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HistoryEdit

Quote1 I'm fireproof, you're not. Quote2
--Hellboy  

Summoned by Nazi cultists lead by Grigori Rasputin, Anung un Rama was destined to destroy the world by unleashing the Ogdru Jahad to spread darkness and chaos across existence.

The demon was supposed to be summoned off the shore of Scotland by Rasputin's Project Ragna Rok, but instead appeared at a ruined church near East Bromwich, England where it was found with an extremely large rock arm by Allied troops, adopted by Trevor Bruttenholm, and named as Hellboy. Over the years, Hellboy was granted honorary human status by the United Nations, and then raised by the U.S. Government as the lead agent in the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), where he worked with Abe Sapien (an icthyo sapien), Liz Sherman (a pyrokinetic) and Roger (a large homunculus). Hellboy is America's first line of defense against occult menaces. Hellboy grew up to be a large, red-skinned demon with a tail, horns (which he filed off, leaving behind the signature circular stumps on his forehead), and an over-sized right hand made of stone.

Hellboy has faced werewolves, vampires, nuke-kubi, and other mythological creatures. Because of his destiny, he frequently clashes with figures such as Rasputin and Hecate, who wish for him to fulfill his fate. He is known for having a short temper and being a heavy cigar smoker.

After his first battle with Rasputin, Hellboy was perturbed of his destiny and returned to the ruined church where he first appeared in the world and has a dream-vision of his origin: His mother Sarah Hughes (a witch), as a young woman, had cavorted with a demon, Azzael (Hellboy's father), and on Walpurgisnacht (a night of great significance to witches) conceived Hellboy as a result. Hellboy lay dormant within her until the demon returned at the end of the woman's life to claim her and his unborn son. Following this, he never (aside from Abe Sapien) told anyone about his vision.

Hellboy left the B.P.R.D over personal issues he had with the department's operation, brought to a head when he discovered Roger had been fitted with a small bomb during the Conqueror Worm affair. At first, he headed to Africa, but eventually, Hellboy wound up on a mysterious island, where he once again talked with Hecate, who told him to leave the island immediately. Not paying her any attention, Hellboy continued to wander the island, until he came across the ruins of a large building. He is then soon attacked by Urgo-Hem, one of the Ogdru Hem, and was impaled by the creature's leg, and apparently bled to death. A Spanish priest who had been killed on the island in 1525 re-created himself from Hellboy's blood. Aided by the magic bell given to him by the African shaman Mohlomi, Hellboy was able to return to life, and the newly re-created priest told him a brief history of the Secret History of the World - including the tale of the watcher angel Anum who was responsible in creating and imprisoning the Ogdru Jahad. The origins of Hellboy's Right Hand of Doom to be none other than Anum's that created and imprisoned the Ogdru Jahad, and was a sacred object in Hyperborea. Hellboy was then forced to fight the priest after he went mad from Hellboy's blood and transformed into a monster - which he claimed, "was what Hellboy was meant to be", eventually killing him and Urgo-Hem.

He later left the island and was lost at sea for two years before reaching the west coast of England.

Hellboy then joins the Wild Hunt. The Wild Hunt's objective 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 team's real reason to hunt all along. Hellboy is knocked unconscious while Giants killed the members of the Hunt. Hellboy is kept invisible by the grace of a bird who was following the orders of its mistress. While trying to sneak past them, however, he decides to pick a fight with the giants after one smells him, and eventually goes berserk and kills the whole group of giants. He then meets a grown-up Alice Monaghan, the same baby girl who was kidnapped by faeries in 1959, who takes him to see Queen Mab. Mab, however, seemingly betrays them when they are attacked, and Alice is poisoned. Three pigeons came to their rescue, and they are also sent by their mysterious mistress who turns out to be the Arthurian witch, Morgan le Fay. In order to see her (and save Alice), Hellboy has to defeat the demon guarding the bridge to her castle. Once done, she explains to Hellboy how his mother Sarah Hughes is in fact the descendant of Mordred, the son of King Arthur. She further explains that Hellboy is the first male descendant of Mordred and thus the rightful King of England, and that should he draw Excalibur, the Noble Dead of Britain would rise to fight by his side.

Hellboy wanders the castle and is eventually confronted by his own reflection, being told that he would eventually unleash those imprisoned in Hell and make a paradise on Earth for them. As Hellboy battles his reflection (which has grown increasingly more demonic) a blast of fire erupts from them that burns everything in the castle and causes Hellboy's horns to grow. He eventually finds Alice's room charred, with Alice herself reduced to bones. With some encouragement, Hellboy finally draws Excalibur, with many watching on, and suddenly appears in the fields where he met Queen Mab - Alice to is still alive, as if it was all a dream, although Hellboy still has Excalibur.

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

Powers

Cambion Physiology: Hellboy's superhuman abilities would seem to stem from his demonic heritage. While his specific powers and abilities have never been explicitly listed, Hellboy is much stronger and more physically durable than an ordinary human.

  • Superhuman Strength: Although the true extent of his strength is unclear, Hellboy has tossed opponents weighing at least four to five hundred pounds, hurled a large broken tree at a giant, thrown a harpoon through a monster along with the ship mast, and lifted a chunk of rubble to crush his opponent.
  • Superhuman Speed: While he's not much of a speedster, Hellboy's shown to be pretty fast for a creature his size. He could quickly purse a vampire from outside of a castle to the underground and appear right in front of a human after causing the human to flee.
    • Superhuman Reflexes: Hellboy's reflexes are far greater than any normal human being, being able to catch a demon in its fly form before it escaped and snatch missiles out of the air. He's also reacted to several floating heads at once, a surprise charge from a super gorilla, and a blast from Grigori Rasputin.
    • Superhuman Agility: Hellboy possesses agility, balance, and coordination which surpass even the finest human athlete. He's dodged attacks from humans, a giant werewolf, an entire army of zombies and he can dodge lightning, bullets, and lasers.
  • Superhuman Durability: Hellboy is shown to be capable of withstanding wounds that would be fatal to ordinary humans without being incapacitated, as well as recovering from injuries at an incredible rate. He has been shown to withstand great impact forces, high caliber bullets, exposure to extremes of both temperatures and falls from great heights. He has been savagely beaten by large monsters on several occasions and survived, often with relatively minor injuries.
  • Superhuman Endurance: Hellboy has consistently displayed enormous amounts of endurance. He can fall thousands of feet and walk it off like it's nothing and shake off injuries after being crushed and beaten by a giant. On one occasion, Hellboy directly charged an MG-42 machine gun and took numerous bullets to the chest before destroying the gun. On another, he was impaled by a massive spearhead through the chest, but smashed the handle and charged the attacker, leaving the spearhead buried in the tree behind him. Despite being shot in the face two times by a double-barrel shotgun, Hellboy got up and walked to the home of his shooter, all without passing out.
  • Superhuman Stamina: While certainly not limitless, Hellboy's stamina has been shown to exceed that of normal and highly athletic humans. Hellboy's stamina is part of what keeps him going in a long battle and the factor that backs up his stubbornness as he refuses to go down in a fight.
  • Enhanced Sight: Hellboy has been noted to have advanced sight, allowing him to see farther than average humans. The extent of his sight ability seems to be limited to distance, but he's shown to not have too much trouble seeing in the dark or in minimal-light situations.
  • Accelerated Healing: Although he can be damaged like any living thing, Hellboy possesses a "healing factor" (much like the Marvel Comics character Wolverine) that allows him to recover from wounds at an incredible rate. One example of this was when he recovered after being in close proximity to his concussion grenade.
  • Immortality: Having escaped death at nearly every turn in his life (possibly because he could fulfill his duty as the bringer of the apocalypse), Hellboy is essentially immortal. Despite being taken out many times and eventually stopped at one point, Hellboy has survived blows that would kill any ordinary human. As he's described to be "as deathless as Koshchei", Hellboy can't die unless he believes he should.
    • Decelerated Aging: Hellboy seems to age differently from normal humans. At the time that young Hellboy tried his favorite food, “pamcakes” for the first time, he was technically two years old but appeared to be far older, around age six. In 1954 he already appeared to be a full-grown adult but was in reality 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.
  • Thermal Resistance: Thanks to his demonic heritage and accelerated healing, Hellboy's body is quite resistant against high temperatures and fire. In the movies, he is depicted as being fireproof, and he is even more resilient against heat or burns than his comic book counterpart, to the point he became immune to all forms of fire and burns, including Liz Sherman's flames, and electrocution.
  • Demonic Transformation: Hellboy assumes an even more demonic form under special circumstances, either artificially or when under emotional duress. In this form, Hellboy's stumps become full-grown horns. After coming to terms with his heritage, Hellboy seems to be able to transform at will, while also sprouting wings. Hellboy becomes much stronger and gains access to his latent magic. In his full-demon form, Hellboy was able to effortlessly slaughter Hell's most powerful inhabitants.
    • Size-Shifting: Hellboy can increase his size to the point where he's very larger such as Leviathan and Behemoth.
    • Hell-Fire Manipulation: While in his demonic form, Hellboy has the power to control the fires of Hell. With the power of Hellfire, Hellboy can create and manipulate massive devastating infernos from his body that obliterate anything in their path.
    • Electrokinesis: In his demonic form, Hellboy has the power to command lightning from the sky and strike down whoever he wishes.
    • Flight: When transformed into his demonic form, Hellboy sprouts wings which grant him the power of flight. However, it's unknown whether he uses wings or magic to achieve this feat.

Abilities

  • Hand-to-Hand Combatant (Basic): Although proficient with handguns, Hellboy often chooses to engage in close combat where he can utilize his incredible strength to defeat his enemies.  He has also displayed skill with swords and other improvised weapons.
  • Occult Knowledge: His decades of experience as a paranormal investigator have given him expertise in folklore, magical rituals, the use of charms and curses, paranormal creatures, and other related topics.
  • Innate Multilingualism: Due to his demon heritage, Hellboy was born with the ability to read, comprehend, and understand a number of ancient, magic, and demonic languages.

Weaknesses

  • Heavenly-forged weapons: Like traditional demons, Hellboy can be hurt or even killed by holy weapons, such as his rosary that burns his skin. This is only the case in the film and while he's 'evil' - in the comics, he is unaffected by holy symbols and relics because he is 'no ordinary creature of Hell.'
  • Magic: Some spells and magic can also hurt and affect Hellboy

ParaphernaliaEdit

Equipment

  • Utility belt: In addition to his natural gifts, Hellboy carries a utility belt with a variety of many items, charms, and knick-knacks such as holy relics, horseshoes, and herbs which Hellboy often uses as tools to resurrect the dead, protect him or his friends from evil entities, heal, etc. A commonly shown item among these various possessions is a Catholic Rosary with a golden cross that is attached to a chain that hangs from his belt. This cross is a symbol of his Catholic faith and upbringing. Furthermore, Hellboy has a variety of grenades and other demolition tools that often come in handy when fighting supernatural beasts. He also typically carries a sidearm of some sort which was originally a gun given to him by the Torch of Liberty, a World War II-era superhero who trained Hellboy in marksmanship. Unfortunately, this gun was lost in the ocean during "The Third Wish."
    • Tracking Device: In order to keep track of his whereabouts, Hellboy’s belt has a tracking device that is constantly linked to B.P.R.D. headquarters.
  • Jacket: Hellboy is almost always seen wearing a large and heavy jacket that reaches well below his knees. The pockets of this jacket are typically filled with many of the charms and totems mentioned above, granting him even greater paranormal protection. His original jacket bore the B.P.R.D. logo on its sleeve, but after he quit the Bureau this logo vanished, indicating that he either removed it or the jacket he is currently wearing is a new one altogether. His jacket has been heavily damaged many times, yet it always shows up repaired with each new story, indicating that Hellboy might have some skill in weaving.

Weapons

  • Big Baby: An over-sized six-round gun that shoots small rockets that can cause small-sized explosions. Because of how big it is, Anung sometimes carries it with both hands. Though in the movie, it fires 2 small rockets at the same time. The rounds of it are small rockets with the word 'Suck On It'.
  • The Good Samaritan: Another oversized 22m sized four-round revolver Hellboy wields. The fires custom made with adequate power to easily penetrate any material. The Good Samaritan has an unearthly resistance to almost any form of attack. The metal that the Samaritan is made out of is Irish Church Bells, cold iron with crucifixes, blessed silver, and any other magical metal. It's difficult to load the gun because of how huge the fingers are and it's prone to jamming.
    • Whoppers: The first round for it, it is tipped with explosive shells and contains magical white oak, holy water, garlic, and silver shavings. It can injure many foes that Anung faces in his life.
    • Tracker Rounds: Hellboy made the rounds out of phosphorescence green liquid that will drip from the wound it makes on the opponent on a target, making it easy for it to be followed in a low situation.
  • Excalibur: Held by the legendary deceased Sir Arthur, Hellboy briefly wielded the sword Excalibur, from Arthurian Legend. Supposedly, wielding this sword marks him as the rightful King of England, and will allow him to lead an army of England's noble dead.
  • Right Hand of Doom: A gauntlet that Hellboy wields. Made out of red stone that was grafted onto Hellboy's right hand when he was young. It is virtually indestructible and doesn't even feel the pain of it, it is a handy melee weapon and a landscaping tool.

Equipment Used on Film

He also uses special ammunition that is made to be effective against most any supernatural entity. These bullets usually hold silver shavings, holy water, white oak, garlic, and bits of iron, making them dangerous to almost any creature Hellboy might come across. The film version of the character also carries an oversized pistol, known as the “Samaritan”, which Hellboy himself describes as using “Really big bullets.” These specially prepared bullets are hollow and contain silver shavings, holy water, cloves, etc. to ensure the weapon's effectiveness against supernatural creatures. The gun was fashioned from melted-down church bells and fragments of the True Cross. It should be noted that although Hellboy is, by his own admission, a lousy shot; he prefers to “mix it up” in hand-to-hand combat whenever possible.

NotesEdit

  • The comics were adapted into a 2004 film starring Ron Perlman as Hellboy with a sequel, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, and two straight-to-DVD animated films, the first of which, Hellboy: Sword of Storms, was released on February 6, 2007.

TriviaEdit

  • In the introduction to Odd Jobs, he is described as smelling of dry-roasted peanuts. Although a bit gruff, he shows none of the malevolence thought to be intrinsic to demons and works with other strange creatures in the B.P.R.D. Hellboy has been dubbed as the "World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator".
  • The character has been featured in a sequence of comic book mini-series published by Dark Horse Comics, influenced by vintage adventure and horror fiction.
  • According to Mignola's commentary on the Hellboy film DVD, various aspects of the character's looks and personality were inspired by his own father, a cabinet maker who often returned home from work with tales of horrific on-the-job accidents, told in the nonchalant, unflappable manner that would eventually become characteristic of Hellboy.
  • Originally, Hellboy was to be a member of a superhero team Mignola conceived, but the artist abandoned the team-concept when he failed to come up with suitable names for the other heroes.
  • Lauded Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, who is an acknowledged major fan of Mignola’s work, wrote the introduction to the hardcover edition of the Conqueror Worm arc. Del Toro would later go on to direct two of three live-action Hellboy films that exist today.
  • Hellboy’s name was born out of what began as a private joke to Mignola, who had randomly come up with the word, saying that he found the name “hilarious.”
  • The Hellboy comic books, as well as the general artistic style of Mignola’s work, was tremendously influenced by the art of famed comic-book illustrator Jack Kirby, as well as influences by Gustav Dore, H. P. Lovecraft, and even Bram Stoker’s famed novel Dracula, which is one of Mignola’s favorites.
  • In the film, Hellboy is often referred as demon by other characters, despite in comics, his true nature was a half-demon though it is hard to pinpoint due to the strange circumstances of his birth.
  • Hellboy's aim with guns is terrible, but his throwing one is perfect.

Related


Footnotes


Hellboy Character
This character exists under the Dark Horse Imprint, and their continuity takes place within the Hellboy titles. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Hellboy Characters."
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