Hellboy

The Hellboy series appeared for the first time as a four-page, black and white comic, written by Mike Mignola. It was published under Dark Horse Comics in San Diego Comic-Con Comics # 2 in August 1993.The early stories were created and drawn by Mignola, with a script written by John Byrne. However, the later stories were created by creators other than Mignola, including Ryan Sook, Christopher Golden, Duncan Fregredo, and Guy Davis.

Hellboy first came from a drawing created by Mike Mignola at a comic book convention. Initially, it was a demon with the name “Hellboy” written on his belt. During this time, Mignola had no intention of doing something serious about the idea, but subsequently, he thought he liked the name.Interestingly, before the series was independently published at Dark Horse Comics, the concept was first introduced to the Board of Directors of DC Comics. The board liked the idea, although they did not like the notion of ‘Hell.’

Hellboy’s Origin

On October 5, 1617, Hellboy, or ‘Anung Un Rama,’ was born. Sarah, his mother, was originally a witch who gained power after being the consort of the archduke of hell named Azzael. However, Sarah tried to repent on her deathbed in a church in East Bromwich, England. As a result, Azzael took her into hell. Azzael burned Sarah away so that her baby would come to birth. Azzael then chopped off the baby’s right hand to replace it with “The Real hand of doom,” the relic attached to the Ogdru Jahad.When the other hell’s princes learned about what Azzael had done, Azzael took away his half-demon son and imprisoned him in ice.

In World War II, the child was eventually summoned through a ritual, by “Mad Monk,” on Tarmagant Island, off the coast of Scotland. With this, the child appeared on Earth in a fireball at the ruins of Bromwich Church on December 23, 1944. Later on, Professor Trevor’s “Broom” Bruttenholm called the child “Hellboy.”

In time, Hellboy grew into a large, red-skinned adult with a tail, and horns. These hornswere usually cut off, leaving circular stumps on his forehead. He had cloven hooves for feet, and an oversized right hand made of stone called the “Right Hand of Doom.” Hellboy also has an ironic sense of humor and was described to smell like dry roast peanuts. Although somewhat gruff, he does not show the evilness that is conventional to demons. This was due to his upbringing as a normal boy under Professor Bruttenholm.

Superhuman Powers and Abilities

It would appear that Hellboy’s supernatural powers derive from his demonic heritage. While his extraordinary skills and powers never been explicitly listed, Hellboy is far stronger and more physically enduring than an ordinary human.

Hand to hand Combat:Although he’s skilled in handguns, Hellboy mostly prefers to fight using his superhuman strength to defeat his enemies. He has also shown skill in using swords and other weapons.

Superhuman Strength:Even though the extent of Hellboy’s strength is unknown, it was shown in the comics that he could turn down a large tree and hurled it at an opponent.  Furthermore, Hellboy has also thrown opponents who weigh at least four to 500 pounds and can lift more than 5 tons.

Superhuman Resiliency:Hellboy is shown to be able to sustain wounds that would be fatal to ordinary people. He can sustain it without being impaired and he can also recover from injuries at an extraordinary rate. Many times, Hellboy has been savagely attacked by massive creatures and survived, sometimes with fairly minor injuries. He has also been shown to be able to withstand great impact, high caliber bullets, and extreme exposure of both temperatures.

Immortality and Decelerated Aging:Hellboy appears to have ceased to age since he reached physical maturity throughout his sixtieth year of life. In the comic series, Hellboy was described as “as deathless as Kosheik” and cannot die if he does not think he ought to. Moreover, Hellboy also appears to age differently from typical human beings. Although he seemed to be a full-grown adult in 1954, in reality, he was just about ten years old. Hellboy’s rapid physical maturity is in contrast to his physical aging rate, which seems to be much slower than normal humans.

Full-Demon Form:In special situations, either naturally or under emotional strain, Hellboy takes on an even more sinister form. Furthermore, after dealing with his heritage, Hellboy seems to be able to transform at will. He was also capable of growing wings and full-grown horns. In its full-demon form, Hellboy was able to easily kill hell’s most powerful inhabitants.

Hellboy: From Comics to Film

Hellboy (2004)

Hellboy is an American supernatural-superhero film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro in 2004. This film was loosely based on the graphic novel, Dark Horse Comics Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, created by Mike Mignola. In this film, Hellboy was portrayed by Ron Perlman, along with Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, Karel Roden, Rupert Evans, and John Hurt in supporting roles. In the film, a demon beast-turned superhero known as Hellboy,is secretly working with his team, the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, to keep the world safe from paranormal threats.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army, starring Ron Perlman, is a superhero movie based on Mike Mignola’s fictional character, Hellboy. The movie was also written and directed by Guillermo del Toro as a sequel to the previous movie, Hellboy, in 2004.It was a film released by Universal Pictures that grossed about 168 million dollars. Hellboy II had received positive reviews from critics who commended the creativity of the atmosphere in the movie, as well as the performances of Perlman and the other cast.

Hellboy (2019)

Hellboy (2019) is an American superhero movie directed by Neil Marshall. It was based on the character published by Dark Horse Comics in 1993. The film stars David Harbour and other stars, namely, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim, and Thomas Haden Church.

The project started with Andrew Cosby and the Hellboy creator Mike Mignola writing the script, as a sequel to Hellboy II: The Golden Army in 2008. During the production, Guillermo del Toro has not been given the entire role of author and director he played in the first two films. With this, Ron Perlman, who depicted Hellboy in previous films, has refused to return without the participation of del Toro.Consequently, Marshall was hired as the director, and Harbour was cast as Hellboy.