As two of Marvel Comics’ most iconic X-Men, Wolverine and Beast have a long and storied history as X-Force teammates and friends, but now they’re heading towards a clash that’s years in the making. And as two of the team’s more animalistic mutants, both X-Men know a thing or two about keeping their darker natures in check. Unfortunately, Logan and Beast have two very different ideas of what managing their darkness looks like.
Currently, Hank and Logan serve as two of the leads of Krakoa’s X-Force division. And while he may be quite well known for his willingness to get his hands dirty, even Wolverine has had issues with the way Beast has been running things. But while it seems that an X-Force civil war is on the horizon, it won’t come as a surprise to fans who have been keeping up with Beast’s character trajectory over the last few years – or even over the last decade.
The 2013 issue Uncanny X-Men #12 by Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Bachalo highlights the primary difference between both Logan and Hank and cements just why Beast is so out of control. When discussing her exhaustion in dealing with the X-Men, SHIELD Director Maria Hill says, “Henry McCoy is always doing whatever he wants whenever he wants. People always complain about Wolverine doing whatever he wants whenever he wants but Wolverine holds to a code.” While Hill is then referring to the time travel shenanigans kickstarted by Beast bringing the original X-Men into the future, the last few years haven’t done much to disprove her statement. And now that the Beast is in charge of X-Force, his arrogance and callousness have only gotten worse.
Wolverine Can Control His Dark Side, But Beast Leans Into His
Clearly, Wolverine has been crossing the line far longer than Beast, but as Maria Hill states, Logan has a code. Wolverine knows exactly what he is, and he’s well aware of the darker impulses that drive him. Logan is constantly working to keep the animal in check to the point where he doesn’t even particularly see himself as a hero or even particularly morally righteous. He knows that he sometimes has to be the bad guy, and he bears that burden so that his fellow X-Men won’t have to.
Beast, on the other hand, has allowed his darker tendencies to corrupt him. In his arrogance, he justifies every line he crosses as being for the greater good of Krakoa while failing to see that he’s simply doing what he believes is the best almost unilaterally. Beast believes he is all but infallible, still of the mind that his mission to protect Krakoa gives him the moral authority despite the various crimes he’s committed. Even after the numerous timelines he destroyed by bringing the original X-Men to the present, as well as the innocent lives he ruined after his schemes in Terra Verde went awry, Hank still can’t truly see himself as the Beast he’s become.
With such different outlooks, it’s no wonder that Wolverine and Beast are on a collision course with one another and have been since X-Force began. On more than one occasion, the pair have clashed over the way Beast has been running things – including Hank’s treatment of their old friend, Colossus. Wolverine and Beast have been teammates for years, but these days, it’s hard to call them friends. Like many of the X-Men, both bestial heroes have long struggled with their darker natures, but unlike Hank, Logan has managed to keep his in check. And with a civil war brewing in the pages of Marvel Comics’ X-Force, Wolverine and Beast’s conflict may well tear the X-Men apart.
