As a powerful X-Men hero unlocks a new frontier of their powers, a founding member of the team finally has an equal, after decades of being ostracized because of their mutant appearance.
Hank McCoy, aka the Beast, is one of the five founding members of the X-Men. Originally possessing enlarged hands and feet that enhanced his agility, Beast’s self-experimentation caused further mutations, covering him in blue fur and giving him an animalistic appearance and senses, as well as recently revealed predatory instincts that grow more insistent as he ages.
For years, Beast was depicted as one of X-Men’s loneliest and most tragic characters, truly alone in his inhuman appearance, even among a team marked by public fear and abuse. Now, there’s essentially a female ‘Beast’ serving on the X-Men alongside him…
Animalia Unlocks Her Own ‘Beast’ Form in X-Men Lore
In today’s X-Men #31 – from Jed MacKay, Tony S. Daniel, Mark Morales, Fernando Sifuentes and Clayton Cowles – neophyte mutant Animalia, aka Jennifer Starkey, unlocks a new element of her powers. As part of X-Men’s new science team, Animalia pushes her transformative ability, adopting a tiger-like form with increased strength and speed, as well as white fur and lethal claws.
Animalia is a new character, and one of a handful of people to become a mutant in adulthood, thanks to the genetic tampering of 3K. She has the mutant ability to adaptively shapeshift, adopting animalistic qualities in response to her environment (e.g. wings, gills, etc.) In this case, Beast suggests she consciously shift into a form that can protect her against any unseen danger.
The result is essentially a female Beast, even down to the predatory instincts she has to fight off with her human intellect. This is the latest step in the developing romance between Jennifer and Hank, finally introducing a character who has a similar mutation to Beast.
The Animalia/Beast Romance Has Been Controversial With X-Men Fans
Beast and Animalia’s romance has been one of the main subplots of this new X-Men era, but not every reader is a fan. Some have pointed the relative power imbalance, as Beast essentially studies Jennifer as a scientist and mentors her in how to control her powers, their romance developing at a time when Animalia wasn’t sure if she’d ever be human again, and saw Beast as her best chance of doing so.
These perceptions were likely heightened by three factors. 1) Beast’s recent villain era, which confirmed he’s capable of monstrous acts, 2) Jed MacKay’s tendency to draw characters with youthful appearances and 3) the franchise rule (until now) that new mutants are teenagers, which isn’t the case for Animalia.
Despite their misgivings, Animalia’s bestial new form suggests Marvel is planning to continue the romance, giving them even more in common. For fans of the match, this is particularly heartwarming given Beast’s tragic past.
During Grant Morrison’s acclaimed New X-Men run, Beast’s partner left him due to press attention on their relationship. Later, Beast thought he’d finally found another feline mutant, only for it to turn out to be a mutated animal, still with a non-sapient mind.
Of course, in X-Men comics, tragedy is always around the corner, and Animalia’s increased connection to Beast is likely setting up some manner of dark separation or twist. X-Men‘s newest member has finally given Beast someone who understands what it’s like to live as an animalistic mutant, furthering a new romance that has fans split.
X-Men #31 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- Movie(s)
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X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
- TV Show(s)
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X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)
- Video Game(s)
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X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
- First Film
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X-Men (2000)
- Character(s)
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Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
- Comic Release Date
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213035,212968