The Beast There Was?
A retelling of a classic origin story should expand on the original story while remaining faithful to that original piece. If you get too far away from the original you basically retcon the old work and if you fail to expand upon the old there’s no point in a retelling. Avengers Origins: Ant-Man and The Wasp did an admirable job of updating the old bringing in new details while remaining faithful to the original story. Unfortunately X-Men Origins: Beast fails to bring in new details, instead sticking too faithfully to the old narrative leaving it feeling unessential.
Much like the original we learn the source of Hank’s mutation, a radioactive accident that afflicted his father with radioactive poisoning before Hank’s conception. Hank’s mutation brings him strength and agility which allow him to excel on the football field. With excellence comes fame and with fame comes the attentions of a villainous madman, The Conquistador. The one area this book did expand on was the motivations of said villain, making it clear that he was delusional. One thing leads to another and Hank eventually earns the attention of Professor X and his pupils. It’s a functionary story with many of the consequences erased by Professor X’s late story Deus X (sorry) machina like abilities.
I wasn’t much of a fan of the art style employed here either. Woodward’s work is almost too realistic, it gives the book a bit of an uncanny valley feel. The painted style lends a real but wooden look to the characters faces which makes it harder for me to engage emotionally with the story being told. There’s some very good looking art in here no doubt but I found it to get in the way of the story being told.
I imagine this issue was great for any younger readers, or in the days before Marvel Unlimited when reading original X-Men comics was an expensive proposition. But these days those old books are only a subscription fee away and I think the original rendition of this tale did a better job of telling the story at hand. This is a pretty but less emotionally resonant version of The Beast’s origin and I’d suggest that you seek out the original first (Uncanny X-Men #49 - 53 backups).
Just Be Yourself. You’ll Be Something Pretty Unstoppable
Jennifer Nyles
