[X-Men Comic] How/why does Beast get hairy?

[krunchyfrogg]

I picked up the X-Men and Uncanny X-Men "Essentials" books (reprinting tons of old issues), and I can't figure out how or why he goes through this transformation from a regular guy (albeit, with big hands and feet), to a hairy blue dude with pointy ears.

I asked the people I work with, and they don't know. I asked friends, no help there either. I'm hoping you can help me out here.

 

[Chun-tzu]

You know how if you do a certain thing too much, you'll get hairy palms? Well, Hank spent way too much time alone in his room...


OK, seriously, I don't remember all the details to this. What I remember is that it was the result of self-experimentation (funny how all these Marvel super-geniuses scerw themselves over this way, isn't it?). I think he may have been trying to undo his mutation, and unwittingly accelerated it, but I'm not entirely sure about that.

By the way, in recent issues of New X-Men, his mutation evolved yet again, so instead of being a big, blue ape, he's now a big, blue leonine creature (like Vincent, of the live Beauty and the Beast television show).

 

[nHammer]

Dr. Hank McCoy is a BioChemist I believe. He was doing some experiments. I THINK (but not sure) the experiments were ment to cure mutations. One experiment had a bad effect on him, and he went all hairy.

That may not be exactly how it went, but I know it is close. It's been along time since I read his blue fur origin.

 

[Psychotic Dreamer]

Beast was working on a way to cure mutations. He wasn't entirely sure if they chemical would work and decided to use himself as the test subject. Didn't exactly work as planned.

I think this happened during his run with the Avengers, although I could be wrong.

 

[Ferret]

From what I can piece together from all relevant sources:

He had always been a mutant, and before he got super strength etc. When he found out this was going to happen he made a "potion" to reverse. But in his mid 30's I think or is it 20's? he began freaking out and going angry, almost hulk style (but in a less strength, more rage way) he supped up his mutation reverstion postion and de-evoluved him self into the beast.

Am i right ?

 

[Richards]

I remember in one issue of Marvel Team-Up oh...twenty years ago or so, Spider-Man made the crack that Hank McCoy must have been bitten by a radioactive blue water buffalo.

Johnathan

 

[Silver Moon]

Actually, it happened in Amazing Adventures #11 from 1971 (and later reprinted in Avengers #137), here's the scoop (and probably more than you wanted to know):

First about the book itself: Back in the 1960's Marvel had several titles that had two different half-issue stories in them. Tales of Suspense had Ironman & Captain America stories and Tales to Astonish had Hulk & Submariner Stories. In 1968 all four heros got their own books. In 1970 they decided to try that split comic format again, launching Astonishing Tales with Ka-Zar and Dr. Doom stories, and Amazing Adventures with Black Widow & Inhumans stories. Neither sold well, and they abandoned the split format with issue #8 of both books, continuing on with a few full-issue stories of Ka-Zar and Inhumans to complete ongoing plots. From that point on they used the two books to launch new solo heroes. Astonishing Tales being the springboard for both Man-Thing and Deathlok, while Amazing Adventures lauched the new and improved Beast and Killraven.

The new and improved Beast: The beast's run on this book lasted for seven issues (#11-#17). This took place during the five-year span between X-Men #66, the final issue of the original X-Men, and X-Men #94, which began the new X-Men (#67 to 93 just being reprints of earlier stories). During that span the original X-Men only had a handful of cameo appearances in other books, so were available.

The storyline has the Beast saying goodbye to the X-Men and going to work for the Brand Corporation. While there he tries to isolate the gene that causes mutation. There are villains involved, from a rival corporation, and he winds of ingesting a vial of the gene which causes him to mutate further. He is actually grey in the first issue, but they then changed it to blue. He wore Hank McCoy rubber masks after than to hide his transformation.

They decided to be "cute" and also toss Patsy Walker into the storyline, who Marvel and its predecessor company Atlas Comics had featured in an Archie-like girls love comic book series that had over 250 issues between 3 titles from 1945 and 1967. At the end of that series the teenage girl had married her true love, a soldier named Buzz Baxter, who was now head of security at Brand. Patsy discovers Hank McCoy's secret identity and becomes his partner. The series ended before the creative staff was done with it, so they just transfered the plotline over to their next book, The Avengers. Patsy went on to become the Hellcat.

 

[fba827]

From what I can piece together from all relevant sources:

He had always been a mutant, and before he got super strength etc. When he found out this was going to happen he made a "potion" to reverse. But in his mid 30's I think or is it 20's? he began freaking out and going angry, almost hulk style (but in a less strength, more rage way) he supped up his mutation reverstion postion and de-evoluved him self into the beast.

Am i right ?

Not that X-Men: Evolution (fairly new cartoon on WB also on Cartoon Network now) is my any means a source for canon comic info, the above is exactly how they did it in X-Men: Evolution.

He is already a mutant and just has this anger / rage in him (that he describes as a beast trying to get out). Normally he could keep it under control but as the years went on, his fits of rage became bigger and bigger. He tried to engineer a potion to cure him of his mutation but it basically brought the beast out of him (rather than repressing it).

X-Men: Evolution has, in the past, taken some basics from the comic version and usually spins it a little. So you can imagine the basics are there somewhere.

I don't know specifically how it was done in the comics though ...

 

[Dark Helmet]

He's not just the President of the Hair Club for X-Men, he's also a client.

 

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Amazing Adventures #11 and #17 (the ones giving Beast's back story) are reprinted (along with some change stories about Psylocke and Archangel) in the collection X-Men Mutations. Amazon has a copy of it, but it's pretty expensive. I picked mine up from my local comic book store a few years back, much cheaper (about $30 Australian). There are some online histories of Beast - the official Marvel one here and the less official one at The Marvel Directory.

The discussion went this way over at the Spycraft boards, and my post there has many links that might be interesting. Near the bottom of this page. Look for Guy Fawkes.