X-amining Marvel Comics Presents #85-92: Just Friends

"Professor / Drawing Stares / If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium / Fool For Love / My Pal Mugsy / Beast, I'm Going to Kill You / Bring Me the Head of the Beast / Closure"
September - December 1991

In a Nutshell
Beast runs into an old friend at Belgian mutant symposium

Writer: Scott Lobdell
Penciler: Rob Liefeld/Jae Lee (issues #85-86) Jae Lee (issues #87-92)
Inker: Tim Dzon, Tim Dzon/Don Hudson (issue #89)
Letterer: Todd Klein, Diana Albers (issue #89), Steve Dutro (issue #90)
Colorist: Mike Thomas
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
Issue #85: Dodging Ship's efforts to record his memoirs, Beast spots X-Factor's mail carrier being attacked by an armored figure. Beast fights him off, in the process learning the attacker has a beast-like face. Included in the rescued mail is an invitation to a mutant symposium in Belgium, which the armored attacker was meant to intercept. Issue #86: En route to Belgium, Beast tells his seatmate about his high school relationship with Jennifer Nyles, which ended when Professor X wiped her mind to protect Beast's identity. Arriving at the conference, Beast is excited to see that Jennifer will be a keynote speaker, just as he's attacked by the Constrictor. Issue #87: During the fight, Beast spots the aging Red Ghost, and after Beast defeats Constrictor, the Red Ghost's presence is explained when his Super Apes attack the conference and kidnap Jennifer.

X-amining X-Factor: Prisoner of Love

"Prisoner of Love"
October 1990

In a Nutshell 
A morose Beast gets enchanted by a beautiful alien woman. 

Writer: Jim Starlin
Artist: Jackson Guice
Letterer: Michael Heisler
Colorist: Alfred Ramirez
Assistant Editor: Suzanne Gaffney
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
Beast, morose over his monstrous appearance relative to other mutants, is walking the streets of New York when he encounters a beautiful young woman being attacked by muggers. He attempts to save her, but grows weak and falls unconscious. He wakes up in the woman's apartment, and she introduces herself as Synthia Naip, explaining that she took care of the muggers herself. Entranced, Beast is seduced by Synthia, and the pair make love. Hours pass, and Beast becomes weaker even as he is more drawn to Synthia, who won't explain anything about herself beyond admitting that she's not entirely human. That night, Beast dreams of an evil Dark One stalking Synthia, and later, of slaying monstrous forms of his X-Factor teammates to prove his love to Synthia.

X-amining Beauty and the Beast #1-4

"Beauty and the Beast / Heartbreak Hotel / Showtime / Checkmate"
December 1984 - June 1985

In a Nutshell
Beast and Dazzler fall in love and get caught up in an underground mutant fighting ring. 

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Pencils: Don Perlin  
Inker: Kim DeMulder
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colors: George Roussos (issue #1), Petra Scotese
Editor: Michael Higgins
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
Issue #1: In Latveria, Dr. Doom receives word that a boy claiming Doom is his father has reached adulthood and is living in Californa. Doom decides to keep an eye on him. At that moment, Beast arrives in Hollywood, on vacation, while Dazzler mourns the loss of her singing career following her outing as a mutant. She is approached by Alexander Flynn, who wants her to perform in an experimental underground theater for his boss, Hugo Longride. Eager to be back in the spotlight, she agrees. Beast runs into her at a party, and is turned off by the new company she's keeping. However, when her power suddenly goes out of control and she runs off, Beast tracks her down to the Heartbreak Hotel and promises to take care of her. Issue #2: As Beast tends to Dazzler, the pair grow closer and fall in love amongst the other mutants living at Heartbreak Hotel. Flynn finds Dazzler and offers to help her get her power under control if she honors her contract and performs in his theater. She agrees, over Beast's objections. He nevertheless attends her first performance, but is horrified to discover the theater is actually an arena in which mutants fight one another for sport. Flynn claims the whole thing is staged, despite the death of a mutant in the arena, but Beast doesn't buy it, and urges Dazzler to leave. But feeling a kinship with the other misfit mutant performers, she decides to stay.

Teebore's Favorite Words

During conversations with Dr. Bitz regarding the Lost finale a couple months back, he commented on my apparent affinity for the word "gestalt" (I kept referring to how the Flash Sideways was ultimately revealed to be a purgatorial gestalt). He was right: it's definitely one of my favorite words. Being a writer, an English major and a nerd, I have several. Here's a few more, in no particular order (all definitions courtesy of Merriam-Webster.com)

Let your voice be heard!

Alright, it's time to let your voice be heard. You've got a decision to make. You can vote for:

Cyclops\Beast and their pro human\mutant coexistence and pro-drinking-of-secret-formulas policies.

Doctor Strange\Hulk and their anti-taxes and pro-smashing policies.

Kitty Pryde\Lockheed and their pro-dragon and pro-hotness policies.

The choice is yours, but vote wisely.

Voting is to your left.

Decision 2008: Red, White and BLUE

This election, the choice in running mates is clear.

Kitty Pryde, on a platform of bi-partisan independence, is running alongside a barely-literate alien dragon with questionable ties to the Strange political machine...


while Dr. Strange continues to discriminate against man-bulls by offering the second-highest office in the land to a creature than vacillates wildly between child-like intelligence and city-destroying rage.

Are these truly the best candidates to cast the tie-breaking vote in the event of a senatorial deadlock? Can Americans truly trust that such candidates won't just fall in love with larger, city-destroying dragons or declare themselves Master of the World should the President be incapacitated?

Cyclops believes there's a better candidate for the job: Hank McCoy, the bouncing, bucolic and brilliant Beast.


Unlike SOME candidates this election, Beast served his country proudly as a long-standing and effective member of the Avengers and has never declared himself master of the world.


Beast also has extensive real world political experience, having held a cabinet post in previous administrations


where he proved to be tough on illegal immigration


and determined to keep an eye towards the future.


Beast is a genius who helped develop a cure for the Legacy Virus


and devised a plan that will increase government funding to needed programs like education and the fine arts while balancing the budget and eliminating the national debt, all without raising taxes AT ALL.

=

He's THAT smart!

When it comes to a choice between an alien, an engine of destruction, and a genius with proven political experience and a record of service to this country, Cyclops believes the choice is clear, and hopes you will too.


On November 4th, vote for the team with a clear and direct vision for the future and the smarts and experience to make it a reality.

It's time America mutated into something better.
Vote Cyclops and Beast in 2008.

I'm Scott Summers...and I approve this message.