X-Men: Evolution "The Beast of Bayville" Talkback (Spoilers)

[James Harvey]

Discuss this episode of the fan-favorite X-Men: Evolution animated series!

Episode #18 - The Beast of Bayville
Original Airdate - October 27, 2001

Dr. Hank McCoy has no energy left to fight his mutation, which forces him to be a violent Beast. When he finally becomes a monster, Spyke is the only one who can possibly reach Dr. McCoy.

Comments?

[DR. BELCH]

The more feral beast--gorillalike proportions, a fatter face, the monkey feet (I'm told he always had them, but I don't recall seeing them in fairly recent comics--maybe newer artists nixed them in favor of the humanlike shape the Fox series employed)--takes a lot of getting used to.
I gave "BoB" a lukewarm review when I first watched it, and a couple of others agreed--was Beast beastly in the comics? The transformation and fits of temper seem too similar to Bruce Banner's Hulk. I took the Beast to be just a lovable intelligent man with a lot of body hair--which much of the time he is, but those sudden inexplicable rages and bouts of apelike behavior seem to come totally out of left field.
Plus there was as the whole pyramid hat subplot, and the "Mister" rather than "Doctor" appellation to contend with...I suppose McCoy has yet to earn his PhD and the respect of his colleagues in this form....

[JohnStewart-GL]

i gave it 4 and a half stars because i like Beast. i found it to be an entertaining ep.

[True Red]

Originally posted by DR. BELCH
The transformation and fits of temper seem too similar to Bruce Banner's Hulk.

That was my only gripe with the show when I saw it awhile back. However, since Evolution isn't completely accurate with the "original" X-Men in the first place, I just accepted it.

The show itself was a really good one to me overall.

As for the Mister/Doctor thing, I figured he just hadn't earned his PhD yet.

[Kolbar]

Tonight, Cartoon Network airs this episode of X-Men: Evolution at 9:30pm ET.

Episode #18 - The Beast of Bayville

Original Airdate - October 27, 2001

Hank McCoy has used science to successfully fight his own mutation. But now the formula he uses is no longer enough and the Beast within is starting to win. Will Xavier and the X-Men be able to help McCoy or will the Beast take over for good?

Comments?

[Wolfsbane]

This episode was pretty good. I was glad to see it again because I barley remember it since I saw it a long time ago. Although I missed the beginning. I turned on the TV right at the part where Hank knocked over the glasses in the science room and he left for the bathroom. Did I miss much? I liked the whole Shakespeare concept. I also liked how they emphasized how devoted Hank was to teaching because there are not many teachers like that in my school. I’m glad they picked Spike to play the key role, for some reason. He just seemed good for the part. After his transformation, Hank’s arms seemed longer during some scenes. Did anyone else notice this?

[Spider-Man]

The Canadian channel YTV airs this episode of X-Men: Evolution during their late-night block.

[Stu]

I like this episode. I thought the build up of introducing Beast was executed very well, rather than "Hi, you're a mutant. Join us!" syndrome that plagued the first season.

I was especially impressed with Beast's portrayal of rage throughout the episode, paticulary in the scene where he has to catch the girl on the skates.

I could've done without Spyke's ideous "teach" dialouge though... never did like his voice actor. Other than that, a solid episode.

[Spider-Man]

I thought they handled Beast quite well here although it seems like they may have overdone it just abit on his fits of rage. However those can be explained by his attempts to surpress them over the years. It makes sense that these emotions would bubble to the surface causing him to act out wildly and off the handle at times. The design left me feeling a bit mixed. They seemed to overdo the extended arms just a little bit but overall it remains pretty faithful to the source material.

[Stu]

How does this version and introduction of the Beast compare to the version in the 1990's X-Men cartoon, or even the comic book?

[Spider-Man]

How does this version and introduction of the Beast compare to the version in the 1990's X-Men cartoon, or even the comic book?

Like what was posted earlier this was a good introduction to the character although you can't really compare it to the 1990s show. Beast was already an X-Man when that show started although I did like the backstory they gave him from his "Beauty and the Beast" episode and the crossover with the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon. They gave him some great tragic background that they managed to translate over to this cartoon's setting pretty well.

[Movie06]

I like this episode. I thought it was well-done. Still do. And I like Beast's design in the series. Wasn't too fond of his hair-do in the previous cartoon.

[DawnWarrior]

That hairdo was the one he had in the comics at the time. It's changed since then, as he's now more cat-like than ape-like.

I liked this episode in that it's a good example of how to pair down a character's complex backstory into a simple narrative that non-readers can enjoy, while remaining truthful to the spirit of the character. They managed to introduce Beast and show him turning into the blue, hairy ape-ish creature we know and love without getting into a lot of complicated story about mutant experimentation or whatever it was they did in the comics.

Making Hank one of the teachers rather than another student was an excellent idea; I couldn't picture him rubbing elbows with the other kids, but as a teacher he gets to show off his nohow with Shakespeare and chemistry. He's also the gym teacher, apparently, which explains his physique. This guy is busy.

On the 90's cartoon, they had blue-furry Beast on there, but never really explained how he got that way (there are hints about how he started without the fur, old pictures and such). Even in Ultimate X-Men, they started with fleshy Hank but turned him furry within the first seven issues. ("Can somebody tell me why my hair has turned blue?" LOL!)

[Movie06]

Making Hank one of the teachers rather than another student was an excellent idea; I couldn't picture him rubbing elbows with the other kids, but as a teacher he gets to show off his nohow with Shakespeare and chemistry. He's also the gym teacher, apparently, which explains his physique. This guy is busy.

That's what I like about Beast in X-Men Evolution to be honest. He started off as a human and a teacher.

Personally, it always bothered me that Hank McCoy becomes Beast with no explanation whatsoever.

[Silverstar]

Making Hank one of the teachers rather than another student was an excellent idea; I couldn't picture him rubbing elbows with the other kids, but as a teacher he gets to show off his know-how with Shakespeare and chemistry. He's also the gym teacher, apparently, which explains his physique. This guy is busy.

Personally, I could've seen Hank as a student (not that he doesn't work as a teacher). He was one of the original X-Men, after all, and they started out as teenagers. I'd have rather had Beast than Nightcrawler as the token "feral-looking one" of the main gang, but that's just my opinion.

Personally, it always bothered me that Hank McCoy becomes Beast with no explanation whatsoever.

If you mean in X-Men :TAS, there was an explanation, it was just that the real one (Hank was born an ape-like mutant with outsized, dexterous digits but later becomes blue and furry after downing an experimental serum he created) would've been too long and convoluted for TV. Much easier to write off Hank's metamorphosis as a natural part of his evolving mutation, like they did on the FOX show.

[Movie06]

If you mean in X-Men :TAS, there was an explanation, it was just that the real one (Hank was born an ape-like mutant with outsized, dexterous digits but later becomes blue and furry after downing an experimental serum he created) would've been too long and convoluted for TV. Much easier to write off Hank's metamorphosis as a natural part of his evolving mutation, like they did on the FOX show.

But that would've raised too many questions from the viewer.

[Silverstar]

But that would've raised too many questions from the viewer.

What would've? The comics back story or the one the FOX show went with?

If you mean the former, like I said, that would've taken too long to explain and it would've confused people not familiar with the comics. Keep in mind that the TV producers had to try and squeeze over 30+ years of comic continuity into just 4 TV seasons.

If you mean the latter, what's not to get? Hank was born mutated, and over the years he mutated even further. Pretty cut and dry, I think.

[Movie06]

What would've? The comics back story or the one the FOX show went with?

If you mean the former, like I said, that would've taken too long to explain and it would've confused people not familiar with the comics. Keep in mind that the TV producers had to try and squeeze over 30+ years of comic continuity into just 4 TV seasons.

If you mean the latter, what's not to get? Hank was born mutated, and over the years he mutated even further. Pretty cut and dry, I think.

The 90's cartoon is what I'm talking about. And yes, Hank would born mutated but why was he born mutated? I mean muatnts are all about genetics.

[Silverstar]

Come on now, if you've followed any 'X' project at all, you should already know the answer to that.

He was born mutated because he possesses the X-gene and is therefore a mutant, obviously. (For that matter, Hank on Evo was also a mutant prior to his transformation as well; he invented the serum to halt his mutation.) The whole X franchise is about people who were born mutants. If you're going to ask why Hank was born mutated, then you might as well ask why every mutant character on the show was born with the X-gene. Because they were, that's why.

[creativerealms]

Mutants are all about being born different. Thats why the Fantastic Four, Hulk and Spider-man are not mutants because they were not born with the mutent gene, they are mutates.