Esau Shaw (Sebastian's paternal uncle; Mr. Sinister agent; active circa 1915)

ESAU SHAW

Real Name: Esau Shaw

Identity/Class: Human;
United Kingdom citizen;
Active up until 1915 (and perhaps alive up to 18-24 years before that)

Occupation: Soldier (lieutenant)

Group Membership: English Army

Affiliations: Montgomery Falsworth (aka Union Jack), Sir Harry Manners, Sir Waltham Pierce, Zemo twins

Enemies: Jacob Shaw

Known Relatives: Unidentified grandfather (presumed deceased), Cornelius Shaw (father, deceased), unidentified presumed mother (presumably deceased), Jacob Shaw (brother, deceased), Sebastian Shaw (nephew), Shinobi Shaw (grand nephew);
    Hiram Shaw (presumably deceased), Sarah Shaw (deceased), Obadiah Shaw (presumably deceased), Elizabeth Shaw-Worthington (presumably deceased);
    Abigail Harkness (possibly; presumed deceased), Wallace Worthington (deceased) - possible ancestors;
    Szandor Shaw (presumed common ancestry, at least);
    (see comments)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unspecified English location

First Appearance: X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (March, 2000)

Powers/Abilities: Esau was a skilled marksman (especially with his Wembley Mark V) and a trained soldier whose skills enabled him to rise to the ranks of lieutenant at a young age.

He enjoyed drinks and debauchery to some degree.

Height: Unrevealed (perhaps 6'; he looked comparable in height to the young Montgomery Falsworth)
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 200 lbs.; he did not appear as broad-shouldered as Falsworth)
Eyes: Unrevealed (dark, presumably brown)
Hair: Brown

History:
(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb) - BTS) - Esau was promoted to lieutenant in the English army.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb) - BTS) - When Esau entered the English Army, his father, Cornelius gave him a Wembley Mark V pistol, "a modern talisman to keep his son safe from harm." Cornelius considered it insurance, and Esau considered it his most prized pistol.

(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> - Esau attended the funeral of his father; alongside his brother, Jacob, he conforted a woman in a veil (presumably their mother).

After discussing with his associate, Manners, that they only time would tell whether Esau would be the right one for them, Hellfire Club Inner Circle member Sir Waltham Pierce approached Esau, offering his condolences as well as his congratulations on Esau's promotion.

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

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb)) - Montgomery Falsworth (secretly Union Jack) interrupted, asking Esau if he wasn't throwing in with "this lot." Esau thanked him for coming, noting his father would have appreciated it. Montgomery excused Pierce, after which Esau asked him why Pierce was giving him such a hateful stare. Montgomery noted how he had continually refused to join their Hellfire Club and warned Esau to steer clear of the Hellfire Club as he considered them traitors, allied with the Germans. Esau considered Montgomery's opinion too bad as they might have had such jolly times together, as they had just offered him membership in their Inner Circle.
Unseen by either of them, the nearby Jacob Shaw was visibly angered to hear this.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb) - BTS) - In his journal, Montgomery expressed his fears for Esau in regards to both the Hellfire Club and to his jealous and cunning brother, Jacob.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb)) - Esau attended a Hellfire Club party, greeting a pair of women (perhaps the Zemo twins) with, "Tally ho, ladies!"
From a distance, Jacob watched Esau's entrance into the Club with envy.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb)) - Later, as Esau was practicing his skeet shooting, Jacob -- who had secretly been mutated by Sinister (Nathaniel Essex) into a metamorph -- approached on motorcycle in the form of Waltham Pierce, complimenting Esau on his sharpshooting and noting him to be much like his father. Esau noted he hadn't expected Pierce, but "Pierce" ignored this, noting he had seen him carousing with the Zemo twins at the club the other night, and asked if he was enjoying their organization's little indulgences. Esau noted he had been a most gracious host, but when "Pierce" asked if he had given further thought to the Hellfire Club's offer, Esau admitted he had, but that he had not come to a conclusion.

"Pierce" advised him to consider how much greater his wages would be in the Inner Circle's ranks than as a soldier, and how much the rise in social status would benefit his entire family of which he was now the head. As Esau prepared to take his next shot, "Pierce" drew his dagger and noted he wouldn't want to dissapoint "dear, departed father"; as Esau's next shot hit the mark, "Pierce" fatally stabbed him in the back.

Reverting to his true form over his brother's dead body, Jacob noted, "Tally ho, brother." He then loaded Esau's body into his motorcycle and drove off, apparently unaware Esau's Wembley pistol had fallen to the ground.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb) - BTS) - Union Jack later found the Wembley and immediately recognized it as Esau's most prized pistol; he immediately suspected foul play and considered Pierce and the Hellfire Club as likely suspects.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb) - BTS) <December 12, 1915> - Later, in Pierce's bedroom, Jacob had taken the form of a woman in preparation for -- or in the midst of -- a wine-filled romantic encounter along with another woman. As Jacob reached for a gun with plans to shoot Pierce, Union Jack burst into the room, assaulting and accusing Pierce of Esau's murder. After firing on Union Jack, Jacob leapt out of a window in the form of a woman and then fled on foot as Jacob.

Comments: Created by Ben Raab and Charlie Adlard.

I'm not sure what happened with the person launching the clay pigeons when Jacob slew Esau...he looked to be present in the background when Jacob arrived in the form of Pierce, and would have been close enough to have seen the murder (and Jacob resuming his true form). Perhaps "Pierce" sent him away? But a clay pigeon was launched in response to Esau's "pull" seconds before Jacob/"Pierce" slew Esau...

Montgomery Falsworth considered Esau to have been an example of Darwin's idea of Natural Selection by his family's bloodline.

I enjoyed the stories in the X-Men: The Hellfire Club#1-3 story arcs, although they were really skimpy on details. Each of the characters from #1-3 could have some follow-up...and/or prequels.

Obviously Montgomery's mistaking Pierce as the murder saved Pierce from being killed by Jacob as well.

Not understanding what exactly had happened, Montgomery noted that this "was likely my most peculiar encounter while in the employ of His Majesty's Secret Service."

Esau has very few good images. His face is either in profile or too distant to be seen. The best front-image of his face is actually Jacob in his form, and the best face image of Esau himself is in the sub-profile on his mother, below.
There will be a few more images in Jacob and Pierce's profiles in the next few weeks.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Esau Shaw has no known connection to::

SHAW of Earth-1610 - employee of Norman Osborn, sent to kill Peter Parker after he was mutated by Oz, failed--Ultimate Spider-Man#1
SHAW of Earth-9904 - secret service agent guarding President Eisenhower, apparently slain by the Cold Warrior--What If I#9
SHAW, CARTER of Earth-4489 - son of Jordan Shaw and Valida Payton, brother of Jericho, led Seeker 3000 against the Hkkkt--Seeker 3000#1
SHAW, ELLEN - circa 1950, wife of Martin--Tales of Suspense I#1/3
SHAW, EMANUEL of Earth-7643 - 3rd vice-president of Triplanet Metals Inc, slain by Kurt Hammer--Marvel Premiere#32
SHAW, JERICHO of Earth-4489 - clone/"vat" son of Jordan Shaw, allowed his father to die--Seeker 3000#1
SHAW, JORDAN of Earth-4489 - captain of Seeker 3000, allowed to die by his son Carter--Marvel Premiere#41
SHAW, LYMAN - scientist conducting experiments in the Harlow Mansion; his attempts to communicate with other worlds via ultra-high sonic vibrations were discovered by Primus of Archko, who informed the Soul Masters of Earth to save his own people; slain by Screamers, though his death led Captain Mar-Vell to investigate the Shadow Realm--Marvel Spotlight II#4
SHAW, MARTIN - 1950's defense attorney, mentally forced to defend Wells, over-pressured and lost the case--Tales of Suspense I#1/3
SHAW, MILDRED - --HULK! magazine#13
SHAW, RALPH - see TRIAX. identity adopted by Triax--Warlock and the Infinity Watch#26
SHAW, SAMARRA of Earth-9910 - --Bishop: Last X-Man#6
SHAW, SAVAGE of Earth-9602 - Sebastian Shaw + , Hellfire League of Injustice--JLX Unleashed#1
SHAW, of Earth-9910 - Clan Hellfire, assisted Bishop + allies against the Kith. generate force fields--Bishop: Last X-Man#5

Wembley Mark V

Esau was a skilled marksman with his Wembley. He was shooting

--X-Men: Hellfire Club#3

widow Shaw (?)

    On December 6, 1915, at Cornelius' funeral, Esau had his arm on the shoulder of a grieving woman in a veil, with Jacob a step behind.

    I would think this to most likely be Cornelius' widow and also Esau and Jacob's mother, but we don't know this for a fact:

    Cornelius could have re-married after Esau and/or Jacob's births (they could be half-brothers), perhaps due to his wife's death, or another region.

    It could also be Cornelius' mother, or sister, or some other relation...or just a close friend.


--X-Men: Hellfire Club#3

Zemo twins

    Within a few days of Cornelius' funeral on December 6, 1915, Esau attended a Hellfire Club party in which he eagerly greeted a pair of women.

    Right before he slew Esau Shaw on or shortly before December 12, Jacob Shaw (in the form of Sir Waltham Pierce) told Jacob he had seen him "carousing with the Zemo twins at the club the other night."

--X-Men: Hellfire Club#3

Note: Whether the two women Esau is seen greeting in the picture to the right are the Zemo twins is unrevealed..

    Also unrevealed is whether the Zemo twins are related to the line of Barons of Zemo.

Heinrich Zemo was born in 1915...he would have been too young to have adult twins, but they could be older sisters, or aunts, or some other relation.
Herman Zemo was an adult during World War I and could be the father or brother of such twins.
They could be more distant relations, such as cousins, etc., of the Barons of Zemo
They could certainly only share the name but not actually be related, but otherwise it seems a bit pointless to namedrop them as was done here.

images: (without ads)
X-Men: Hellfire Club#3, pg. 6, panel 2 (Esau, Jacob, and possibly their mother, Cornelius' widow);
            panel 4 (full, distant, with Pierce)
        pg. 7, panel 6 (Jacob, face);
        pg. 8, panel 2 (Esau, at Hellfire Club, with Zemo Twins(?));
        pg. 14, panel 1 (Esau, skeet shooting) & (full body, distant, oblique);
        pg. 15, panel 1 (Esau, face, profile);
            panel 6 (Jacob raising knife) & 8 (stabbing Esau);
        pg. 16, panel 1 (Jacob standing over dead Esau);
            panel 4 (Wembley);

Appearances:
X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (March, 2000) - Ben Raab (writer), Charlie Adlard (artist), Mark Powers (editor)

First Posted: 06/20/2017
Last updated: 06/20/2017

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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