Codename:
Beast
Real name: Henry
P. McCoy
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 355 lbs
Place of Birth: Dunfee,
Illinois
Relatives:
Norton (father), Edna (mother), Robert (uncle)
Past: Beast
was born with oversized hands and feet, remarkable agility and superhuman
strength. Still, he looked mostly human, and was a football star in high
school. Even in elementary school, however, Hank's inqusitive mind and
genius level intellect were his star qualities. He was then asked to join
Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and was assigned the codename
"Beast," although it seems that may also have been his football nickname.
Upon graduation, Hank got a job at the Brand Corporation. Trying to ferret
out some enemy agents, he isolated a chemical that would alter his physiology
for a time to grant him anonymity in his investigations. The serum mutated
him further, growing blue fur all over his body, and giving him fangs,
pointed ears, and toes, and increasing his agility and strength. However,
when he stayed too long in this state, McCoy found he was stuck and had
to adjust to being a beast in fact as well as in name. He then joined the
Avengers, and was content to be on their roster until just before Phoenix's
transformation into Dark Phoenix, when he deleted an Avengers alert notice
saying that the X-Men were suspected of criminal activities and then joined
them to try and save his teammate's life. Along the way Hank got his doctorate
in genetics and is considered one of the world's experts on mutations and
evolutionary human biology. Just after the formation of X-Factor, Hank
was reverted to his human state by Dr. Carl Maddicks, who was testing a
procedure he hoped to use on his son Artie. Shortly thereafter, though,
Hank was stricken by Pestilence with a virus that sapped his intellect
as it increased his strength, and which was actually triggered by his physical
exertion. The more Hank used his strength, the stronger he got, but the
dumber he got. Finally, to save his friend Bobby from Infectia's kiss,
Hank got in her way and was himself affected. He returned to his blue furry
form and his intellect was restored. Beast continued to serve with X-Factor
through the original team's return to the X-Men. He has become the team's
number-one techno and medical genius, working on everything from Shi'ar
technology to the Legacy Virus, a pursuit which takes up most of his time
nowadays. During his tenure with the X-Men, Beast was lured into a trap
and replaced by Dark Beast, his alternate-reality self from the "Age of
Apocalypse". Sealed behind a brick wall, Hank was nearly about to give
up and let fate win when his water tube broke and spurted, revealing the
grooves of a trap door in his cell. Energized by hope, Beast broke his
restraines and escaped, returning to the X-Men after Onslaught. Beast's
knowledge spans many subjects, and indeed he is the X-Family's Jack-of-all-trades.
He has phenomenal dexterity in his hands and feet, can jump great distances
and land safely from a three-story drop, as well as punch his way through
a steel door. His status as a former Avenger and the very public identity
that created, along with his fame as a biogeneticist also make Beast one
of the more accepted mutants, despite his fur and fangs. After returning
in the Shi'ar Galaxy, he took leave of the X-Men to work on the cure for
the Legacy Virus, and spent much of his time on Muir Island. Recently,
Beast was contacted by Gambit to join his former teammates on a mission
to Russia. He has now officially rejoined the team. Beast remained with
the team, though much of his efforts were concentrated on finding a cure
to the Legacy Virus, which he did, though it was after Moira MacTaggert's
untimely death at the hands of the revamped Brotherhood. Unfortunately,
the cure could only work if it took the life of its host. While Beast was
not willing to pay that price, Colossus was, and he died releasing the
cure into the atmosphere. Shortly thereafter, the X-Men found out about
Destiny's volumes of prophecy, and Beast joined a team that left the U.S.
to find them and keep them out of the hands of those who would use them
to control the future. While some of these X-Treme X-Men felt that way
even about Professor X, Beast refused to believe Charles would be tempted
into evil, and joined the search to "keep them honest."
Shortly after this X-Men
team's encounter with the mutant Vargas, Beast returned to the X-Mansion,
where he underwent a third transformation into a more feline furred Beast.
Present: His intellect
remains as keen as ever, though he is still learning to adjust to his new
hand shape and size. Why and how he left the team searching for the Books
of Truth is unknown.