I've been given the tremendous honor by the folks at Gazillion to announce that the bouncing blue Beast will be the 60th Hero released to the game. We can expect him to be released sometime in the near future, after the massive system update.
Earlier this year Beast was chosen to fill the 7th Slot in Advance Pack 3 thanks to the successful campaign I ran to get him included. So I'd like to thank everyone who threw their support behind me to make this a reality after so many years of struggle.
Beast has been one of my favorite characters even since I first discovered the X-Men comics as a kid. I've even roleplayed as him in various tabletop and online RPG games. And I have a very large collection of collectibles featuring the character. A lot of people ask me why I have such a love for the character. I'm already being longwinded here, so I'll keep it short. It's the duality of the character. Here's this genius scientist, doctor, and teacher in the form of something most will judge as some sort of animal. But he’s generally never was a depressed sadsack about it.
While I prefer the classic Speedo sportin' “Blue Apeman” appearance to Beast, we'll have to wait a little while for this popular look. His launch costumes, as confirmed awhile ago, will be his current Uncanny Inhumans “Blue Gorilla” look and his Astonishing X-Men “Blue Feline” look. Both have been modeled by The Dink, so I expect them to really look amazing upon release. I don't fault them for the choices... more clothing equals less fur for them to have to model. I'm sure it'll only be a brief wait for X-Briefs.
I have tremendous faith in Gazillion for making Beast an amazing character to play. They've managed to do that with 59 characters before Hank McCoy... so I have no concerns. And for costume collectors, nobody has nearly as any distinct looks as Beast... and I'll be buying them all as they release them. After all, he hasn't just changed costumes over the years, he's changed his form as well. I'm sure that The Dink and the other amazing artists at Gazillion will make Beast look his best.
I'd also like to dedicate the release of Beast to my Brother who I lost earlier this year due to the complications of brain surgery. He was a constant supporter of me getting Beast in the game, and it's a shame he's not here to see that happen. In fact, the day he was announced I was gone dealing with related matters. I'm still amused at the timing and coming home to tons of tweets, forum messages, and notifications. Heh.