Beast (Marvel Comics)

Beast is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and is a founding member of the X-Men. The character was introduced as a mutant possessing ape-like superhuman physical strength and agility, oversized hands and feet, a genius-level intellect, and otherwise normal appearance and speech. Eventually being referred to simply as "Beast", Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy underwent progressive physiological transformations, gaining animalistic physical characteristics. These include blue fur, both simian and feline facial features, pointed ears, fangs, and claws. Beast's physical strength and senses increased to even greater levels.

Despite Hank McCoy's feral appearance, he is depicted as a brilliant, well-educated man in the arts and sciences, known for his witty sense of humor, and characteristically uses barbed witticisms with long words and intellectual references to distract his foes. He is a world authority on biochemistry and genetics, the X-Men's medical doctor, and the science and mathematics instructor at the Xavier Institute (the X-Men's headquarters and school for young mutants). He is also a mutant political activist, campaigning against society's bigotry and discrimination against mutants. While fighting his own bestial instincts and fears of social rejection, Beast dedicates his physical and mental gifts to the creation of a better world for man and mutant.

One of the original X-Men, Beast has appeared regularly in X-Men-related comics since his debut. He has also been a member of the Avengers and Defenders. Various storylines over the years have hinted that Beast has capacity to become a supervillain; his alternative universe counterpart Dark Beast was a recurring character in 2000s and 2010s comics. During the Krakoan Age 2020s X-Men storylines, Beast assumes an antagonistic role to the other X-Men, becoming an outright villain. At the end of the Krakoan Age, the original Beast dies in an act of last minute redemption, and is replaced by his younger clone whose memories stop short of the events which corrupted the original Beast. The clone Beast goes on to rejoin the X-Men, while the original Beast is revealed to have survived and becomes the leader of 3K.

The character has also appeared in media adaptations, including animated TV series and feature films. Beast has been a cast member in all X-Men animated series, most notably in X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–97), voiced by George Buza, a role he reprised in the series' revival X-Men '97 (2024–present). Kelsey Grammer played the Beast in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), while Nicholas Hoult portrayed a younger version of the character in X-Men: First Class (2011). Both Hoult and Grammer reprised their roles in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). Hoult reprised the role in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Deadpool 2 (2018) and Dark Phoenix (2019), while Grammer reprised the role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film The Marvels (2023). Grammer will also reprise his role in Avengers: Doomsday (2026).

Created by writer Stan Lee and artist and co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in X-Men #1 (September 1963). Stan Lee writes in the foreword to X-Men: The Ultimate Guide that he made Beast the most articulate, eloquent, and well-read of the X-Men to contrast with his brutish exterior. Further, the book opines that the Werner Roth–Roy Thomas team garnered admiration for their "appealing and sensitive characterizations of the original X-Men". Roth, under the alias Jay Gavin, had taken over for Kirby fully by issue #18, and Thomas was a new talent. Along with the rest of the X-Men, Beast was given an individualized, colorful new costume in issue #39.

According to writer Will Murray, a possible inspiration for the Beast was Andrew Blodgett "Monk" Mayfair, a companion of pulp hero Doc Savage. Both are possessed of an apelike appearance and are brilliant scientists. Before becoming more erudite in later issues, McCoy also used a great deal of slang in his early appearances much like Monk.

In Amazing Adventures vol. 2 #11 (March 1972), written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Tom Sutton, Beast underwent a radical change and mutated into his furry, blue (originally grey) appearance. The concept originated with Roy Thomas, an effort to make the character more visibly striking, and Beast also became more werewolf-like to capitalize on the success of Werewolf by Night. Steve Englehart, who wrote the remainder of the Beast's short-lived spotlight in Amazing Adventures, emphasized the character's wit rather than the tragedy of his transformation into a more monstrous form, reasoning that the Beast's intelligence and sense of humor would allow him to see his misfortune in perspective. Over the next decade the Beast would appear on the roster of several teams in titles ranging from The Avengers to The Defenders to X-Factor. It was not until 1991, in X-Factor #70/X-Men #1, that the Beast finally returned to the X-Men.

Englehart later said that he added the Beast to the Avengers roster because he wanted to write the character again and thought his funny, down-to-earth personality would make him a good foil for Moondragon. Succeeding writers of The Avengers similarly found that the character's lightheartedness made a good balance to the team's generally serious tone, resulting in the Beast's run in The Avengers outlasting his earlier run in X-Men. His friendship with fellow Avenger Wonder Man would likewise come to eclipse his friendship with X-Man Iceman for the comics fandom. The Avengers #137 (July 1975) debuted the Beast's catchphrase, "Oh, my stars and garters," and The Avengers #164 (October 1977) was the first to depict him as a sex symbol, a take which writer Jim Shooter said resulted in very positive mail from female readers in particular.