The X-Men's Beast officially lives his greatest fear. Hank McCoy considers himself the most intelligent of the X-Men, and his genius is currently unlocking countless new breakthroughs on the living island of Krakoa. But, curiously enough, he's also one of the X-Men whose appearance has changed the most.
When Beast was introduced in 1963, his mutation had only made the slightest of adjustments to his physical appearance; he had oversized hands and feet. But the Beast's own experiments led him to be transformed into a familiar, bouncing blue visage. Over the years he's progressed through several different forms, from simian to feline. Although Hank McCoy acts nonchalant about this, the truth is that he's living his worst nightmare.
In Savage Hulk #2, the X-Men went up against the Hulk. Beast was utterly committed to helping treat the Hulk; "I can't imagine any fate worse than being trapped in an inhuman form," he observed, a comment that seems disturbingly prophetic. Some time later, Beast realized there was indeed potentially a worse fate; he found himself hunted by Kraven, a classic Spider-Man foe, and his mind regressed in response to various toxins he was secretly subjected to. Beast's fears developed; he began to wonder whether he would continue to mutate into an inhuman form, and even whether he would potentially lose his intelligence as well. As a result, Hank McCoy began studying the X-gene and unwittingly triggered his own mutation - into the classic Beast.
Early on in Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men run, Beast learned a noted geneticist had invented a so-called "cure" for mutation. By this time, Beast's mutations had progressed several times, and he was wondering where it would lead. "I used to have fingers," Beast observed in a fit of self-pity. "I used to have a mouth you could kiss." Cassandra Nova, Xavier's psychic twin, later gave Beast a further taste of mental regression; she turned him into a truly wild animal, a creature who attacked his friends mindlessly but was ultimately placated with a ball of yarn.
Unfortunately, Beast had underestimated the impact of his progressive mutation. In Brian Michael Bendis' All-New X-Men, Beast learned his mutation was literally killing him, burning his body out. Fortunately, he was able to work with his time-displaced younger self, and together, the two Beasts successfully stabilized Beast. It locked him in another new form, but at least this one appears to be permanent. Of course, the interesting question is whether Beast will now choose a form to live in; the X-Men have currently mastered mutant resurrections using a synergy of mutant power Cerebro technology. That potentially means Beast could choose to die and be reborn in whichever form he wishes - including his original humanoid one. That idea doesn't appear to have occurred to him yet, but once it does, it will be fascinating to see what he chooses.
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