Beast Man
Encyclopedia
Beast Man is a fictional character
in the popular toy
line and cartoon series
Masters of the Universe
; the savage right-hand man of Skeletor
, he has control over many wild creatures and has brute strength.
in the early 1980s, and one of the first four to be completed and released (the other three being He-Man
, Man-At-Arms
and Skeletor). When the character was developed by Mattel, the name of Beast Man was reused from a figure in Mattel's earlier Flash Gordon
toy line.
In early sketches for the toyline (then called 'The Fighting Foe Men'), Beast Man (then called Red Beast) was at one stage planned to be the line's main villain, but this role ended up being given to Skeletor (prototype name Demo-Man), with Beast Man as his main sidekick.
The figure came with red removable chest and arm armor, and was armed with a string whip, which was recycled from Mattel's earlier Big Jim
toy-line. Being one of the early figures to be continually re-issued with each successive wave, late examples of the figure can be found with a hard, solid head as opposed to the more common hollow, 'squeezable' rubber one. The 'solid head' version is far rarer.
The Weapons Pak, which consisted of existing weapons and armor, mostly in different colours to their original, included yellow versions of Beast Man's torso and arm armor (as well as his whip, in its original black). As a result, many examples of the Beast Man figure found on the second-hand market can be found to be wearing this yellow version of the armor. Some sellers even promote this as a variant version of the figure, but in actuality it is just down to previous owners mixing the parts up over the years, as Beast Man figures only ever came wearing the red version of the armor.
Later in the original toy-line's run, Beast-Man also has the unfortunate distinction of being the character most often depicted being trapped and covered with evil green slime in the Evil horde's Slime Pit ending up as a slime-monster who willingly obeyed Hordak
's bidding.
, introduced in the first episode "Diamond Ray of Disappearance". Although toned down slightly for the younger-child friendly series, as were many of the characters, his cartoon portrayal is generally consistent with his mini-comic portrayal, although in some early episodes the show's writers added extra dimensions to his character in that despite his loyalty, he clearly resents being bossed around by Skeletor and secretly desires to someday overthrow his master. This side of his character is brought to the forefront in the episode "Prince Adam No More", in which he is finally thrown out of Skeletor's crew. Feeling useless without the power of Snake Mountain
behind him, he sets out to prove his worth by capturing King Randor
by himself and bringing him to Snake Mountain. Although he succeeds in capturing the King, when He-Man
comes to the rescue he is subjected once again to Skeletor's wrath and admitted back into his ranks purely so Skeletor has someone to vent his anger on. But his final line in the episode "It's kind of nice to be home" indicates he now feels he belongs as Skeletor's underling, and subsequent episodes portray him mostly for comedy
value, willingly succumbing to Skeletor's abuse and constantly bungling his schemes. Notable episodes for Beast Man in the show's later stages include "The Shadow of Skeletor" and "Orko's Return" which restore him to his original, darker portrayal, working independently and craftily to achieve his aims. The powers of Beast-Man are shown effective in some earlier episodes, such as "Creatures From The Tar Swamp", "A Beastly Sideshow" and "The Dragon Invasion". His ability to control animals is not impeccable, however. For instance, he cannot control Cringer, Battle Cat, a dragon defending her young, or Panthor (although does trick Cringer into a trap in "A Beastly Sideshow").
Beast Man remained a fairly regular character throughout the run of the 1980s series, while some other earlier figures like Zodac, Mer-Man, Tri-Klops and Stratos gradually dropped out of sight when newer characters were released. He generally held his position as Skeletor's right hand man throughout the cartoon's run, although in some later second season episodes this position was occasionally filled by characters such as Clawful
or Whiplash, as writers attempted to promote newer characters more prominently. Beast Man was often teamed up with Trap-Jaw, one of the other earlier characters to remain consistent through the show's life.
Beast Man's background is never mentioned in the cartoon, although the series bible states a surprising origin for him, explaining he was once a thuggish human from Earth
called Biff Beastman who owned a farmyard on which he constantly abused the animals. He was recruited as chief technician
on the spacecraft
piloted by Marlena Glenn
, which crashlanded on Eternia, but he wound up on Skeletor's homeworld of Infinita, where he was mutated into Beast Man and recruited by Skeletor. This origin story appears in a storybook entitled "New Champions of Eternia" but was unpopular with most of the show's writers and therefore excluded from the series.
Ladybird Books
which reveals he was the leader of a tribe of Beast People from the Vine Jungle. Although this background has never been mentioned in any of the more prominent MOTU incarnations (except for the DC Comics
, which features the "Beastmen"), it is generally a popular concept amongst fans that he hails from a jungle tribe.
in 1987. Although credited as 'Beastman' (all one word), he is presented as "the Beastman" within the movie. Played by Tony Carroll, he is portrayed somewhat differently to other incarnations, appearing as a savage minion of Skeletor's, who merely growls instead of speaking. Although his lack of speech might indicate a lower level of intelligence than his usual depiction, the character is shown as capable of using high-tech weapons, working in a team and following orders. (He is also seen to carry a rather battered, simple sword at his waist, although is not seen actually using it in the movie.) When Skeletor incinerates Saurod for the broader team's failure, Beast Man clutches at his master's leg and makes a great show of begging for his life.
Redesigned by European comic artist Moebius
, Beast Man has the same concepts as his familiar version, yet at the same time has a noticeably different appearance, with longer, browner fur rather than his usual orange, no tribal facepaint and a possibly Samurai
-influenced new design for his chest armor.
Although drawn to resemble his film counterpart, Beast Man of the movie's comic book adaptation has more in common with the cartoon and toy versions. He talks and even replaces Blade as Evil-Lyn
's helper during the scene of her interrogating Kevin Corrigan.
The film makes no mention of his ability to control animals.
. The figure's colour scheme is darkened down slightly, with deeper orange-red fur instead of the vintage figure's bright orange, and dark brown armor in place of the original's red. The figure's arm armor is now molded on (whereas the original's was removable), and now also sports similar armor on his lower legs. The action feature of this new version of the figure is his arms, which swing downwards when a button on his back is pressed. When the Four Horsemen
originally designed the new version, they had planned for the figure to have a vocal 'roaring' feature, but this was eventually dropped due to production budget restraints.
His portrayal in the new cartoon series is much the same as the old, although in this incarnation he never shows any signs of desire to overthrow Skeletor, remaining permanently loyal to his master. Although he still possesses power over all wild animals, he has difficulty controlling dragon
s, as is showcased in the episode "Dragon's Brood". Beast Man still carries a whip, but relations with his animals are characterized by mutual affection.
Although his background is not mentioned in the show, the accompanying MVCreations comic series published an origin story for him (as Icons of Evil #1, written by Robert Kirkman
and drawn by Tony Moore
) in which he is revealed to originate from the Berserker Islands, where he first encounters Keldor before his transformation into Skeletor
. He has remained subservient to Skeletor ever since he saved his life for the sake of recruiting him as his servant.
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the popular toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
line and cartoon series
Cartoon series
A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same characters and a basic theme...
Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe is a media franchise created by Mattel....
; the savage right-hand man of Skeletor
Skeletor
Skeletor is a featured villain in the Masters of the Universe franchise and the arch-enemy and main antagonist of He-Man. Depicted as a muscular blue humanoid with a purple hood over his yellowing bare-bone skull, Skeletor seeks to conquer Castle Grayskull so he can learn its ancient secrets,...
, he has control over many wild creatures and has brute strength.
Figure
Beast Man was one of the first eight characters to be created for the Masters of the Universe toy line by MattelMattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
in the early 1980s, and one of the first four to be completed and released (the other three being He-Man
He-Man
He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
, Man-At-Arms
Man-At-Arms
Man-At-Arms is the primary title of Duncan, a fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise. The figure's tag-line is "Heroic Master of Weapons".-He-Man and the Masters of the Universe :...
and Skeletor). When the character was developed by Mattel, the name of Beast Man was reused from a figure in Mattel's earlier Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
toy line.
In early sketches for the toyline (then called 'The Fighting Foe Men'), Beast Man (then called Red Beast) was at one stage planned to be the line's main villain, but this role ended up being given to Skeletor (prototype name Demo-Man), with Beast Man as his main sidekick.
The figure came with red removable chest and arm armor, and was armed with a string whip, which was recycled from Mattel's earlier Big Jim
Big Jim
Big Jim was a popular line of action figure toys produced from 1972 through 1986 by Mattel for the North American and European markets. In Latin America he was renamed Kid Acero, and for a short period of time, Mark the Strong in Europe. Originally inspired by G.I...
toy-line. Being one of the early figures to be continually re-issued with each successive wave, late examples of the figure can be found with a hard, solid head as opposed to the more common hollow, 'squeezable' rubber one. The 'solid head' version is far rarer.
The Weapons Pak, which consisted of existing weapons and armor, mostly in different colours to their original, included yellow versions of Beast Man's torso and arm armor (as well as his whip, in its original black). As a result, many examples of the Beast Man figure found on the second-hand market can be found to be wearing this yellow version of the armor. Some sellers even promote this as a variant version of the figure, but in actuality it is just down to previous owners mixing the parts up over the years, as Beast Man figures only ever came wearing the red version of the armor.
Later in the original toy-line's run, Beast-Man also has the unfortunate distinction of being the character most often depicted being trapped and covered with evil green slime in the Evil horde's Slime Pit ending up as a slime-monster who willingly obeyed Hordak
Hordak
Hordak is a fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise, as a villain who opposes She-Ra, He-Man, and villain Skeletor. In the She-Ra cartoon, he is the leader of the segment of the fictional Evil Horde on the planet Etheria, an army of savage warriors, most of whom wear a red...
's bidding.
Filmation cartoon series
Beast Man appears frequently in the toy line's accompanying cartoon series by FilmationFilmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
, introduced in the first episode "Diamond Ray of Disappearance". Although toned down slightly for the younger-child friendly series, as were many of the characters, his cartoon portrayal is generally consistent with his mini-comic portrayal, although in some early episodes the show's writers added extra dimensions to his character in that despite his loyalty, he clearly resents being bossed around by Skeletor and secretly desires to someday overthrow his master. This side of his character is brought to the forefront in the episode "Prince Adam No More", in which he is finally thrown out of Skeletor's crew. Feeling useless without the power of Snake Mountain
Snake Mountain
Snake Mountain may refer to:In geography:* Snake Mountain , USA* Snake Mountain , USA* Snake Mountains of Nevada, USA...
behind him, he sets out to prove his worth by capturing King Randor
King Randor
King Randor is a fictional character who appears in the popular 1980s Masters of the Universe franchise. In early material, the character is called King Miro, this was later given in the Filmation cartoon series as King Randor's long-lost father's name....
by himself and bringing him to Snake Mountain. Although he succeeds in capturing the King, when He-Man
He-Man
He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
comes to the rescue he is subjected once again to Skeletor's wrath and admitted back into his ranks purely so Skeletor has someone to vent his anger on. But his final line in the episode "It's kind of nice to be home" indicates he now feels he belongs as Skeletor's underling, and subsequent episodes portray him mostly for comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
value, willingly succumbing to Skeletor's abuse and constantly bungling his schemes. Notable episodes for Beast Man in the show's later stages include "The Shadow of Skeletor" and "Orko's Return" which restore him to his original, darker portrayal, working independently and craftily to achieve his aims. The powers of Beast-Man are shown effective in some earlier episodes, such as "Creatures From The Tar Swamp", "A Beastly Sideshow" and "The Dragon Invasion". His ability to control animals is not impeccable, however. For instance, he cannot control Cringer, Battle Cat, a dragon defending her young, or Panthor (although does trick Cringer into a trap in "A Beastly Sideshow").
Beast Man remained a fairly regular character throughout the run of the 1980s series, while some other earlier figures like Zodac, Mer-Man, Tri-Klops and Stratos gradually dropped out of sight when newer characters were released. He generally held his position as Skeletor's right hand man throughout the cartoon's run, although in some later second season episodes this position was occasionally filled by characters such as Clawful
Clawful
Clawful is a fictional character in the popular Masters of the Universe toy line and the accompanying cartoon series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe....
or Whiplash, as writers attempted to promote newer characters more prominently. Beast Man was often teamed up with Trap-Jaw, one of the other earlier characters to remain consistent through the show's life.
Beast Man's background is never mentioned in the cartoon, although the series bible states a surprising origin for him, explaining he was once a thuggish human from Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
called Biff Beastman who owned a farmyard on which he constantly abused the animals. He was recruited as chief technician
Technician
A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skills and techniques, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Experienced technicians in a specific tool domain typically have intermediate understanding of theory and expert...
on the spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
piloted by Marlena Glenn
Queen Marlena
Queen Marlena is a fictional character from the Masters of the Universe franchise. She first appears in the toys' minicomics as a typical medieval-style queen. Later, the Filmation cartoon series states that she is actually a space pilot from Earth who had crash-landed on Eternia some years before...
, which crashlanded on Eternia, but he wound up on Skeletor's homeworld of Infinita, where he was mutated into Beast Man and recruited by Skeletor. This origin story appears in a storybook entitled "New Champions of Eternia" but was unpopular with most of the show's writers and therefore excluded from the series.
Other media
Beast Man is included in numerous MOTU storybooks throughout the 1980s. One such range of storybooks is the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Ladybird Books
Ladybird Books
Ladybird Books is a London-based publishing company, trading as a stand-alone imprint within the Penguin Group of companies. The Ladybird imprint publishes mass-market children's books.-History:...
which reveals he was the leader of a tribe of Beast People from the Vine Jungle. Although this background has never been mentioned in any of the more prominent MOTU incarnations (except for the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, which features the "Beastmen"), it is generally a popular concept amongst fans that he hails from a jungle tribe.
The 1987 live-action movie
Beast Man also appears in the live action Masters of the Universe movieMasters of the Universe (film)
Masters of the Universe is a 1987 science-fiction fantasy film based on the toy line by the same name. The movie stars Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor...
in 1987. Although credited as 'Beastman' (all one word), he is presented as "the Beastman" within the movie. Played by Tony Carroll, he is portrayed somewhat differently to other incarnations, appearing as a savage minion of Skeletor's, who merely growls instead of speaking. Although his lack of speech might indicate a lower level of intelligence than his usual depiction, the character is shown as capable of using high-tech weapons, working in a team and following orders. (He is also seen to carry a rather battered, simple sword at his waist, although is not seen actually using it in the movie.) When Skeletor incinerates Saurod for the broader team's failure, Beast Man clutches at his master's leg and makes a great show of begging for his life.
Redesigned by European comic artist Moebius
Jean Giraud
Jean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
, Beast Man has the same concepts as his familiar version, yet at the same time has a noticeably different appearance, with longer, browner fur rather than his usual orange, no tribal facepaint and a possibly Samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
-influenced new design for his chest armor.
Although drawn to resemble his film counterpart, Beast Man of the movie's comic book adaptation has more in common with the cartoon and toy versions. He talks and even replaces Blade as Evil-Lyn
Evil-Lyn
Evil-Lyn is a fictional character in the popular Masters of the Universe toy line and the accompanying cartoon series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe....
's helper during the scene of her interrogating Kevin Corrigan.
The film makes no mention of his ability to control animals.
2002 revamp and Mike Young Productions animated series
Beast Man returns in the 2002 relaunch of the MOTU toy line and series. Possessing essentially the same design as the classic version of the character, the 2002 Beast Man is depicted as being a physically much larger creature with a hunched back. He is one of the largest revamped villains, rivaled in size only by Whiplash and ClawfulClawful
Clawful is a fictional character in the popular Masters of the Universe toy line and the accompanying cartoon series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe....
. The figure's colour scheme is darkened down slightly, with deeper orange-red fur instead of the vintage figure's bright orange, and dark brown armor in place of the original's red. The figure's arm armor is now molded on (whereas the original's was removable), and now also sports similar armor on his lower legs. The action feature of this new version of the figure is his arms, which swing downwards when a button on his back is pressed. When the Four Horsemen
Four Horsemen Studios
Four Horsemen Studios is a group of four action figure sculptors who formerly worked for McFarlane Toys, and whose work has included the modern and classics line of Masters of the Universe toys and the current DCSH and DC Universe Classics lines....
originally designed the new version, they had planned for the figure to have a vocal 'roaring' feature, but this was eventually dropped due to production budget restraints.
His portrayal in the new cartoon series is much the same as the old, although in this incarnation he never shows any signs of desire to overthrow Skeletor, remaining permanently loyal to his master. Although he still possesses power over all wild animals, he has difficulty controlling dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s, as is showcased in the episode "Dragon's Brood". Beast Man still carries a whip, but relations with his animals are characterized by mutual affection.
Although his background is not mentioned in the show, the accompanying MVCreations comic series published an origin story for him (as Icons of Evil #1, written by Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead and Invincible for Image Comics, and Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt...
and drawn by Tony Moore
Tony Moore (artist)
Michael Anthony "Tony" Moore is an American comic book artist, whose work consists mainly of genre pieces, most notably in horror and science fiction, with titles such as The Walking Dead, Fear Agent and The Exterminators.-Career:...
) in which he is revealed to originate from the Berserker Islands, where he first encounters Keldor before his transformation into Skeletor
Skeletor
Skeletor is a featured villain in the Masters of the Universe franchise and the arch-enemy and main antagonist of He-Man. Depicted as a muscular blue humanoid with a purple hood over his yellowing bare-bone skull, Skeletor seeks to conquer Castle Grayskull so he can learn its ancient secrets,...
. He has remained subservient to Skeletor ever since he saved his life for the sake of recruiting him as his servant.
Masters of the Universe Classics
Although the MOTU Classics toyline that started in 2008 has, as yet, no supporting fiction, the toys' packaging do include short character biographies that merge elements from various incarnations of the franchise as well as some newly-developed information to form a new, distinct "Classics" continuityContinuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
.