"BEAST"
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Unrevealed (see comments) (1950s Era)
Occupation: Servant
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: His master
Enemies: His master's nephew and nephew's wife (but only because he was forced)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Beast", "witless hulk" (as called by his master)
Base of Operations: His master's home, somewhere in the USA
First Appearance: Menace#11/3 (May, 1954)
Powers/Abilities: Resembling a primeval cave-dweller, the "Beast" had above average strength and fang-like teeth. Although usually sedate and servile, the simple-minded subhuman was capable of homicidal savagery while under the influence of his master's mental domination. He was armed with a switchblade knife.
History:
(Menace #11/3 (fb) - BTS) - The past of the "Beast" is unknown, but at some point he was hired by the nephew of his elderly master to be the old man's attendant (although he was apparently too stupid to even ask for pay). The paralyzed old man gained hypnotic control over his weak-minded servant and could control the "Beast" like a puppet with his thoughts.
(Menace #11/3) - As the old man lay in his bedroom, he heard his nephew quarreling with his wife downstairs--he hated the married couple because he knew they only stayed together so they could inherit his wealth when he died. He silently ordered the "Beast" to summon his avaricious relatives to his bedside, and the two eagerly complied in anticipation of the old man's impending death. At his master's mental bidding, the "Beast" pulled his knife and plunged the blade into the nephew's chest. The nephew's wife began to shriek in terror, so the old man ordered the "Beast" to choke and kill her so her screams would not attract unwanted attention. Afterwards, the "Beast" turned from the carnage and faced his master--he was enraged by what he'd been forced to do, for the primitive brute had been fond of the pretty woman. The old man once again exercised his willpower and compelled the "Beast" to assume an animalistic state, where he could only crawl on the floor on all fours, and he was therefore unable to use the knife or his hands. The old man figured he'd let the subhuman expend his rage, snarling and growling like the beast he was, until he was able to take control of him again. But then the "Beast" crawled upon the bed and bared his fangs, ready to tear into his master's throat...
Comments: Created by an uncredited writer and Al Eadeh (artist).
It was never confirmed that the old man had telepathy, and his power over the "Beast" was attributed to hypnotism; however, he didn't speak and his only dialogue was in thought-balloons, yet he was still able to communicate with his servant and make him obey his commands. My guess is that the old man was a latent telepath who only manifested his power to transmit his thoughts after his paralysis; I'll further speculate that his power of mental domination was too weak to affect people of average intelligence (...otherwise, why not just order his nephew and his wife to kill each other?), but it was sufficient to overpower the simple-minded "Beast".
None of the characters was identified, but this story reminds me of the some of the tales of Edgar Allan Poe (specifically, "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"), so I'll suggest some names derived from Poe's name and writings: old man - "Edgar Roderick" nephew - "Allan Legrand" nephew's wife - "Lenore Legrand"
The true nature of the Beast remains unknown, although he kinda resembled a Neanderthal man. He might've been a mutant, the victim of an evolutionary experiment gone horribly awry, a defrosted caveman who'd been trapped in suspended animation, or just the offspring of some really ugly parents. Since he remains such a mystery, I'm gonna leave him unidentified.
This story--"Only A Beast"--was reprinted in Monsters on the Prowl#30/3 (October, 1974), which is where the images are from.
And a BIG Thank You to Grendel Prime for the scans!
Profile by John Kaminski.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
The "Beast" has no known connections to:
A hate-filled old man, he suffered from a condition that left him in a vegetative state, paralyzed and mute. He was taken in by his only living relatives (his nephew and his nephew's wife), who kept him in a filthy room; they eagerly awaited his death so they could inherit his wealth. The bed-ridden old man was attended to by an ugly brute, whom he addressed as "Beast". He eventually developed the power to telepathically dominate the mind of the "Beast" (see comments), and used him as an extension of his limbs and his hate. He ordered his gruesome attendant to kill his greedy relatives, but the "Beast" turned on him in anger because he had liked the nephew's pretty wife.
--Menace #11/3
Master's Nephew & Nephew's Wife
An unhappily married couple, they stayed together only so they could inherit the wealth of the man's elderly uncle. They employed a brutish attendant to take care of the paralyzed old man's needs, but the old man learned how to mentally dominate his attendant's mind and used him to kill the greedy husband and wife.
--Menace #11/3
images:
(without ads)
Monsters on the Prowl#30/3, p4, pan5 ("Beast"crawling)
Other Appearances: None
Last updated: 12/20/10
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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