2/7 · Sebastian Shaw · Black King and organizer

2/7 · Sebastian Shaw · Black King and organizer Sebastian Shaw has a particularly unpleasant advantage in a fight: hitting him can make things worse. He absorbs kinetic energy and turns it into physical power, which makes the usual response to a large man attacking you a very bad idea. As Black King, he expects the Inner Circle to operate under his authority. That expectation extends to Jason Wyngarde, whose hold on Phoenix gives him ambitions Shaw can plainly recognize. Their victory over the X-Men immediately becomes an argument about who deserves the credit and who now holds the advantage. His fight with Storm shows how quickly he can punish an opponent who has not worked out his ability. Once the X-Men escape their restraints, though, they approach him differently. Storm brings the temperature down while Nightcrawler keeps after him. Shaw has to retreat through the building's passages, and he recognizes how rapidly Cyclops has turned their situation around. Shaw can judge an enemy accurately even when the judgment is unwelcome. He has seen the X-Men helpless and then watched one opening undo his advantage. His confidence survives, but the encounter gives him a reason to take them seriously. That friction gives Shaw more character than a simple mastermind directing obedient henchmen. He has assembled useful people who each know their own value, and he has to keep them useful to him. The formal titles and expensive surroundings do little to soften the competition. Shaw can absorb punishment in a fight; sharing power with someone who might replace him is a much less comfortable proposition.