Jacob Shaw is a fictional character in Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

, created by Ben Raab

Ben Raab

Benjamin "Ben" Raab is a comic book writer and editor. He has written stories for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, WildStorm, Moonstone Books, Malibu Comics, Harris Publications and Ludovico Technique LLC.-Biography:...

 and Charlie Adlard

Charlie Adlard

Charles "Charlie" Adlard is a British comic book artist and penciller.He is best known for providing art on The Walking Dead and Savage.-Biography:...

. He is the father of Sebastian Shaw

Sebastian Shaw (comics)

Sebastian Hiram Shaw is a fictional comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, and an adversary of the X-Men.A mutant, Shaw possesses the ability to absorb energy and transform it into raw strength...

, the Black King of the Hellfire Club

Hellfire Club (comics)

The Hellfire Club is a fictional society within the Marvel Comics Universe that often comes into confrontation with the mutant superhero team, the X-Men...

 and enemy of the X-Men

X-Men

The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...

.

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

Mister Sinister is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #221 and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Marc Silvestri....

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

Union Jack (comics)

Union Jack is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-James Montgomery Falsworth:The original Union Jack, James Montgomery Falsworth, first appears in comics in The Invaders #7. He was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Frank Robbins. He...

) 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

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where his son Sebastian was born. In his old age, Jacob contracted an incurable blood disease due 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.