View source for Beast (comic series)

{{SimilarName|the '''comic series character'''|his '''[[Beast (video game)|video game counterpart]]'''}}
{{Nickname}}
{{Comic Character
|image1 = <gallery>
FI100HumanBeast 01.png|Human
FI01Beast.png|Intermediate
FI100_Beast.png|Beast
</gallery>
|title1 = Lord Beast
|real_name = Unknown
|aliases = *Mr. Bester
*Beast
|status = Deceased <small>(killed by [[Bigby Wolf (comic series)|Bigby Wolf]])</small>
|classification = Human <small>([[Fable]])</small>
|gender = Male
|occupation = *[[Fabletown]]'s Sheriff <small>(formerly)</small>
*Maintenance worker<ref name="Fables 23">[[Fables 23|''Fables'' #23 — "Our Second Amendment Issue: Chapter Four — March of the Wooden Soldiers"]]</ref> <small>(formerly)</small>
*Prince<ref name="1001 Nights">[[Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall|''Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall'' — "The Witch's Tale"]]</ref> <small>(formerly)</small>
|affiliation = [[Fabletown]]
|relatives = *[[Beauty (comic series)|Beauty]] <small>(wife)</small>
*[[List of minor characters#Bliss|Bliss]] <small>(daughter)</small>
|first_issue = [[Fables 1|''Fables'' #1 — "Chapter One: Old Tales Revisited"]]
|last_issue = [[Fables 144|''Fables'' #144 — "Bigby Wolf and the Blustery Day: Chapter Four of Happily Ever After"]] 
|original = "[[Wikipedia: Beauty and the Beast|Beauty and the Beast]]"
|homeland={{Homelands|Beauty's old homeworld|Unnamed Fable world}}}}
{{Fables Character Quote|It's safe and peaceful in Haven. '''Perfect''' place to raise a daughter.|'''Beast''' to '''[[Beauty (comic series)|Beauty]]''' in  [[Fables 115|''Fables'' #115 — "Teddy Bear: Chapter Two of Cubs in Toyland"]]}}

'''Lord Beast''' is the husband of [[Beauty (comic series)|Beauty]] and the father of {{Minor Character|Bliss}}. He first appears in [[Fables 1|''Fables'' #1 — "Chapter One: Old Tales Revisited."]] Beast is a resident of [[Fabletown]]. At the beginning of the series his curse is shown to be in a state of flux, making him human when his wife is happy with him and increasingly bestial as she becomes dissatisfied with him. He later becomes the second sheriff of Fabletown after [[Bigby Wolf (comic series)|Bigby Wolf]] retires. In order to make him more effective in his new role [[Frau Totenkinder]] and the [[13th Floor]] manipulate his curse so he can transform at will. He is considered a competent sheriff, but lacks his predecessor's strategic brilliance.

==History==
===Early life===
Very little is known about Beast, not even his real name. However it is known that at one point he came across a [[Frau Totenkinder|witch]] who disliked princes and confided in her his own fears that he would never find a woman who loved him for more than his wealth and lofty position. After hearing this, the malovlent witch then transformed him into a monstrous beast, but assured him that now whoever loved him would have to love him for himself and that this curse could be broken only with true love.<ref name="1001 Nights"/>

Beast did eventually fall madly in love with [[Beauty (comic series)|a beautiful young lady]]. Her love was enough to remove his curse and turn him human again, except at such times as she grew displeased with him, straining their love so that he reverted to his beastly appearance.

Sometime after they were married, Beast learned that his wife Beauty was not who or what she appeared to be. She was in fact a creature called Lamia, who, while fleeing from enemies, met and killed a girl and took her appearance and life. The Lamia kept the form too long, and came to believe she was "Beauty." But every so often Beauty reverts to her true-self — preceded by bouts of forgetfulness — and Beast took it upon himself to stop her from preying on brutal men. Much to his dismay, or perhaps reliefe, Beauty wakes after these periods with no memory of her actions as Lamia.<ref name="Fairest 7">[[Fairest 7|''Fairest'' #7 — "Lamia"]]</ref>

===The Exodus===
When the Exodus occurred, Beast was forced to use all his wealth to book safe passage for him and Beauty into the [[mundane world]]. They eventually joined what would come to be known as [[Fabletown]]. Unfortunately, having lost or used most of their fortune in their fleeing of the [[Homelands]],<ref>[[Fables 1|''Fables'' #1 — "Chapter One: Old Tales Revisited"]]</ref> they were forced to take relatively low-paying jobs. While Beast maintained the Fabletown buildings, his wife worked as book clerk in the {{Fabletown|Nod's Books|Fabletown bookshop}}.<ref name="Fables 23"/>

===Lamia Resurfaces===
Every few decades, Beauty became her old self, Lamia, again. When this happened, Beast would try to catch her in time and lock her away. Sometimes she escaped, and embarked on a killing rampage, targeting rapists and men who abused women (going after innocents was "not her style"). Beast then assumed the identities of famous heroes of detective fiction (such as Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe) and had to stop her before the mundy authorities could catch her. Beauty never remembered the incidents afterward and Beast never told her the truth.<ref name="Fairest 7"/>

In the 19th century, Beauty degenerated into Lamia and escaped Beast's clutches, going to Los Angeles. On November 14, 1946, Beast and [[Saint George]], who had been hunting Lamia for centuries, both discovered Lamia's latest victim and third kill out this time around: John Marais. After searching in vain for days, Beast finally for a lead which led him to the Hawk Lounge. Through the power of persuasion, he tracked Lamia down to a club called The Platinum, on Sunset Boulevard. Unfortunately for all parties involved, Saint-George had beaten Beast there. Lamia set her sights on one of the club patrons named Joey. Saint-George departed to trail Joey, while Beast chased a gun-wielding Lamia throughout the club. Lamia escaped and met with Joey at midnight at the Chateau Rochecorban in the penthouse apartment of one of her victims. After killing Joey, Saint-George arrived and threatened Lamia with the Sword of Ascalon. However, Beast arrived and subdued Saint-George, rescuing Lamia. After killing Saint-George, who discovered Lamia's identity As Beauty, Beast took his recovering wife to the Art Buck Motor Lodge. Beast lied to an amnesiac Beauty, telling she that she had gone to Los Angeles, and only auditioned for a Howard Hawks film and gotten a callback. When Beast briefly left their motel room to get ice, Bigby Wolf arrived and threatened Beast to deal with the matter of Lamia permanently - even if it means killing Beast as well.<ref name = "Fairest 7"/>

===Fabletown===
With the election of [[Prince Charming]] to Mayor of Fabletown, Beast and Beauty's lives take a turn for the better. As neither [[Bigby Wolf (comic series)|Bigby Wolf]] or [[Snow White (comic series)|Snow White]] are willing to work alongside Charming, they resign, and the Prince offers Beauty and Beast the available jobs.

Beast, now sheriff, allies himself with [[Frau Totenkinder]], the most powerful witch in Fabletown and finally had his curse fixed, allowing him to transform into his Beast form at will. Whether he's aware that it was Totenkinder who inflicted the curse on him in the first place is unknown; this occurred pre-amnesty, so he is legally unable to retaliate. While initially overwhelmed by the complexities of the job, he eventually grows into it the role.

Beauty takes Snow's position as deputy mayor, and also learns to cope with all of the responsibility. Early in her tenure, Prince Charming tries to seduce her, but she rebuffs him, threatening to send her husband after him if he tries again. It is notable that Beauty realizes, as a result of remarks made by Prince Charming during this seduction attempt, that her actions and words toward her husband are not generally as kind as she herself perceived; she subsequently resolves to be nicer to Beast.

After the arrival in Fabletown of the Imperial Emissary, [[Hansel|Lord Hansel]] and the subsequent need to keep track of both him and his staff, Beast asks for, and is given, additional funding and manpower. This includes the zephyrs, provided by Bigby Wolf's father, the North Wind, which act as spies. During the war against the Empire, Beast remains in Fabletown, commanding the troops stationed there in case of a retaliatory assault by the Empire.

At some point, Beast and his wife question Frau Totenkinder about what it is she is always knitting. Totenkinder responds that it is a garment for their firstborn child. Though Beauty laughs, saying she's not even expecting, Frau answer "All things in time" and shows them the progress of her knitting: a pair of footed pajamas with a lion head sewn on the front, and four arms, two legs, and a place for a tail. Beast and Beauty are left flabbergasted by the implications.

===The Farm===
After having a brief argument with Beast about his behavior with Bigby, Beauty and her husband retire to a tent for make up sex. Afterwards, Beauty feels that there was something magical about this sex. In a subsequent, Beauty reveals she is pregnant. The child is born premature, but there are no apparent complications. The child, a little girl, is named Bliss, and seems normal. As Frau had predicted, though, there is a complication: When Bliss becomes angry, she transforms into a six limbed, tailed beast. Since the birth of little Bliss, her father is unable to transform into his beastly form. When Beast is examined by Ozma she is unable to detect any trace of his ancient curse. It is soon confirmed that Bliss has adopted his curse as her own.

===Haven===
[[File:144_Beast_Death.jpg|thumb|165px]]
Beast is considering making a new home for himself, his wife and their daughter in Flycatcher's kingdom in the Homelands, because Beauty will be safer there, as the "mundy" police keeps getting better and better at investigating and collecting evidence, and will catch Beauty sooner or later. The story's ending suggests that Beauty may be turning into Lamia again sometime in the near future. During [[Goldilocks]]' killing spree, Lamia is gone for good: Beauty becomes the victim of the serial killer, and even though Beauty is brought back to life, Lamia is not.

Beast is ultimately killed by a feral, controlled resurrected Bigby Wolf. It remains to be seen if he will stay dead, given his story is very popular among the Mundies.

==Personality==
Despite his nickname, Beast is actually quite polite and civil. Unlike Bigby who is regarded by some Fables in fear and contempt, Beast is usually treated fairly and friendly by the other Fables. He isn't without his flaws. He can be naive and absent-minded: when he became sheriff, he misguidingly fired Flycatcher from his job as a janitor, believing that Bigby had treated him unfairly with all the community service, while in truth it was to keep Flycatcher's depression from paining him. Beast is quick to fix his mistakes however and "forces" Flycatcher to do community service again. 

Inexperienced at first, Beast soon becomes quite competent as a Sheriff. He developed a liking for the espionage game and is able to keep order in Fabletown. He is also shown to be a capable leader, evident when he is shown to be involved with the war effort against the Empire. Like his predecessor, he is capable of using his beastly nature to his advantage. He intimidated Jack to cooperate. Yet, he is capable of showing mercy as shown when he exiled Jack from ever entering Fabletown. 

Despite sometimes bickering and fighting, Beast is quite devoted to Beauty. He wants to make sure that she has a happy and secured life.

==Physical appearance==
Beast was tall and heavily built, the sort of man who would have been called beefy in another time. In the same fashion that most [[Fable]] women were known as "the fairest in all the land," he was strikingly handsome, and possessed the looks of a leading man.<ref>''[[Peter & Max: A Fables Novel]]'', "Chapter Five: Fabletown"</ref> He had brown eyes, fair skin and light brown hair in his human form. As a beast, he was a large, hairy, horned creature with long canine teeth and sharp claws.

==Powers and abilities==
===Powers===
;Current
*'''Immortality:''' Like most [[Fable]]s, he was eternally young and difficult to kill; the extent of their immortality was allegedly based on the popularity of their tales.

;Formerly
*'''Transformation:''' Beast's beastly form was that of a large, hairy, horned creature. When he reverted to his normal human form centuries ago, his curse was not broken but instead the enchantment was now linked to [[Beauty (comic series)|Beauty]]'s love for him. So if she became upset with him, the curse would reassert itself, and he'd revert to his beastly form; the severity of which was in direct correlation to his wife's feelings for him. This enchantment was eventually changed, so that he could change at will between the two forms. His curse was transferred to his daughter, {{Minor_Character|Bliss}}, and he, according to [[Ozma]], has no trace of his old curse within him.
**'''Superhuman strength:''' When in his beastly form, Beast possessed superhuman strength. While in his intermediate form, he was able to overpower Bigby Wolf (Bigby himself stated that Beast was stronger than him, at least when both were only partially transformed).<ref>[[Fables: The Wolf Among Us 20|''Fables: The Wolf Among Us'' #20 — "Chapter Twenty"]]</ref> His more beast-like form is somewhat more powerful and he is capable of holding his own against Bigby in his true wolf-form.
**'''Claws and fangs:''' In his beastly state, Beast gained sharp claws and large canine teeth that were both strong enough to rend through flesh.

===Abilities===
*'''Detective skills:''' His time as sheriff has developed his perceptive abilities and made him a fairly good detective.

==Gallery==
<gallery position="center" spacing="small" hideaddbutton="true" widths="200" orientation="square" captionposition="below" captionalign="center">
HumanBeast 01.png
FI100 BeastCharacter.png
TheBeast 01.png
TWAUBeast.png
TWAU22 Beast.png
Beast and Beauty.jpg
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== See also ==
{{Fables Characters}}
{{Fabletown Navbox}}
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Fables characters]]
[[Category:Fable]]
[[Category:Deceased]]
[[Category:Male characters]]
[[Category:Protagonists]]
[[Category:Fairest characters]]
[[Category:Fables: The Wolf Among Us characters]]
[[Category:Royalty]]
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Beast}}