Henry "Hank" P. McCoy
- Real name: Henry "Hank" P. McCoy.
- Height: 5'11"
- Weight: 355 lbs.
- Eyes: Blue.
- Hair: (originally) Brown, (currently) Blue-black.
- Other distinguishing features: Covered with fur, unusually large hands and feet, pointed ears, fang-like teeth.
- Place of birth: Dunfee, Illinois.
- Marital status: Single.
- Known relatives: Norton (father), Edna (mother), Robert (uncle).
- Legal status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record.
- Occupation: (current) Adventurer, (former) Biochemist, college lecturer.
- Identity: Publicly known.
- Other aliases: None.
- Extent of education: Ph.D. in Biochemistry.
- Group affiliation: (current) X-Men, (former) X-Factor I, Avengers, Defenders.
- Base of operations: (current) Xavier Institute, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York State; (former) Brand Corporation facilities, Long
Island; Avengers Mansion, New York City; Defenders Mansion, Colorado; X-Factor I headquarters, New York City;
"Ship"
- Strength level: Superhuman Class 10.
- Fighting skills: Excellent hand-to-hand combatant, employing a unique style of acrobatic combat.
- Special skills and abilities: High expertise in genetics and biochemistry, extensive knowledge in a variety of other fields Known superhuman powers: Superhuman agility, endurance, speed, and strength.
- First appearance: X-MEN (first series) # 1, (in furry form) AMAZING ADVENTURES
# 11.
- History: Henry McCoy's father, Norton, worked at a nuclear power plant where he was exposed to massive amounts of radiation during an accident. Norton was unharmed, but the radiation affected his genes, and as a result his son Henry was born a mutant. Unlike most superhuman mutants, Henry showed signs of mutation from birth: unusually large hands and feet.
Thanks to his superhuman agility, strength, and speed, Henry became a star football player as a teenager. His remarkable athletic abilities attracted the notice of both Professor Charles Xavier, who was forming the original X-Men, and a costumed criminal named El Conquistador (Professor X). The Conquistador captured McCoy's parents in order to force McCoy to aid him in his criminal schemes. However, with the help of Xavier and the X-Men, Henry defeated the Conquistador, and he then joined the X-Men, taking the code name
"Beast".
A brilliant student, McCoy completed his doctoral studies under Xavier's tutelage, and finally left the X-Men and Xavier's school to take a position as a genetic researcher with the Brand Corporation. There he developed a serum that acted as a catalyst for activating latent mutations. On drinking the serum McCoy underwent radical physical changes. He grew fur over his entire body, his ears became larger and pointed, and his canine teeth became larger, resembling fangs. The serum also further increased his superhuman agility, endurance, speed, and strength.
Eventually, McCoy left Brand, joined the Avengers, and publicly revealed his dual identity. After years of service with the Avengers (during which he also aided the X-Men against Dark Phoenix), the Beast took it upon himself to reorganize another super-hero group, the Defenders, into a more formal combat organization. His X-Men cohorts Angel and Iceman served in the Defenders along with him, but the team collapsed after a climactic battle in which several other members seemingly perished.
Subsequently, the Beast and his fellow members of the original X-Men formed a new organization, the original X-Factor, which publicly appeared to hunt down allegedly dangerous mutants but secretly taught them how to use their superhuman abilities. Shortly after the formation of X-Factor, the Beast was captured by the geneticist Dr. Carl Maddicks, who performed an experiment that caused the Beast to revert to his original, more human appearance. Some time later, however, the mutagenic powers of the mutant Infectia triggered the Beast's return to his furry, more animalistic appearance.
After Professor Charles Xavier returned to Earth following an extended period in outer space with the Starjammers, the Beast and his fellow X-Factor founders returned to the X-Men (see Starjammers). At present the Beast remains an active member of the X-Men as well as serving as a research scientist at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.
* The Beast's greatest accomplishment has been
implementing the work of his former colleague, the late geneticist Moira
MacTaggert, to eradicate the mutant plague known as the Legacy Virus.
Unfortunately, he was unable initially to discover a means of
administering the cure without emulating the manner in which the plague
first had been discharged: through the death of an infected mutant. Though
the Beast was resigned to pursue a more benign antidote, the panacea would
proceed without his direction. The steel-skinned X-Man known as Colossus,
distraught over the loss of his sister to the lethal virus, administered
the serum to himself. The Beast had saved the world, but the cost was the
life of his good friend and teammate.
* More recently (X-Treme X-Men # 1-3) after a severe
trouncing by a villan named Vargas, Hank was in serious condition.
Fortunatly with help from Sage he became well again. Sage healed him by
using her abilities to analize mutants and then trigger their latent
mutant talents, it triggered another further mutation in Hank...and
somewhere between where the left the X-Treme X-Men and joined the New
X-Men he changed into a large feline.
Returning to the Mansion however, did not keep him as safe as Storm hoped
it would. He was severly beaten with a baseball bat, by a student under
control of Cassandra Nova, Xavier's twin sister, in Xaveir's body. Nova
also delt harsh blows to Hanks psyche and nearly destroyed his brain. His
injuries put him in a coma for a time, allowing Xavier, still stuck in
Nova's body, to take over and lead Hank to him thus allowing everyone to
discover just what had happend to Xavier. Hank is recovering, though he is
still reeling from the effects of what happened to him and dealing with
serious psychic trauma.
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