Beast’s decision to amplify his mutation is a major moment in the history of the X-Men, but other realities proved how tragically it could have gone.
After decades of serving with the X-Men and the Avengers, Beast has long established himself as a major hero. His dark side has always existed though and has only come more and more into the forefront in the modern era. But in other realities, Beast became a more dangerous and literal animal.
The Beast’s decision to transform himself into the earliest version of his furry form could have gone down a lot differently — and a lot more tragically, as revealed by alternate realities across the Marvel multiverse. But even when he retains his mind, there seems to be monstrous potential within the mutant hero.
One of the most important moments for Hank McCoy’s life originally occurred in Amazing Adventures #11 by Gerry Conway and Tom Sutton. Shortly after leaving his role in the original X-Men, Beast took a position with the Brand Corporation. He developed a formula that could cause mutations and utilized it to transform himself, increase his strength, and disguise himself. This resulted in Hank gaining his now-iconic furry form — which ended up becoming something of a permanent change for the character. At various points over his history, Beast has openly feared that this mutation would continue as he grew older, reverting him into a more beastly form. But in other realities, the formula did that immediately.
The formula mutated McCoy in a far different fashion in the world of Mutant X. A reality where various events had played out darker than in the core-Marvel Universe, this version of Beast went through a more amphibious transformation than the more mammal-like changes he suffered on Earth-616. Although this physical transformation was actually far more impressive — giving him a savage strength akin to Sabretooth — it also mentally regressed him to the intelligence of a child. This version of Beast at least remained a hero alongside the rest of the Six, and eventually sacrificed his restored intellect to help restore his reality’s Iceman complete control over his powers.
Other variations of the mutagen formula were far more impactful. What If… #37 by Alan Weiss and Jim Sherman imagined a reality where the mutagen had a more drastic effect on McCoy. His mind was also impacted by the formula. He devolved into an increasingly animalistic form and came close to killing his former teammates before he was stopped. To placate their friend before he lost control of his animalistic instincts, this version of McCoy was relocated to the Savage Land. There, he reverted fully into a beast-like state and remained under the watchful eye of Ka-Zar. Across the multiverse, exposing himself to the mutagen that fully transformed him into the Beast was a wildly dangerous move.
It’s also interesting to consider how sometimes, the mutagen isn’t the thing that fully transforms him into a more monstrous form. Variants of Beast from the Age of Apocalypse and “Here Comes Tomorrow” timelines have shown how gruesome and terrifying Beast could really become without moral guidance. Even in the core-Marvel Universe, Beast has recently embraced his darker ideas and crueler impulses as the leader of X-Force. It appears as if the ability to become a monster was always within Hank McCoy, and that across the multiverse this side of him comes to life in different forms. But his saddest counterparts are truly the ones that lost the chance to redeem themselves or change the world for the better — fully reverting them into the Beast McCoy can sometimes see himself as.
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