Oh my stars and garters! The Hank McCoy/Beast Appreciation Thread 2020

[Koriand'r]

Its close enough to the New Year that hopefully they will let it stay. There is no year in the title and I asked in the Index thread so hopefully they will let it stay.

Beast and Dazzler. Did anyone else read the mini?

I did and still have it in a trunk somewhere along with all my Dazzler issues. It's weird after she became an X-Men I don't remember them interacting like old friends, if they did I missed it.

[From The Shadows]

LOL! If you're interested in Grummett's Beast, then this piece might be to your liking:

Yeah, that's an old one. I like it. Him and Psylocke got pretty close there for a while. And here's some "savage Beast" with the two.

I did and still have it in a trunk somewhere along with all my Dazzler issues. It's weird after she became an X-Men I don't remember them interacting like old friends, if they did I missed it.

I don't think I remember them interacting during Inferno in the X-Men/X-Factor crossover. Or really anytime after. I think I remember Beast watching a Longshot rub her pregnant belly in the Jim Lee Blue era. But of course I can't see him saying anything because she was pregnant with Longshots baby (Shatterstar?).

[Anthony Shaw]

I hope Hank returns to his Bronze Age form, and heroic tendencies.

[cable guy]

I was a big fan of Beast. The 1990s cartoon is a foundational part of my fandom so Beast will always have a spot in my heart. And I like that he was the first X-Men to make the jump to the Avengers. But man he has been a disaster for around 12 years now. Ever since his falling out with Scott during the Second Coming era, to the New Avengers stuff, to teaming up with the Inhumans and advocating for mutants to EVACUATE THE EARTH rather than make a stand, to murdering an entire country in X-Force...I don't know how you recover this character.

Yep the 90's cartoon is how I want to remember Beast.

He was one of my favorite X-Men for sure.

[Havok83]

I was a big fan of Beast. The 1990s cartoon is a foundational part of my fandom so Beast will always have a spot in my heart. And I like that he was the first X-Men to make the jump to the Avengers. But man he has been a disaster for around 12 years now. Ever since his falling out with Scott during the Second Coming era, to the New Avengers stuff, to teaming up with the Inhumans and advocating for mutants to EVACUATE THE EARTH rather than make a stand, to murdering an entire country in X-Force...I don't know how you recover this character.

Longer. Beast stopped being Beast when Morrison took over and made him feline, which was what like 18 years ago? I miss him being fun. He's been too depressing or unlikeable since. My favorite version of him was the teen that was running around for a few years

[Celgress]

I've been looking for a thread like this. Nice to see Beast getting the love he deserves. Too often the poor guy is an underappreciated character because his abilities aren't the flashiest or most powerful among the X-Men much less in the wider MCU. Still, I love him for what he can do and the fact he seems more relatable, more down to Earth than many of the other characters. With his folksy wisdom and simple charm, he reminds me of his namesake from Star Trek TOS (the original series) another favorite of mine.

[Devaishwarya]

The last time I actually and absolutely LOVED Beast was during Morrison's run.
Beast 01.jpg
Beast 02.jpg

[K7P5V]

Yeah, that's an old one. I like it. Him and Psylocke got pretty close there for a while. And here's some "savage Beast" with the two.

Sweet! Nice to see these two getting along...

I don't think I remember them interacting during Inferno in the X-Men/X-Factor crossover. Or really anytime after. I think I remember Beast watching a Longshot rub her pregnant belly in the Jim Lee Blue era. But of course I can't see him saying anything because she was pregnant with Longshots baby (Shatterstar?).

You might be right about Inferno. I only remember the fur-coat scene from Uncanny X-Men #242 (March, 1989):

[From The Shadows]

Sweet! Nice to see these two getting along...





You might be right about Inferno. I only remember the fur-coat scene from Uncanny X-Men #242 (March, 1989):

Aaaah! I do remember that one. That whole panel Beast is so happy to be around the ladies. Rogue is more worried about being the vampire she doesn't notice. In that moment. Nice X-Treme scan. CC liked to have chemistry between Hank and a lot of female characters.

[Thundershot]

I love Hank. Or at least I used to. His Avengers / Defenders days (and that look! Perez all the way) with Jim Lee being the second. At some point I just stopped liking him. I HATED the Morrison era Beast. That lion look stuck around way too long. I don’t care for the new look either but it’s better than the lion one. I wish they’d go back to Perez or Lee Hank.. His morals have changed too much. Almost like they merged him with Dark Beast at some point (hey, maybe there’s a story in there! All the changes in his body and personality since AOA are due to Dark Beast’s manipulations..)

[EndangeredSpecies]

Excellent! Delighted to see a thread like this up and running. McCoy has always been and still remains one of my favourite characters. Looking through the thread, I think Jim Lee really did give Beast his definitive look. Although I do have a soft spot for the way John Cassaday drew the character (even if I wasn't a big fan of the cat-mutation).

I know most posters on the forums prefer the light-hearted practical joker of old (which I have a fondness for myself), but I'm kind of digging Beast as a brilliant but overly confident intelligence officer in X-Force. Although, he would probably be better off sticking to the research side of the equation (where his strengths lie) and leaving strategic decisions up to Logan.

[From The Shadows]

Excellent! Delighted to see a thread like this up and running. McCoy has always been and still remains one of my favourite characters. Looking through the thread, I think Jim Lee really did give Beast his definitive look. Although I do have a soft spot for the way John Cassaday drew the character (even if I wasn't a big fan of the cat-mutation).

I know most posters on the forums prefer the light-hearted practical joker of old (which I have a fondness for myself), but I'm kind of digging Beast as a brilliant but overly confident intelligence officer in X-Force. Although, he would probably be better off sticking to the research side of the equation (where his strengths lie) and leaving strategic decisions up to Logan.

Actually the whole Whedon Cassaday run is probably the last time I really liked Beast in any way.

[From The Shadows]

I love Hank. Or at least I used to. His Avengers / Defenders days (and that look! Perez all the way) with Jim Lee being the second. At some point I just stopped liking him. I HATED the Morrison era Beast. That lion look stuck around way too long. I don’t care for the new look either but it’s better than the lion one. I wish they’d go back to Perez or Lee Hank.. His morals have changed too much. Almost like they merged him with Dark Beast at some point (hey, maybe there’s a story in there! All the changes in his body and personality since AOA are due to Dark Beast’s manipulations..)

I actually thought of this as a "way out" for Beast when it was suggested that Scott was being influenced by Poccy. NOT saying whether Scott was right or wrong. Just saying...

[EndangeredSpecies]

Actually the whole Whedon Cassaday run is probably the last time I really liked Beast in any way.

Under Whedon's pen, Beast was a hell of a lot of fun. He really played up Hank's dry wit and he got some memorable one liners. With the possible exception of Logan, I think all of the characters used by Whedon were given the chance to shine.

As a fan of the character, I'm not inclined to complain too much regarding how he has been used in the last few years. Admittedly, I found him a little hard to warm to during the Schism years but disappointingly, that applied to pretty much every X-Men character during that particularly pessimistic period. I really disliked that run and the whole concept (with Scott and Logan trying to maim each other in the midst of a Sentinel attack on Utopia being the absolute nadir).

If you haven't read it, I would suggest picking up Kieron Gillen's all too brief run on SWORD. If levity is what you're looking for, you'll enjoy that portrayal of Hank. It's a clever, funny, light-hearted romp with McCoy as Brand's sidekick/boyfriend. It's damn shame that book never took off...

[Celgress]

Under Whedon's pen, Beast was a hell of a lot of fun. He really played up Hank's dry wit and he got some memorable one liners. With the possible exception of Logan, I think all of the characters used by Whedon were given the chance to shine.....

I couldn't agree with you more. I very much enjoyed Beast during Whedon's run.