Issue(s): X-Men Unlimited #10
Cover Date: Mar 96
Title: "Need to know"
Credits:
Mark Waid - Writer
Frank Toscano & Nick Gnazzo - Penciler
Art Thibert - Inker
Jaye Gardner - Assistant Editor
Kelly Corvese - Editor

Review/plot:
This issue has an important (short term) development: the Dark Beasts kidnaps his 616 counterpart and secretly takes his place on the X-Men.

A lot of the issue is flashback, showing early days of the Beast, highlighting his relationship with his parents and his teachers.

It's nice character work like you'd expect from Mark Waid. Although some of the scenarios, like Beast blowing a date at a funhouse to stop and take apart the automatons, are over the top unless you take them as "more Silver Age than the actual Silver Age" homage.

But the heartfelt stuff is a contrast to the present day, where the Dark Beast is going around and murdering the people from these memories.

Luckily he only murders people made up for this story, and not 'real' characters like Vera Cantor. He does nearly murder Beast's parents, but their love for him (he's altered his appearance and is impersonating the real Beast at this point) affects him and he doesn't.

He murders some random passerby on the way home instead.

I like the AoA interpretation of Beast as someone who obsessed with scientific discovery that he's forgotten about morality; stemming from him experimenting on himself in Amazing Adventures #11 but taking that path much further. I don't even mind the idea that the AoA world twisted him and made him sadistic towards his experimentation subjects. But the idea that he's just a psychopathic serial killer on top of all that dilutes the idea too much from. He loses the "interesting diversion from the Hank McCoy we know" aspect and just becomes a generic (overly violent, 90s style) bad guy.

Anyway, meanwhile, the Beast has had yet another near breakthrough on the Legacy Virus, but the Dark Beast uses it to lure him to an abandoned Brand Corporation warehouse where they fight.

The Beast hesitates and the Dark Beast knocks him out and imprisons him Cask of Amontillado style while taunting him about the Legacy Virus.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - Dark Beast impersonates the Beast

Chronological Placement Considerations: Fatale is seen working for Dark Beast at this point. Beast is replaced by Dark Beast in this story, placing it between X-Men #49-50 and before Uncanny X-Men #331 (an end note says it's "to be continued" in the UX issue, but the MCP has X-Men #50 taking place first).

References:

• The Dark Beast comes from the Age of Apocalypse timeline, where he worked for Mr. Sinister. He's avoiding the Sinister of this timeline.
  
• A footnote says that Beast is supposed to be helping repair the Danger Room "from damaged sustained in "X-Force #5". I assume that's really fifty-something, but i don't know which.
  
• There is a flashback to when the Beast experimented on himself, resulting in his fuzzy appearance, from Amazing Adventures #11. It's also worth noting that the Dark Beast's appearance is due to additional experiments along those lines, and he's also able to impersonate the real Beast using that kind of science.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A