A traditional and powerful organization with roots way back into the last century. Membership is passed on to descendants, or can be earned through wealth or influence. Originally the Club was not about mutants. The Club has many members (ancestors of Worthington, Braddock and more) and next to it's 
New York setting there is also a London branch. Unknown to most members, the club is ruled by the unscrupulous power mongers in the Inner Circle. Positions are named after chess pieces.
Membership: Shinobi Shaw, (Tessa), Benazir Kaur, Reeva Payge, Benedict Kine
First appearance: X-Men (2nd series) #29
Last appearance: Even though the fates of the various team members remain unclear, it is obvious that they are no longer within the Inner Circle. The Hellfire Club III who first formed secretly in hiding has been seen to be operating from the Club in New York and using the Club's resources.
Before
- In his first appearance [X-Factor (1st series) #67] Shinobi Shaw seemingly killed his father. Then he and his fellow Upstarts not only destroyed the original Hellfire Club, but targeted other mutants as well.
- Tessa always functioned as Sebastian Shaw's personal aide till he died. (see Hellfire Club I)
Retcon
As it turns out, Tessa has been working as a spy for Xavier all along. In X-Treme X-Men #3 she mentions to have been discovered by the professor around the same time when the original five X-Men enrolled in the school. However he asked her to become his spy. Years later she successfully prevented Psylocke from getting entangled in the Hellfire Club, though she was unable to do the same for Phoenix later on. The exact details of her job and how she stayed in contact with Xavier are still mysterious.
Chronology
| X-Men (2nd series) #29: | Warren Worthington III (Archangel) receives an invitation from the Hellfire Club. Psylocke mentions that her family holds membership in the Club's London branch. The pair attend the party and are welcomed by Tessa. She leads them to Shinobi Shaw, who intends to re-establish the Inner Circle. Archangel is offered the title of White King. As they refuse a short fight starts; afterwards Betsy and Warren leave. |
| X-Men (2nd series) Annual #3: |
Shinobi Shaw offers Storm membership in the Club under the ruse of changing its goals towards goodness and peace. Expecting her refusal, he drugs her with a neurotoxin that makes it easier to control her. The X-Men free her from the mind control and together they defeat the newly assembled Hellfire Club. |
| Generation X Annual '95: | Cordelia Frost (younger sister of Emma) applies for membership and wants the position of White Queen. As a gift she presents a powerful captured mutant called Mondo. Shinobi Shaw is not really interested, besides he mentions the position of White Queen filled. |
| Spider-Man Team-Up #1: | The White and Black King argue about how to deal with J. Jonah Jameson, who wrote an article about mutants and the Legacy virus. Tessa manipulates them into dueling for leadership and brings the X-Men into the game too. Shinobi Shaw wins. |
| Excalibur (1st series) #96: | Shinobi Shaw is angered to hear about strange activities in the Hellfire Club London branch. Since none of his operatives is in the Inner Circle there, he asks Captain Britain (Brian Braddock) to rejoin the London Club, since he inherited membership. |
| X-Force (1st series) #62: | Shinobi Shaw holds the younger siblings of Karma prisoner. He has a scientist testing them for mutant genes. A few members of X-Force interfere but are captured. Shinobi offers to make Sunspot part of his Hellfire Club, but he refuses. With the help of one of Shaw's operatives that switched sides, X-Force is freed. Shinobi learns that his father Sebastian is still alive. |
Afterwards
- After Sebastian Shaw was revealed alive, Tessa returned to him as his personal loyal aide, which she was before. [X-Force (1st series) #48-49)]Together they rebuilt the Hellfire Club III.
- Shinobi Shaw (last 1997), Kine (last 1995), Kaur and Payge (both last 1994) never appeared again. In fact this incarnation of Hellfire seems to have been completely forgotten about by the Marvel creators. The only known fact is that the Hellfire Club III reclaimed official status since then, but how or when remains unclear.
Members
Shinobi Shaw – Black King
First appearance: X-Factor (1st series) #67
First Hellfire II appearance: X-Men (2nd series) #29
All Hellfire II appearances: X-Men (2nd series) #29, X-Men (2nd series) Annual #3, Generation X Annual '95, Spider-Man Team-Up #1, Excalibur (1st series) #96, X-Force (1st series) #62
Powers: Manipulate the density of his molecular structure, increasing his strength and durability, shifting into an intangible state in order to pass through solid objects, or an inter-phasing touch that enables him to remove parts of an object from the whole and scramble the operation of living beings or mechanical objects.
Tessa – no position
First appearance: Uncanny X-Men #132
First Hellfire II appearance: X-Men (2nd series) #29
All Hellfire II appearances: X-Men (2nd series) #29, Spider-Man Team-Up #1
Powers: Expanded brain capacity gives her computer-like storage abilities to record and analyze vast amounts of data and limited telepathic power to scan thoughts and manipulate minds.
Benazir Kaur – position unclear [suspected Black Queen]
First appearance: X-Men Annual (2nd series) #3
All Hellfire II appearances: X-Men Annual (2nd series) #3
Powers: Manipulates the metabolic systems of other people in order to accelerate bacterium, toxins, or carcinogens within their cells so that they disable her victims from within.
Reeva Payge – position unclear [suspected White Queen]
First appearance: X-Men Annual (2nd series) #3
All Hellfire II appearances: X-Men Annual (2nd series) #3
Powers: Emit hypersonic frequencies from her vocal chords, destabilizing the fluid in the inner ear in order to cause vertigo, hallucinations, and brain damage in others.
Benedict Kine – White King
First appearance: X-Men Annual (2nd series) #3
All Hellfire II appearances: X-Men (2nd series) Annual #3, Spider-Man Team-Up #1
Powers: Take psionic control of another person’s nervous system, allowing him to control their movements or spark individual neural synapses to cause bursts of pain or pleasure.