Jacob Shaw is a fictional character in

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

, created by

Ben Raab Benjamin Raab (born October 13, 1970, in New York City, New York) is an American screenwriter, television producer, comic book writer and editor. Early life Raab is a native of Cedarhurst, New York, and attended Lawrence High School. He gradu ...

and

Charlie Adlard Charles Adlard is a British comic book artist known for his work on books such as '' The Walking Dead'' and ''Savage''. Career Adlard began his work in the UK on ''White Death'' with Robbie Morrison and '' 2000 AD'' series including ''Judge Dre ...

. He is only about 4 feet tall, a human mutate, and a member of the Hellfire Club. He also is the father of Sebastian Shaw (the Black King of the

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, ...

and an enemy of the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

Fictional character biography

Jacob Shaw was the ambitious son of Cornelius Shaw, Brigadier General in the British Army, and the younger brother of Lieutenant Esau Shaw. In 1915, after the death of their father, Esau was offered his father's place in the Hellfire Club Inner Circle by Sir Waltham Pierce and Sir Harry Manners, a position Jacob coveted. One night Jacob met

Mister Sinister Mister Sinister (Nathaniel Essex) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont, the character was first mentioned as the employer behind the team of assassins known as the Maraud ...

, who, for reasons unknown, granted him the power of

shapeshift In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ...

ing. With this new power, Jacob took the form of Pierce and murdered Esau, hoping that with Esau dead, the Hellfire Club would seek Jacob to take his father's place. However, Jacob was never invited into the Inner Circle, as Montgomery Falsworth (

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

) arrested Waltham Pierce on the grounds of treason and murder. Shaw, who had approached Pierce disguised as a seductive woman and was in bed with Pierce and another woman when Union Jack appeared, attacked both Pierce and Union Jack with a gun and escaped into the snow. As he fled, he assumed his true form, which Union Jack managed to recognize. Eventually, Jacob Shaw fled to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where his son Sebastian was born. In his old age, Jacob contracted an incurable blood disease due to the alteration of his genetic code. He died just when Sebastian had obtained a scholarship to study engineering. Prior to his death, Jacob gave his son a machine and told him to keep it with him.

Reception

* In 2019, ''

CBR.com ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

'' ranked Jacob Shaw 2nd in their "X-Men: The 5 Deadliest Members Of The Hellfire Club (& The 5 Weakest)" list.

References

Marvel Comics characters who are shapeshifters

Shaw Shaw may refer to: Places Australia *Shaw, Queensland Canada *Shaw Street, a street in Toronto England *Shaw, Berkshire, a village *Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton *Shaw, Swindon, a List of United Kingdom ...

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