X-Men: The Animated Series Changed Marvel History 34 Years Ago, But Sidelined Its Best Character for 11 Episodes

X-Men: The Animated Series debuted on October 31st, 1992, giving a generation their first taste of Marvel’s merry mutants and one of the greatest theme songs in television history. The series’ opening credits had the X-Men charging into battle against Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants, flexing their powers in a sequence that is instantly recognizable even 34 years later. But there was something odd about that first line-up. One of the characters who was prominently featured in the opening credits barely participated in the first season. Especially odd, considering that he was an X-Man and an Avenger.

Hank McCoy, aka Beast, was in prison for most of the first season of X-Men: The Animated Series. He was arrested in the second half of the two-part premiere, “Night of the Sentinels,” after the team infiltrated the Mutant Control Agency to destroy its files on known mutants. The other X-Men escaped, but Beast was captured and imprisoned. Instead of trying to save him, Professor Xavier let Hank face the legal system, hoping the trial would demonstrate that mutants deserved the same rights as everyone else. It was a fine stance for Xavier to take but probably didn’t offer much solace to the man who spent the next 11 episodes behind bars.

The original series was based on the art hugely popular X-Men comics by Jim Lee and featured a cast of Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit and Jubilee, all in the team’s bright costumes. Neither Beast nor Jean Gray were even in the early promotional art. Story editor Eric Lewald, in an oral history of the premiere, recalled, “We also put Beast in jail in the first episode because we thought he would be a secondary character. But Beast was so different and so thoughtful that he became a lot of fun to write.”

Beast Went From X-Men Prisoner to MCU Star

Beast, played by George Buza, is a brilliant scientist who can quote Shakespeare while hanging upside down from the ceiling. He was a powerful fighter, with tremendous strength and agility, but his intelligence and gentle personality made him the perfect spokesman for Xavier’s dream of peaceful coexistence. Hank looked like the sort of creature ordinary people might instinctively fear, but he was usually the most reasonable man in the room. Even his incarceration was a chance to demonstrate his belief that mutants deserved equal treatment under the law. In the Season 1 finale “The Final Decision” the X-Men defeated the Sentinels and saved Senator Robert Kelly, and freed Beast. By the second season, Hank was a regular participant in his teammates’ adventures, and Buza’s performance helped create a version of the character that would shape how audiences perceived him for decades to come.

Beast’s first live-action appearance was almost as easy to miss as his first season on TV. In 2003’s X2, Steve Bacic played Hank McCoy in a brief TV interview, but the character didn’t get a proper introduction until 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. That time, Frasier’s Kelsey Grammer wore the blue fur and played an older Beast who was now Secretary of Mutant Affairs. His large vocabulary, sarcastic sense of humor, and strong voice made him a perfect fit for the role that Buza had made famous. When Beast finally joined the fight and said, “Oh, my stars and garters!” it was one of the few highlights of the movie.

In 2011’s X-Men: First Class, Nicholas Hoult portrayed a younger Beast, delving into the character’s insecurities about his appearance as well as the scientific experiments that transformed him into his familiar blue-furred form. Hoult returned for Days of Future Past, Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix, while Grammer briefly reprised his older role for a cameo in Days of Future Past. Between the two actors, Beast became a staple of Fox’s mutant franchise. 2023’s The Marvels, reintroduced Grammer as Beast for his MCU debut. This time, Hank’s CGI appearance was strikingly similar to the animated character, complete with his glasses and lab coat. Grammer is also one of the returning X-Men actors confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday, which will open in theaters on December 18th, 2026. A character that the creators of the original cartoon did not intend to use is now part of Marvel’s largest superhero crossover. Beast would probably have a Shakespeare quote to share here, but we got nothing.