KGBeast

Superherobox|


caption=KGBeast
comic_color=background:#8080ff
character_name=KGBeast
real_name=Anatoli Knyazev
publisher=DC Comics
debut="Batman" #417 (March 1988)
creators=Jim Starlin
Jim Aparo
alliance_color=background:#c0c0ff
alliances=KGB Penguin's gang
aliases=
powers=Enhanced physique due to cybernetic enhancement and extreme KGB conditioning; Extraordinary hand-to-hand combatant; Master of weapons and explosives; Prosthetic gun in place of left hand|

KGBeast is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in DC Comics publications primarily as an opponent of Batman.

Fictional character biography

Back story

Anatoli Knyazev, code-named "The Beast" and known to the C.I.A. as the "KGBeast" was trained as an assassin by "The Hammer," a top secret cell of the KGB. In addition to being the master of several martial arts, his strength was cybernetically enhanced, and he also mastered the use of every deadly weapon known. At the time of his first appearance, he was rumored to have killed at least 200 people, including Anwar El Sadat.

First appearance

The Beast made his first appearance in the storyline, "Ten Nights of The Beast" "(Batman" #417 - 420, later reprinted as a trade paperback of the same name.)

The Hammer's general, angry that the Soviet government was working to better relations with the United States, sends Knyazev on a mission to kill 10 high-ranking U.S. officials in an attempt to cripple the Star Wars program. These include scientists, civilian administrators, military figures, and politicians, the last of whom being then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan, scheduled to visit Gotham City.

Despite Batman's best efforts, the Beast eliminates nearly all of his targets. In particular, he showcases his ruthlessness by poisoning an entire banquet, killing over 100 people, just to ensure his target would die.

When Batman finally meets the Beast in hand to hand combat, the Beast quickly gains the upper hand, fleeing only because he thought Batman had back-up.

During the rematch between the two, Batman snares the Beast's left wrist with the Batrope. Rather than be captured, the Beast grabs a nearby axe and chops off the restrained hand. The Beast quickly has the limb replaced with a cybernetic gun, made by one of Gotham's top weapons dealers.

Before the final confrontation between Batman and the Beast, C.I.A. Agent Ralph Bundy reminds Batman that, if the Beast were to be captured alive, he would have to be handed over to the Soviets, and likely escape justice. Knowing this, Batman, after thwarting the Beast's assassination attempt on Reagan, destroys the Beast's gun-arm, lures him into the sewers, and then corners him in an underground room. The Beast invites Batman to fight him to the death, but instead Batman locks the room, effectively burying the assassin alive.

In the later story, "", Batman notes that he then contacted the police to pick up the subdued villain.

Later appearances

However, the Beast escapes and goes into hiding, from which he sees the Soviet Union dissolve. His protegé, the NKVDemon, surfaces in Russia, but is killed by Batman's ally, Soviet police detective Nikita Krakov. The Beast becomes a traditional supervillain, engaging in a counterfeiting scheme and having additional cybernetic implants inserted into his body. He fights Robin and the Huntress, but is ultimately defeated by King Snake. He also acquires a nuclear bomb the size and shape of a baseball, which he uses to threaten Gotham City. He is defeated by Robin and ultimately locked up in Blackgate Penitentiary. [Robin #14 Troika Part Four]

In the "No Man's Land" storyline, the Beast appears as a henchman of Lock-Up, during the latter's tenure as the unofficial warden of Blackgate.

In "Detective Comics" #817, the Beast is thrown from a roof by a man thought to be Two-Face, after the Beast botches an assassination. His lifeless body is later found by the police, his death caused by two gunshots to the head. Two-Face appears to be innocent of the murder; the killer seems to be The Tally Man, hired by the Great White Shark. The Beast's corpse was recently stolen by a mysterious group reanimating corpses and turning them into zombie like soldiers. [Nightwing #142] His head is shown floating around in a tank with several life support devices. So this might mean that we haven’t seen the last of him. [Nightwing #143]

From Supervillain to simple Henchman

In the first episodes KGBeast was a force to be reckoned with. Batman felt that in meeting the Beast he for once found someone better than him. Tim Drake was reluctant to fight the Beast because he felt way out of his depth against a foe this powerful. The respect that the Beast earned in earlier stories vanished. At the time of his death KGBeast lamented that he had become nothing more than a hitman for hire. He was even defeated by Harvey Dent in hand to hand combat. Once considered an equal to Batman, KGBeast seems to have lost his touch over the years.

Other media

KGBeast appeared in the "Justice League Unlimited" episode, "Kids Stuff", where he, Blockbuster, Cheetah, and Copperhead are robbing a gold vault. He later makes a couple of background appearances as a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society.

References