The Man-Beast
Real Name: Ummm...Rover, maybe?
AKA: The Super-Beast. The Prophet. President Rex Carpenter. The Mentor. The Hate-Monger. The Omega. Senator Kyle Munson.
First Appearance: Thor 134
De-evolved In: Incredible Hulk 178, where the resurrected Warlock returned him to animal form -- but warned that it would only last as long as the people of Counter-Earth controlled their own bestial urges. You can probably guess what happened a relatively short time later...
Powers: The Man-Beast has a voice that clouds the mind of all who listen to it (hence his propensity for impersonating political figures and cult leaders), hypnotic powers only gods and androids are immune to, and psionic mind-blasts powered by the force of his hatred for the High Evolutionary and Adam Warlock. He can give portions of "the power" he wields to allies, as he did with Brother Power and the Bi-Beast. He's capable of striking down enemies with a mind-bolt of pure hate. And lest you think that's a wimpy power, consider that the Man-Beast's ability to channel hate makes him capable of standing up to the likes of Thor and the Hulk!
What's His Problem? Artificially evolved from a wolf by the High Evolutionary, the Man-Beast was banished from his home in Wundagore when he proved violent and uncontrollable. Vowing vengeance on the High Evolutionary and all of his works, the Man-Beast journeyed to Counter-Earth, a planet created to be identical to Earth but meant to exist without evil. Contaminating Counter-Earth with his own bad vibes, he came into classic conflict with Adam Warlock, the protector of Counter-Earth. This presented a tricky proposition for Adam -- eradicating the Man-Beast's evil from the new world, and preventing the High Evolutionary from pulling the plug on his failed "experiment." The task was made impossible when the Man-Beast usurped the body of Counter-Earth's president, Rex Carpenter. The former wolf was able to bring the full authority of the law against Warlock, eventually bringing him to trial and public execution. What the Man-Beast couldn't know was that Warlock's "death" was only momentary; encased in the cocoon that had given him life waaaaay back during the Beehive experiment, Warlock evolved from someone powerful enough to take on a Thunder God or two to something far more cosmic. With but a thought he de-evolved the Man-Beast back into his wolf form before taking off to investigate the cosmos.
Favorite Quote: "There is no way you could know of me, fool! I am beyond your knowledge and understanding! I am your primordial fear sprung violently into life! I am evil!!" (Spectacular Spider-Man 14. Boy, does that give me a Dr. Clayton Forrester flash-back...but the Man-Beast said it first!)
Heroes He Keeps Running Into: Although the self-important cosmic entity known as the High Evolutionary can hardly qualify as a "hero," he is the one the Man-Beast is most determined to destroy since he cast the Man-Beast out of the paradise of Wundagore. The Man-Beast figures he can do that best by taking out the High Evolutionary's "son," Adam Warlock. His attempt to use the Hulk as a weapon against Warlock backfired, resulting in Man-Beast's return to wolfdom. When he was still finding his footing after re-evolving from wolf form and returning to Earth, the Man-Beast had to face off against the likes of Man-Wolf, Spider-Man and -- ulp! -- Razorback. Once he was back up to cosmic power levels, however, the Man-Beast returned to universal villainy, including confrontations with Thor and Warlock, snatching pawns from Thanos' destructive might, and refusing to directly handle the Infinity Gems because some things are just too much for mortals (thus showing far greater wisdom than Thanos, Warlock and a host of other would-be gods).
People Who Think He's Not So Bad: Many of the New Men on Counter-Earth followed Man-Beast, and helped him undermine that planet's government. Achmed Korba, AKA Brother Power, led the Legion of Light for Man-Beast, and even married at his direction. The Bi-Beast accepted Man-Beast's gift of hate to boost his own power levels. Triax the Terrible of Counter-Earth followed Man-Beast loyally, even adopting human form when required. Despite understanding that the Infinity Gems were out of even his league, the Man-Beast transferred most of the Infinity power to a machine. This created the Infinity Thrall, an amalgam of most of the members of the Infinity Watch bound to carry out the Man-Beast's every whim. Fortunately for a universe still reeling from an Infinity War, machines can be broken...
Most Despicable Act: In his Hate Monger guise, the Man-Beast bent literally thousands of deluded cult members to his will. His intent was to cause a disaster that would kill hundreds, then whip the survivors into such a state his hate energy would be re-powered and he could literally hypnotize the entire planet into slavery. The majority of the plot was foiled by Spider-Man, but it still resulted in a violent riot, massive property damage and the ruination of several lives.
Y'know, Wolves Aren't Really Despicable: Since the days of Little Red Riding Hood, wolves have been the victims of bad press. Human fear of wolves have even resulted in the animals being hunted to extinction in some parts of the world. The re-introduction of the American Grey Wolf, Canis lupus, into Yellowstone National Park has been opposed legally, and even sparked a court ruling that bringing the wolves into the park was against the law. Despite this, Canis lupus seems to be making itself at home in Yellowstone.
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