This elite club, originally from London, includes politicians, businessmen, and other powerful figures from around the world, and is renowned for throwing great parties. In years past, it also was known for providing its members with all sorts of pleasures, both legal and illegal, and usually in violation of the moral standards of the time. More importantly, the club is a front for its Inner Circle, a select group of men and mutants who strive for world domination. Actually, before the current Inner Circle took power, the ruling body of the club was known as the Council of the Chosen, and its leader, the White King, threw his support behind Steven Lang and his Sentinels. When that plan failed, Sebastian Shaw, the Black Bishop and Emma Frost, the White Queen, deposed the White King and Shaw became the Black King, renaming the cabal the Inner Circle. The Inner Circle (and formerly, its affiliate, the Massachussetts Academy, once the home of the Hellions), has long been a thorn in the side of the X-Men.
The London branch, much less powerful than the New York Club since HCNY's founding in the late eighteenth century, recently reorganized itself, and along with Black Air, planned to release a demon into London and use the ensuing chaos to take control of the government. The plan ultimately failed, thanks to the efforts of Excalibur, and the Inner Circle was all but destroyed. Recently, Selene somehow usurped control of the Inner Circle and brought in Mephisto's son Blackheart to be the Black King. Her plans to consume all the souls of the Club' members was thwarted by the Fantastic Four, Margali Szardos and the new hero Mechamage, with some assistance from Daimon Hellstrom, the "Son of Satan." Hellstrom decided that he needed to become the next White King in order to try and balance Selene's evil. He was able to imprison Blackheart in the cellar of the Club, but that didn't stop the demon and Selene from convincing Sunspot to join them. They held out the life of Juliana Sandoval, his dead girlfriend (who had died protecting him), as a bargaining chip. If Sunspot joined the Club, Juliana (whose death was a mistake, they said) would get a second chance. Bobby had no choice but to become the third Black Rook. Hellstrom also left to find a White Queen to support him, and so has had no further impact on the Club as yet.
Current Members:
Black King (Sebastian Shaw)
White King (Magneto)
White Queen (M)
Black Bishop (Briar Raleigh)
White Bishop (Black Tom Cassidy)
Former Members:
White Queen (Emma Frost)
Black Bishop (Harry Leland)
White King (Donald Pierce)
Mastermind
Black Queen (Dark Phoenix)
Black Rook (Fredrick von Roehm)
Black Queen (Selene)
Black King (Shinobi Shaw)
White King (Benedict Kine)
Black Rook (Madelyne Pryor)
White Rook (Trevor Fitzroy)
White Queen (Adrienne Frost)
Black King (Blackheart)
White King (Damien Hellstorm)
Black King (Roberto DaCosta)
Advisor to the Black King (Sage)
White Queen (Courtney Ross)
White Princess (Viper)
Supporting Members:
Hellclub Mercenaries
Other Members:
Warren Worthington III
Elizabeth Braddock
Tony Stark
Dwayne Taylor
Norman Osborn
