Beast (Marvel)
Beast is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Henry Phillip McCoy
His mother Norton McCoy worked at a power plant when a meltdown occurred which he attempted to stop. This resulted in him being exposed to radiation but the doctors gave him a clean bill of health and sent him home. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10)
As a boy, he was noted for being clumsy but had always been a bit of a bookworm. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10)
In Illinois, Hank was enrolled at Dunfee Elementary where he was regarded as one of their brightest students though his inquisitive nature often got him into trouble as he looked to study everything. In one case, he disassembled the engine of the school bus in order to find out how it worked which got the custodian Willy angry at him. During high school, he was noted to have had a group of friends and a girlfriend called Mindy where one time they went to the fair but Hank's curiosity resulted in him wanting to study the animatronics by dismantling the attraction causing them to be evicted from the site. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10)
The family later moved to a new neighbourhood where as a new arrival he became a target for bullies who picked on him due to his anthropoid appearance. On one such occasion, he was attacked by the bullies where his agility allowed him to evade their punches but his overconfidence caused him to accidentally fall into the street where he was nearly hit by a car. It was then that his agility allowed him to avoid being struck by the vehicle which was when he realised he had powers beyond that of a normal human being. The use of his powers though caused him to be feared and he felt lonelier than ever before but despite that McCoy continued to excel at school. He was at the top of his class at school and his agility made him excel in sports. One day, he played American football where his team were fighting in the championship with McCoy's talents allowing him to make them win. However, his enthusiasm caused him to inadvertently leap out and use his feet to hold himself up on the goal. This exposed his mutation to the crowd who called him a 'beast' and Hank came to flee the stadium. (X-Men v1 #15)
He came to defeat the Conquistador by himself and tore the weapon from his foes hands. Hank then proceeded to free his parents who were frightened by these shocking developments. It was then that Professor X and his X-Men arrived at the scene whereupon Xavier altered the memories of McCoy's parents to make them forget the entire encounter. It was during this account that Hank was convinced to join Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. When Hank agreed, Charles used his mental powers to erase all memory of Hank and his powers from the people in town. (X-Men Origins: Beast v1 #1) Shortly afterwards, Jean Grey joined the team as Marvel Girl and the X-Men made their public debut fighting against Magneto. (X-Men v1 #1) Soon, Hank started hanging out in the Cafè A-Go-Go with teammate Bobby. In what he thought was a quiet moment, Hank took off his shoes to get his oversized feet some relief, but the other customers noticed and actually started a barefooted cult, making poems about feet and having a small parade for their 'king'. Fortunately, Hank and Bobby were called away to a mission, before the situation got out of hand. (X-Men v1 #7) When Hank faced some anti-mutant hysteria right after saving a child from falling from a great height, he became tired of saving a world that hated and feared him and was prepared to storm out of the mansion, leaving the X-Men forever. (X-Men v1 #8)
Time-Displaced
He was halted by the arrival of his own future self. More than a decade older and covered in blue fur, the adult Hank McCoy wanted the original five X-Men to help him save the future. Adult Hank explained how Cyclops had had a breakdown, murdered the professor and joined up with Magneto to start a mutant revolution. Young Hank was fascinated by what he heard, both the facts themselves and the mystery of what circumstances would ever lead him to threaten the space-time continuum in this way. He soon learned when the older Beast brought the five into the future to see the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, and older Hank collapsed as his ongoing mutation was presenting a potentially fatal risk to his health. (All-New X-Men v1 #2) After Hank and the team confronted the future Cyclops, Hank then turned his priorities to saving his future self. With the help of Kitty Pryde and Jean, Hank managed to stabilize his future self's condition and saved his life. With Jean's leadership, the team decided to stay in this time until its problems were resolved, before going back to their own time. (All-New X-Men v1 #4) As a result of a conflict between Wolverine's X-Men and the future versions of the X-Men and Brotherhood at Cape Citadel, Kitty decided to quit Logan's school and took herself and the younger X-Men to Cyclops' school instead. (X-Men: Battle of the Atom v1 #2)
Hank immersed himself in the science of his new time, studying what he could in order to improve his understanding of their situation. He was thrown off-guard, however, when the newly telepathic Jean Grey confronted him about being in love with her. Jean had accidentally read the thoughts of the older Hank, and wanted to know if they were true. Hank had indeed developed feelings for Jean the moment they met, but stepped back and repressed them because he thought Scott and Warren had a better chance than he did. Now, Jean was reeling from all she had learned about her own future and destiny, and obstinately wanted to choose a different path just to show she could. It was out of these circumstances that Jean and Hank shared a passionate kiss, although neither knew what it really meant for them. (All-New X-Men v1 #15)
After this, Kitty Pryde moved Hank and the other original five to Cyclops's New Xavier School, since adult Cyclops had stood by her students during the crisis. Hank and Jean had an awkward conversation about their relationship. Jean felt Hank didn't support her judgment, but Hank was jealous that Jean ran off with Scott the moment he didn't agree with her on something. This conversation only got more awkward when they realized Scott had overheard them. (All-New X-Men v1 #18)
With Scott off brooding over terrorist actions apparently committed by his older self, Beast took responsibility for reassembling the team and leading it. He brought together Iceman, Angel, Laura and their new friends Oya and Genesis, to travel together in the Airstream. What Bobby called Henry's "nerd wagon" was actually twelve rooms of compressed space stored inside a camper trailer and capable of teleporting anywhere in the world thanks to their personal Bamf, Pickles. (All-New X-Men v2 #1)
X-Men
Returning back to his time, he looked to start a career as wrestler. He was quite a success and became a wrestling villain, again using the name Beast. However, when he had to fight Unus soon thereafter, he realized that his untouchable opponent was a mutant too. When the X-Men were attacked by Unus, Hank re-joined and defeated him by inventing a device that augmented Unus' powers to such a degree that he could no longer control them. Unus was restored to his normal level only after he vowed to not join Magneto’s Brotherhood. (X-Men v1 #8) Charles soon contacted his students and revealed that he was searching for the alien Lucifer, who was responsible for crippling him. Charles called for his X-Men to join him in Europe. Quickly captured, Charles learned that Lucifer had armed a bomb that could blow up all of Europe and that it was specially rigged to his heart, so that the bomb would go off if his heart was stopped. When the Avengers later arrived to investigate the scene. Charles had Beast and the X-Men hold the Avengers at bay until he was able to incapacitate Lucifer with a mental bolt. Charles then stopped the first between the two teams and explained the situation. Satisfied that the X-Men had the situation under control, the Avengers then departed. Charles was able to disarm the bomb. When Lucifer revived shortly thereafter, Xavier allowed him to go free as he had been thoroughly defeated. (X-Men v1 #9) Bobby’s girlfriend arranged a blind date for Hank with one of her friends and they agreed to met at the library. Once there, Hank got in an argument with Vera Cantor, a part time librarian, failing to notice that she was his supposed date. Though Hank and Vera had a bad start, there was indeed some mutual attraction. Unfortunately, the date was disturbed by one of Vera’s ex-boyfriends, namely Calvin Rankin. Calvin had just awakened his mimicing abilities and, while engaging Hank in a fight, he started to copy Hank’s agility by sheer instinct. Calvin would later join the X-Men as the Mimic for a short time, while Hank’s and Vera’s relationship continued to develop. (X-Men v1 #19) Since their first mission, the X-Men had worn a standard blue and yellow uniform. Now, after having proved themselves as a team and having battled many supervillains, Xavier granted them each an individual costume, all designed by Jean. Hank’s new blue and red costume was still without gloves or boots, to give his hands and feet the needed freedom, but the sleeves were now skintight, unlike those of his training costume. (X-Men v1 #39) Hank immediately became friends with Bobby Drake. Hank dated a librarian, Vera Cantor, but he kept his identity as the Beast a secret from her. Hank and Bobby briefly battled Maha Yogi while on a double date. (X-Men v1 #47) Over time, the X-Men’s reputation grew and they were sought out by Kraven, the Hunter, who wanted to hone his skills in battle against the Beast. To ensure that the X-Men would agree to a duel, he had their houseguest, Avia, poisoned and would only provide them with the antidote once the fight was over. The two combatants battled on the Xavier estate, but Kraven had prepared many traps and Hank was hit by some drugged darts. Actually, the venom’s purpose was to slow down the blood flow to the Beast’s brain, to dull his reflexes, but they had some unwanted side-effects. With his higher brain functions inhibited, Hank regressed to a more feral nature and went into a berserker rage. He would have killed Kraven if his teammates hadn’t separated the fighters. (X-Men: The Hidden Years v1 #17)
For a time, Hank worried that a similar incident could happen again and so held back during the fights, but over time he overcame this fear. Also he and Vera slowly, but surely, lost track of each other as their lives seemed to take different directions. After leaving the X-Men, he began to work as a genetic researcher at the Brand Corporation where he began to work with Dr. Carl Maddicks. During this time, he met his assistant Linda Donaldson where the two embarked on a romance. During this time, he came to isolate a hormonal extract that was tied with mutation and created a serum that could impart powers to a person for a short period of time. Dr. Maddicks came to become increasingly envious of McCoy over his recent discovery and plotted to steal his research with Hank managing to overhear him. Looking to stop him, McCoy though faced the conundrum of not wanting to expose himself as a Mutant. Thus, he decided to use the hormonal extract on himself where it not only increased his abilities but also changed his appearance. He planned to stop Maddicks and return in time to take the antidote to undo the changes to his body. However, he came to lose track of time and came find that he missed the window to reverse the changes on his body thus trapping him in this new form. In a rage, Hank attacked Maddicks but stopped short of strangling the man to death. It was then that Maddicks was shot and killed by Donaldson who was revealed to be an agent for the Secret Empire. (Amazing Adventures v2 #11) Over the night, Hank read various books on make-up and masks and, after he stole the necessary equipment from a store, created a latex mask and gloves that resembled his own face and human hands, so that he could pass as plain Hank McCoy while wearing clothes. The only problem was that, due to the long hours of work, his body had adapted to the strain and he now had a gorilla’s posture. With straps and bands around his body, Hank forced himself to stand upright like a man again and, the next day, he went to work as if nothing happened. However, he soon found himself facing more problems. For example, although their relationship grew, he could not allow to get kissed by Linda, who then would have felt the rubber mask. Other complications arose when Tony Stark visited the Brand Corporation. When during a crisis both he and Hank tried to help as super heroes, Iron Man mistook the Beast for a villain. Things grew worse for Beast when Mastermind of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants watched from a short distance and planted the illusion of having killed Iron Man in Hank’s mind. The Beast was then easily manipulated into joining the evil mutants, but they failed to recognize him as the X-Man they all had encountered before. Soon, Hank overcame the illusion and left the Brotherhood, after defeating them all by himself. (Amazing Adventures v2 #13) Due to the continued Beast sightings at the Brand Corporation, the Pentagon sent General Buzz Baxter, accompanied by his wife, Patsy, to investigate. Ironically, the Beast wound up drained, exhausted and delirious at Patsy’s doorstep, having barely defeated Quasimodo. She decided to treat his injuries and, overnight, his fur changed color from gray to bluish black. The next morning, Hank wanted to leave but Patsy had learned his secret identity, as he had been talking in his fever dreams. She blackmailed him into a special agreement and then helped Hank to create an alibi for his continued absences from work. What she gained out of the deal would only be revealed later. (Amazing Adventures v2 #15)
He later made the suggestion to form Mutantes Sans Frontières (Mutants Without Borders) that was an organisation of volunteers that helped people in times of need. (X-Men v2 #165)
Decimation
Following the House of M, the Scarlet Witch was responsible for a mass realty altering event that depowered the mass majority of Mutants in the world in an event known as M-Day. The result of this was the Decimation of the Mutant species many of whom lost their powers leaving only a handful left. This left the race on the brink of extinction with Beast locking himself away in grief and hysteria as he looked for a solution. He believed if he understood the nature of the problem then he could reverse its effects. He consulted his various friends in the scientific community that consisted of some of the top minds in the world. Initially, they were hopeful but overtime came to find that there was no means to reverse the Decimation. (X-Men v2 #200)
Afterwards, Beast accompanied the X-Men to attend the funeral of a Mutant boy that they had failed to recruit in the past. In that time, he was approached by Madrox who looked for venues that they could save their kind from extinction. McCoy though felt scientifically that there were no immediate solutions for them but the pair began to explore venues to help prevent the end of the Mutant race. (X-Men: Endangered Species v1 #1)
In desperation, McCoy decided to seek the expertise of scientifically minded supervillains and offered some of his own knowledge in exchange for their aid. Among those he had reached out to included; Dr. Kavita Rao, the High Evolutionary, Arnim Zola, Doctor Doom, Mister Sinister, M.O.D.O.K., Pandemic, Mojo, and the Sugar Man. (X-Men v2 #200) The majority of their number came to refuse to aid Beast as they had no benefits for doing so. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #488) He then went to Wundagore to travel to the Golden Citadel to seek out the High Evolutionary who believed nothing could be done to reverse M-Day but suggested that if there was a solution the it may not come from science but magic. (X-Factor v3 #21)
Utopia
Beast would later join the faculty of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning opened by Logan in Westchester County, New York. (Wolverine and the X-Men v1 #1)
House of X
After the establishment of Krakoa, the living island was declared a sovereign nation that was to be a homeland for Mutantkind. Beast came to be among those that accepted the invitation to reside on it where he participated in the celebration over the creation of the new country. (House of X v1 #6)
From the Ashes
Overview
Personality and attributes
The name Beast was something that was made by humans after they first saw his mutation. (X-Men v1 #15) As a member of the Avengers, he came to be known as the Agile Avenger. (Avengers v1 #683) He was given the nickname of Blue by his fellow X-Men on account of his blue fur. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #349) Using an image inducer, he came to disguise himself as a human and went by the name of Tanar McCoy. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #488)
When he was a boy, he was noted for his inquisitive nature and for being curious on how things worked. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10)
As a kid, Hank said that he loved pirates where he devoured stories whether they were fact or fiction. He would watch videos of classic movies until he knew every scene and line by heart. Back then, his greatest wish was to transport himself into the books he loved and become part of the world that held the likes of Rafael Sabatini and George MacDonald Fraser. His desire at the time was to fight alongside the likes of Captain Blood and the win the heart of the infamous Black Sheba. This remained the case until he grew up where his dream ended when he met reality. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #384)
In his childhood, the use of his increased agility caused people to fear him leading to him becoming even lonelier than ever. (X-Men v1 #15)
His father had been an ordinary laborer where he worked on an atomic project. It was shown that his parents were proud of their son despite other people calling him a freak. (X-Men v1 #15) They came to own a homestead in the country side where they were farmers. Norton McCoy always blamed himself for his son's mutation as he believed his exposure to radiation caused Hank to be born different. Despite that, his parents had always been supportive of their son and said that no matter what happened to him that they always loved him. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10)
Hank's paternal grandmother was known by the name of Sadie where it was said that his intelligence came from that side of the family. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10)
A close friend he confided to was a Christian priest named Father Michael Shaugnessy. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10)
In high school, he was involved with a blonde haired girl named Mindy where she was romantically interested in him. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10)
In the Brand Corporation, McCoy became attracted to a blonde-haired research assistant named Linda Donaldson. The two often flirted with one another and had a brief romance which seemingly came to an end after his body was further mutated. (Amazing Adventures v2 #11)
Powers and abilities
It was said that his intelligence was not the result of mutation but a natural development. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10) Scholastically, he was at he head of his class at school and he excelled in sports where he was unbeatable. (X-Men v1 #15) He was regarded as having a bright mind who favoured the sciences but was an exemplary student in all subjects. It was noted that he devoured texts and kept on wanting to know more with him having a highly inquisitive nature where he had a desperate need to know how everything worked. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10)
He was regarded among the eight smartest people on the planet. (Incredible Hulk v1 #601) Hank was said to have had a doctorate in biophysics. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #308) Over the course of his life, he had been a MacArthur Fellows Program recipient, a Nobel Prize winner, and a nine-time recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (Astonishing X-Men Annual v2 #1)
Beast came to ingest Mutant Growth Hormone to hide it from his employers at the Brand Corporation. At first, he believed that the transformation caused by it would be temporary but to his horror he found out that he had further mutated his physiology. This caused him to become more beastial in form with fur over his body making him more inhuman in appearance. (Amazing Adventures v2 #11) At one point, his mutation unstable leaving Beast dying until his younger self helped stabilise his body whereupon his appearance changed into a more ape-like form. (All-New X-Men v1 #5)
McCoy was noted to had engineered special seeds that produced a good harvest at his family's farmstead. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10) Whilst at the Brand Corporation, he came to discover a hormonal extract that could serve as a chemical cause for mutation. It was able to extend the natural chromosomal balances where in effect it gave a human the powers of a Mutant for a carefully controlled period of time. (Amazing Adventures v2 #11)
In one instance, he was noted to had configured the Danger Room into a holographic blackboard that he used to study the Legacy Virus. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10) He was noted as being one of the two developers of the Mutant detector Cerebra. (New X-Men v1 #114)
Hank was known to had helped build an automated kitchen to help his parents at their home. (X-Men Unlimited v1 #10)
Beast was known to maintain a field journal that contained his thoughts and writings. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #488)
He came to be a founding member of the original incarnation of the X-Men that were brought together by Professor X. (X-Men v1 #1)
Notes
- Beast was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in X-Men v1 #1 (September, 1963).
- The Marvel Fact Files v1 #13 (2013) accounted for his cat-like appearance in New X-Men to be the result of Beast's Secondary Mutation.
Alternate Versions
- In X-Men v1 #141 (1980), an alternate version of Beast appeared in the Days of Future's Past reality that was designated as Earth-811 in the Multiverse. Beast was one of the many super-beings killed by Sentinels, who were reactivated in retaliation by the U.S. Administration when their proposed Mutant Control Act was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, who deemed it unconstitutional.
- In X-Men: Alpha v1 #1 (1995), an alternate version of Beast known as Dark Beast appeared in the Age of Apocalypse reality that was designated as Earth-295 in the Multiverse.
- In Mutant X v1 #1 (1998), an alternate version of Beast known as Brute appeared in the Mutant X reality that was designated as Earth-1298 in the Multiverse.
- In Earth X v1 #0 (1999), an alternate version of Beast appeared in the Earth X reality that was designated as Earth-9997 in the Multiverse.
- In Ultimate X-Men v1 #1 (2000), an alternate version of Beast appeared in the Ultimate Marvel reality that was designated as Earth-1610 in the Multiverse.
- In Marvel 1602 v1 #2 (2003), an alternate version of Beast appeared in the Marvel 1602 reality that was designated as Earth-311 in the Multiverse.
- In New X-Men v1 #151 (2004), an alternate version of Beast appeared in the Here Comes Tomorrow set 150 years in the future in the reality designated as Earth-15104 in the Multiverse. This version was chosen to become he new Headmaster of the Xavier Institute but under the strain from the position he began to use the drug Kick. This actually contained a piece of Sublime leading to the entity taking possession of Beast as a host body whereupon he waged war against Mutantkind and other races over the next century. He came to be known as The Beast who had distinctive white fur and used his knowledge to create new species in an effort to wipe out competition whilst halting any natural evolution on Earth.
- In X-Men Noir v1 #1 (2008), an alternate version of Beast appeared in the Marvel Noir reality that was designated as Earth-90214 in the Multiverse. Henry McCoy, the "Beast", was a student under Professor Charles Xavier's X Men and was known to be very serious and studious. However, he possessed a penchant for using large words he didn't quite understanding the meaning of. Henry and the remaining members of the X Men went into hiding after Xavier's unorthodox teachings were made public. He and the X Men teamed up with detective Thomas Halloway (The Angel) in stopping Eric Magnus and the Brotherhood. Henry helped in safely procuring Unus the Untouchable at the Empire State Building and was killed by the Brotherhood while providing covering fire.
- In Age of X: Historical Log v1 #1 (2011), an alternate version of Beast appeared in the Age of X reality that was designated as Earth-11326 in the Multiverse. Dr. McCoy earned his PhD and worked as a noted Mutant rights advocate. As anti-mutant protests and rallies began springing up all over the United States, they often turned violent. During the March of Purity on Washington, D.C., Dr. McCoy was savagely beaten to death by anti-mutant protesters.
In other media
Television
- In X-Men, Beast appeared in the setting of the 1992 animated television series where he was voiced by actor George Buza.
- In X-Men: Evolution, Beast appeared in the setting of the 2000 animated television series second season where he was voiced by actor Michael Kopsa.
Films
- In X-Men: The Last Stand, Beast appeared in the setting of the 2006 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Kelsey Grammer.
- In X-Men: First Class, Beast appeared in the setting of the 2011 live-action film prequel where he was portrayed by actor Nicholas Hoult.
Video games
- In X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse, Beast appeared as a playable character in the setting of the 1994 Super Nintendo side-scrolling video game..
- In X-Men 2: Clone Wars, Beast appeared as a playable character in the setting of the 1995 Sega Genesis side-scrolling video game.
- In Marvel Super War, Beast appeared as a playable champion in the setting of the MOBA video game.
Appearances
- X-Men v1: (1963)
- Amazing Adventures v2:
- Uncanny X-Men v1:
- X-Men Origins: Beast v1:
- New X-Men v1:
- X-Treme X-Men v1:
- X-Men: Endangered Species v1:
- All-New X-Men v1:
- House of X v1:
- X-Force v6:
External Links
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