X-Factor #24 (Endangered Species ch 15, pg 7) Beast and Dr Strange (Yost story and Divito art)

ENDANGERED SPECIES now flourishing!

After M DAY where Scarlet Witch uttered the words of “NO MORE MUTANTS” the X-Men and all mutant-kind had a ticking clock where their species would just become fond (often feared) memories. Beast set out on a mission to try every angle (evolution, genetics, science and even magic) to find a solution where he and his kind would not fade away. This page features the search on the magical front, where he meets with Dr Strange to visit all different realities to see all the angles of his various versions to make sure he didn’t miss a potential solution. Sadly he comes up empty. This story arc is about a man grasping for any branch to save his kind, dealing with any devil or god he can find to bring his species back from their inevitable death march.

I do love the sad story pages, but this page also features some fun varieties of Beast from alternate realities (scientist Beast, priestly Beast, and magical Beast, who we get to see something similar in X-Men Blue with young time-displaced Beast/Hank). Three beautifully drawn Beasts in very different facets of beliefs that are intertwined for a common goal (science, faith and magic), SURVIVAL! This page also features DR STRANGE which is great to get a page with him on it to check that box, especially since I got to work on the first film. This page ties in beautifully with the second movie for a play on all the varieties of realities.

Christopher Yost’s X-citing writing along with Andrea Divito’s beautiful dramatic art work wonderfully together to tell a very sad story of a species on the brink of extinction, reaching out to any form of salvation and finding none.