real Name: Sir Harry Manners

Identity/Class: Human;
United Kingdom citizen;
active up to 1915 (and perhaps alive perhaps 30-45 years before that)

Occupation: Unrevealed;
he may have been independently wealthy, inheriting his fortune

Group Membership: Hellfire Club Inner Circle

Affiliations: Sir Waltham Pierce;
    presumably Esau Shaw and the Zemo twins;
    possibly Cornelius Shaw;
    sought an alliance with Germany's rulers;
    though not directly allied, he sought to utilize the being later known as the Harbinger of Apocalypse

Enemies: England's population, Union Jack (Montgomery, Lord Falsworth) manner-harry-party

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly London, England, United Kingdom

First Appearance: Cable#50 (January, 1998)

Powers/Abilities: Exorbitantly wealthy and living for profit and pleasure, Harry Manners was willing to betray his country if it might earn him money and power.

His wealth brought him whatever he wanted, which frequently included parties, drinking to excess, and the company of women.

Manners carried a pistol, but as he often heavily drank alcohol and smoked cigars, his aim and fighting ability was less than spectacular.

Height: Unrevealed; (he looked pretty tall next to guards who seemed roughly the 6'1" Montgomery Falsworth's height, so perhaps 6'2")
Weight: Unrevealed; perhaps 210 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

History:

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb) - BTS) - The Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club elected to choose a Shaw to complete their membership. With the passing of Cornelius Shaw, they chose his son Esau.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb)) <December 6, 1915> - Manners attended the funeral of Cornelius Shaw, standing behind the priest alongside Sir Waltham Pierce.

After discussing with Manners that only time would tell whether Esau would be the right one for them, Waltham approached Esau, offering his condolences as well as his congratulations on Esau's promotion to lieutenant in the army.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb) - BTS) - Pierce offered Esau membership in the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb) - BTS) - Manners likely attended a Hellfire Club party at which Esau was present.

(Cable#50 (fb) - BTS) <1859> Apocalypse mutated one of his minions into a powerful form later known as his Harbinger and then placed him in a stasis chamber.

This chamber was apparently either originally located in the depths below where Harry Manners would one day own a mansion (and, if so, it is unrevealed whether that mansion was present at the time the being was placed in the chamber), or Manners or someone else had it brought there.

(Cable#50 (fb) - BTS) - Manners was informed by what he considered a very reliable source that whatever was within the chamber could destroy London.

(Cable#50 (fb) - BTS) <1915> - Manners plotted to thusly to destroy London, figuring this would cause England to fall to Germany, who would look favorably upon him.

(Cable#50 (fb) - BTS) - Learning of Manners' plot to destroy London, Montgomery Falsworth arranged to gain an invitation to join the Hellfire Club at Manners' mansion so he could learn the nature of and hopefully thwart his plot.

(Cable#50 (fb) - BTS) - Manners invited Montgomery Falsworth to join the Hellfire Club. manner-harry-full

(Cable#50) <1915> - Manners hosted a dinner soiree attended by Falsworth, bragging that he had not spared any expense. When Falsworth noted that it was a wonder that he had found such delicacies during wartime, Manners asked if this bothered him, but Falsworth pretended it to enjoy the pleasures at hand; Falsworth further played to Manners tastes, acting as if he did not care if the soldiers fighting on the front starved while they lived in decadance.

Noting the length of the drive back to Falsworth's estate, Manners explained that he had prepared a room and that it was best he leave in the morning. Falsworth pretended that he had drunken more than he should have, but Manners countered that there was never enough pleasure in the Hellfire Club: "Excess if our greatest excess." He then showed Falsworth his room, complete with a scantily clad mad to send the night off "right nicely." manners-harry-shot

(Cable#50 (fb) - BTS) - Drugging the girl's brandy so she fell asleep, Falsworth changed into his Union Jack costume, and investigated Manners' mansion.

(Cable#50 (fb)) - Alongside a trio of costumed/masked Hellfire Club agents, Manners discovered Union Jack. Mocking the union jack as his least favorite flag, Manners continued that he had thought the destruction of London was going to be his contribution to the war effort, but he now saw the killing of England's champion as "a cherry upon that cake of infamy."

When Manners taunted that he was doing this for profit, pure and simple, Union Jack launched into an attack, taking down two of Manners' men. Manner struggled to get a clear shot at Union Jack, but -- failing that -- elected to kill them both; however, when his shot struck a fatal blow to his last remaining agent, the agent reflexively pulled his trigger, fatally shooting Manners as well.

(Cable#50 (fb) - BTS) - After Harry's death, his estate was willed to the Hellfire Club.

Comments: Created by Ben Raab and Charlie Adlard.

With Manners apparently dying at the end of the flashback in Cable#50, it would seem that it has to have occurred after the X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 appearance. There was at least 25 more days in December for the Cable#50 appearance to still fit in as a 1915 appearance.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Sir Harry Manners should be distinguished from:

MANNERS, STEVE - fiancé of Gilda Spears, enemy of Brain--Adventures into Terror#4
other Manners characters

Cable#50, pg. 12, panel 1 (party);
        pg. 16, panel 5 (mostly full, with Hellfire Club guards);
        pg. 23, panel 2 (face);
            panel 7 (fatally shot);
X-Men: Hellfire Club#3, pg. 6,

Appearances:
Cable#50 (January, 1998) - James Robinson (writer), Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco & Scott Hanna & Co. (inkers), Mark Powers (editor)
X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (March, 2000) - Ben Raab (writer), Charlie Adlard (artist), Mark Powers (editor)

First Posted: 11/06/2017
Last updated: 11/06/2017

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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