Thankfully, the Inhumans adventures have stopped. Instead, we get a solo adventure featuring The Beast–the dude with big feet and a big brain who was in the original X-Men but wasn’t being used because the mutant book was put on hiatus. But Marvel wanted to make sure they kept the characters current, so they put Gerry Conway on the case. And Gerry came up with a great idea.
Make him gray and hairy!
The story starts with Beast already hairy, and we (the readers) see him skulking around a genetic research facility.
We don’t know who this hairy character is, and he looks evil.
We learn gradually that this is Hank McCoy.
We learn that after the X-Men, Hank got a great job…but then he got this way by experimenting on himself.
Conway introduces his self-hatred (which will be a motif for the character) is apparent immediately, and then offers flashbacks…
We also learn that his assistant at the new job was a babe.
He fell for her.
But she was a spy.
Conway and Sutton do a good job of looking back over the history of the character and explaining his metamorphosis. This is a great “second origin” or reboot/rebirth story.
And the tale ends with him going off into the world, angry, without the possibility of a cure.
Also, Beast in this issue is working for The Brand Corporation. It’s the first time this company appears, and it will end up being a major competitor to Stark International.
I blow hot and cold with Gerry Conway, but this is one of his best stories.
Here’s a cute little cartoon.
I’m glad YOU thought Conway’s turning the Beast into a gorilla was a great idea, but I did NOT. Up until this issue, Hank McCoy’s mutation was relatively plausible. That’s all out the window now, ( literally! ) now that the Beast is a gorilla! I have often wondered how different the Beast’s character development would have differed, had he not drank the formula. The character which developed and eventually joined the Avengers simply bore no resemblance to the Hank McCoy of the first 66/93 issues of ‘X-Men’, a point that Chris Claremont himself once pointed out. ( he was correct ) I always liked the Beast’s red and blue rompers, and this issue marks it’s final appearance. ( the version of it he wore in the mid-Eighties ‘X-Factor’ series was not totally accurate ) At least this series stayed close to the original X-Men series by featuring the Juggernaut, ( issue#16 ) the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, ( issues#12 and 13 ) and the X-Men themselves ( issues#11,12,and 15 ) This was due to Steve Englehart coming on board, being a diehard old X-Men person. ( like myself ) So- although I would’ve preferred Hank remain in his initial ( and more plausible and interesting ) pre-simian form, I cannot deny that his initial series here in ‘Amazing Adventures’ did have it’s interesting moments. But, seriously, Marvel- a talking ape-??? What’s next- a talking duck???!!