Hank McCoy does not enter X-Factor’s public-hero period as the blue, confident scientist everyone might expect. He has a human appearance, and the effects of Pestilence’s touch…

Hank McCoy does not enter X-Factor’s public-hero period as the blue, confident scientist everyone might expect. He has a human appearance, and the effects of Pestilence’s touch are leaving him stronger while his intelligence deteriorates. Using the strength that can help his friends also threatens something central to his life. That makes the opening Ship stories especially painful. In X-Factor #28, Bobby freezes Hank’s feet to the floor to keep him from exerting himself. Hank nevertheless breaks free when his friends need him. Later, he throws the bomb clear of Ship. His courage has not disappeared because thinking and communicating have become harder. The Infectia story builds on that distinction. Hank recognizes that Bobby is in danger, but Bobby does not take his warnings seriously. In #31, Hank still follows him and intervenes, taking the kiss intended for his friend. The resulting transformation begins his return to a blue, furry form. Recovery is not instantaneous. In #33, Ship and Scott are watching Hank’s unstable condition before he finally awakens with his mind restored. He rejoins the fight against the Alliance of Evil, and the team has its scientist back as well as its powerful, acrobatic teammate. His appearance continues to affect how strangers understand him. During Judgment War, the people known as the Rejects recognize something familiar in him, placing him on a different side of the planet’s divisions from some of his teammates. For Hank, this era includes both a frightening loss and a substantial recovery. The important continuity is his concern for other people. He protects his friends when he cannot confidently explain himself, then returns to scientific work without becoming immune to loneliness, misunderstanding or the difficulty of being visibly different.