WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Suicide Squad: King Shark #3, on sale now from DC Comics.
The current Suicide Squad: King Shark series (by Tim Seeley, Scott Kolins, John Kalisz, and Wes Abbot) follows the title character as he tries to win ‘The Wild Games’, a species-wide competition of mortal combat that sees representatives of different animal ‘Exemplars’ fight each other for their species to become the next apex predator. The master of ceremonies for these interdimensional events is forgotten Justice League ally B’wana Beast, who currently goes by the name 'Mr. Beast’.
This incarnation of Mr. Beast is different from previous versions of the character, who was more committed to aiding the natural world and preventing mankind from exploiting it. ‘MrBeast’ is also the name of one of YouTube's most prolific creators, and much of his content focuses on outlandish competitions that have large cash prizes attached to them. While the real-life MrBeast is not hosting interspecies combat in a pocket dimension, he does have more than a passing resemblance to this version of the classic comic character.
B’wana Beast a.k.a. Mike Maxwell first appeared in 1967’s Showcase #66 which detailed his origin story that showed how the character gained his super-strength and the abilities to not only communicate with animals but to merge them together to create even mightier beasts. He would go on to have a supporting role in Grant Morrison’s acclaimed Animal Man run in the late 1980s, before he was killed off in Animal Man #47 (by Tom Veitch and Steve Dillion). B’wana Beast would briefly return to the DC Universe during the new 52 when he is seen being rejected from joining the Justice League International. Versions of the character would also appear in live-action and animated shows such as Justice League Unlimited, Batman: Brave and the Bold, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
While not engaging in any battles himself and still showing respect for the animal kingdom, the current ‘Mr. Beast’ is now hosting the Wild Games at the behest of the Parliament of Limbs. The exact reason why Mr. Beast is currently in this role has not been revealed in the storyline, but his new name and characterization may be influenced by a real life source.
The other ‘MrBeast’ a.k.a. Jimmy Donaldson is a YouTube celebrity and entrepreneur. He currently has 70 million subscribers, his videos have garnered over 10 billion views, and he is well known for donating to various charities and shelters. Many of his videos and business ventures center around outlandish competitions that involve him giving away large sums of money.
These include the ‘Finger on the App’ challenge where participants had to keep their finger on an app and the last person to take it off would win $250 million. He also offered $25,000 and other prizes to people who would play him on the online game Magic: The Gathering Arena. More akin to the comic book Mr. Beast, Donaldson has also hosted battle royal style competitions such as one themed around the Apex Legends franchise in 2019 where he competed with fellow YouTubers, and most recently one based on the Netflix series Squid Game.
Both versions of Mr. Beast exhibit boisterous personalities necessary to host such grand events and seem to have a need to be in the spotlight. However, B’wana Beast still shows signs of his old characterization during the course of the story. The former Justice League ally has been around for over fifty years with a lot of his personality traits having been firmly established. While it may be unlikely that his YouTuber namesake is the sole source of inspiration for this new version of the character, one can't help but notice their similarities as hosts for outlandish and grandiose events.