Hank McCoy Is A Big Jerk! Or Just Stressed Out

One thing I've had trouble adjusting to in Remender's run on Secret Avengers has been his Hank McCoy. Hank's generally been my favorite of the original X-Men. Admittedly, this is a bit like being my favorite method of having my teeth knocked out, but it's Hank's title nonetheless. The versions I've seen always have a wit to them, some drier than others, but generally good-natured. He was wordy, but a cheerful counterpart to a lot of the mopier X-folks.

Now there's a meaner edge to it. His crack about Pym being the go-to guy for genocidal artificial intelligences. Busting Hawkeye for his chosen method of leadership, because objecting loudly to putting Venom on the team makes you an unreasonable drill sergeant. Now he's getting on Captain Britain for being a know-it-all. All his points are fair, up to a point (though thinking he's smarter than everyone else doesn't seem to keep Tony Stark off the A-list), but they seem to be either kicking someone while they're down -it's not like Hank Pym needs a reminder he created Ultron - or leaving out relevant details in favor of criticizing the job someone's doing.

Maybe that's always been there, or maybe Remender's trying to make a point. Hank had to kill a lot of people during Ellis' run, something he hasn't done much previously. That's a line he may have crossed only because of the severity of the situation. It's been a strain on him, and so he has less patience for people whose behavior jeopardizes the team and their mission. He doesn't want it to all have been for nothing.