Minggu, 22 Februari 2009

Beast


Beast (or The Beast), Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy, is a comic book character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the mutant team of superheroes known as the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in X-Men #1 (September 1963).
When first introduced, Beast — a mutant — possesses ape-like superhuman physical strength and agility and oversized hands and feet, though he otherwise appears to be a normal human being. Throughout his history, Beast undergoes progressive latent transformations to his physiognomy, permanently gaining increasingly animalistic physical characteristics. These include blue fur, feline facial features, pointed ears, fangs, and claws. His physical power increases to even greater levels, as do his senses.
Despite his savage appearance, he is a brilliant man of the arts and sciences; he is a world authority on biochemistry and genetics, the X-Men's medical doctor, and the science and mathematics instructor at the Xavier Institute (the X-Men's headquarters and school for young mutants). He is also a mutant political activist. Fighting his bestial instincts and fears of social rejection, Beast dedicates his physical and mental gifts to the creation of a better world for man and mutant. He also has a witty sense of humor.
One of the original X-Men, Beast has appeared consistently in X-Men-related comics throughout the years. He has also been a member of the "all-star" teams the Avengers and Defenders. He is played by Kelsey Grammer in X-Men: The Last Stand and by Steve Bacic in a very brief cameo in an X2 newscast. Wizard magazine ranked Beast the 180th-best comic book character of all time, on their list of the Top 200 Comic Book Characters of All Time.


Fictional character biography
Henry Philip McCoy was born in Dunfee, Illinois, in the United States, to Norton and Edna McCoy. His father, Norton McCoy, is employed at a local nuclear power plant before Henry's birth and was once exposed to intense nuclear radiation, which appears to have caused his son's mutation. Hank is born with a vast intellect, unusually long arms and legs, and unusually large hands and feet for a human; in fact, his body's proportions are comparable to those of a gorilla and later stories reveal his nickname in school was "Magilla Gorilla".


Powers and abilities
It is possible that Beast's mutation is a result of genetic atavism. However, he also possesses neotenous characteristics, which may explain him having a super genius intellect despite his animal physique.
He is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, employing a unique style of acrobatic combat, from combat training he received at Professor Xavier's and coaching from Captain America.

Anthropoid/Simian physique
Originally, Hank McCoy retains the basic features of a normal human alongside a generally simian physiology (e.g., elongated limbs and enlarged extremities) equivalent to that of a Great Ape. This mutation gives him superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, agility, flexibility, dexterity, coordination, balance, and endurance. He is equally dextrous in all four limbs; able to perform tasks with his feet or hands with equal ease. Because of his talents and training, Beast can outperform any Olympic-level athlete, contorting his body and performing aerial feats gracefully. Later, Hank mutates further (from drinking an experimental solution), first through the growth of grey - then blue - fur covering his entire body. He gains claw-like nails and fang-like teeth, and his overall appearance becomes more bestial. With this physique, Beast uses his claws to climb vertical surfaces (though, he has been depicted performing this feat prior to his furry transformation). Beast gains the ability to emit mood altering pheromones, causing sexual attraction in women, and he becomes strong enough to withstand falls that would crush the bones of a normal human. Beast develops extremely powerful limbs, allowing him to make astounding leaps and to run at great speeds for a short duration.

Feline physique
After being critically wounded, Hank's body undergoes a secondary mutation, jumpstarted by Sage. The result is a more feline appearance equivalent to that of a big cat. His strength, speed, stamina, sturdiness, and senses increase further with this change. He gains cat-like agility, flexibility, coordination, and balance, and all his senses are enhanced to twenty times that of a normal human being. In addition, Beast develops an accelerated healing factor that allows him to repair mild to moderate injuries within the span of a few hours. However, as his hands and feet change from simian to feline (going from a normal human set of four fingers to just three, retaining the opposable thumb), he loses his superhuman dexterity, once admitting that he used to play the guitar, but is now learning to play the drums instead. Following the X-Men's relocation to San Francisco, Beast discovers that he had regained some of his old manual dexterity. In the first issue of Warren Ellis' Astonishing X-Men run, Beast also comments he no longer needs full sleep.

Genius intellect
Hank is doubly gifted, not only having the fantastic abilities granted by his mutation, but also possessing a brilliant intellect. He is a world-renowned biochemist, having earned a Ph.D. in biophysics, and is the man who cured the Legacy Virus. He frequently functions as both field medic and in-house physician for the X-Men, despite not technically having an MD. His intelligence and expertise in genetics rival that of Professor X. Despite this, he has never received a Nobel Prize or been elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences, as his colleagues see him for his beastly appearance rather than for the gentle scientific genius he is. A Renaissance man, McCoy is well-versed in languages (he is fluent in at least English, German, Latin, Spanish, Japanese, and Russian), literature, philosophy, history, art, and music, with a special affinity for science and technology and a penchant for quoting literary classics. His vast scientific knowledge ranges from theoretical physics and quantum mechanics to differential equations, from nanotechnology to the construction of a hyper-magnetic device. An electronics expert, he often repairs Cerebro and makes upgrades to the Danger Room settings.

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