Hellboy

Hellboy continues to be published, along with spin-off comics, movies, video games, etc.

Hellboy is a demon who was summoned to Earth by Nazis during World War Two. However he was actually raised by the Allies, and continues to fight evil to this day.

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Background

Powers & Abilities

Strength Level

Hellboy possesses supernatural strength allowing him to lift (press) at least 1 ton directly overhead.

Known Superhuman Powers

Hellboy’s infernal origins make him extremely hard to kill. His bone, skin and connective tissues are far more durable than that of a normal mortal, allowing him to withstand impacts up to and including MG-42 machine gun fire from point blank range.

Should Hellboy actually suffer an injury, his unique constitution allows him to heal at a remarkable rate. He is also highly resistant to flames, heat and electricity.

Additionally, he is seemingly immune to human diseases and aging.

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Abilities

Hellboy is an competent adventurer, with literally decades of experience. He speaks at least six different languages and his knowledge of: the occult, supernatural creatures, geography and history is virtually unmatched.

He is a fantastic brawler. His natural pugilistic skills have been augmented by his military training he received as a member of the B.P.R.D..

And while he has admitted that his skill with a gun is somewhat mediocre, he still hits his target more often than not.

Paraphernalia

Hellboy always carries various nick-knacks and charms about his person that have been enchanted with various protection spells.

Before he lost it on an adventure, he also used to wield a large handgun (which he received from the Torch of Liberty) that could be loaded with various types of ammunition.

Afterwards, he generally carried a .45 calibre handgun.

The Right Hand of Doom

Hellboy bears “the Right Hand of Doom” grafted to his right arm. The hand and forearm are made from an indestructible, red, stone-like material. The hand moves and reacts like a normal hand in every way; it is dexterous enough to catch a fly by the wing between two of its fingers.

Unfortunately, due to the sheer size of the hand its overall usefulness is somewhat limited. Hellboy can’t use the hand for complex operation of smaller hand-held items (he performs those types of activities with his natural left hand). However, the size and weight of the hand allows Hellboy to use it like sledgehammer in combat.

The hand was originally the right hand of Anum, one of the greater spirits, and is the key to releasing and controlling the dragon Ogdru Jahad from its imprisonment and ushering in the end of the world. The legends state that if the Hellboy dies with the hand attached to him, it will lose all of its mystical properties.

Prophecy Boy

Hellboy is linked to several prophecies which can affect him in game at any time. His status as the Harbinger of Doom has fostered a great deal of animosity towards him in the demonic realms, and he has found himself a target of their jealousy and anger in the past.

He is the last living descendant of King Arthur, the Pendragon, and as such is the rightful “King” of England. Any such prophecy linked to Arthur’s legend can lead back to Hellboy (including his ability to wield Excalibur).

Infernal Nature

Hellboy’s half-infernal origins make him susceptible to any attack or weapon designed to harm demons and their kin. Moreover, he is also susceptible to magic that would affect demons (especially those that utilize the target’s true name as a component) including summoning spells, enthralment, etc.

Characters who are sensitive to magic (have the Magic Sense power) can also detect his presence with the appropriate roll.

History

On December 23, 1944 the mad mystic Grigori Rasputin summoned the being who would be known as Hellboy to the Earth. The spell went awry and instead of bringing Hellboy to his side, Hellboy appeared miles away in a churchyard in East Bromwich, England.

He was found there by a team of American soldiers and Professor Trevor Bruttenholm of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). The kindly professor immediately befriended the demonic child and convinced his allies to allow it to accompany them back to the United States.

His allies agreed and, after naming the unfortunate creature Hellboy, returned the United States where the infernal being would be raised by the U.S. government and trained/educated to be a paranormal investigator.

The young demon matured at a rapid clip. By the time he was 8 years old, he had achieved physical maturity and became a full time agent of the B.P.R.D. He spent the next 4 decades travelling the world and having fantastic adventures. He encountered and defeated numerous supernatural beings, Nazis and even minor deities.

The Seed of Destruction

In the calendar year 1994, Hellboy returned to the New York headquarters of the B.P.R.D. He journeyed there in order to see his “father” Professor Bruttenholm, who had miraculously returned to life after disappearing on a polar expedition in 1993.

The two shared a nostalgic tale about Hellboy’s origins before the rather confused Bruttenholm began to recount the story of his own disappearance.

When he started to tell Hellboy about “the Cavendish boys” (who had travelled with him) and their family, Bruttenholm was brutally attacked and murdered by a by a massive humanoid frog monster. The creature then turned its attention to Hellboy but he proved to be too strong.

After killing the monster, Hellboy contacted the Director of the B.P.R.D. and arranged a mission to Cavendish Hall.

He was accompanied by two of his allies, Abe Sapien and Elizabeth Sherman. When the three arrived they met the elderly matron Cavendish who told the party that she had lost her three sons on the same mission that supposedly claimed Bruttenholm’s life.

Suspicious, Hellboy and his allies decided to spend the night at Cavendish Hall, in order to search for more clues. As the night passed, only Abe Sapien managed to evade capture by none other than Grigori Rasputin who had been secretly hiding deep underneath the Hall itself.

With Hellboy finally in his grasp, Rasputin revealed to him that he was the servant of a horrific cosmic entity, the Ogdru Jahad. The entity had been desperately searching for a method of returning to Earth and Rasputin had found one in Hellboy. And it was for that very reason that Rasputin had summoned Hellboy to Earth all those years prior.

When Hellboy eluded his grasp, Grigori decided to bide his time and wait for a better opportunity to release Ogdru Jahad. With that he travelled to the Arctic circle and entered a state of hibernation.

He remained in the state for decades; biding his time and gathering his strength until he could awaken and retake control of his “son”.

Bruttenholm and the Cavendish boys accidentally awoke Rasputin and Sadu-Hem, one of the children of Ogdru Jahad. While Sadu-Hem transformed the Cavendish boys into the frog-monsters Rasputin set Bruttenholm loose to seek help, knowing that he would eventually bring Hellboy to Cavendish Hall.

Rasputin hoped that learning the truth of his past (and holding his ally hostage) would coerce Hellboy’s loyalty, and was predictably angered with Hellboy refused his “destiny.”

Nonetheless, Rasputin had a plan “B” which involved channeling Liz Sherman’s immense pyrokinetic power into Sadu-Hem, granting it the power to free the Ogdru Jahad.

Hellboy fought valiantly against the final Cavendish boy while Rasputin cast the spell. As the ceremony hit its apex, Abe Sapien (possessed by the vengeful spirit of Elihu Cavendish) appeared and threw a wickedly barbed harpoon through his chest.

The shock of the wound disrupted Rasputin’s control over Liz’s unstable powers resulting in them consuming Sadu-Hem and destroying the cavern that contained them all. As Abe escaped with Liz, Hellboy crushed Rasputin’s skull silencing the wizard forever.

Wake the Devil

In 1997, while investigating the theft of the corpse of Vladimir Giurescu, Hellboy uncovered another piece of his true destiny. In truth, Giurescu was a vampire whose followers were attempting to revive him.

During an intense battle with Giurescu’s followers and Giurescu himself, Hellboy was shunted to another dimension where he encountered a group of beings who called themselves Chaos.

The entities told Hellboy that the time had come for him to embrace his destiny as the harbinger of destruction and that his true name was “Anung Un Rama.” In that moment, the sawed-off horns atop his forehead began to regrow and a crown of fire appeared above him.

Despite the pull that he felt on his soul, Hellboy refused the entities’ commands. With fury in his heart, he snapped off his regrown horns while shouting “Screw you!” at the entities. His defiance and commitment to good reaffirmed his purpose to the entities who returned him to earth.

Upon his return, Hellboy was airlifted in a state of exhaustion while the remains of Giurescu were recovered by the B.P.R.D.

Description

Hellboy is a mammoth humanoid creature with obvious demonic features. He is nearly 7 feet tall, has a broad muscular chest and long limbs that are covered with thick powerful muscle. His feet end in cloven hooves and a long tail protrudes from the base of his spine.

When he was born, two prominent curled horns sprouted from just above his forehead. As he aged and realized the affect the horns had on the people that surrounded him, he filed them down to nubs; as it stands they almost look like goggles in their current state.

What little hair that he has is jet black in colour. He wears it in a short ponytail down the nape of his neck, and compliments it with a short scruffy beard and unkempt sideburns. To top it all off, his skin is a deep red shade and his eyes are golden in colour and have no visible pupil or iris.

Hellboy’s right hand (and forearm) is giant-sized and made from blood red stone. The hand is fully prehensile, contrary to its appearance.

Hellboy normally dresses in black shorts, “boots” cut to account for his hooves, a brown trenchcoat, and a gunbelt loaded with assorted gadgets, charms, and the occasional grenade.

Personality

Hellboy is a gruff, laconic yet likeable individual who wants nothing more than to see justice done in the world. Despite his outward appearance, he is most certainly a force for good in the world.

Given a choice, he would rather be relaxing, watching TV with a cold beer rather than fighting the supernatural fiends he often comes across. Unfortunately for him, his strong desire to do the right thing often prevents him from simply ignoring the horrors of the world.

He is driven by this need, imparted onto him by Professor Bruttenholm, to seek out evil whereever it may lie and eradicate it.

Hellboy isn’t an overly cerebral man, he doesn’t generally come up with clever plans to defeat his foes. This isn’t to say that he isn’t intelligent, he just seems to prefer punching things until they stop moving.

This being said, he has been doing his job for over 50 years and has done extensive research about the supernatural world. When necessary, he will use his experience and knowledge to their greatest effect.

Despite the near constant danger, Hellboy deeply enjoys his job; things and situations that would send the rest of us running only fascinate him and draws his attention. Perhaps this is due to his curiosity of the supernatural world (which only makes sense since he was born of it).

He tends to view each new situation with a calm and practiced eye, rarely escalating to violence unless the unnatural beings force his hand. However, once a supernatural creature has made its evil intentions clear Hellboy will not hesitate to end its threat (especially if children or innocents are involved).

Hellboy’s fascination with the supernatural world does not seem to extend to his own origins. Over the last six decades he had steadfastly avoided learning the truth of his origins. And moreover, even though he has been told that his destiny is to be the harbinger of the Apocalypse, he refuses to believe it. In fact, he refuses to be anyone’s pawn.

Finally, one simply cannot speak of Hellboy without mentioning his greatest fault; his temper. He tends to get angry when he sees innocents harmed or allies injured. When he’s angry, Hellboy tends to get reckless, takes foolish chances and generally starting fights that he has little chance of winning.

Quotes

“Come and get it, tough guy.”

“I’d be the first to admit that I have no shortage of faults. But if I had to pick one, the one that’s gotten me into the most trouble of the years… It would be that I sometimes get angry. And when I get angry I sometimes do stupid things.”

“Aw crap !”

“Gotta go do what I do.”

“Hand of Doom… geez. What a life.”

“Fighting monsters is how I keep my girlish figure.”

“See ? I told you. When I do you, you’re done.”

“Lady, I was gonna cut you some slack, ’cuz you’re a major mythological figure… but now you’ve just gone NUTS !

Chaos: “… become yourself, take that key you hold in your right and and open the pit… you have only these two choices.”
Hellboy: “Oh yeah ? SCREW YOU ! I choose door number three ! It’s my goddamn life, I’ll do what I want with it !”

“I’ve had it with all of this Beast-of-the-Apocalypse CRAP ! It’s not what I am and it’s not what I’m ever gonna be, and that’s the end of it !”

Hellboy: “You know how I live ?”
Kate: “I don’t know what you mean.”
Hellboy: “I never deal with what I am. I don’t think about it. I just do my job. Which usually involves me beating the crap out of things a lot like me.”

By Bryan Gittens.

Source of Character: Darkhorse Comic Book Series, created by Mike Mignolia (Author/Illustrator).

Helper(s): Peter Piispanen, Darci, Roy Cowan.

Writeup completed on the 6^th of October, 2014.