The part of Hank's X-Factor story that deserves real attention is what happens after Pestilence infects him. His strength increases as his intelligence deteriorates. Using his s…

The part of Hank's X-Factor story that deserves real attention is what happens after Pestilence infects him. His strength increases as his intelligence deteriorates. Using his strength makes the situation worse, so the ability that helps him protect people carries a cost he cannot afford to keep paying. That's a miserable position for somebody whose mind is involved in almost everything he does. Science, conversation, solving problems, explaining himself to his friends. It reaches into his whole life. He can recognize that something is wrong without being able to reason his way through it as he once would have. The Infectia story makes that especially uncomfortable. Hank knows Bobby is in danger, but remembering and communicating what he has seen become part of the struggle. The younger mutants take his warning seriously and try to keep her away from Bobby. For a while, the people usually being looked after are helping protect one of their protectors. Hank still goes after Bobby when the danger becomes immediate. He gets between him and Infectia and takes the kiss meant for his friend. That choice matters independently of what it eventually does to Hank's condition. At the moment he intervenes, he's trying to save Bobby. His scientific precision and his ability to explain the situation have been damaged terribly, but he still knows that his friend needs him.