X-Men Confirms Permanent New Superpower for Founding Hero

In a dark reveal, Marvel just confirmed a permanent new superpower for one of the founding members of the X-Men - however, this new ability doesn't come from their X-gene, but from a dark perversion of their humanity.

The X-Men debuted in 1963, with Charles Xavier gathering together Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel and Beast as the first version of the team. Since then, they've taken very different paths in Marvel lore.

Following X-Men's 2019-2025 'Krakoan Era,' Beast - aka Hank McCoy - embraced a philosophy of mutant supremacy, replacing Magneto as the franchise's main mutant villain. Now, he reveals he's no longer mortal.

X-Men's Orginal Beast Is Now Immortal

Today's X-Men #35 depicts a tense discussion between the original Hank McCoy (now known as the Chairman) and his younger clone (the new 'Beast.') The issue comes from Jed MacKay, Tony S. Daniel, Mark Morales, Arthur Hesli and Clayton Cowles.

As the two trade barbs, the Chairman reveals that his technological developments have made him immortal - even if his body is destroyed, he cannot be killed. The Chairman uses this as a justification for his heinous actions - over a long enough timeline, his contributions to mutant supremacy will outweigh the cost.

Previously inhabiting a robotic body, the Chairman recently transferred his mind to a white, shaggy copy of his original form. While the heroes might have hoped some biological weaknesses had come with this transformation, they'd be wrong - Beast's cloning and memory back-ups mean he's "effectively immortal."

How Did Beast Become Such a Monster?

During the Krakoan Era, X-Force depicted Beast's fall into villainy. Running black ops for mutantkind, Beast gradually embraced the idea of mutants forcibly seizing the planet from humanity. The cloning technology available to the X-Men at the time allowed him to create back-ups of his body and mind, which activated with his full memories whenever his physical body died.

Seemingly dying for good at the conclusion of X-Force, it seemed that Marvel was permanently killing off the original Beast and replacing him with his heroic clone. Instead, the original Beast returned as the Chairman - the leader of the extremist group known as 3K. Originally utilizing a robotic body, he later reappraised that decision, returning to a more recognizable form.

While mutants as a whole lost their cloning tech following the Krakoan Era, the Chairman still has some version of it, now existing as a set of memories that can be downloaded again and again into different bodies.

The upcoming DNX crossover will see the Chairman unleash a virus intended to turn some humans into mutants, while killing the vast amount of people who catch it. It'll be up to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four to stop him.

Beast Has Become a True Supervillain

When Beast first went bad, fans expected X-Men to eventually redeem him, however the franchise has avoided this option at every turn. Not only has the franchise effectively replaced him with a clone (albeit one who doesn't remember the majority of his adventures), but the original Beast has now been rendered immortal, making it even harder to either kill him or merge him with the 'new' clone Beast.

Surprising everyone, X-Men seems truly committed to treating this founding member of the team as an irredeemable villain, even making him immortal so he can keep menacing the mutant heroes for decades to come.

X-Men #35 is available now from Marvel Comics.