My one (well, not only) complaint about the Beast storyline...

[Daedalus]

The fact that it's pretty much Hank vs. Logan. Even in X-Force, it's kinda just "yeah, we know he's an immoral a$$ and would probably kill us all, but we can still work with him".

But, how has no one at some point had Scott, Jean, Warren, and (especially) Bobby confront him, as a group? Scott after all of Hank's moralizing during the Utopia era should be up in his face.

This is exactly my problem with this storyline.

Hank might be my favorite original X-Men (though I love them all), but I would be perfectly fine with a villain arc for him if it were done well.

But where are his closest friends to confront him? He's been Bobby's best friend for half of their lives, did they just lose touch once they moved to Krakoa? Even if Percy doesn't particularly care for those characters, the story almost writes itself, one would figure it would be a no-brainer.

Not for the first time, not for the last, I struggle to understand what a Marvel editor does these days.

Jordan White's interviews are fairly illuminating, as he seems to allow the writers a lot of freedom as long as they include enough characters that sell comics.

This may also explain why we get so many stealth solo comics: writer wants to focus on character A, White requests the inclusion of characters B and C for sales, writer complies nominally but doesn't really weave them into the story, White does not object.

[Daedalus]

Personally, I like the theory that Krakoa itself is putting subliminal message in people's minds.

You like Krakoa.
You want to stay on Krakoa.
You will protect Krakoa.
You totally don't mind that Krakoa is eating little bits of you every day.
Bring more mutants.

I would like for this to be the case, and that may even have been Hickman's original intention, but I don't think that's what we'll see.

[Mungho]

I would like for this to be the case, and that may even have been Hickman's original intention, but I don't think that's what we'll see.

I'm still worried that the thing about Hank deleting his memories back to the Avengers is just a red herring and Marvel is going to permanently kill him off to satisfy the large number of readers demanding his blood. They...wouldn't do that, would they? I'm not opposed to a character being retired, but not this way.

That theory that Xavier is manipulating Hank is growing on me, but I'm just grasping at anything that can explain his behavior and not permanently ruin Hank.

[Daedalus]

I'm still worried that the thing about Hank deleting his memories back to the Avengers is just a red herring and Marvel is going to permanently kill him off to satisfy the large number of readers demanding his blood. They...wouldn't do that, would they? I'm not opposed to a character being retired, but not this way.

Oh, I wouldn't worry about that mate. X-Men 97 will premiere later this year, then the MCU films will surely include Hank. A redemption arc for him is imminent.

This phase is painful as it goes, but it will end, and as with all comic canon, it will revert to normalcy eventually. I don't think it will be under Percy, but it will end.

I would like Bobby and the rest of the O5 to interfere before the phase ends, though.

That theory that Xavier is manipulating Hank is growing on me, but I'm just grasping at anything that can explain his behavior and not permanently ruin Hank.

I've had enough retcons that involve Xavier's duplicitousness to last for a lifetime, so I'd prefer that not be the case. They wrote themselves a way out, and I fully expect them to use that.

[Mungho]

Oh, I wouldn't worry about that mate. X-Men 97 will premiere later this year, then the MCU films will surely include Hank. A redemption arc for him is imminent.

This phase is painful as it goes, but it will end, and as with all comic canon, it will revert to normalcy eventually. I don't think it will be under Percy, but it will end.

I would like Bobby and the rest of the O5 to interfere before the phase ends, though.



I've had enough retcons that involve Xavier's duplicitousness to last for a lifetime, so I'd prefer that not be the case. They wrote themselves a way out, and I fully expect them to use that.

Aw, thanks! I've never really been that fanatical over comics before(though of course I like them), but discovering all this last year and the way Hank has been portrayed, it just struck me as so unjust. I just had to...complain, and complain, and complain hoping someone at Marvel would see though it would make little difference.

What is the way they've wrote a way out? If you mean resetting him to his Avengers personality, it doesn't do much since he'll have still done those awful things, he just won't remember them. Though I'm all for it if they simply retconned Percy's run away. If not retconning it, Xavier and/or Krakoa or even Black Tom doing something to his mind would give him diminished responsibility.

[Omega Alpha]

Jordan White's interviews are fairly illuminating, as he seems to allow the writers a lot of freedom as long as they include enough characters that sell comics.

This may also explain why we get so many stealth solo comics: writer wants to focus on character A, White requests the inclusion of characters B and C for sales, writer complies nominally but doesn't really weave them into the story, White does not object.

If that's the case, why you need an editor at all, or at least one for every part of the line? Surely, a Marvel EIC can say "X-force needs Wolverine", "Avengers needs Iron Man", without then need for intermediaries.

[Daedalus]

What is the way they've wrote a way out? If you mean resetting him to his Avengers personality, it doesn't do much since he'll have still done those awful things, he just won't remember them. Though I'm all for it if they simply retconned Percy's run away. If not retconning it, Xavier and/or Krakoa or even Black Tom doing something to his mind would give him diminished responsibility.

That was indeed the way out I was referring to, I'm afraid. I think they'll consider it enough - Beast will essentially reset back to his original character.

I think it's a poor idea and a poorer redemption arc, when something much more interesting could be weaved, but I'm fairly certain that'll be what they do.

The Beast storyline is likely to wrap before Krakoa's, so later down the line this reasoning might be tampered with again. If the island, or Sinister, or anyone else is revealed to have been tampering with mutants' minds, then that'll serve as a retcon to explain Beast and everybody else.

If that's the case, why you need an editor at all, or at least one for every part of the line? Surely, a Marvel EIC can say "X-force needs Wolverine", "Avengers needs Iron Man", without then need for intermediaries.

There are other things an editor does, but I share your disagreement with White's vision for his own role. Forget character consistency; I think the line often seems directionless because there is no one manning the rudder.

[Wikoogle]

The island manipulating people makes the most sense.

It would also explain how emma frost reacted to Moira despite Moira literally having done nothing but help Mutants. The island wanted her depowered as it doesnt want the timeline reset, it wants krokoa to stay as is forever. Depowering Moira was something Krokoa made happen my manipulating the minds of everyone that knew about Moira using subliminal messages.

[EmeraldGladiator]

I haven't followed Hank's book closely recently but is it possible that Hank is tied up somewhere and this is all the work of the Black Beast from the alternate timeline. It seems like an easy enough excuse to remove the stain from Hank's name. Then again all of the O5 have had some really dark turns in their lifetimes. In fact all of the O7 if you include Lorna's Malice turn and Alex's inversion.

[Rift]

I haven't followed Hank's book closely recently but is it possible that Hank is tied up somewhere and this is all the work of the Black Beast from the alternate timeline. It seems like an easy enough excuse to remove the stain from Hank's name. Then again all of the O5 have had some really dark turns in their lifetimes. In fact all of the O7 if you include Lorna's Malice turn and Alex's inversion.

It's unlikely to be Dark Beast. Sinister's keeping his severed head alive, and he seems to be unaware of whatever our Beast is doing.

[Alpha]

Don't undo anything, it would be too fake.

What they should do instead is have one of the current clones that beast made strike out and become good. That's how you get the clean slate. The original went awry, but this one wants to make ammends for what other Beasts did.