X-Men: Beast just can't help himself from being evil

The Krakoan Era is almost over. Before it ends, loose ends need to be tied up. Among them is Hank McCoy. Beast has been a villain within the X-Men. He’s taken the idea of protecting mutants to a new level. He was okay with hurting and killing his friends if it meant Krakoa remained intact. Wolverine found this out the hard way (read Wolverine: Beast Agenda for more).

Before X-Force could deal with Hank, they needed to find a base (X-Force No. 47 by Benjamin Percy). They settled on the North Pole. Things like the extreme cold and magnetic field will help keep Orchis off their back. Once they set up, mutants around the world were made aware of the safe space. While Logan and Akihiro were getting a count of who was on base, Beast was lurking with a sniper rifle aimed at Logan.

After alienating the X-Men and the entire mutant race, you’d figure that Hank would learn his lesson. At the very least he’d hide. Everyone from X-Force to Orchis is looking for him. Instead of laying low, Beast is taking his shot at his former teammate. To hit the point home, Hank McCoy has gone out of his way to take a kill shot at Wolverine. Not because Logan wronged him. Hank's doing it because he’s petty and bitter.

Killing Logan makes things worse for mutants. First, Wolverine is the best fighter the X-Men have. Second, Logan is a protector. With mutants scattered, he’s taken on the duty to keep wayward mutants safe. Lastly, if Hank happens to murder Wolverine, it would destroy morale. A lot of mutants would lose hope that they can survive if the unkillable can die. 

Of course, there’s a chance that Hank isn’t shooting at Logan. It's difficult to predict what the X-Men are doing. However, since this run of X-Force is called "Target: Beast", he likely was. The fiftieth issue of X-Force is the conclusion of this run. We'll have to wait until then to see what Hank McCoy's fate is. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out what that is.