Hank McCoy

Doctor, Professor (Titles)

Robert McCoy, John McCoy (Paternal Uncles)

Salem Center, NY

### Education

Doctorates in Biophysics, Genetics, Biochemistry, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science & History

## Background

### 1978 - 1995: Hank McCoy

Henry "Hank" McCoy is the only son of Norton & Edna McCoy. Before Hank was born, Norton worked at a nuclear facility. When he saved the plant from a meltdown, he was bombarded with large amounts of radiation & had to be hospitalized for a time. Norton retired from the nuclear plant shortly thereafter & became a simple farmer living off the land in the town of Duffee, Illinois. When Edna gave birth to Hank, it was obvious the radiation contributed by his enlarged hands & feet.

Unlike most mutants, Henry showed signs of mutation from birth: unusual strength & agility to go with enlarged body parts. A prodigy, Hank was also endowed with an innate superhuman intellect & during adolescence further increased his powers of simian-like augmented agility, reflexes& strength. Though Hank was aware he was different from others & why, his father always reassured his son that he loved him all the same.

Hank proved to be highly intelligent & very inquisitive young boy, focusing on studying & enhancing his education. As a result he developed a large vocabulary at a very young age & his curiosity of all things often got him into trouble. In elementary school, Hank earned the ire of his principal as well as the grounds keeper due to the fact that he frequently disassembled any mechanical object he could get his hands on.

At the age of fifteen, Hank was entering his first year of college at Bard College with a full scholarship for his academics & stellar football career. He quickly became a star football player & earned the nickname Beast. Life was stellar until the school asked him to leave after he was exposed as a mutant. But Hank's remarkable athletic abilities & brilliance attracted the notice of Professor Charles Xavier. Xavier offered Hank the chance for unlimited academic opportunities at his prestigious Xavier Institute & a chance to understand his powers. Taking him up on his offer, Hank joined the X-Men as their last member, taking the codename "Beast" from his college nickname.

## Romantic Relationships

* Raven Darkholme: Lover (1996 - 1997)
* Trish Tilby: On & Off (2002 - )

## Personality

Henry McCoy wondered why he wasn't one of the "lucky ones." He continued to struggle for the acceptance of others. Beast is very much the Renaissance man & while his peers in the intelligence community knew this, they still considered him very much a mutant.

Despite his ongoing battle with the demons of loneliness & rejection, he was an inveterate prankster & wit. Besides his brutish exterior, Beast was the most literate & eloquent of the X-Men, possessing a million-dollar vocabulary. Henry was every bit a human being plagued by duality: man/beast, genius/sports star & gentle giant/feral aggressor. Equal parts biochemist & activist, Beast focused on the X-Men's goals of building better relationships between man & mutant.

## Powers & Abilities

* **Mutant Physiology**: It is possible that Beast's mutation is a result of genetic traits that resurface in a species after generations of dormancy. He also possesses neotenous characteristics, which would explain why he has a big modern brain with an ape-like physique.
	+ ***Superhuman Strength*:** From breaking chains to headbutting through a solid metal wall, he always made full use of his physical prowess by combining muscular strength with agile kinetic buildup. After his mutation into a blue simian form, his strength was increased to the point where he can now lift about 10 tons.
	+ ***Superhuman Speed*:** Beast can run & 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 up to 40 mph for short distances, particularly if he runs on all fours.
	+ ***Superhuman Stamina*:** His highly advanced musculature produces fewer fatigue toxins during physical activity than that of an ordinary human. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before the buildup of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him.
	+ ***Superhuman Durability*:** Beast's bodily tissues are harder & 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. Also, he is able to be physically struck by many superhumanly strong beings like Colossus & Hulk that would either severely injure or kill a normal human.
	+ ***Superhuman Agility*:** Beast's agility, balance & bodily coordination 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 & can also walk on his hands for many hours. He can easily match or surpass any Olympic record in gymnastics.
	+ ***Superhuman Reflexes*:** Beast's reflexes are similarly enhanced & are on levels beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. His training with the X-Men, as well as his experience battling enemies, has granted him the reaction time to evade gunfire.
	+ ***Superhuman Dexterity*:** He can perform many tasks with his feet as easily as a human could do with his hands.
	+ ***Regenerative Healing*:** Beast's metabolism enables him to repair mild to moderate injuries much faster than a normal human. For instance, he can recover from minor ailments, such as a severe cold or fever within a few hours. More severe injuries, like broken bones, can heal within a few days. However, he cannot regenerate destroyed organs or severed limbs.
		- ***Contaminant Resistance*:** Hank possesses a highly advanced immune system, which is a partial reason why he is able to recover from mild ailments& other sicknesses in a few hours. He also possesses an immunity to foreign chemicals (i.e. tranquilizers & types of poisons).
		- ***Temperature Resistance*:** Due to a combination of his own healing abilities & his fine coat of blue fur, Beast is resistant to freezing temperatures.
		- ***Telepathic Resistance*:** Hank possesses moderate resistance to telepathic manipulation.
		- ***Slowed Aging*:** Beast also possesses a slight degree of slowed aging due to his own healing abilities. He still retains the physical appearance & vitality of a man in his prime.
	+ ***Superhuman Senses*:** Hank possesses enhanced, acute senses that are comparable to those of certain animals, enabling him to see & hear distant objects more clearly than a normal human, and identify & track someone purely by scent over open terrain. His hands & feet are sensitive enough to detect electronic signals through solid walls & floors. He also possesses cat-like night-vision that also allows him to see even in near-total darkness.
	+ ***Minor Pheromone Manipulation*:** Beast has the ability to secrete pheromones to attract members of the opposite sex.
	+ ***Razor-Sharp Claws & Fangs*:** Beast sports retractable, razor-sharp claws at the tip of each finger & toe. Their natural edges, coupled with his strength, are sufficient to rend most conventional materials including flesh, wood, stone, and even metal effortlessly & enable him to climb up vertical surfaces by wedging his fingers & toes into the smallest of cracks. He possesses elongated canines that he can use, if he chooses to do so, as effective weapons in close-quarter combat situations.
* **Genius Level Intellect:** Dr. Hank McCoy is one of the eight smartest people in the world, having six PhDs. A world-renowned biochemist, McCoy's greatest asset is his keen scientific mind. As the X-Men's resident technological & medical genius, he possesses extraordinary expertise in genetics, biochemistry & electronics. Among his feats, McCoy has discovered the hormonal extract that is the chemical cause of mutation; designed & built Cerebra; outfitted the Xavier Institute with Shi'ar technology as well as a thermonuclear reactor. He is also quite the gifted computer scientist, hacking Bruce Banner's computer & designing a computer system that locked down as soon as someone other than him tries to access it. Cecilia Reyes was impressed with his knowledge of theoretical physics & basic anatomy though, he has humbly stated himself to be an amateur in physics & technology. He has an eidetic memory & has the ability to recall complex mathematical or chemical formula with little to no research. He can additionally remember & quote historical text, literature, or even comic strip quotes from memory.
* **Hand to Hand Combat:** The hyperactive, bouncing Beast is an excellent fighter. He gained his initial combat training from Professor Xavier then continued his tutelage in combat gymnastics from Captain America. He typically uses a freestyle form of combat, similar to that of Spiderman, that allows him to make full use of his great strength & agility. During times of anger, however, the Beast is known to resort to brawling & street fighting tactics.
* **Multilingualism:** He is fluent in several languages including English, German, French, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Russian & Latverian. He is still learning more languages.
* **Leadership:** He is a capable leader as he has led the X-Men in various battles. Even when he is not the leader of a team, he has been a key member in some of the greatest team accomplishments.
* **Indomitable Will:** Hank's dedication to science & co-existence between humans & mutants is unwavering. He has great compassion for both humans & mutants alike, and his unflagging courage allows him to protect both of them at any cost, even with his own life.

### Weaknesses

* **Animal Instincts:** For years, Hank has had to come to terms with his increasing animal instincts, which come with each new mutation. Due to his transformation into a cat-like being he has developed a carnivorous taste for flesh, which he is conflicted over.
* **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.
* **Sawdust:** Beast is allergic to sawdust.

### Ratings

* **Intelligence:** Unknown
* **Strength:** Unknown
* **Speed:** Unknown
* **Occult:** Unknown
* **Weapons:** Unknown
* **Energy Projection:** Unknown
* **Strategy:** Unknown
* **Fighting Ability:** Unknown

## Trivia

* He possesses a fully-equipped laboratory at the X-Mansion.
* He used to have a crush on Betsy Braddock when she was a supermodel. He also had a crush on Alison Blaire (aka Dazzler).
* He has a weakness for Twinkies. He has tried to make "eat fewer Twinkies" his New Year's Resolutions but he fails every year.
* Another one of his resolutions was to read more 15th century texts.
* He doesn't have blue skin but a fine coat of blue fur.
* If Beast loses his higher mental functions & reverts to his animalistic state, he can be brought back by a ball of yarn. The synthetic fiber must laced with pheromones, aerosol smart-drugs & light sequences to bring back his higher brain functions.
* He actually does not like the name "Beast" & it makes him upset that people call him that. He feels it is unwarranted as he is a scholarly & refined man.
* He prefers his civilian identity.
* He identified himself as an agnostic. However, he began praying to God on more than one occasion. He later would expressed strong belief in God's existence during a conversation with Spiderman.
* Hank frequently plays obstacle chess with Nightcrawler.
* There are multiple websites devoted to him.
* He favors Chamomile tea above all other drinks.
* He has been a MacArthur Fellows Program recipient, a Nobel Prize winner & a multiple recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

## Notes

* The original character of Hank McCoy belongs to the Marvel Universe.