Dr. Henry "Beast" McCoy

[Dr. Henry "Beast" McCoy]

HENRY PHILLIP McCOY
BEAST

Name;; Dr. Henry "Hank" Phillip McCoy
Alias;; Beast, Dr. McCoy, Hanko
Age;; 53
Race;; Mutant
Alignment;; Good
Affiliation;; X-Men (founding member), Xavier Institute For Higher Learning

Gender;; Male
Height;; 5'11"
Weight;; 402 lbs
Eyes;; Yellow
Hair;; Blue
Skin;; Blue
Other Distinguishing Features;; Hank is covered with blue fur and has a snout, vertical pupils, pointed ears, fang-like teeth, claws, and unusually large hands and feet (shoe size: 20).

Personality;; Henry has always wondered why he wasn't one of the "lucky ones". If he has to remain a mutant, why does he have a power that made him look and sometimes feel like a beast? He continues to struggle for the acceptance of others. As a man of arts and letters and the sciences, Beast is very much the Renaissance man, and while his peers in the intellectual community know this, he has never received a Nobel Prize or gotten invited to the National Academy of Sciences as they still consider him very much a mutant. He even knows what it was like to be jilted by the proverbial Beauty — his recent fear of human emotion has caused him to turn away from long time lover Trish Tilby, who had finally seemed to find the error in her ways as far as attitude towards his secondary mutation.

Despite his ongoing battle with the demons of loneliness and rejection, he is an inveterate prankster and wit, and besides his brutish exterior, Hank is the most literate and eloquent of the X-Men, possessing a million-dollar vocabulary. Hank is every bit a human being plagued by duality: man/beast; genius/sports star; gentle giant/feral aggressor.

Equal parts biochemist and activist, Hank focuses on the X-Men's goals of building better relationships between man and mutant. In immersing himself in this campaign, Beast holds hope that in the world he and the other X-Men dream of, he'll finally be known more for the genius within than for the creature outside.
Power(s);; Hank's mutation resulted in a physical change, as well as a number of impressive abilities.

• GENETIC ATAVISM: It is possible that Hank's mutation is a result of genetic atavism (or genetic traits that resurface in a species after many years of dormancy). He also possesses neotenous (or traits in a descendant that resemble those of an ancestor organism) characteristics, which would explain why he has a big modern brain with an ape-like physique.
  
• SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH: Hank has always possessed some degree of superhuman strength, the limits of which have varied at times due to subsequent mutation. During his teens, he was able to lift approximately 1 ton. After mutating into his simian form, and after this mutation eventually stabilized, his strength was increased to the point where he can lift about 10 tons, which is sufficient to smash through a brick wall with a single punch and to tie an iron barbell into a knot.
  
• SUPERHUMAN SPEED: Hank can run and move at speeds that are slightly beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. He can run at speeds up to 40 miles an hour over short distances, particularly if he runs on all fours.
  
• SUPERHUMAN STAMINA: Hank's 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.
  
• SUPERHUMAN DURABILITY: Hank's bodily tissues are 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, he can withstand physical impacts, such as falling from several stories or being physically struck by many super-humanly strong beings that would either severely injure or kill a normal human with little to no discomfort.
  
• SUPERHUMAN AGILITY: Hank's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. Like some of his other powers, his agility has varied at times due to ongoing and subsequent mutations. While in his simian form, 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 complicated sequence of gymnastic stunts such as flips, rolls, and springs. He can easily match or top any Olympic record in gymnastics.
  
• SUPERHUMAN DEXTERITY: He can perform many tasks with his feet as easily as a human could do with his hands. His manual and pedal dexterity are so great that he can write using both hands at once or tie knots in rope with his toes.
  
• REGENERATIVE HEALING FACTOR: Hank'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 cold, within a few hours. More severe injuries, like broken bones, can heal within a few days, whereas normal humans might take weeks or even months.
  
• SUPERHUMANLY ACUTE SENSES: Hank 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.
  
• PHEREMONES: Hank has the ability to secrete pheromones to attract members of both sexes.
  
• CLAWS AND FANGS: Hank sports retractable, razor sharp claws at the tip of each finger and toe. Their natural edge, coupled with his strength, are sufficient to rend most conventional materials including flesh, wood, stone, and even some types of metals. He also possesses elongated canines that he can use, if he chooses to do so, as effective weapons in close quarter combat situations.
  

Goals;; Hank wishes to see a world where human and mutant can coexist together in peace. He also wishes to be known for his genius and scientific ability than for his physical mutation.
Fears;; Hank has a fear of loneliness and rejection. He also fears become lost to his more bestial side and becoming nothing more than a feral creature.
Strengths;; Hank has a number of strengths not related to his mutation.

• GENIUS-LEVEL INTELLECT: A world-renowned biochemist, Hank's greatest asset is his keen scientific mind. He possesses a genius-level IQ, with extraordinary expertise in genetics, biochemistry, electronics and other subjects. Hank is also an accomplished keyboard musician.
  
• HAND-TO-HAND COMBATANT: Hank is an excellent hand-to-hand fighter. 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 that allows him to make full use of his great strength and agility. During times of anger, however, Hank is known to resort to brawling and street fighting tactics.
  
• STRENGTH LEVEL: Hank is able to lift 10 tons.
  

Hobbies;; Hank enjoys reading, experimenting, playing the piano, and teaching.
Weaknesses;; Hank has no inherent "weaknesses" related to his powers, though his struggle between man and beast is often on his mind.

Family;;

• Sadie McCoy (paternal grandmother)
  
• Norton McCoy (father)
  
• Edna McCoy (mother)
  
• Robert McCoy (paternal uncle)
  
• John McCoy (paternal uncle)
  

History;; Henry Phillip McCoy's father, Norton McCoy, 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 and Edna's son, Henry, was born a mutant. Unlike most mutants, Henry showed signs of mutation from birth: unusually large hands and feet. A prodigy, Hank was also endowed with an innate superhuman intellect and during adolescence, he gained the power of simian-like augmented agility, reflexes, and strength.

Thanks to his powers, Henry became a star football player as a teenager 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, and offered Hank, who excelled in the classroom, the chance for unlimited academic opportunities at his prestigious School for Gifted Youngsters. The costumed criminal, named El Conquistador, however, also took note of his abilities and captured McCoy's parents, in order to force McCoy to aid him in his criminal schemes. With the help of Prof. Xavier and the X-Men, Henry defeated the Conquistador and then joined the X-Men, as its fourth member, taking the codename "Beast". Hank also completed his doctorate in biophysics at the Institute.

After an occasion when Beast saved a falling child, he quit the X-Men, as he was sick of protecting a world that hated and feared him. He started a career as a wrestler, still calling himself the Beast. But one of Hank's opponents was none other than Unus the Untouchable, who was also a mutant. Hank realized that his place was still with the X-Men, and built a device to increase Unus's powers to the point where he couldn't control them. He only decreased them to their original level after Unus vowed not to join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. With that done, Hank rejoined the X-Men. He also started dating a librarian named Vera Cantor thanks to Iceman's girlfriend, Zelda, setting him up with a blind date. Unfortunately, their first meeting was interrupted by Vera's ex-boyfriend, Calvin Rankin. Calvin was a mutant who could copy the powers of other mutants, and he was at first a villain, but later joined the X-Men for a short while.

Over time, Xavier granted the X-Men new costumes as a reward for proving themselves time after time. Hank received a new blue-and-red costume which was similar to his training costume. Not much later after that, Kraven the Hunter appeared, who wanted to test his skill against Beast. Kraven poisoned the X-Men's house guest, Avia, and would only give the antidote if he was allowed to fight Beast without interruption. Kraven wasn't the type to play fairly, and he had traps all around the house to try and stop Beast. Hank couldn't dodge them all and was hit by some drugged darts. The darts had been meant to slow down the blood flow to Beast's brain, thus slowing his reflexes, but had a side-effect. With Hank's higher-brain functions inhibited, it made him revert to a frenzied rage, and would have killed Kraven if the X-Men hadn't stopped him. After this fight, Beast held back in action in case another incident like this occurred.

Hank went on to work as a genetic researcher at a corporation called Brand Corporation. At Brand Corporation Hank met his assistant, Linda Donaldson, and his bitter superior, Carl Maddicks. Hank successfully managed to create the hormonal extract that creates mutations in organic beings, but when he rushed to tell Carl Maddicks about it he overheard him discussing a plan to steal some government records. Hank took his extract to disguise himself and increase his power. Unfortunately, Hank had the extract in him for too long, therefore leaving him permanently transformed. This enhanced his agility, stamina and strength. Other side effects were the growth of fangs, pointed ears, claws, enhanced senses, a healing factor and blue (originally gray) fur that covered his entire body. Hank then completed his doctorate in genetics and is one of the world's experts on mutations and human biology.

Today, Hank has since returned to the Xavier Institute and rejoined the X-Men. He teaches Science and Mathematics, and is part of the senior staff, overseeing curriculum and other academic aspects. He continues to function as the X-Men's chief scientist and medical doctor.