BLACK BISHOP

Real Name: Harold "Harry" Leland

Identity/Class: Human mutant

Occupation: Corporate lawyer

Group Membership: None;
formerly Selene's Undead Army (Banshee/Sean Cassidy, Beef, Berzerker, Bevatron, Siena Blaze, Bolt/Chris Bradley, Caliban, Catseye, Fabian Cortez, Cypher/Doug Ramsey, Darkstar/Laynia Petrovna, Deadbolt, Marco Delgado, Destiny/Irene Adler, Feral/Maria Callasantos, Firefist/Rusty Collins, Hemingway, Hurricane, Jetstream, Katu Kath, Lifeforce, Maggott, Leon Matheson, Seamus Mellencamp, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Proteus/Kevin MacTaggert, Pyro/St. John Allerdyce, Rem-Ram, Risque, Roulette, Scaleface, Shinobi Shaw, Skin, Spoor, Spyne, Static, Stonewall, Super Sabre, Synch, Tarot, Thunderbird/John Proudstar, Tower, Unus, the tribe of Camp Verde, millions of others), X-Humed (Changeling, Living Diamond, Scaleface), Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club aka. Lords Cardinal (Black King/Sebastian Shaw, Black Rook/Friedrich von Roehm, Black Queen/Selene Gallio, Tessa, White Bishop/Donald Pierce, White Rook/Emmanuel Da Costa, White Queen/Emma Frost)

Affiliations: Black Talon (Samuel Barone), Lourdes Chantel, Peter Coelho (weapons merchant), Samuel Cumberland (business associate), Garth, Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), Angus Munro, Selene's Inner Circle (Blink, Eliphas/Eli Bard, Mortis/Lois London, Senyaka, Wither), Warhawk

Enemies: Bastion, Edward Buckman, Danger, Dark Beast, Emma Frost, Cameron Hodge, Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Nimrod, Amanda Sefton, She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), X-Men (Colossus/Peter Rasputin, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Rachel Grey, Rogue/Anna Marie, Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Wolverine/James "Logan" Howlett, Charles Xavier)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Tubby" (nickname given by Wolverine)

Base of Operations: Currently unknown;
formerly Utopia Island;
formerly a shack "miles away from Washington D.C.;
formerly the Hellfire Club in New York

First Appearance: (Seen) Uncanny X-Men I#129 (January, 1980); (named) Uncanny X-Men I#132 (April, 1980)

Powers/Abilities: Harry Leland possessed the mutant ability to increase the pull of gravity of any person or object within 350 feet of him, usually causing them to either collapse or crumble under their own weight. While Leland could easily affect both people and inanimate objects, active resistance by the subject made it more difficult for him to assert his power. The potency of his powers was further weakened by his morbid obesity, general lack of endurance and years of alcohol abuse that led to his overall poor health. Despite the fact he rarely used his abilities in later years, the reach of his powers increased into the miles range. Harry Leland was self assured to the point of arrogance, but his smugness would quickly turn to fear and cowardice when confronted with superior foes like Wolverine or Nimrod. Leland sometimes supported his massive girth with a cane.

Height: 5'10"
Weight: 235 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Blonde

History:

(Generation X#-1 - BTS) - Harry Leland was a successful but ruthless corporate lawyer who didn't think twice about resorting to extreme measures to get what he wanted. His stellar rise up the corporate ladder made him aware of the existence of the Hellfire Club.

   Shortly before attending business associate Samuel Cumberland's annual gala, Leland killed an unknown man.

(Generation X#-1) - Harry Leland encountered a young Emma Frost at the gala who was using her telepathic powers to eavesdrop, secretely learning valuable trade information and stock tips as she mingled. She also picked up Leland's thoughts about his recent murder, moments before actually bumping into him. Even as he introduced himself to her, Frost learned about the existence of others with extraordinary abilities and "something called Hellfire". Figuring him dangerous but useful, Emma planned to use him, but was overcome by the fatigue that accompanied the use of her powers in the early days. She accepted Leland's offer to take her home, but fainted during a visit to the restroom. By the time she came to, Leland was gone.

(Generation X#-1 - BTS) - Soon after Emma left the gala, she was harrassed by a number of bodyguards standing outside the venue. When one of them tried to kiss her, Emma scratched open his face and ran off, chased by the men. This caught the attention of NYPD detective Sean Cassidy and his partner Lowell Fontaine. They rushed to intervene, but by the time they got to the alley the men had Emma backed in to, Dark Beast had already come to her aid. The alternate reality genius saved Emma, knocked out her assailants and dragged their bodies to his underground lab for experimentation. When Cassidy and Fontaine spotted the trail of blood, Sean went in after them while Lowell went for back up. He found it in the form of Harry Leland, who was out looking for Emma Frost too. Both entered the sewers together.

(Generation X#-1) - Leland and Fontaine arrived in the Dark Beast's lab moments before the villain killed Sean Cassidy. Fontaine was ready to arrest both Emma and the Dark Beast, but she used her telepathy to take over the minds of Leland, Fontaine and Cassidy, wiping their memory and ordering them to take the wounded Sean to the nearest hospital before going straight to bed. After Leland and the others had left, an amused Emma realized she hadn't instructed them to get into seperate beds.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#4 (fb) ) - After Sebastian Shaw was inducted into the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, he quickly filled the ranks with Hellfire Club members he deemed useful like Harry Leland, Emma Frost and Donald Pierce. Leland was chosen for his loyalty. Along with Shaw's advisor Tessa, they formed the unofficial "Lords Cardinal".

(Classic X-Men#7/2) - Harry Leland attended the Hellfire Club gala along with Sebastian Shaw, his lover Lourdes Chantel and the other members of the Lords Cardinal. Shaw, with a little help from Emma Frost, discovered that the Hellfire Club's leader, White King (Ned Buckman), was funding Project Armageddon, designed to exterminate mutantkind by isolating the genetic X-factor. Before Shaw could act, the gala was interrupted by a Sentinel attack orchestrated by Buckman who wanted to rid the Inner Circle of its newest mutant members. Afraid to face the giant killer robot, Leland relied on Shaw to save him. During the altercation, Lourdes Chantel perished.

(X-Men: Hellfire Club#4 (fb) ) - Leland, along with the other Lords Cardinal, kept their respectful distance while Sebastian Shaw mourned the loss of his lover Lourdes.

(Classic X-Men#7/2) - Sebastian Shaw enlisted the aid of Leland and the Lords Cardinal to take over the Hellfire Club in retribution for the death of Lourdes. After Shaw strangled the White King to death and, as the regulations demanded, assumed the leadership mantle as the Hellfire Club's Black King. Harry Leland was appointed to become the Black Bishop, taking his place amongst Shaw's new Inner Circle.

(Uncanny X-Men I#110 - BTS) - Acting on orders from Leland and the other members of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, the criminal Warhawk infiltrated the X-Men's Westchester headquarters. Warhawk bugged the team's computer systems, including Cerebro, which allowed the Hellfire Club to extensively monitor the team's actions.

(Marvel Super-Heroes III#11/3) - Investigating the murder of her friend Michael Barnett, Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) found herself in a hangar bay at New York's JFK airport where an illegal weapons deal was going down between merchant Peter Coelho and the Hellfire Club, represented by Harry Leland, Tessa and Donald Pierce. When Ms. Marvel accidentally gave herself away, Leland used his powers to cause the flying heroine to crash through the floor. Pierce cursed his rotund associate for using too much power as he jumped after her. Leland involved himself in the fight after Ms. Marvel ripped off the cyborg's right arm. Leland increased Ms. Marvel's mass geometrically, figuring the strain would cause her heart to burst. In a last ditch effort, Ms. Marvel managed to smash the floor, dropping to the sewers and away from the effect of Leland's powers. In the aftermath, the smug Black Bishop assured the suspicious Pierce that his assault left her so weak, she would have drowned. He then returned to business, making sure Coelho's weapons transport proceeded as scheduled.

(Uncanny X-Men I#129) - Leland was present during a gathering of the Inner Circle requested by aspiring member Jason Wyngarde. They all watched footage gleaned from Warhawk's wiretaps that showed the X-Men discovering two new mutants. Leland kept silent as Shaw declared the Hellfire Club would beat the X-Men in locating and recruiting these new mutants.

(Uncanny X-Men I#130) - Harry Leland watched on in silence as the Hellfire Club mercenaries and the White Queen reported in to Sebastian Shaw, informing him of their progress in the campaign against the X-Men.

(Uncanny X-Men I#132 - BTS) - After learning their recent troubles were caused by the Hellfire Club, Cyclops (Scott Summers) was even more surprised to learn his old teammate Angel (Warren Worthington III) was a member of this prestigious New York socialite club. The Angel arranged access for Colossus, Cyclops, Phoenix and Storm, while Wolverine made his way in covertly via the sewers. Noticing the rapidly rising sewer waters and figuring the X-Men might need an unexpected surprise, Wolverine decided to expose some of the power cables underneath the club, aware that they would short circuit as soon as the water hit them.

(Uncanny X-Men I#132) - Leland and the other members of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle immediately spotted the four X-Men as they entered. Ordering Inner Circle hopeful Jason Wyngarde to prove his worth, the master illusionist known as Mastermind used his extensive influence over Phoenix to lure her to his side. When Cyclops followed her, Wyngarde had already turned her against him and she blasted Cyclops. This alerted the other X-Men, who found Shaw and the rest of the Inner Circle waiting for them. Wolverine by then, had managed to enter the Hellfire Club and engaged in the fight, picking Harry Leland as his opponent. However, Leland, merely increased the feral X-Man's mass until he became so heavy he sank through the floor and got washed away by the rushing sewer waters. While the other X-Men fell before his fellow Lords Cardinal, Leland was pleased with the knowledge he had killed his opponent, even as down in the sewers an enraged Wolverine swore revenge.

(Uncanny X-Men I#133) - Leland, Mastermind and his newly acquired "Black Queen" Phoenix looked on as Sebastian Shaw gloated over the captured X-Men in an upstairs library. Leland even flirted with the new Black Queen, calling her far more vivacious and exciting than her predecessor the White Queen (Emma Frost). So caught up in the moment, Leland seemed unaware of the fact Wolverine was slicing his way through the Club's guards and support staff, he didn't even notice Cyclops had been fighting a battle on the psychic plane to free Phoenix from Wyngarde's control, eventually dropping dead after losing.

(Uncanny X-Men I#134) - Leland was shocked to see his presumedly deceased foe Wolverine was alive and well when Logan violently entered the library the Inner Circle was using to torture the X-Men. Jason Wyngarde tried to order the Phoenix to destroy Wolverine, but just then Cyclops won the mental fight fo her freedom. Phoenix unchained Cyclops, who in turn used his optic blasts to free the other X-Men as well. Another blast hit Leland, sending him across the balcony and on to the ballroom below. Eager for revenge, Wolverine promised the stunned Leland a rematch and jumped towards him, Adamantium claws extended. Acting on instinct and out of desperation, Leland used his mass increasing powers on Wolverine, inadvertently making the feral mutant even more lethal in the process. He and Leland crashed into the sewers. Minutes later, the rising sewer waters hit the power cables exposed by Wolverine, coating the entire Hellfire Club in darkness. Wolverine surprised Cyclops in the dark, telling him he really shouldn't ask what happened to Leland.

(Uncanny X-Men I#135) - Even as the X-Men desperately tried to contain Dark Phoenix, the gravely wounded Harry Leland was carried into an ambulance as an incensed Sebastian Shaw saw his friend off. Joined by visiting senator Robert Kelly, outraged at the fact mutants crashed the Hellfire Club's function, Shaw capitalized the opportunity to suggest the widespread production and use of Sentinels to deal with the mutant problem.

(Uncanny X-Men I#151 - BTS) - Leland recovered from his injuries in time to join the Hellfire Club in their revenge on the X-Men. Emma Frost had used her influence to convince Kitty Pryde's parents her daughter would be better off at Frost's Massachusetts Academy. Storm drove Kitty there herself, but got shot by Emma Frost with a special rifle that caused them to switch bodies. While Storm, in Emma's body, recruited Kitty and her dance teacher Stevie Hunter to warn the X-Men, Emma, inhabiting Storm's body, led a group of Sentinels in a surprise attack on the X-Men and Nightcrawler's visiting girlfriend Amanda Sefton.

(Uncanny X-Men I#152 - BTS) - Unbeknownst to anyone, Amanda was a gifted sorceress who subtly used her abilities to affect the way the Hellfire Club viewed their alleged victory.

(Uncanny X-Men I#152) - After the X-Men's defeat, Emma Frost, still in Storm's body, appeared before the X-Men in her White Queen outfit, alongside Harry, Sebastian Shaw and the other Inner Circle members. Eager for payback, Leland tried to discipline Wolverine when he tried to mouth off, but was only treated to a swift kick in the groin. Leland joined the Hellfire Club's bionically enhanced guards Cole, Reece and Macon in showing Logan a little lesson in humility while the horrified X-Men looked on as their friend got beaten up. In the end, Amanda Sefton tricked Leland and everyone involved into believing he had killed the hairy madman. This prompted the Black Bishop to tell the X-Men what a disappointment the little man was, while also reminding the shocked X-Men they would suffer a similar fate if they should ever step out of line.

   Meanwhile, Storm and Kitty finally arrived in Westchester courtesy of Stevie Hunter and her Saab 900 Turbo. Moments after phasing into the mansion, Kitty was captured by Wolverine. She was thrilled to see him again, while he informed her of his plan. A few minutes later, Kitty surprised Leland and the others by popping up and phasing through the X-Men's electronic power inhibitors, thereby disrupting them and setting the team free. Leland quickly tried to restrain them by increasing their density, but Nightcrawler teleported and knocked the Black Bishop out before he could carry out his threat.

(Spider-Man: Spirits Of The Earth (fb) ) - Harry Leland was on hand when Angus Munro approached the Inner Circle for help in exploiting the massive sonic crystal he had uncovered in a subterranean lair beneath his family's castle Duncraig.

(New Mutants I#23) - Harry Leland attended the induction ceremonies for the Hellfire Club's new Black Queen Selene Gallio and White Rook Emmanuel Da Costa.

(Uncanny X-Men I#208) - Selene summoned Leland and the other members of the Inner Circle to inform them she was attacked inside the Hellfire Club by the X-Men's own Rachel Summers. Only the intervention by Rachel's teammate Wolverine, who stabbed her, saved Selene's life. Not too eager to face Wolverine's claws again, Leland tried to table the subject by stating that if Rachel had indeed been cut, she was most likely dead. Selene called the Black Bishop as much a fool as a coward if he really believed that, while Tessa postulated that Rachel's telekinesis was strong enough for her to survive such a savage assault. In the end, Leland agreed to join the others in a search for the young mutant that took them to Central Park.

   A worried Leland looked on as Selene turned the Inner Circle's Black Rook Friedrich von Roehm into a near mindless slave hound that sniffed out Rachel's trail and tracked her position. Von Roehm led Leland and the others to the X-Men. A fight quickly ensued, with Leland using his control over matter to force Colossus to sink into the ground. Even as Rogue went in after him, Shaw instructed Leland to hold his control over the super strong X-Man. Their conflict was interrupted by the arrival of the futuristic sentinel Nimrod, who announced to both X-Man and Lord Cardinal alike they were about to die for having used their mutant abilities without sanction.

(Uncanny X-Men I#209) - While confronted with the vastly superior future Sentinel Nimrod, the first thoughts through Harry Leland's mind were those of self recrimination, hating himself for not being so strong and confident as Sebastian Shaw in the face of mortal danger. He noticed how his heart was pounding too fast, longing for a drink and realizing just how human the Nimrod robot looked. Just as Nimrod hovered over the assembled heroes and villains, Rogue burst up from under the ground after failing to have saved Colossus. However, the sudden mini-quake knocked out Leland, who inadvertently released his control over Colossus. Storm ordered Shadowcat to take advantage of this and rescue their teammate.

   After the killer robot killed Von Roehm, beat Selene's assault and even sent Sebastian Shaw flying into orbit after reversing his gravitic polarity, Leland agreed with Storm that the Lords Cardinal and the X-Men should work together. He taxed his density powers to the limit while trying to down Nimrod. When Leland had almost succeeded, he suffered what Nimrod detected as a fatal myocardial infarction. The sentient robot estimated Leland's life to end within 500 seconds, however the Black Bishop used his final moments of life to focus on Shaw and revert Nimrod's gravitic effect. Coached by Storm and Tessa, Leland's last act was to cause Sebastian Shaw's nigh invulnerable form to come crashing down on Nimrod. Heavily damaged, the robot teleported away even as Leland drew his last breath and died.

(Sensational She-Hulk#34 - BTS) - Leland's remains were interred at an unrevealed location.

(New Mutants I#61) - Leland was seen among the Inner Circle members who welcomed recently elected White Bishop Magneto (Max Eisenhardt) in the wake of Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur)'s assault on New York. The upset Magneto joined the others in reviewing video footage of other current crises involving mutants, chief among them the altercation involving the X-Men and Freedom Force in Dallas (see comments).

(Sensational She-Hulk#34) - At some unknown point in the past, the Black Talon (Samuel Barone) managed to use his voodoo mind control to force the She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) to collect a selected number of bodies for him, making sure she placed them in specific burial slots outside his shack several miles from Washington D.C.. Barone, observed by his accomplice Garth, then used his zuvembie powers to resurrect Leland as a zuvembie, along with several other heroes and villains loosely associated with the X-Men. The Black Talon dubbed his team of X-Men related zombies the X-Humed moments before She-Hulk regained control of her mind again.

(Sensational She-Hulk#35) - She-Hulk faced the X-Humed and was subjected to Leland's density increasing powers. Nearing two tons and ready to drop, She-Hulk threw herself to the ground, quite rightly suspecting her enormous extra mass would cause a shockwave that threw the X-Humed for a loop. Leland was knocked out.

(Sensational She-Hulk#35 - BTS) - She-Hulk managed to arrest Black Talon. In order to stop Leland and the other zuvembies from causing any more trouble, She-Hulk was forced to bury them with salt in their mouths and their lips sewn shut.

(X-Necrosha#1 - BTS) - Harry Leland was among the many deceased friends, foes, allies and X-Men acquaintainces who were revived by Selene and pressed into service as part of her Undead Army through a combination of magic and the transmode virus.

(X-Necrosha#1) - Teleported in by Blink (Clarice Ferguson), Leland and Sebastian Shaw's long dead son Shinobi made their way to the X-Brig where Sebastian and Donald Pierce were being held. Bypassing and disabling the X-Brig's warden Danger and her security systems, Shinobi and Harry came to settle a score with their former associates. Even as Leland and the others made their presence known, Bastion and Cameron Hodge picked up his lifesigns, realizing to their shock that hundreds if not millions deceased mutants were on the brink of returning.

(X-Force III#21) - Unaware of and uncaring about the larger conflict playing itself out, Leland and Shinobi Shaw continued their assault on Sebastian Shaw and Donald Pierce inside the X-Brig. Leland increased Sebastian's density, hoping to see what it would take to kill him. However, Danger was able to reconstitute herself and managed to implement counter measures against Leland's powers. Her assault knocked out both Shinobi as the former Black Bishop, while noticing to her surprise they still survived (see comments).

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Marauders I#17 - BTS) - En route to her tower at Mykines (Faroe Islands), Emma Frost teased Shinobi Shaw with the notion he might actually be Harry Leland's son instead of Sebastian Shaw, given the similarity in their powersets. She promised Shinobi to introduce him to Leland as soon as the Five resurrected the former Black Bishop.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Terry Austen (inks).

Growing up as a kid in Holland, yours truly didn't have that much access to new comics. I had to rely on a single comics bin the local magazine stand put out during the Saturday market. As luck would have it, I uncovered the Dutch versions on Uncanny X-Men I#134 and #209 ('X-mannen' #17 & 62 for you puritans out there) within weeks of one another, filling me in on the tragic fate of Harry Leland. Back then, I figured death in comics was still permanent... I also figured giving a clearly obese man the power to increase the weight of others was ironic, to say the least.

So, what happened to Harry Leland after Danger took him out somewhere near the halfway point of the Necrosha crisis? Good question: the ending to the storyline was deliberately structured so the final fate of the recently revived deceased was left properly nebulous. So it's not unthinkable the revived Harry Leland is still out there. One can just imagine ol' Leland sitting back, enjoying the perks of his new techno organic lease on life. The technology preventing any future, pesky cardiac episodes while Harry only increases his own mass with every fresh order of pancakes.

John Byrne based Harry Leland's appearance on the late great director Orson Welles (1915 - 1985). The name refers to two of Welles' movie characters: Harry Lime from The Third Man and Harry Leland from Citizen Kane. Several months after Welles died of heart failure, Chris Claremont had Leland suffer a similar, unfortunate fate in Uncanny X-Men I#209, allowing the notoriously cowardly Harry to die with at least a semblance of dignity while fighting to save his friends even if his own life was already forfeit.

So, how does one explain New Mutants I#61, which saw Friedrich von Roehm and Harry Leland as part of the Inner Circle over a year and a half after their deaths in Uncanny X-Men I#209? The issue takes places during the Fall Of The Mutants crossover, in which the X-Men fought the mythical, reality altering Adversary. As monitored by the Hellfire Club in New Mutants I#61, the Adversary's magic disrupted the flow of time and space, bringing forth anachronisms like dinosaurs, Vietcong troops and even Native American warriors the demon used to keeep the X-Men distracted. It is altogether possible the Adversary's spell had an undocumented ripple effect that temporarily revived other X-Men foes, like Von Roehm and Leland. Unaware of what was going on, it only makes sense they returned to the Hellfire Club. With the defeat of the Adversary, they vanished from existence.

Black Bishop (Harry Leland) received entries in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe#5 (1983), Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#5 (1986) and the X-Men: Phoenix Force Handbook.