The Bludgeoning Beast!

When Marvel dived into the "Monster Mash" they went all out. Even going so far as to transform a bonafide costumed superhero into a furry monstrous menace. That was "The Beast". They didn't even need to change his name. 

The Beast had long been a charter member of the "Uncanny X-Men", the mutant band who under the auspices of Professor Xavier fought sundry menaces across the Marvel spectrum. The X-Men, enormously successful in later years were going through a rough patch in the early 70's. Their comic book had been cancelled and they were relegated to guest-star appearances in other Marvel comics for many years. But one of their number, Hank McCoy took a different path. 

In the pages of Amazing Adventures (recently vacated by the Inhunans and the Black Widow) we find McCoy leaving Xavier's school for a job as researcher at Brand Corportation. In this story Gerry Conway, Tom Sutton and Syd Shore we follow Hank as he settles in. He becomes aware of a plot by to steal secrets and foolishly seeks to intervene. To protect his identity he uses a potion he'd developed  which transforms him from a mostly human looking mutant into a gray-furred creature. He gets stuck in this form tragically. 

In the second installment we get Steve Englehart as the new scribe and he maintains that role throughout this series and beyond. Tom Sutton is still handling the pencils with Mike Ploog (of Werewolf by Night fame) taking on the inks. It's a handsome book. In this one Hank develops the ability to blend into his day job by wearing a rubber mask and gloves. He battles Iron Man and only stops when he imagines he's killed Shellhead. 

This leads directly into the third issue which informs the reader that the murder of Iron Man was an illusion cast in Hank's mind by Mastermind. Along with Blob and Unus the Untouchable, Mastermind wishes to recruit the Beast into his new "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants". Hank refuses and a ferocious battle erupts at the circus where the gang was hiding. This issue features the inks of Frank Giacoia over Sutton's energetic pencils. 

I've neglected to mention that Hank's assistant and girlfriend is actually a spy, a member of the Secret Empire we eventually learn. In the previous issue Air Force officer Buzz Baxter arrives to check into the doings at Brand. He brings along his wife Patsy of Patsy Walker comics fame. In this issue the Beast must keep his secrets as well as battle Quasimodo, the living computer. 

Things really heat up when the Griffin, another agent of the Secret Empire shows up. Even with the help of his old X-Men ally Angel, it's all the Beast can do to survive. Another sub-plot which has been brewing in the comic book is a mysterious woman who seeks Hank McCoy's help with a deadly problem. For some reason the Beast continues to mutate and his fur changes from gray to black. It's a decided improvement. This is Tom Sutton's last issue and he is inked by Giacoia and John Tartaglione.

The penultimate issue of The Beast series arrives in time to celebrate Halloween. Marvel did this at the time by annually visiting the Rutland, Vermont parade which was organized to some extent by Tom Fagan. The Avengers and the Defenders had made appearances in previous years and this time Marvel tried something new. In this story by Englehart and new artists Bob Brown and Frank McLaughlin, Hank and Vera arrive in Vermont in time to hook up with characters Englehart, Gerry Conway and Len and Glynis Wein. The Beast looks terrific in this issue as he battles alone against the Juggernaut. 

Weirdly this is part one of a strange three-part tale which continues in DC's Justice League of America #102  (by Len Wein, Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano) and The Mighty Thor #207 (by Gerry Conway, John Buscema and Vince Colletta). While the League, the Beast, and Thor never meet they do cross paths and encounter Englehart, Conway and the Weins (more or less). Englehart's bedraggled car plays an important role in each story. 

The Beast sereis ends on a whimper as the final installment before Killraven's War of the World takes up residence in Amazing Adventures is a reprise of Hank McCoy's origin from the old X-Men series. We get a frame by Englehart and Jim Starling [sic] around a story by Arnold Drake and Werner Roth. 

The Beast storyline itself sort of wraps up in the pages of The Incredible Hulk #161 by Englehart, Herb Trimpe and Sal Trapani, when the Beast and Vera get to Canada and try to help Calvin Rankin, the Mimic. His powers have gotten totally out of control and pose a threat to the world. That threat is ended with his demise but not before Beast and Hulk mix it up real good. 

The Beast though is not forgotten, at least not by Englehart, who has him join the Avengers. It is int he pages of the Avengers that Hank McCoy's furry counterpart finds himself and goes on to become one of the favorite Bronze Age Avengers. He started as a hero, became a monster and finds peace when his chance to be a hero comes again. 

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