He only sees the Mutant / Human problem as a way to make a profit. Introduced in X-Men #129 (1980) by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Sebastian Shaw joined the Hellfire Club after his father died. He soon gathered some allies, like Emma Frost and Tessa (later Sage), and rose through the ranks to become the Black King. After learning that the White King had backed Stephen Lang’s Sentinels, he stage a coup and became the leader of the club. He would be the leader of the Club when they tried to make Phoenix join the Club only for her to turn into the Dark Phoenix.

He would lead the club in battling the X-men a number of times until is son, Shinobi, phased his hand into his father’s chest causing a heart attack. While recovering, he was believed killed by a bomb Shinobi planted but would return later. He would begin working behind the scenes, including giving Holocaust his new containment suit and having the X-force attack Cable. After Blackheart had the position of Black King for a while, he returned to the role and began his revenge against Tessa, who was revealed to be a spy for Professor X for years and now going by Sage. He would be defeated by the X-treme X-men. After an attempt to become the Lord Imperial of the Club, he was nearly killed by Pierce but it was Sunspot who took the role of Black King.

He would later return to the Club under Sunspot’s lead and would introduce the Club to the newest member, Miss Sinister, a female clone of Nathaniel Essex. When Emma Frost and Namor learnt that they had their memories erased by order of Shaw, they captured him and kept him prisoner on Utopia. He later escaped but Emma Frost erase all of his memories. He would later be found by Hope Summer and her team, who convinced the X-men to allow him to join her team. He would help the young Mutants leave the Avengers Academy during the AVX arc. He would regain his memories and rejoined the Club, becoming involved in the Mothervine project where he was eventually killed. He (of course) was resurrected during the House of X arc, where he was made part of the Quiet Council, under Emma Frost.

If you think of the Hellfire Club, you think of Shaw. He has been a highly requested character for many year, but his unremarkable appearance made people think he might not get made. Hasbro however decided he needed to be make so they included him in a Hellfire Club box set. This was supposed to be a SDCC exclusive but that was canceled due to the Covid-19 so it became a Pulse exclusive.

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