The secret of being a mutant is evolution. Perhaps no character has evolved more than the Beast when it comes to the X-Men. Hank McCoy has been a staple of the team since the beginning, as well as an important member of the Avengers off and on over the years. He's one of the most intelligent people in Marvel Comics, and sometimes that makes him a little scary. Or a lot.

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Beast has evolved through several different versions in the comics, as well as animated series and feature films. His ever-evolving look and character make one of the most dynamic characters around.

10 Original X-Men

Original X-Men

The best place to start with Hank McCoy might be at the beginning. Initially, his mutant power gave him increased strength and stamina, and also greatly increased his physical stature. Otherwise, he looked like a normal human being. Beast wore the standard blue and yellow uniform of the original X-Men squad from the 60s, except he left his prodigious hands and feet bare. Beast more or less maintained this version into the late 70s, though he was able to go back and forth for a while.

9 All-New X-Men

Beast All-New X-Men

This young, human-appearing version of the Beast made a rare return in the 2010s. After the cataclysmic events of Avengers vs. X-Men, the original five members of the team found themselves in the present. They were all more or less as readers originally found them, except for their new costumes. Beast's new outfit echoed his original with its lack of gloves and boots. It borrowed the orange and brown color scheme from his initial X-Factor costume (more on that later) with some modern design elements.

8 First Class

Beast X-Men First Class

The early version of Hank McCoy also played a major role in the feature film X-Men: First Class. This prequel to the Fox franchise of X-Men films kind of rebooted the franchise, or maybe didn't, depending on how fans view them. Fans viewed Beast favorably in this movie. The iconic blue version of the character makes his first chronological appearance here thanks to some serum experimenting by Hank (a trend as fans know with him.) Paired with the black and yellow throwback look, it really works.

7 Gray Beast

beast-gray

Hank McCoy can never leave an idea alone, and that led to his first dramatic evolution. Hank evolved into the gray Beast after ingesting a serum while working at the Brand Corporation in the late 70s. As a result, Hank developed gray fur, pointy ears, and sharp teeth.

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During this time, he also joined the Avengers, and was a staple member of that squad for a few years into the early 80s, before he found a way to go back to his human form – for a while.

6 The 2010s

Beast Uncanny Inhumans

Beast continued to evolve over the years, and in the 2010s, he made another major evolutionary leap. He maintained his burly, blue and furry nature, but became even bigger and a little less natural in his stature. He lumbered somewhere between all fours and walking on two legs, whereas before he went back and forth between both easily. His face changed dramatically, elongating and virtually losing his nose. He also lost his furry mane, giving him a more angular silhouette.

5 X-Factor

beast x-factor

Hank McCoy eventually discovered a way to go back to his human form from the gray beast, not too long after he rejoined his original X-Men classmates as part of X-Factor in the mid-80s. This version of the character closely resembled his initial Silver Age iteration. The main change came in the costume. Each member of the team wore a similar bodysuit, with a distinctive color and an X pattern stretching across the torso from the shoulders to the thighs. The Beast's costume used brown and yellow.

4 New X-Men

Beast Sublime New X-Men Silvestri

Beast underwent a major, secondary mutation during the New X-Men series by writer Grant Morrison in the early 2000s. Severely injured after a major battle, Beast found himself mutating during his recovery. He evolved into a cat-like appearance, and his body became much less uniformly stocky. His torso maintained its general bulkiness, but his legs got a bit more lithe, throwing off his typical balance. This version of the character lasted throughout the first decade of the millennium.

3 X-Men Movies

X-Men Anatomy Beast

The popular blue version of Beast informed the first major film appearance of the character in X-Men: The Last Stand. The prosthetics and furry suit actor Kelsey Grammer wore faithfully adapted the comic look. He got a unique costume for the movie, though, which forecasted some of his subsequent comic looks.

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In the movie, Beast wore a sleeveless black leather jacket with distinctive yellow claw mark stripes on the shoulders. This color scheme would inform some of his comic book costumes like Secret Avengers.

2 Dark Beast

Dark Beast

Hank McCoy's interest in science – and lack of appreciation for boundaries – has been a running theme over the decades. The darkest manifestation of that emerged with the Dark Beast, from the Age of Apocalypse timeline. This twisted and evil version of Hank had much darker blue fur, bordering on gray, as well as yellow eyes. His hair was also much longer and twisted in braids. He initially wore armored trousers, though once he crossed over into the Earth-616 timeline, he has worn various outfits.

1 Big Blue

x-men beast

By far the best and most popular version of the Beast is the blue version. Hank evolved into the blue version very soon after the introduction of the gray. He alternated back and forth between the beast and human form for years as a member of the Avengers and Defenders. The blue version became standard – and beloved by fans – with the Jim Lee era makeover of the team in the early 90s. This coincided with the hugely popular X-Men: The Animated Series, of which the blue Beast was a big part.

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