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Oh my stars and garters. |
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— Himself |
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Dr. Hank McCoy, better known to most as Beast, is a somewhat well-known member of the X-Men. A blue-furred feral mutant, he's somewhat well known for his peculiar X-Speedo costume.
Personality
Hank McCoy. The Beast. One of the founding members of the original X-Men. Since he was born X-Gene active he's probably the most well-adjusted mutant in regard to mastering his powers and not being overly angsty about being a big blue furry beast. He's brilliant but not stuffy, and he tends to express his ideas in simpler ways so he's not having to explain things over and over again. This comes in quite handy whether he's dealing with team members or students. He's a scientist and scholar but also has a charming sense of humor. He's also a tiny bit immature in ways, thanks to his close friendship with Iceman.
Background
Accessing Cerebro - Subject: Hank McCoy - Codename: Beast
Professor Xavier: "Blessed with Superhuman strength that is matched only by his brilliant scientific mind. He is the voice of calming reason in this chaotic world. He is the brains and brawn of this team."
Henry Phillip McCoy was born X-Gene active to parents Norton and Edna McCoy of Dunfee, Illinois. This early manifestation is likely due to genetic damage inherited from his father who was exposed to radiation while employed at the local nuclear power plant. Hank learned from an early age to conceal his bizarre prehensile feet, which led to him developing serious body image and self-esteem issues. In addition to his physical mutation, Hank was gifted with an astounding intellect.
A chance meeting after High School with Professor Charles Xavier had Hank choosing to accept an offer to continue his studies at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. It was here that Hank first met other mutant youngsters for the first time and started on the path of fighting for mutant rights. As "Beast", Hank became a founding member of the X-Men. While he formed strong bonds of friendship with the other X-Men, Hank still had a strong desire to better understand what caused mutation.
While Hank embraced Xavier's Dream, a part of him wanted to do more for the cause than just fight for mutant rights with his physical abilities. So eventually Hank took a leave from the X-Men and continued his scientific studies. After earning several degrees, Hank found himself working for Brand Pharmaceuticals. It was here during his off time where Hank's research led to him discovering the chemical foundation for what caused mutation. This discovery would change his life forever.
An attempt at industrial espionage to steal his work led to Hank making what in hindsight could be considered a foolish choice. Without his X-Men costume to conceal his identity, Hank chose to drink his formula and caused a massive change to his physical form. Unfortunately, after preventing the theft, Hank would discover he was unable to revert the changes and return to what now he'd consider "normal". So Hank returned to the X-Men to continue the fight, as well as help teach the next generation of mutants.
SKILLS
ACROBAT/GYMNAST - Expert: Born X-Gene active, Beast's had nearly his whole life to develop skills which utilize his superhuman physical abilities. He's a master of both acrobatics and gymnastics, having trained in all of the routines and even devised some new ones that only someone with his abilities could really pull off. In addition, Hank's sense of balance is astounding to behold.
ACROBAT / GYMNAST - Expert: Born X-Gene active, Beast's had nearly his whole life to develop skills which utilize his superhuman physical abilities. He's a master of both acrobatics and gymnastics, having mastered all of the routines and even devised some new ones that only someone with his abilities could really pull off. In addition, Hank's sense of balance is astounding to behold.
COMBAT TRAINING - Expert: While a peacemaker at heart, Beast's also a skilled and accomplished fighter and wrestler. His unique fighting style draws heavily from his diverse acrobatic, gymnastic, and wrestling talents in conjunction with his mutant abilities and prehensile feet. He often employs creative maneuvers and holds, making his attacks difficult to anticipate or defend against.
DRIVING/PILOTING - Competent: Hank's keen hand-eye-foot coordination and quick reflexes make him a great driver and pilot. Fully checked out on a variety of helicopter and aircraft designs, Beast often served as pilot or co-pilot for the X-Men. In addition, Hank's a gifted grease monkey and engineer, capable of designing, maintaining, and improving both land vehicles and aircraft.
DRIVING / PILOTING - Competent: Hank's keen hand-eye-foot coordination and quick reflexes make him a great driver and pilot. Fully checked out on a variety of helicopter and aircraft designs, Beast often served as pilot or co-pilot for the X-Men. In addition, Hank's a gifted grease monkey and engineer... capable of designing, maintaining, and improving both vehicles and aircraft.
GENIUS INTELLECT - Expert: Hank is a brilliant mind. From a young age he excelled in many fields: genetics, biology, botany, technology, mathematics, and the arts. He is almost always seen spending his quiet time reading and has written several thesis on subjects from botanical to genetic evolution theory.
Beast's a true Renaissance Man. Something like a modern Da Vinci, Hank's a polymath skilled in a number of fields, such as being fluent in most of the world's major languages. He's a passionate fan of classic literature and a sophisticated patron of the arts. He's also a gifted musician, both with the guitar and keyboard. Honestly, there's very few areas that Hank hasn't dabbled in.
MEDICINE - Expert: Beast's an accomplished M.D., trained in a variety of lifesaving techniques. He's quite capable handling everything from the mundane to serious medical care. Over the years he's performed everything from major surgery to delivering children. These services proved quite valuable during his years as an X-Man, serving as both doctor and field medic.
SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY - Expert: Hank has degrees in biology, bio-chemistry, chemistry, and genetics, and Ph.Ds. in bio-chemistry and genetics. He still serves as the X-Men's resident tech expert when available. Well-versed in both cybernetics, and nanotech, he's also quite a computer whiz, including programming, hacking, and security. He's almost what you could call a natural MacGyver.
SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY - Expert: Hank has degrees in biology, bio-chemistry, chemistry, and genetics. And Ph.Ds. in bio-chemistry and genetics. And still serves as the X-Men's resident tech expert when available. He's well versed in both cybernetics, and nanotech. He's also quite a computer wiz, including programming, hacking, and security. He's almost what you could call a natural MacGyver.
POWERS
BEAST'S PHYSIOLOGY - Enhanced: Beast's skeleton, organs, and various bodily tissues are incredibly dense and resistant to powerful blunt force impacts. He's easily capable of withstanding blows that would seriously injure or kill most normal individuals. His physical density is now roughly that of a brick wall.
His mutation also grants him oversized prehensile feet with dexterous toes, allowing them to function almost perfectly like a second pair of hands. Hank's gifted brain is even capable of splitting his focus between his hands and feet enough to work on two different things at once.
Not that long ago Hank's mutation underwent a massive change, giving him more feral appearance. His physical form is now much more ape-like and covered from head-to-toe in cobalt blue fur. In addition, sharp non-retractable claws sprout from his fingers and prehensile toes.
ENHANCED AGILITY - Enhanced: Born X-Gene active, Hank's had his entire life to master his astonishing mutant abilities. His enhanced body is incredibly flexible and limber, making it simple to pull off the most amazing acrobatic and gymnastic feats. He could easily put olympic gymnasts and circus aerialists to shame.
ENHANCED SPEED - Basic: Beast's mutation allows him to easily reach bipedal running speeds of 40-45 MPH, or drop into a more ape-like running stance to reach speeds of up to 60 MPH for short periods. His powerful leg muscles also allow him to leap distances of up to 25 feet (or 15 feet straight up) quite easily.
ENHANCED STRENGTH - Enhanced: Beast's strength level is much higher than it used to be. Currently he can lift approximately 10 tons of weight when pushing himself to the limit. His strength level also allows him to apply a vise-like grip with his fingers and toes, allowing him to scale most walls with relative ease.
FERAL SENSES - Enhanced: Beast's recent feral enhancement to his original mutation has granted him much keener animalistic senses. His senses of sight, smell, taste, and hearing are now all enhanced well beyond that of a normal human being. Though Hank does still need a pair of glasses for reading purposes.
HEALING FACTOR - Basic: Beast's mutation includes a enhanced healing factor. Injuries heal roughly 3 to 4 times faster than the average human being. This healing won't replace lost limbs or destroyed bodily tissue however. It also boosts his metabolism, increasing his resistance to various poisons and drugs.
ADVANTAGES
BEAST'S X-SPEEDO Beast has worn a number of different costumes over the years including the notorious "X-Speedo". Made from unstable molecules, the briefs offer some limited protection from the elements and most street-level weaponry.
SKY HIGH A specialized school for superhumans, located flying above the Twin Cities, it specializes in the training of young superhumans to better control their abilities. Hank is a graduate of a similar school and serves now as teacher, doctor, mentor, and techie for Sky High.
THE UNCANNY X-MEN As a founding member of the X-Men, Beast has full access to the team's resources. In fact, some of the team's "toys" were invented or upgraded by Hank over the years, such as the Danger Room, the X-Jet, and so on.
WEAKNESSES
BESTIAL APPEARANCE While Hank's appearance has always been "unique" for lack of a better term, some years ago he underwent a massive secondary mutation, leaving him much more ape-like in appearance with blue fur, pointed ears, sharp claws, as well as fanged canines. It certainly affects how some might view him.
ENEMIES AND FOES While Beast doesn't have a personal nemesis to call his own yet, there has been a long history of various enemies and foes during his career. Many of them have been supervillains, giant robots, and hate groups, though there have been others.
FERAL MUTATION "Ferals" come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but most tend to struggle at times with animalistic instincts and urges. While Hank has more control than most due to his keen mind, there are ways it can rear it's ugly head such as emotional stress, psychic attacks, or psychological manipulation.
SELF-DESTRUCTIVE Hank has something of an obsessive personality, especially when it comes to his scientific research. He's a workaholic, often going to extreme measures to get the answers he's looking for. Like many notable Scientists, Dr. McCoy's work has often involved using himself as a guinea pig.
UNSTABLE X-GENE Due to genetic damage, Hank's X-Gene is highly susceptible to alteration or further enhancement. The physical aspects of his mutation suggest his powers derive from genetic atavism. There is a risk that that further changes could leave him in a feral mental state or more monstrous form.
