Jacob Shaw (father of Sebastian; agent of Sinister; Enlish, active circa 1915)

JACOB SHAW

Real Name: Jacob Shaw

Identity/Class: Human latent mutant/mutate
United Kingdom citizen;
Active up from 1915 (and perhaps alive 20-22 or a few more years before that) until the pre-modern era.

Occupation: Unrevealed

Group Membership: Hellfire Club (early 20th century)

Affiliations: Mr. Sinister (Nathaniel Essex);
his relationships with Kurt Marko, Alexander Ryking, and Brian Xavier are unrevealed
see comments

Enemies: Esau Shaw, Sir Waltham Pierce

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

Aliases: Impersonated Waltham Pierce, Esau Shaw, and an unidentified woman at least (and likely many more)

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly a small town outside Pittsburgh;
    I am uncertain whether he was in Alamogordo, New Mexico or not (see comments);
    formerly an unspecified English location

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

Powers/Abilities: Jacob Shaw can transform his body to mimic the forms or other humans, male or female. The full extent and limitations of his abiilties are unrevealed.

He was cunning to some degree.

Height: Unrevealed (he was presumably shorter than the approximately 6' tall Esau); variable
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 130 lbs. or less at the time of his death; perhaps 165 lbs. in his prime; he was significantly less massive than the approximately 200 lb. Esau); variable
Eyes: Unrevealed (dark, presumably brown; everyone had dark eyes in this series); variable
Hair: White (balding); blond in his prime; variable

History:
(X-Men: Legacy#213 (fb) - BTS) - Jacob was born with the x-gene, which could lead to expressing mutant powers.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb) - BTS) - Jacob attended university studies to an unspecified level.

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

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

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb)) - Esau told Montgomery Falsworth (secretly Union Jack) that Sir Waltham Pierce had just offered him membership in their Inner Circle.
Unseen by either Esau or Falsworth, the nearby Jacob Shaw was visibly angered to hear this.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb) - BTS) - In his journal, Montgomery noted that while Esau seemed to have been "naturally selected" for greatness by his family's bloodline, Jacob seemed to have come up stunted: "A weasley chap, but cunning. Like a rat. His beady little eyes betrayed him. They were boundless with envy. What devils he wouldn't deal with to usurp his brother..."

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb)) - Esau greeted a pair of women -- "Tally ho, ladies!" -- upon arriving at a Hellfire Club party.
    From a distance, Jacob watched Esau's entrance into the Club with envy.

    Jacob was subsequently approached from the shadows by Sinister, who -- before introducing himself as Nathaniel Essex -- noted how man coveted most what nature denied him. Jacob recognized Essex's name from an old science text "at university," stating that he was one of Darwin's foremost competitors in the study of genetic mutations, and that some said Essex went mad and then mysteriously disappeared decades ago.

    When Jacob reasoned that Essex would have died long ago, Sinister removed his cloak and hat, revealing his inhuman form, and stated that Essex was dead and that he was Sinister.

    As the frightened Jacob backed up against a pillar, Sinister noted how a man's genetics revealed his true self (and were more a window to the soul than the eyes); rushing forward and injection Jacob with an unidentified red liquid, Sinister told him it would strip away the trappings of man and help reveal his soul.

    Jacob fell to the ground and moaned in pain, but Sinister advised him the pain would pass and be replaced with quite a gift, if he was strong enough. When Jacob asked what he had done to him (as he had transformed into a duplicate of Esau), Sinister explained that he had given him the keys to claim his birthright; though he remained Jacob in essence, in body he had become so much more, and he could now be whoever he chose to be.

    Jacob asked if he could become himself again, but when Sinister asked if he really wanted to, Jacob smiled sinister-ly.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb)) - Later, as Esau was practicing his skeet shooting, Jacob 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 Esau 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 (Montgomery 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, planning to kill Waltham Pierce (presumably for choosing Esau over him), Jacob took the form of an attractive woman and ended up naked in Pierce's bedroom, in preparation for -- or in the midst of -- a wine-filled romantic encounter along with another woman; Jacob had a gun hidden underneath a nearby pillow.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#3 (fb)) - As the naked female Jacob reached for a gun with plans to shoot Pierce, Union Jack burst into the room, assaulting and accusing Pierce of Esau's murder.

Still in the form of a naked woman with a sheet wrapped around her, Jacob then fired on Union Jack; when Falsworth dodged, Jacob turned and fled, ultimately leaping out a window in the form of a woman and then landing in his true form. The naked Jacob fled across the snow-covered grounds into the woods.

(X-Men: Legacy#211 (fb) - BTS) - Jacob was a member of the Hellfire Club's English chapter.

(X-Men: Legacy#213 (fb) - BTS) - Jacob worked for Sinister for 40 years.

(X-Men: Legacy#213 (fb) - BTS) - At some point Sinister assigned Jacob the task of locating other bearers of the x-gene, "pre-mutants."

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#4 (fb) - BTS) - Jacob moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#2: Black King entry) - Jacob's son, Sebastian, was born in Pittsburgh.

(X-Men: Legacy#213 (fb) - BTS) - Jacob located three x-gene bearers -- Kurt Marko, Alexander Ryking, and Brian Xavier -- and passed on his information to Sinister.

(X-Men: Legacy#211-213 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z hardcover#7: Mister Sinister entry) - Sinister injected his DNA into the children of those X-gene carriers' children: Kurt Marko, Carter Ryking, Charles Xavier, and Sebastian Shaw.

(X-Men: Legacy#213 (fb)) - Sinister showed Jacob his Cronus device, explaining its name was derived from the Olympian Titan who had devoured his own children to ensure his immortality; Jacob merely commented, "Those Greeks are a caution, aren't they?" Sinister then explained that, with the Cronus device, he could write his (Sinister's) mind, matrix, and even his memories onto the mind and body of someone else. Not wanting to get involved in the matter further, Jacob commented, "I just do my job."

Noting that Jacob did his job well, bringing him three viable subjects, Sinister elaborated that whe he died, the Cronus device would send an activation signal to each of them in turn. It would cycle until one of them responded, until the encoded version of himself that he had written into their DNA awakened, and he lived again. Sinister casually added that he had examined Jacob's son, Sebastian, and that he was remarkably healthy.

(X-Men: Legacy#213 (fb) - BTS) - Recognizing the implications of what Sinister was saying, Jacob realized that he and/or Sebastian had also been thusly treated and was meant to be a potential host of Sinister. In an effort to prevent this, Jacob stole some of Sinister's notes and built a machine that somehow protected Sebastian from the Cronus Effect.

(X-Men: Legacy#211 (fb) - BTS) - Jacob became a miner, working with his hands.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#2: Black King entry / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update#4: Sebastian Shaw) - Jacob led an impoverished life.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#4 (fb) - BTS) - Jacob always wanted Sebastian to be an engineer, although Sebastian had to work in a steel mill for a time to pay the bills.

(X-Men: Legacy#211 (fb) - BTS) - Before dying, Jacob told Sebastian to keep the Chronus machine near him at all times, although he did not say why.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#4 (fb) - BTS) - Jacob took a turn for the worse in the morning; there were several anomalous complications in his blood. The doctor had seen nothing like it and felt it seemed as if his entire genetic makeup had been altered. They tried to give Jacob a transfusion, but he died nonetheless.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#4 (fb)) - The doctor informed Sebastian of his father's passing, and Sebastian sat next his father's hospital bed and held his hand as he told him he had gotten a full scholarship at the Stevens Institute; he was going to be an engineer, and he was going to make his father proud.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#4 (fb) - BTS) - Later that night, Sebastian toasted his father -- "Lord bless him and keep him" -- with the bartender at a local bar.

Comments: Created by Ben Raab and Charlie Adlard.

It would seem likely that after Esau's death, Jacob was selected to replace him in the Hellfire Club. Assuming he did not kill Waltham Pierce at a later date, they may have become associates to some degree by their involvement in the Club; similarly, Sir Harry Manners may also have become an associate.

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

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."

As Jacob had some university schooling (we don't know if this was complete and if so, for how long and to what degree), but he'd have been at least 18-24 years old in X-Men: Hellfire Club#3. Thanks to Loki for confirming the age for university schooling in England.

I don't know whether Jacob Shaw spent any time at Alamogordo or not. The scene in X-Men Legacy#213 shows Sinister's lab and Cronus Machine, but he may have built that before going to Alamogordo. The scene took place after the birth of Sebastian Shaw, who was born in Pittsburgh, PA. Xavier did not know how or why Sebastian Shaw would have been involved in anything associated with the children of those at Alamogordo.

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.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Jacob Shaw should be distinguished from:

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

as Esau

I did not have room in the main profile for these images, so I included them here

--X-Men: Hellfire Club#3

as Pierce

I did not have room in the main profile for these images, so I included them here

--X-Men: Hellfire Club#3

as woman

I did not have room in the main profile for these images, so I included them here

--X-Men: Hellfire Club#3

images: (without ads)
X-Men: Hellfire Club#3, pg. 7, panel 6 (Jacob, face);
        pg. 10, panel 2 (Jacob, full, in Sinister's lab);
        pg. 13, panel 1 (Jacob as Esau, upper body) & 4 (face);
        pg. 16, panel 1 (Jacob standing over dead Esau);
            panel 4 (Wembley);
        pg. 17, panel 2 (Jacob as woman with Waltham Pierce);
            panel 3 (Waltham filling glass);
            panel 4 (Jacob as woman reaching for gun);
            panel 5 (Waltham face);
        pg. 19, panel 5 (Jacob as woman shooting at Union Jack);
        pg. 20, panel 2 (Jacob leaps out window as a woman) panel 3 (and lands as Jacob);
    #4, pg. 4, panel 6 (dead);
X-Men: Legacy#213, pg. 11, panel 2 (face, more senior);
            panel 4 (upper body)

Appearances:
X-Men: Hellfire Club#3-4 (March-April, 2000) - Ben Raab (writer), Charlie Adlard (artist), Mark Powers (editor)
X-Men: Legacy#211 (July, 2008) - Mike Carey (writer), Scot Eaton (penciler), John Dell, Andrew Hennessy, & Dave Meikis (inkers), Will Panzo (assistant editor), Nick Lowe (editor)
X-Men: Legacy#213 (August, 2008) - Mike Carey (writer), Scot Eaton (penciler), Andrew Hennessy (inkers), Will Panzo (assistant editor), Nick Lowe (editor)

First Posted: 06/29/2017
Last updated: 06/29/2017

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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