Henry McCoy

**Henry "Hank" Philip McCoy**, also known as ***Beast***, is a Class 3 mutant from the United States and one of the original five X-Men. In addition to being one of the X-Men, he is also one of the instructors at the Xavier Institute and a world-renowned biochemist, physicist, and engineer.

## Biography

Hank McCoy was born and raised in Dunfee, Illinois. His father, Norton McCoy, worked at a nuclear power plant where he was exposed to massive amounts of radiation during an accident. Norton was completely unharmed, but the radiation affected his genes and, as a result, his son was born a mutant. Unlike most mutants, Hank showed signs of mutation from birth: unusually large hands and feet coupled with unusual strength and agility. A prodigy, Hank was also endowed with innate superhuman intellect, and his powers of simian-like agility, reflexes, and strength only increased during adolescence.

While attending Bard College, Hank became a star football player and earned the nickname ***Magilla Gorilla***. Hank hid his mutation and thirst for knowledge in plain sight until the school asked him to leave after he was exposed as a mutant. Hank's remarkable athletic abilities and brilliance attracted the notice of Professor Charles Xavier, who was forming the original X-Men. Xavier offered Hank, who excelled in the classroom, the chance for unlimited academic opportunities at his prestigious Xavier Institute.

## Relationships

 Parent(s)
 Paternal Uncle(s)

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

**Ape Physiology:** It is possible that Beast's mutation is a result of genetic atavism, or genetic traits that resurface in a species after many generations of dormancy. He possesses neotenous characteristics, which explain why he has a modern human brain with an ape-like physique. He is covered with blue fur, has a snout and pointed ears, his teeth are fang-like, and he has claws instead of regular fingernails. Additionally, his hands and feet are abnormally large. His claws are sharp enough to rend most conventional materials, including flesh, wood, stone, and even metal. He can use them to climb up vertical surfaces by wedging his claws into the smallest of cracks.

Originally, in his teenage years, Beast was able to lift about one ton. From breaking chains to headbutting through a solid metal wall, he always made full use of his physical prowess by combining his muscular strength with agile kinetic build-up. After his mutation into a blue simian form, his strength was increased to the point where he can now lift about ten tons, which is sufficient for him to smash through a brick wall with a single punch, toss a small car, and to tie an iron barbell into a knot. His bodily tissues are also harder and more resistant to certain types of injuries than the bodies of normal humans. His physiology can withstand great impact forces, though he can be injured by many types of conventional weapons, such as standard firearms and bladed weapons. However, Beast can withstand physical impacts, such as falling from several stories, without suffering any harm.

Beast is also able to run and move at speeds that are slightly beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete despite his abnormal size. He can run at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour for short distances, particularly if he runs on all fours. His highly advanced musculature produces less fatigue toxins during physical activity than that of an ordinary human. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before the build-up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him.

Beast's agility, balance, bodily coordination, and dexterity are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. He has the agility of a great ape combined with the acrobatic prowess of an Olympic-level gymnast. He can walk a tightrope or a slack rope as easily as most people can walk on a sidewalk. He can also walk on his hands for many hours or perform a series of complicated gymnastic stunts with ease. He is also able to perform many tasks with his feet as easily as a human could do with their hands. His manual and pedal dexterity are so great that he can write with both hands at once or tie knots in rope with his toes.

Lastly, Beast possesses enhanced, acute senses that are comparable to those of certain animals, enabling him to see and hear distant objects more clearly than a normal human and identify and track someone purely by scent over open terrain. Additionally, his hands and feet are sensitive enough to detect electronic signals through solid walls and floors. His cat-like nigh tvision allows him to see in near-total darkness.

### Abilities

* **Intelligence:** Beast is one of the eight smartest people in the world. He has six Ph.D.s, one of which is in the field of biophysics. Beast's greatest asset is his keen scientific mind. As the X-Men's resident technological and medical genius, he possesses extraordinary expertise in genetics, biochemistry, and electronics. He discovered the hormonal extract that is the chemical cause of mutation and cured the Legacy Virus. Among his technological feats, Beast has designed and built Cerebra, a time travel device, and a thermonuclear reactor. He is also quite the gifted computer scientist, hacking into Bruce Banner's computer and designing a computer system that locked down as soon as Shadowcat tried to access it.
* **Memory:** Beast has an eidetic memory, which shows in his ability to recall complex mathematical and chemical formulas with little to no research. He can additionally remember and quote historical texts, literature, and even comic strip quotes from memory.
* **Combat:** Beast is an excellent hand-to-hand figher. He gained his initial combat training from Professor Xavier and then continued his tutelage in combat gymnastics from Captain America. He typically uses a freestyle form of combat, similar to that of Spider-Man, that allows him to make full use of his great strength and agility. During times of anger, however, Beast is known to resort to brawling and street fighting tactics.
* **Multilingualism:** He is fluent in several languages, including English, German, French, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, and Latverian.
* **Tactics and Strategy:** He is a capable leader, as he has led his own team of Defenders with Iceman and Angel as teammates. Even when he is not the leader of a team, he is typically a key member in some of the greatest team accomplishments, such as helping to rescue Nova on Mars when the Secret Avengers. He is also a great team player.
* **Will Power:** Beast's dedication to science and co-existence between humans and mutants is unwavering. He never gave up on finding a cure for the Legacy Virus, to which he eventually did find a cure. He has great compassion for both humans and mutants alike, and his unflagging courage allows him to protect both of them at any cost, even with his own life.
* **Keyboard:** He is an accomplished keyboard musician.

### Weaknesses

**Feral Instincts:** For years, Beast has had to come to terms with his increasing animal instincts, which come with each new mutation. Cassandra Nova took advantage of this by making him act like an animal, much to his humilitation, until Beak managed to break him out of her control.

**Vulnerable Senses:** Due to his animal-like mutation, the only other weakness that Beast has is the fact that his heightened senses can be taken advantage of by overloading them with too much stimulation.