Beast

Real Name: Dr. Henry J. McCoy
Affiliations: X-Men
Previous Affiliations: (X-Treme) X-Men, Avengers, Defenders, X-Factor
Relatives: Norton (father), Edna (mother), Robert (uncle)
Powers: 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, strength and healing capabilities. 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 became 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 restraints and escaped, returning to the X-Men after Onslaught's defeat. 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 from the battle with the Phalanx 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."

When this X-Men team encountered with the man named Vargas, Beast was severely injured in battle, and survived only because Psylocke sacrificed herself in fighting Vargas one on one. Beast was in critical care when Sage jump-started his mutation to help increase his already formidable healing abilities. This mutation manifested itself when Beast returned to the X-Mansion, where he underwent a third transformation into a more feline, furred Beast, with cat-like eyes, animal legs with the elongated foot common to dogs and cats and three-fingered hands. His intellect remains as keen as ever, though he is still learning to adjust to his new hand shape and size. In addition, his sense of smell has been increased dramatically.

Using Professor X's vast fortune, Beast made significant improvements to the Mansion's defenses, medical equipment and vehicles, far surpassing any of his former works. Unfortunately, Beast's new form destroyed his relationship with long-time love Trish Tilby, who found his new look too disconcerting to deal with. When Trish tried to reconcile, Hank told her he thought he was gay, but this was only a ploy to hurt her the way she had hurt him.