Hellboy

Origin

Hellboy’s mother Catherine Tanner-Tremaine was born 1681. She was born in East Bromwich, England and was a rich heiress to a Tobacco merchant. Catherine parents died when she turned 19 and for the longest time, she had lived alone in her home painting. Catherine would later end up being obsessed by German literature and had often dreamed of spirits and magic. She was also able to acquire from her London Bookseller and eventually came to own an important collection of different magical objects one of them being Dr. John Dee’s fabled magical box. She was even able to summon a high level demon and willingly found intimacy with him. This would be one of the most happiest but yet also terrifying moments for Catherine. This would also change her life forever. Catherine’s soul would be changed to darkness and its acrid aftertaste made the rest of her life a road of repentance. With her soul lost she did everything she could have to gain it back but her marrying a pastor, giving away money to charity and anything else helpful wasn’t good enough and she ended up dying out of grace. She was buried with her two human children, a nun, and a pastor.

Before dying she confessed about what she had done and prayed for her soul to be out the way it once was before her soul would be claimed by her Dark paramour. With her last breath she was taken by her demon lover and her human children had been killed by him as well and so fast that all the windows in Tremaine Manorhad shuddered. When she died their souls had joined and her demon lover would promise that within her body still remain their unborn spiritual son. Awaiting to incarnate and fall to earth. She laid dormant until her child was summoned forth by Grigory Effimovich Rasputin in autumn of 1944. A baby demon was brought to Earth destined to be the bringer of the apocalypse. He was quickly rescued by the Allied troops during World War II and was found with one extremely large rock arm. He was raised by Professor Broom, the founder of Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense who they called the baby Hellboy. Professor Broom would also come to raise Hellboy as his own son and would help him develop his powers. Hellboy grew fast and was incredibly inquisitive. He had the most vivacious eyes and showed interest in most mechanical things -frequently smashing them to pieces with his stone hand.

Hellboy was under the supervision of General Norton Rycker who would be tested daily and were arranged frequent biopsies that would be done to obtain tissue samples. He was also even able to communicate with animals especially dogs but had lost this while getting older. Professor Broom was asked by the President to keep Hellboy’s existence a secret and that the U.S. government would take care of everything. Even though it was meant for him to be a secret he met a lot of people. He met Einstein who flew to New Mexico in order to spend an afternoon with him and found him delightful and bright. In 1946, he threw a rock at Babe Ruth‘s head and he even called Clark Gable “Sewer breath”. Hellboy would also be even told about to Joseph Stalin who that he wasn’t real but had finally met him in 1949 and knew of him being as the U.S. secret weapon.

When Hellboy would find out that Professor Broom had cancer, they would discuss with Hellboy would learn about his origins. Learning of his dark heritage, Hellboy was conflicted with who he was destined to be and what he felt was right. He struggles to understand his identity and if his heart is in the right place. Hellboy would turn out to be a champion of good battling evil forces on Earth. In 1952 he was given the status of being and Honorary human and became of field agent for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD). Hellboy would eventually become the lead agent in the B.P.R.D, where he worked with Abe Sapien (an icthyo sapien), Elizabeth Sherman (a pyrokinetic), and Roger (a large homunculus).

Character Evolution

Hellboy is often described as a likeable, gruff person with a sarcastic and witty sense of humor in his attitude. He is easily angered by the (often defective) gadgets he uses, but has a genuinely good heart and love for humans despite his demonic origins. A living oxymoron, Hellboy is a demonic force for good with an iron will and a desire to do the right thing. He has continuously stated his disinterest in his supposed ‘purpose,’ and tries to hide his conflicted feelings beneath the wisecracking facade of an adventurous tough-guy, who would just as soon knock back a cold beer and light a stogie than battle demons and evil spirits. He is currently retired from the B.P.R.D., on a mission to discover his origins and stop his impending ‘destiny’…

History

In 1964 he battled the evil Baba Yaga at the cost of one of her eyes. In 1959 Hellboy went up against the villain Herman Von Klempt and his genetically engineered cyborg ape Brutus. He stopped both on them and ended Klempt’s evil experiments however it would not be the last time they fought. In 1994 Hellboy first encountered Rasputin after Prof. Bruttenholm accidentally awoke him many years earlier and Bruttenholm met his end at the hands of a frog like monster sent by Rasputin now to lure Hellboy to him. After traveling to Cavendish Hall to talk to Mrs. Cavendish Rasputin attempted to revive the Ogdru Jahad. He summoned on of their children a Ogdru Hem that killed the men of the Cavendish family earlier( the Professor and the men years earlier tried to stop Rasputin) and hope to once again use the beast but to fight Hellboy but it was killed by him and his friends.

In revenge Hellboy let Rasputin burn to death, but Rasputin’s allies awoke. Hellboy and Kate Corrigan went on a mission in Griart a village in Europe. A series of murders where happening and where done by ghost of werewolves. Later Hellboy discovers the truth of his origins as well as meeting his father the demon Sheol in a Scottish church in 1995.

Castle Giurescu

He was on a mission to locate the box where the dead body of Vladimir Giurescu. Vladimir was a vampire who had his own cult of followers called his “family” that would even expose him to moon light to heal any wounds from battle. In 1882 he wanted to start a cult to take over England, but years later in the 1940’s the Nazis discovered his plan and after a failed try and joining forces the Nazis, had him and his followers, decapitated, staked and burned. However Giurescu’s remains had been in the possession of a Nazi going by the name Hans Ubler and had been kept in a museum for years. In 1997 Hans was shot and Ilsa Haupenstein and a group of new vampire followers took the remains to be exposed to the moon and let him be healed once again.

The ritual was supposed to happen at the hidden Castle Giurescu and after Kate made guesses at the location three teams went to the three possible choice and Hellboy went to the first solo. Hellboy went to the right site and was attacked by Harpies. Rasputin also was revived and used his powers to turn Ilsa into Hecate. After Vladimir Giurescu was brought back to life by Project Ragnor Rok he meanwhile met Hecate and via Chaos spirits discovered his true name Anung Un Rama and was informed that he would release the Ogdru Jahad, but Hellboy fought against his purpose and even broke his horns (they had grown back upon meeting the spirits). After Vladimir died in an explosion Roger was found and drained out Liz’s powers leaving her in a coma while on her own mission. It wasn’t until Hellboy and Roger defeated his brother that Liz was given back her powers. In 1998 Hellboy went to Lizarza, Spain and met Adrian Frost whose father, Malcolm Frost, witnessed Hellboys awakening in 1944. It was here that Hellboy became aware of the power of his arm and decided it was best he keep it.

Box of Evil

Hellboy and Abe go to Druggan Hill in England investigating the theft of a box which is a prison for the demon Ualac. It was taken by Igor Weldon Bromhead and had it sold to a count and his wife. The countess was possessed by Ualac and after defeating Hellboy he steals his crown of fire which invisibly sits on his head. He used his name Anung Un Rama to imprison him however his name means nothing without the crown and with it gone he was free. He stopped Ualac trapped him and sent him back to Hell and gave his crown to a demon in Pandemonium named Astaroth.

Conqueror Worm

In 2001 after NASA discovered a comet it was revealed to be an Nazi rocket which landed at Hunter Castle in Austria. Hellboy, Roger, Laura Karnstein and more field agents. After the group became separated Hellboy was captured by Herman von Klempt and found that Ernest Oeming was on the ship coming to Earth. Roger met Lobster Johnson who told him that he was killed after an explosion that occurred at the Castle leaving only Von Klempt. While imprisoned Hellboy met an alien who was observing the Nazis. The alien died, but before he did he gave Hellboy an item he could use to defeat the Conqueror Worm that was part of a plan to awaken the Ogdru Jahad and destroy the planet. Meanwhile Karnstein had been turned into a monster and confronted Rasputin who was against Von Klempt due to the fact that Klempt’s plan would result in the complete destruction of earth, but Rasputin’s is to destroy the world and rebuild the world. Karnstein was given the a seed of rebirth by Rasputin, but she was later killed by Lobster. Roger then absorbed her energy, and stopped the worm. Hellboy then quit B.P.R.D.

After B.P.R.D.

Hellboy later finds a witch-doctor Mohlomi in hopes of getting answers about his destiny. After traveling into the bottom of the sea. He is imprisoned by an evil sea hag named Bog Roosh thanks to a special nail and three mermaids. She intends to stop the apocalypse by taking him apart and sending his arm to the bottom of the ocean. However thanks to one of the three mermaids he stops the hag, however he is lost at sea. Two years later he washes up on an unknown island. He accidentally awoke a arcane mystic who has knowledge of the universe such as Ogdru Jahad, the planet and even God. However as he was awoken by Hellboy’s blood it’s demonic effects have caused him to lose his sanity. He stops the mystic as well as an Ogdru Jahad offspring called Urgo-Hem. He was also being observed by a changeling called Daoine Sidh. He has recently turned down a chance to rule all witches and once again battled Baba Yaga as well Koschei the Deathless.

Wild Hunt

Hellboy becomes apart of a group called the Wild Hunt. The groups purpose is to hunt down Giants that have begun to arise around England. Soon however the leaders of the hunt turn on Hellboy revealing he was the teams real reason to hun all along. Meanwhile Hellboy has been experiencing visions and a powerful being known as the Queen of Blood is being revived. She soon start attacking those who turned against her after her rebirth and even starts an army of demons. Hellboy is knocked Unconscious while the Giants kill the members of the Hunt. Hellboy is kept invisible by the grace of a bird who is following the orders of its mistress. He however goes berserk and kills all the giants. He then meets Alice and they go to find Queen Mab. The queen however betrays them and are attacked and Alice is poisoned. Three pigeons come to their rescue and they are also sent by their mysterious mistress who turns out to be the witch Morgan le Fay. She explains to Hellboy how his mother Catherine Tanner is infact the descendant of Mordred son of King Arthur. She goes on to explain that Hellboy is the first male descendant of Mordred and thus the rightful King of England.

The Storm and the Fury

Hellboy & Alice travel to a church in England where they discovered that the dead are rising from the graves. Hellboy & Alice encountered an armored creature in which Hellboy manages to defeat and learn from the creature works for the Queen of Blood and the war is about to begin. They went to an inn to rest only to soon discover that the building is being surrounded by the royal dead. Despite it being implied to be his destiny, Hellboy decides not to lead the undead army that is stirring around the front yard of the inn. He tells Alice that he believes he must face the Queen of Blood alone. He advices Alice to get rid of the Sword of Excalibur, kisses her good bye and heads to the woods ignoring the wandering corpses who have no leader to lead. Along the way Hellboy encounter Baba Yaga who offers to take Hellboy past Nimue’s army for the price of an eye. After Hellboy complies with the witch he is now at the base of Nimue. After a list of events, he encounters a transforming Nimue, which now is a full out dragon. Hellboy would then go onto encounter the dragon, and the dragon’s army of servents which would ultimately lead to Hellboy’s demise. At the top of the tower, Hellboy ends up sacrificing himself to knock the dragon off. As they both fall to the ground, a normal formed hooded Nimue claims that England’s drowned witches are taking her to hell, however that she would be taking Hellboy with her. She reaches into Hellboy’s chest and grabs his heart, leaving Hellboy to only be able to mutter out “Son of a”, before he crumbles into dust.

Hellboy In Hell

The events start off with Hellboy’s heart falling through a dark space. As the heart continues to fall, Hellboy grows from it. He ends up landing in The Abyss, which is the outter ledge of hell. Hellboy is then introduced to Sir Edward, who informs him of his location. Before a proper introduction, Hellboy is jumped by a large brute in armor named Eligos. Sir Edward aids Hellboy in the battle against Eligos. Sir Edward realizes he will not be able to have a proper conversation with Hellboy while Eligos is after him, as he quickly helps teleport Hellboy out of the situation.

Personal Information

• Height: 6’11” (210.82 cm)
• Weight: 396 lbs. (179.623 kg)
• Eyes: Orange
• Hair: Black
• Distinguishing Features: Demonic red skin, a tail, hooves, filed-down horns and an over-sized right hand made of stone.

Powers and Abilities

Hellboy’s superhuman abilities stem from his demonic nature. He is much stronger and more physically durable than an ordinary human. Hellboy can be damaged like any living thing, but he possesses a “healing factor” (much like Wolverine of the X-Men) that allows him to recover from wounds at an incredible rate. One example of this was when he once took a sword thrust through his chest. He also has the innate ability to comprehend ancient and magical languages.

Hellboy has been savagely beaten by large monsters on several occasions and survived, often with relatively minor injuries. On one occasion, Hellboy directly charged an MG-42 machine gun and took numerous bullets to the chest before destroying the gun. The extent of Hellboy’s strength is unclear, but he has torn down a large tree and hurled it at an opponent lifted massive stones. He has also picked up and thrown opponents weighing at least four to five hundred pounds.

Hellboy ages differently than humans. At the time that young Hellboy tried his favorite food, pancakes, for the first time he was technically two years old. However, he appeared to be far older, around age six. In 1954 he already appeared to be a full-grown adult but was in reality only about ten years old. His rapid physical maturation is in contrast to his physical rate of aging, which seems to be much slower than normal. Throughout the sixty year span of his life, Hellboy seems to have ceased to age ever since reaching physical maturity.

Weapons and Charms

Hellboy is known for using various weapons and mystical items in his fight against evil. His most two notable items are his The Good Samaritan ( an extremely large gun known for its brute strength and mystical background) and The Right Hand of Doom. Hellboy also used different other charms and gadgets when the situation calls for it. Hellboy also carries a golden cross that is attached to a chain that wraps around his waist. The chain was given to him by his Earth father Professor Broom which always reminds Hellboy that he makes himself be who he wants to be and that he is good. He also makes use of a Smith Wesson M29, but only very rarely.

The Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan was given to Hellboy by his friend, the Torch of Liberty. The gun was made in Massachusetts. It’s made up of different metals like silver, metal from old horseshoes, cannonballs, and melted metals from sacred amulets. Upon melting the the sacred amulets, incantations were said. Even the handle of the gun was made from a portion of the True Cross. Hellboy called the gun The Good Samaritan because he would put monsters out of their misery. The Good Samaritan is like a miniature hand cannon. It weighs 6lbs which could also be used as a hammer. It is a .20 mm mega-pistol that can blow huge holes in buildings. The gun can hold up to four bullets making it the ultimate weapon. Upon impact a glass chamber within the bullet casing launches numerous things. These things can include holy water, white oak or anything else thats needed to be used to defeat the monster at hand. In the side of the gun, Hellboy embedded a B.R.P.D symbol and after Professor Broom had given Hellboy the double-faced medallion, Hellboy split the medallion in half and placed a face of it on both side of the gun handle.

The Right Hand of Doom

Another weapon is The Right Hand of Doom (his large rock like arm). The hand is virtually indestructible and as such Hellboy often uses it as a method for defense as well as offense. It is said to be the key to Armageddon. The hand has shown mystical capabilities such as being able to hurt the hero Ghost. The full extent of its powers are yet to be seen, but it is implied that it holds tremendous power. The hand is not without its disadvantages however as Hellboy can’t use The Good Samaritan in his right hand. He’s also forced to be left handed as his hand can be too clumsy to do certain tasks.

Hellboy Crossovers

Hellboy has teamed up with other heroes and their names are:

1. Batman
2. Ghost
3. Painkiller Jane
4. Savage Dragon
5. Starman
6. Wise Dog Society

Other Versions

Hellboy Junior is a younger version of Hellboy drawn in a retro-style.

Other Media

Animation

Hellboy: Sword of Storms

For Further Information: Hellboy: Sword of Storms

Hellboy: Sword of Storms is the first animated series based on the comic book Hellboy by Mike Mignola. It first aired in 2006 on Cartoon Network just in time for Halloween and was released on DVD in February 2007. The film was produced by Starz Media’s Film Roman and Revolution Studios by animation veteran Tad Stones. The story starts with Professor Sakai who opens a scroll, but the demon releases two powerful Japanese demons: Thunder and Lightning. They take possession of the professor and want to release the dragons and take over the world. The BPRD gains word of this and sends Hellboy to investigate, as he touches a mysterious sword he gets transported to a strange Japanese world. Here he has to fight his way back to the normal world where Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman fight against one of the dragons. Meanwhile BRPD agents Corrigan and Thorne track the professor.

Hellboy: Blood & Iron

For Further Information: Hellboy: Blood & Iron

Hellboy: Blood And Iron is the second addition to the Hellboy animated series, written by Tad Stones and Mike Mignola. It first aired in March 2007 on Cartoon Network and was released on DVD by Starz Home Entertainment in June 2007. The movie starts in the year 1939 where we see a young professor Broom take on a powerful and beautiful vampire. This vampire is obsessed with her appearance and bathes in the blood of humans to keep herself looking young. Professor Broom manages to defeat her by using her vanity against her. Years later a rich entrepreneur buys a haunted mansion wanting to make it a tourist attraction, but the BPRD are send to investigate. Professor Broom decides to join the party consisting of Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Sydney Leach and Liz Sherman. Here they find that the vampire has been resurrected by harpies and they fight to defeat her once more. Hellboy has another struggle to face in the movie though!

Hellboy: Iron Shoes

Hellboy: Iron Shoes was a short film that was made by the same company that did the animated TV sepcials. The short is a direct adaption to the short story under the title of the same name. It was released as a bonus short on the DVD release of Hellboy Blood & Iron.

MAD

In episode 22 of season 2: Garfield of My Dreams/I Hate My Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hellboy appears in a faux commercial where he advertises the product called the Left Hand of Doom. The boy in the commercial only wants a pair of left handed scissors, but Hellboy insists that what the boy wants is the Left Hand of Doom(which is actually very heavy for the boy’s arm to left). After telling the kid what the product can do the boy tries to cut a piece of paper after Hellboy implied the hand can cut paper(which it doesn’t). So the boy who is now annoyed demands Hellboy to give him a pair of left ahnded Scissors. Hellboy wasn’t happy that the kid would rather have scissors instead of having a cool left handed glove, but ends up giving the boy the scissors he’s been asking for. The Hellboy in this episode resembles the movie Hellboy due to the fact he’s wearing boots. While strangely his right arm is beige like human skin when in the movies it’s red skin. Because MAD is intended as a kid’s show, Hellboy’s name was never uttered and calls himself Red instead. He is voiced by Fred Tatasciore in the episode.

Film

Hellboy

For Further Information: Hellboy

In 2004, Hellboy was portrayed by Ron Perlman. Being born in the flames of hell during World War II. He was brought to Earth by Grigori Effimovich Rasputin being summoned by Nazi occultists during World War II. He was taken by the Allied forces during the war and was taken care of by Professor Broom, played by John Hurt, the founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defenses. Despite his evil origins, Hellboy would become the ultimate champion of good. At the B.P.R.D, Hellboy would be part of a family that includes the telepathic Abe Sapien “Mer-Man”, played by Doug Jones, and Liz Sherman, played by Selma Blair, the pyrokinetic. Years after the events of World War 2 Rasputin is resurrected and wants to reclaim Hellboy and bring him back to his original nature so that he can bring about Armageddon. Of course Hellboy and his companions are preparing to stop him, but what happens with the relationship between Liz and Hellboy?

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

For Further Information: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

This movie starts off with the beginning we all know. In 1944 a team of paranormal researchers, together with the US Army, rescue a strange creature during a classified mission off the coast of Scotland. Secretly adopted, this creature now lives among us. This where the new adventure begins, where the first one left of. During a flashback we see Hellboy being told a story about a race of elves fighting a battle against the humans. The elves build a massive golden army of robots which could only be controlled by a magic crown. It slaughtered the humans until the elves and humans came to an agreement: The humans kept their cities and the elves kept their forests. The crown of the king was divided in three pieces so that no one could control the army. Prince Nuada didn’t agree with the choice of the king and left only, to resurface centuries later. He wants to control the army again and destroy the humans and for that, he needs the crown. It’s up to Hellboy and his companions to stop the Prince.

Video Games

Hellboy: Asylum Seeker

Hellboy’s first video game appearance for Playstation 1 & PC. The game is sometimes called Hellboy: Dogs of the Night or simply Hellboy. The story takes place in 1962 where a B.P.R.D. agent is suffering from an illness that the agent claims was caused by the Nohox Kanis. A group of beings that attempted to bring about eternal darkness 700 years ago. An agent named Peter Johnson was sent to investigate an asylum in Czechoslovakia only to end up missing in action. Hellboy was then put on the case to find the whereabouts of Peter. The game was in development for four years and by the time it was released it’s performance of graphics are more aged than the current Playstation 1 games at the time. The game received poor sales at the market mainly due to Hellboy being an unknown comic book character at the time.

Hellboy: The Science of Evil

Hellboy’s second video game is more in par with the film franchise with Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, & Selma Blair reprising their respective roles. The story is about Hellboy along with Abe Sapien & Liz Sherman must prevent Hermann von Klempt from creating world domination. The game was released to promote the second Hellboy movie: Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Despite that the game is superior towards Asylum Seeker, it proved to be not as successful as expected.

Injustice 2

Hellboy is a guest fighter announced with the second fighter pack alongside Raiden from Mortal Kombat and DC Supervillain Black Manta