Beast Fact — October 28, 2026

Today's Fact

Verified against three independent sources. Issues cited below.

BEAST AUDITIONED FOR THE AVENGERS IN A HUMPHREY BOGART DISGUISE — AND LANDED THE JOB!

The Featured Fact

In 1975 the Avengers were so short-handed that they advertised open tryouts at Yankee Stadium. Among the hopefuls who turned up was a man who appeared to be the late film star Humphrey Bogart — a disguise worn by Beast, fresh from the Brand Corporation and in hiding inside his new blue-furred body, who had decided a prank was the correct way to break the ice, in Avengers Vol. 1 #137 (1975).

The interview portion ended early when the cosmic Stranger seeded the stadium with floating mines set to detonate within minutes, and Hank’s audition became a live-fire exercise in front of Thor and Iron Man. He acquitted himself well enough to be taken on then and there as a provisional member — and the same issue gave him the catchphrase he never escaped, “Oh, my stars and garters!”

Provisional became permanent in Avengers Vol. 1 #151 (1976), making Hank McCoy the first X-Man ever to hold Avengers membership. He stayed for years of adventures, struck up his defining friendship with Wonder Man, and only stepped away in Avengers #211, yielding his seat when the roster was capped at six so newer recruits could rotate in.

Why It's Obscure

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes ran a job fair, and the mutant in the movie-star mask treated it like an improv night with explosives.

Yankee Stadium

Open call — with the roster thinned out, the Avengers announced public tryouts at a ballpark, which tells you everything about superhero recruitment standards in 1975.

The Bogart bit

Confidence, weaponised — Hank arrived disguised as a dead screen idol because a fugitive scientist in blue fur apparently calculated that whimsy tested better than a résumé.

Provisional

Trial by minefield — the Stranger’s six-minute mine problem turned the interview into the exam, and passing it earned Hank his provisional card on the spot.

Wonder Man

The real prize — full membership in #151 mattered, but the Avengers years also handed Hank his closest friendship in Simon Williams, a bond Marvel still revisits decades later.

Gallery

Real depictions tied to this fact — no AI imagery, nothing mislabeled.

Wonder Man grinning in the foreground with Beast behind him, comic art — **The friendship**Wonder Man in his red-and-black jacket with Beast at his shoulder — the Avengers tenure’s most durable product was not a roster spot but this partnership.

Beast lunging forward with claws out, blue fur on full display, comic art — **The new look**Beast in full blue fury, claws leading — the very appearance Hank was still learning to live in when he decided a Bogart disguise was the safer first impression.

Beast crouched on all fours, blue fur and long arms visible, comic art — **The applicant**Hank crouched in his simian stance: oversized hands and feet, the build that once made him a football prospect, now auditioning for a very different team.

Sources

Every claim above is verified against at least two of these independent sources.

Bullpen Bulletins

The Real Reason Why Beast Joined the Avengers — CBRSteve Englehart brought Beast into Avengers #137 in 1975; the issue also debuted Beast’s most famous catchphrase, “Oh, my stars and garters.”
Beast (Marvel Comics) — WikipediaAfter his fur transformation Beast was recruited to join the Avengers as a provisional member, was later granted full membership, remained for many years, and became a close friend of Wonder Man.
Beast Issue Checklist — uncannyxmen.netAvengers #137: applies for Avengers membership and proves himself against the Stranger; Avengers #151: officially joins the Avengers; Avengers #211: leaves the team.