Oh My Stars and Garters! Hank McCoy, the Beast Appreciation 2024!

[Mungho]

Someone leaked the final pages of X-Force #50:

spoilers:

Bad-Beast sacrifices his life to disarm his superweapon to save Wonder-man, even though it wouldn't have hurt him anyway since he's an ionic being. Good-Beast remains and moves in with Wonder-man and decides to lay low for awhile

end of spoilers

So much for Percy saying the ending of X-Force will mirror the beginning. This will make a lot of people angry, but it makes me happy.

[KurtW95]

The problem is it still gives the impression that the bad one was the real Beast.

[D.Z]

I will take one Good Clone Beast.

[Mungho]

The problem is it still gives the impression that the bad one was the real Beast.

I know. Even if there's a good Beast, it's still a clone. I'm sure that MacKay will retcon something in this summer when Hank shows up.

X-Force #50 also implied that bad-Beast might still be alive, banished to another dimension by his weapon.

[Havok83]

The problem is it still gives the impression that the bad one was the real Beast.

He was always the real Beast. I never expected them to say he wasnt

[MechaJeanix]

I do see this Beast as the real Beast. But I do want him to get the rest of his memories back. Maybe not X-force Beast they should have went right up until X-force happened. I just don't see the need to erase X-factor Beast, or 90s Beast, or the Morrison era Beast. It just doesn't compute for me. That should be corrected and not left to a writer in the future to have to ignore or clean up imo.

[D.Z]

Depends of the new retro Beast has the real soul.

[Havok83]

I do see this Beast as the real Beast. But I do want him to get the rest of his memories back. Maybe not X-force Beast they should have went right up until X-force happened. I just don't see the need to erase X-factor Beast, or 90s Beast, or the Morrison era Beast. It just doesn't compute for me. That should be corrected and not left to a writer in the future to have to ignore or clean up imo.

Those arent his memories and I dont like the notion that they should pick and choose what he can and cant remember. If he get any, it should be all. He needs to know and understand the full breadthe of what he did so he doesnt make the same mistakes. Really though I wish Percy had just killed both o them off and let things up to the Phoenix to resurrect him fixed at the end of this era. The fact is they didnt do that and if we are going to have a Defenders era Beast going forward, they need to write him as such an that includes reacting to everything he's missed out on in the last 35 years or so worth of story. I dont want them to just pretend as if he's simply Beast before X-Force

[Mungho]

I do see this Beast as the real Beast. But I do want him to get the rest of his memories back. Maybe not X-force Beast they should have went right up until X-force happened. I just don't see the need to erase X-factor Beast, or 90s Beast, or the Morrison era Beast. It just doesn't compute for me. That should be corrected and not left to a writer in the future to have to ignore or clean up imo.

It should have been, but it wasn't. The more I think about it, the more this ending upsets me. So, we're say that the Beast that fostered two mutants and Franklin Richards when his parents were missing:



Cured the Legacy Virus:



And comforted a young mutant when they were all facing extinction:



These are just a few examples. All that he was, from about 1985-to the present, is just gone?

[jsg2295]

This whole X FORCE storyline seems like the author read what Bendis and company did to Cyclops for 10 years and decided to get revenge on Hank for being hypocritical.

[Havok83]

This whole X FORCE storyline seems like the author read what Bendis and company did to Cyclops for 10 years and decided to get revenge on Hank for being hypocritical.

except if thats the case, it falls flat for never bringing Scott into this story

[jsg2295]

except if thats the case, it falls flat for never bringing Scott into this story

I didn’t say the storyline was awesome. But would you really want Cyke in this storyline?

[Havok83]

I didn’t say the storyline was awesome. But would you really want Cyke in this storyline?

Yes but it didnt necesarily need to happen in this book. like for example we saw Jean react and call Beast out over in Duggan's X-men. I dont think Scott has even had any interaction with Hank this entire era

[Mungho]

Yes but it didnt necesarily need to happen in this book. like for example we saw Jean react and call Beast out over in Duggan's X-men. I dont think Scott has even had any interaction with Hank this entire era

She didn't really call him out, she said how worried she was that he might be falling into darkness. Of course, he blew her off.

I know that I've been saying that MacKay and Brevoort will do something, but Cebulski is still there and aren't he and Percy best friends? They'll be constrained in what they're allowed to do or retcon.

But, now, the Hank that was in X-Factor:



Cat-Beast, who I grew tired of but have gotten a greater appreciation in recent years:



Even gorilla-Beast, which saw the decline in Hank's character, who tenderly hugged Logan:



He's gone, forever?

[Walking Wake]

She didn't really call him out, she said how worried she was that he might be falling into darkness. Of course, he blew her off.

I know that I've been saying that MacKay and Brevoort will do something, but Cebulski is still there and aren't he and Percy best friends? They'll be constrained in what they're allowed to do or retcon.

But, now, the Hank that was in X-Factor:

(snip)

Cat-Beast, who I grew tired of but have gotten a greater appreciation in recent years:

(snip)

Even gorilla-Beast, which saw the decline in Hank's character, who tenderly hugged Logan:

(snip)

He's gone, forever?

I'd be willing to bet that bad Hank got sucked into a blackhole and will be back eventually. One could hope that if that is the case, then whatever future storyline brings him back is only to merge his memories and experiences into current good Hank, then actually, on-panel, die.

It's staggering how much hate Percy has for Hank. Not counting the other clones (and if bad Hank is actually gone and not blackholed), he killed three "Prime" Beasts in his run including doing 616's first "real" death. Bleh.

But like others have said, many other big Marvel characters in their current mainline forms are various interpretations of clones and magic or science silliness anyway, so Hank just finally joins that club. And while he had many great moments post-Defenders, it's all simply not enough or other fans consider anything post-Threnody or even post-O5 time travel "tainted" so as much as I wouldn't wanna lose the nice moments, I'm afraid Marvel has simply gone on long enough in the past two decades not prioritizing giving Hank actual good, non-controversial, unequivocally heroic moments in most fans' eyes that a big reset like this is unfortunately necessary when I see the vitriol online.