Shine Family

The Shine Family was a small gang of related family members heavily involved in various facets of organized crime. The family's patriarch, "Shoe" Shine, modeled the group's attitude and wardrobe in the style of the notorious gangsters of prohibition era, Chicago. With his wife, "Ma" Shine, "Shoe" dominated the New York City racketeering trade for several years.

Nearly twenty years ago, Federal agents arrested the shine family and "Shoe" was brought to trial. District attorney, Wallace Hapgood, prosecuted the case and secured a victory thanks to the efforts of his star witness, reporter Ed Rockwell. On the day that "Shoe" was sent to prison, he ordered a mob hit on the Rockwell family. The Rockwell's family vehicle exploded, killing Ed's wife, Elaine. Wallace Hapgood worked with Justice Department officials and placed Ed and his son, Ronnie, into the Witness Protection Program. He arranged to have their last name legally changed to Raymond.

"Shoe" Shine spent the following fifteen years in prison. When he finally go out, he swore revenge against everyone responsible for his incarceration. He reunited with his wife, and together with their son, "Spit", they embarked upon a plan to kidnap Wallace Hapgood. Hapgood by this point, was working as the principal at Bradley High School in Manhattan. The Shine family's attempt to kidnap Hapgood failed however, partly due to their own incompetence, but primarily due to the efforts of Firestorm and the Hyena.

"Shoe" Shine eventually discovered that Ed Rockwell was still alive and living in New York as Ed Raymond. He sent one of his thugs to the Raymond home to plant a bomb designed to kill Edward. The bomb exploded prematurely however and Raymond survived. Wallace Hapgood reunited with Raymond and helped him to establish a cover story allowing Shine to believe that he his assassination attempt had been successful.

"Shoe" Shine's perceived victory was short lived however, as only a few weeks later, he found himself embroiled in a gunfight with a rival gangster. "Shoe" Shine was shot to death and the Shine family retired from their criminal career. The current status of "Ma" and "Spit" Shine, whether they are alive or not, is unknown.

Recommended readings

 * Firestorm (Volume 1) #4
 * Firestorm (Volume 1) #5
 * Firestorm (Volume 2) #16
 * Firestorm (Volume 2) Annual #1

Related articles

 * Edward Raymond
 * Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond/Martin Stein)
 * Hyena (Summer Day)
 * Wallace Hapgood