While most of the foundingX-Menremain iconic characters to this day, Beast stands out as one who’s become more problematic with time. This former hero has since gained a negative reputation due to his harmful actions and war crimes, and many fans have been led to wonder if these creative choices will ever be undone. TheX-Men’s editor has an answer, though some may not like it.
I don’t really see it as an imperative to rehabilitate Beast’s reputation. We’re not going to be ignoring his past, as hopefully anybody who’s been reading X-MEN can see, but those earlier stories will continue to influence the stories we’re telling going forward. In coming onto the X-titles, as much as possible my philosophy was to “play the ball where it lays” in terms of the characters. There have been a lot of strange and confusing and even destructive stories about many of the X-characters over the years, but all of them also help to define what readers love about those characters. I’m interested in charting a course forward, not in trying to go back and erase some storytelling choices that I may not have liked.
Unfortunately for fans of Hank McCoy, the franchise has no intention of undoingBeast’s controversiesfrom the previous era. Instead,in the ongoing “From The Ashes” initiative, Brevoort wants to pick up the pieces and build something new for Beast and the rest of the X-Men.
Sorry, Beast Fans: X-Men Has No Plans to Erase His War Crimes
The X-Men Franchise Is Moving Forward, Despite Beast’s Complicated Past
Hank McCoy’s Beast got his start as one of thefive founding X-Menunder Professor Charles Xavier’s tutelage, and he was once a fan-favorite character before he began to undergo a shift in his morality. Over time, he began to conduct moreevil experiments, such as in 2019’sX-Force#35 by Benjamin Percy and Christopher Allen. Here,Beast used a variety of beings - from humans to fellow mutants - to test out his dangerous biological weapons on X-Force’s behalf. When a subject failed to cooperate, he carelessly ejected them into space, proving how far this former hero had fallen via his lack of regard for life.
I Thought X-Men Was Determined to Ruin My Favorite Mutant, And I’m So Glad I Was Wrong
As the truth behind the Krakoan comes to light, I couldn’t be happier with the direction the X-Men franchise is finally going with an underrated hero.
As Brevoort explained, the “From The Ashes” era isn’t erasing Beast’s complex past, but instead acknowledging it as part of his story and tying that arc into his current status quo.X-Men stories have already tried explaining Beast’s descent into evil.X-Men: From The Ashes Infinity Comic#15 by Alex Paknadel and Phillip Sevy, for instance, has suggested thatBeast’s clawsactivated predatory instincts within him. According to Hank, he’d hoped that concentrating on intellectual pursuits would minimize those impulses, but he only channeled them through his inventions and experiments. This context doesn’t undermine his past actions; it gives Beast the chance to move on.
X-Men’s New Era Is Focused on Moving Forward, Not Looking Back
Despite Beast’s Complex Past, X-Men Would Rather See What He Does Next
X-Men’s new “From The Ashes” era isn’t concerning itself with resolving past issues that some may not be fans of. Despite Brevoort’s - or others' - opinions on Beast’s villainous turn, the direction that’s being taken embraces all parts of his history and puts more energy into continuing from there. If a choice isn’t widely liked, thenX-Menstories will simply move past it without eliminating it altogether, as exemplified byBeast being replaced with a clonefrom before he lost himself. TheX-Menfranchise is charting a course for the future, not being trapped in the past, even if that meansBeastwill remain a controversial figure.
