"This one," he said, pointing at Storm, "must be Banshee."
"No, that's Storm," I said. "Here's Banshee."
"Jim, don't you know that banshees are FEMALE?"
"Yes, but, you should take that up with Roy. He created this guy a long time ago."
"ROY?!" Stan had that look of horror and incredulity you get when you discover that the guy who's been doing your taxes can't add or subtract.
"ROY doesn't know banshees are female?!"
"I guess he thought it didn't matter."
-Jim Shooter, talking about the day he & Stan Lee checked out the rosters of the Old and New X-Men
BANSHEE (Sean Cassidy)
Created By: Roy Thomas & Werner Roth
First Appearance: The X-Men #28 (Jan. 1967)
Role: Ethnic Stereotype (especially at first), The Old Cop, The Retired Hero, The Guy Who Gets Written Out
Country of Origin: Ireland
Group Affiliations: The NYPD, Interpol, The X-Men, Generation-X
PL 10 (164)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2
Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+10)
Deception 5 (+7)
Expertise (Interpol/Police Officer) 7 (+10)
Insight 5 (+8)
Investigation 7 (+10)
Perception 5 (+8)
Vehicles 2 (+5)
Advantages:
Equipment (X-Uniform), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Sonic Scream) 2, Improved Smash, Jack-of-All-Trades, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Set-Up, Teamwork
Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Sonic Scream"
"Sonic Flight" Flight 8 (500 mph) (Flaws: Winged Costume) [8]
"Loud Scream- Burst" Dazzle Hearing 10 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (Flaws: Touch Range) (30) -- [39]
- AE: "Loud Scream- Cone" Dazzle 10 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (Flaws: Touch Range) (20)
- AE: "Stunning Scream" Affliction 10 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Cumulative, Ranged) (30)
- AE: "Shake Apart Objects" Weaken Toughness 10 (Extras: Ranged, Penetrating) (Flaws: Limited to Objects) (30)
- AE: "Hypnotic Trance" Affliction 8 (Will; Dazed/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Cumulative, Area-Perception) (24)
- AE: "Nauseating Scream" Affliction 8 (Fort; Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated) (Extras: Ranged) (16)
- AE: "Concussive Scream" Blast 10 (Feats: Precise) (21)
- AE: "Concussive Cone" Damage 10 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (20)
- AE: "Concussive Ram" Damage 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line) (20)
- AE: "Neutralize Scanning Equipment" Concealment (Hearing) 10 (Extras: Affects Others, Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Machines) (20)
"Screaming Deflection Field" Enhanced Advantages 2: Defensive Roll 2 [2]
Immunity 1 (Sonic Dazzles) [1]
"Cassidy Clan" Immunity 1 (Black Tom Cassidy's Blast Powers) [1]
Equipment:
X-Men Uniform (Communications, Wings for Flight)
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Loud Screams +10 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Stunning/Nauseating Screams +10 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Shake Apart +10 (+10 Ranged Weaken, DC 20)
Hypnotic Trance +8 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 18)
Concussive Scream +10 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Concussive Area Screams +10 Areas (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +3
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3 (+5 D.Roll), Fortitude +6, Will +8
Complications:
Prejudice (Mutant)
Responsibility (Cassidy Keep)- Sean is the heir to Cassidy Keep, and technically in charge of the entire Clan.
Relationship ("Black" Tom Cassidy)- Sean and Tom were as close as brothers in their youth, though Tom was a bit of a bad boy- when they competed for the heart of the same woman (Maeve Rourke), Tom willingly stepped aside when he discovered she loved Sean. But when Maeve died in a terrorist bombing, Sean blamed Tom for her loss (he was away at the time), and the two became bitter enemies. Tom has since tried to murder Banshee and take Cassidy Keep for himself.
Relationship (Theresa Cassidy)- Tom raised Sean's daughter Theresa without telling Sean of her existence, as punishment for Sean crippling him. He did not meet her until she was an adult, though the two seemed close.
Relationship (Moira MacTaggart)- After Maeve, Moira was the love of Sean's life, and he was devoted to her, eventually retiring to Muir Island with her. He was heartbroken when she left him (needing to be alone, out of guilt for brainwashing Magneto), and again when she was killed by Mystique.
Power Loss (Screams)- All of Banshee's powers are dependent on his ability to scream. If he is gagged, choked, injured in the throat area or otherwise unable to scream, none of his powers aside from Extended & Ultra-Hearing (and the Cassidy Clan bit) will be effective. He will also be depowered immediately if he ever uses Extra Effort for his scream- this happened A LOT. The effect often lasts for months if the power is used continuously in such a manner.
Relationship (Generation-X)- Sean became a father figure to the Generation-X kids.
Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 57 / Defenses: 18 (164)
Banshee- The Forgotten X-Man:
-I actually liked Banshee a lot reading Chris Claremont's X-Men run for the first time. The guy just didn't have much luck, though- he's a HUGE part of the original Giant-Size line-up (having actually debuted in the late '60s as a brainwashed enemy-turned-ally), constantly saving the day, and got tons of lip service from the writers early on, as he was arguably the most powerful and versatile member of the entire team, and lasted an amazing FOUR YEARS on X-Men... but of course got injured in a 1979 issue and retired, meaning he missed out on the most legendary stories the book had- he wasn't there for The Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past or anything! As a result, if you ask most people who weren't there, they'll never realize that Banshee was ever such an important member of the X-Men!
-His backstory is also a bit elaborate- a former Special Agent with a great deal of undercover work, he fathered a child (Theresa- aka Siryn) without his knowledge, as his wife Maeve Rourke-Cassidy died soon after Siryn's birth in an IRA terrorist attack. He badly injured his cousin Black Tom for not protecting the woman they both loved (they competed over her, but even Tom admitted that Sean was the better man), and out of revenge, Tom hid Theresa's existence from Sean until very recent times.
Banshee's Debut & X-Years:
-Banshee made his debut in 1967 as part of Factor Three- an alliance of villains led by the Changeling. A cartoonish Irish caricature with rosy cheeks and a wide grin, he had rejected their offer, but was controlled via technology in order to carry out their bidding. He is freed by Professor X, and turns on Factor Three and beats them. He appears a couple more times after that, but only in one-off roles (again in Thomas's X-Men against Factor Three, and once as a mistaken adversary in Captain America. After that, he joins the All-New, All-Different X-Men, intended to be one of a few "early" characters to "fail the entrance exam", alongside Sunfire & Thunderbird. However, Chris Claremont, the new writer, decided he liked the guy too much, and so kept him around as a bit of an "elder statesman" and a maturing influence on some of the others. In the book, he actually gets a LOT of cred (at one point, Magneto flat-out states that "among you, only HE is my equal!" and Magneto actually struggles more against him than any of the other X-Men, whom he can easily trounce).
-He even got a personalized villain, in his cousin- the vicious "Black" Tom Cassidy, who by this point was palling around with old X-foe, The Juggernaut! Of course this was in a bizarre story where the X-Men go to Cassidy Keep, where it turns out that the Cassidy Clan had a HUGE ancestral castle... and the X-Men meet some leprechauns who were living in it (I don't believe they have ever been referred to again, lol). And he even added some romance to the book when he fell in love with Charles's ex, Moira MacTaggert, complete with a "Meet Cute" where he assumes by her name that she's some ancient harridan and she turns out to be a very attractive, if constantly angry, frowning woman. Hell, I remember being SHOCKED when reading those awesome Essential collections that not only was Banshee on the book for YEARS, but he was given tons of credit! Once he gets hurt (a recurring trend with him), he left for over a decade!
-It was Claremont that gave Sean a neat past in his X-Men: Vignettes series, showing him crushing on Maeve when they were younger. Tom also had his sights on her, and he was handsomer and more confident, "with the Devil's own charm" as Sean put it. Both dated Maeve and truly loved her, but one day Sean broke his leg and asked Tom to tell Maeve. Tom chose to act like Sean had abandoned Maeve so he could win her over more... but seeing her disappointment hurt Tom so much he came clean, insisting she must hate him for his lies. Maeve instantly forgave him, stating "You've been my dearest friend!"- this is what helps Sean land Maeve.
Banshee Bails:
-Alas, it wasn't to last- Banshee was de-powered after straining his vocal cords saving the team from Moses Magnum, and soon moved off to the Scottish coast with his lady-love, thus missing out on the Dark Phoenix thing (he was there when Jean first became possessed by the entity). And so of course Sean missed out on countless legendary, life-changing storylines for the X-Men, only popping up once in a while (and usually because the team needed MOIRA, not him). So there Banshee sat on Muir Island, keeping Moira company, and only showing up occasionally (he was kidnapped by James Proudstar, angry over Banshee having been there watching his brother John die). A long-lost daughter was introduced as an enemy of Spider-Woman's, as well. It wasn't until the early '90s that we saw him return, wearing a modified, Jim Lee version of the original X-Men uniforms (which looked REALLY GOOD under Jim's work, don't get me wrong- this is one of my favorite art styles for the team, with most of the group temporarily wearing them). He helped out the team a couple of times, and was there for Claremont's send-off in X-Men #3, fighting the brainwashed Blue Strike Force on Asteroid M.
Generation X:
-Banshee would split up with Moira after that, as she felt unworthy of love once word got out that she'd been trying to genetically engineer an infant Magneto in hoping that he'd turn out differently as an adult (Magneto was piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissed). They'd be off-and-on a bit after that, continuing when Banshee was chosen as one of the mentors/schoolmasters in Generation X, with a whole new group of Mutant kids. He gets a bit more backstory, but not as much character development as Emma Frost (who gains TWO long-lost sisters!). Of course since I didn't read anything but the first arc and people on Wikipedia never sum up old stories I know almost literally nothing he did, haha. He went back on the shelf after the book was canceled, ending up on the "X-Corps" disaster, where he ended up killed off unceremoniously while trying to stop a bomb. Sucks to be him, especially since he's come back under the control of evil people THREE FRIGGIN' TIMES (Selene, Amatsu-Mikaboshi & The Apocalypse Twins all did it within about five years). As of five years ago, he was alive, but possessed by a Celestial Death Seed, which renders him evil, so he's trapped in X-Men Jail. House of X and the stuff Hickman was doing seemed to sort him out, but he remains a minor backgrounder, not focused on.
-Banshee thus remains an underrated character with a very unique power-set, albeit one that his equally-interesting (and more "current") daughter also has, so he doesn't get to do a whole lot anymore. The fact that his legacy was damaged by leaving the X-Men so "soon" (a four-year run is nothing to sneeze at) holds him back a lot, too. But like I said, I liked him- unlike most of the wild, argumentative renegades that make of Marvel (and ESPECIALLY the X-Books), ol' Sean was actually a mature, reasonable adult. Like Danny Glover's "I'm too old for this shit!" but as an old-school superhero. He had enough personal relations to keep him interesting (dating a major X-side character, a daughter, AND a cousin who was now a super-villain) and could really fit in with almost any team.
Banshee's Stats:
-Banshee's fully-balanced on Offense, with a powerful Area Attack Blast & Dazzle, with a few handy Alt-Effects attached to it, making him a VERY versatile Blaster, capable of wiping out entire SWATHS of guys in one shot. However, this is a tricky ability for someone who fights on teams (it's REALLY easy to catch your teammates in the crosshairs of a Cone Effect that's 60-feet wide at the end. Plus, he's vulnerable, like most Blasters in comics tend to be. Not AS bad of a Glass Cannon, but he's only PL 7.5 in that regard- he's one or two bad saves from going down to almost ANY decently-balanced attack. He's also one of the more skilled X-Men, though honestly that didn't come up a whole lot during his first run- it was boosted in the Gen-X years and more, once he'd gotten more of a solo focus.