Real Name Sean Cassidy
Occupation
Adventurer; former paramilitary commander, academic headmaster, carnival barker, subversive, criminal, freelance operative, NYPD detective, INTERPOL inspector
Citizenship
Ireland
Place of Birth
Cassidy Keep, County Mayo, Ireland
Known Relatives
Maeve Rourke Cassidy (wife, deceased), Theresa Rourke Cassidy (
Siryn, daughter), Thomas Cassidy (
Black Tom, cousin), Victoria "Tori" Donnely (Maeve's cousin), Liam Cassidy (ancestor, deceased)
Education
Bachelor of Science degree from Trinity College, Dublin; police academy
Height
6'
Weight
170 lbs.
Eyes
Blue-green
Hair
Reddish-blond
Powers
Banshee's
superhumanly powerful lungs, throat and vocal cords could produce a sonic scream for various effects, in concert with limited, reflexive
psionic powers which directed his sonic vibrations. He could hover or fly at the speed of sound, and could carry at least one passenger. He could overwhelm listeners with deafening noise, stun them with tight-focus low-frequency sonic blasts (effective even against shielded ears by penetrating the skull via bone conduction), plunge them into a hypnotic trance, disorient them, nauseate them, or simply render them unconscious. Using sonic waves, he could rapidly vibrate himself or other masses at will. He could generate sonic blasts which struck with tremendous concussive force, liquefying or outright disintegrating targets at his highest levels of power. By radiating sound waves outward and reading the feedback, he could locate and analyze unseen objects in a sonar-like fashion. By modulating his scream's harmonics, he could confuse most scanning equipment. He could instinctively analyze, replicate, and block sonic waves or vibrations from other sources. Banshee generated a psionic field which protected him from the detrimental effects of his sonic vibrations, though his sonic powers could still injure him when pushed beyond safe limits. His physiology seemed fully vulnerable to conventional injury when his sonic powers were not engaged. Banshee had selective hearing, enabling him to focus upon, enhance, or totally block out any given sound in his environment; this shielded him from the deafening sound of his own screams, and made him a superhumanly acute eavesdropper in surveillance situations. Sean and his cousin Black Tom were immune to each other's natural
mutant energy powers, though Sean's immunity did not extend to the new powers Tom later developed via artificial
mutations.
AbilitiesA gifted detective, veteran undercover operative, and formidable unarmed combatant, Cassidy was an excellent marksman and a competent amateur machinesmith, well-versed in combat strategy & tactics and teamwork drills. An effective educator, organizer and lobbyist, he was also an avid American country music aficionado and skillful amateur piano player.
Other InfoIreland's storied Cassidy clan is an ancient and noble lineage. The family's ancestral home, Cassidy Keep, was built by Liam Cassidy over a thousand years ago to defend the Irish coast against Viking raiders. In addition, Cassidy Keep covertly sheltered the "Families" (diminutive enchanted leprechauns or elves). Born and raised in Cassidy Keep, Sean Cassidy had a happy boyhood there, fantasizing about fighting dragons and rescuing damsels. During adolescence, Sean discovered his mutant sonic powers; however, he concealed them (partly because his wail spooked the superstitious elders of the community, who likened it to the ghostly banshees of Irish lore).
In young adulthood, Sean had been hitchhiking home from a concert in Northern Ireland when he was harassed by corrupt policeman who seemed keen on arresting Sean as a supposed terrorist, despite lacking evidence. A passing motorcyclist named Maeve Rourke rescued Sean; however, the policeman chased them across the Irish border and sent their motorcycle off a cliff. This forced Sean to use his sonic scream to fly him and Maeve to safety. Sean took Maeve back to Cassidy Keep, where she adapted surprisingly quick to her discovery of Sean's bizarre powers. Also, Maeve quickly grew fond of both Sean and his cousin
Tom Cassidy, each of whom was quite smitten with her. In fact, Maeve dated both cousins for months, apparently genuinely torn between the two; however, she soon realized that her heart belonged to Sean. But, she still considered Tom her dearest friend. Stepping aside gracefully, Tom later served as best man at their wedding; however, losing Maeve to Sean accelerated Tom's gradual, secret descent into immoral, dangerous, and increasingly criminal acts as he dabbled in mercenary work and various illegal ventures. (To learn about Black Tom, click on the highlighted name above.)
Meanwhile, Sean graduated college with a science degree and eventually went into law enforcement as an agent of the international police organization INTERPOL. During his time with INTERPOL, Cassidy hunted down the Russian mutant serial killer Arkady Rossovich (the future
Omega Red) with the aid of
Magneto and INTERPOL colleague Magrite Deveraux (who was slain by Rossovich). In addition, he also teamed with fellow agent Daniel Peyer to infiltrate the offices of mob boss Almadavor until the mercenary
Deadpool interfered, saving Sean's life but ruining the operation by killing Almadavor. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the team and/or characters.)
Later, while Sean was on a long-term assignment that kept him away from home with no contact for many months, Maeve gave birth to their baby daughter
Theresa. However, both mother and child were soon caught in a terrorist bombing and apparently killed. Sean had not known Maeve was pregnant. However, the baby girl had secretly survived, and was rescued and adopted by her "uncle" Tom. When Sean finally returned and learned of Maeve's death, Tom considered telling his cousin the truth about Theresa, but a grief-crazed Sean lashed out at Tom and blamed him for not protecting Maeve in his absence, and accidentally gave Tom a crippling leg injury. Further embittered, Tom decided to raise Theresa himself in secret. After this, Sean became an obsessive workaholic and, perhaps hoping distance would help ease the pain, he briefly transferred to New York City and joined the NYPD. (To learn about Siryn, click on her highlighted name above.)
Soon afterward, Sean rejoined INTERPOL. And after years of international assignments, Sean came home to Ireland and led an undercover operation targeting his cousin, Black Tom, who was now a major criminal. Tom was caught and sentenced to life in prison.
Later, still mourning Maeve death, Sean actually quit INTERPOL for good and became a freelancer, secretly dabbling in minor crimes. This attracted the attention of
Factor Three (a group of mostly mutant criminals), and their deputy leader
Changeling who tried to recruit Cassidy. When Sean refused, they forced him to wear a remote-controlled explosive headband which would detonate if tampered with. Therefore, Cassidy (code-named "Banshee") became enslaved and performed criminal missions for Factor Three. In a bitter twist, Cassidy soon found himself on INTERPOL's wanted list. Ultimately, Banshee was defeated by the
X-Men, who were able to free him from Factor Three's service. And later, with the X-Men's help, Banshee was able to bring down Factor Three and expose its "
Mutant Master" leader as an extraterrestrial. (Click on the highlighted characters and/or team above to learn more about them.)
A diehard country music fan, Cassidy was in Nashville, Tennessee when
Charles Xavier recruited him and several other mutants to form a new squad of X-Men to rescue the previous X-Men from the living island
Krakoa. After the successful completion of this mission, Banshee considered leaving, since he felt too old for the mostly-youthful group; however, Xavier and team leader
Cyclops convinced him to stay. (To learn about the characters above, just click on their names. Note: Beware of the revealing/form-fitting outfit worn by Emma Frost on Cyclops' bio page.)
Being of similar age with Professor X, Banshee sometimes served as a confidant of sorts to Xavier. And, being one of the new team's more experienced and stable members, he occasionally assumed an informal leadership role in the absence of Xavier and Cyclops. (The team's foremost foe, Sean's former ally Magneto, once referred to the formidable Banshee as the only worthy opponent among the new X-Men). It was also during this time, that Banshee began a long-running romance with Xavier's silent partner, geneticist
Moira MacTaggert. (To learn about Moria MacTaggert, click on her highlighted name above.)
When Sean finally inherited his family's estate, he and the X-Men were ambushed at Cassidy Keep by a vengeful Black Tom and his new ally
Juggernaut--both of whom had been paid to destroy the X-Men by
Shi'ar agent
Eric the Red. The X-Men defeated the villains with the aid of Cassidy Keep's leprechauns. (Click on highlighted names above to learn about the characters and/or race.)
After many more adventures with the X-Men, Banshee burned out his sonic powers while saving Japan from destruction by
Moses Magnum. Sean continued to assist the X-Men as best he could, notably aiding them against Moira's murderous mutant son,
Proteus. Realizing his injuries might be permanent and knowing Moira needed him, Sean retired from the X-Men and moved into Moira's
Muir Island research complex, where he convinced a grieving Moira to abandon plans to resurrect her monstrous son. (To learn about the characters and/or place above, just click on their highlighted names,)
Sean Cassidy lived a mostly quiet life for the next several years, though his lack of super-powers did not stop him from assisting the X-Men on occasion in various support capacities. In fact, it was through this, that Sean finally met his daughter Theresa--now the young adventurer "Siryn." Her true parentage was belatedly revealed to both Sean and Theresa by Black Tom. It was a joyful discovery for both, but Sean's complete absence from Theresa's early life has occasionally made their relationship an uneasy one.
Later on, Banshee teamed up with
Jubilee,
Emma Frost, and a reluctant
Sabretooth to rescue a group of mutant teens from the extraterrestrial
Phalanx. One of the teens,
Blink, sacrificed herself to make the victory possible. The survivors, Jubilee, and various other young mutants all enrolled in Xavier's new youth education program at the
Massachusetts Academy, with Sean and a newly reformed Emma as co-headmasters. Cassidy and Frost worked together uneasily at first, and experienced several severe falling-outs, but gradually forged a mutually respectful working relationship and a strong bond with their students,
Generation X. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the characters, place, and/or team. Note: Beware of the really revealing and/or form-fitting outfits on Emma Frost's bio page. Also, Banshee when he was headmaster of Generation X is shown in the forth picture posted.)
Sometime later, Moira MacTaggert placed herself in quarantine after contracting the
Legacy Virus, and she eventually died when
Mystique bombed Muir Island. Sean took the news hard and began drinking heavily. This alcoholic downslide eventually lead to the disbanding of the Generation X program. (To learn the virus and/or character above just click on their names. Note: Beware of the revealing outfit worn by Mystique on her bio page.)
After this, Sean retreated back to Ireland, quit drinking, and channeled his grief into creating and leading the international paramilitary mutant police force known as the
X-Corps. Banshee recruited various volunteer mutant adventurers (including former Generation X students). He also pressed criminal mutants into X-Corps service through the mental powers of captive criminal mutant mentalist
Mastermind. However, it was later revealed that Mastermind was secretly working for Mystique when one day, Mystique infiltrated the group, freed the criminal members from Banshee's control, slit Banshee's throat, and tried to take over the Corps. However, the X-Men and the benevolent members of X-Corps soon halted the freed criminals' rampage, and a wounded Banshee managed to defeat Mystique with the aid of
Abyss. Unfortunately, Banshee was stripped of his sonic power by his injuries. (To learn about the above highlighted team and/or characters, just click on their highlighted names. Also, Banshee as leader of the X-Corps is shown in the fifth picture posted. Note: Beware of the form-fitting outfit on Mastermind's bio page.)
Banshee had barely begun to heal, both emotionally and physically, when he uncovered vital information regarding the recent disappearance of Charles Xavier. Unwilling to entrust this information to electronic communication, he flew back to America via commercial aircraft, but
Vulcan had seized control of the X-Men's
Blackbird jet and set it on a collision course with Sean's plane. Healed enough to fly short distances under his own power, Banshee exited the plane and could have flown to safety, but instead tried to save his fellow passengers by sonically deflecting the Blackbird. However, the injured Banshee lacked the power to accomplish this feat, and was caught between the two planes in a mid-air explosion, sacrificing himself to protect innocent human lives. (To learn about Vulcan and/or the Blackbird, just click on the highlighted names above.)
Recently, Banshee was revived with an alien techno organic virus.
To learn more about Banshee, just click on the following link,
http://marvel.com/universe/Banshee.
Real Name
Unknown
