Hellboy: The Comics, Movies and Beyond

Set near the end of World War II, a group of Nazi occultists led by Russian mystic Rasputin opens a dimensional portal to Hell, in order to turn the tide of the war in Hitler's favor. Once opened, the infant Hellboy escapes - a creature that is not fully demon, nor human. Rescued by Ally forces, raised by the Army at a secret military base and eventually making his way into public acceptance as an "honorary human," Hellboy later joins the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense: headed by Trevor Bruttenholm, who treated him like a surrogate father.

Hellboy has several notable traits: in defiance against the goddess Hecate, he breaks off his long horns, leaving behind two stubs. His Hand of Doom, or the heavy, massive rock-like right hand he has, is used as a weapon and is virtually indestructible. Hellboy's mere presence on Earth has supposedly marked the beginning of the Apocalypse - as the Hand of Doom is actually a key that is necessary to call forth the final events.

Composed of over two dozen members, the BPRD investigates, tracks and eliminates supernatural threats left over from the Nazi black magic practitioners since the 1940s. Hellboy is thought of as one of the greatest paranormal investigators of all time - despite his wisecracking demeanor and occasional sarcastic comments. Receiving funding from many governments across the world, the Connecticut, USA based team studies ancient accounts of demonology and possesses various ancient religious artifacts that are used to destroy evil entities.

Directed by Guillermo de Toro, the feature film "Hellboy" starred Ron Perlman as the character, John Hurt as Trevor Bruttenholm, and a select few members of the BPRD: the firestarting Liz Sherman (played by Selma Blair) and merman-like creature Abe Sapien (played by Doug Jones). Bringing the story to its very roots, it begins in 1944 and introduces the story in a brief yet informative way, leading up to Hellboy's more mature stature and residence in the BPRD headquarters. A great portion of the movie focuses on FBI agent John Myers, who joins the BPRD, visits their building, and gets a rare face-to-face with Hellboy himself.

Main evildoers include the undead masked massachist Karl Ruprecht Kroenen (played by Ladislav Beran), and sorcerer Grigori Rasputin (played by Karel Roden). As in the comic, Nazis seek to bring about Armageddon as the BPRD utilizes their knowledge and powers to stop them, in a series of climactic battles and an ending that is open to a sequel (which has been confirmed as Hellboy 2: The Golden Army in 2008).

In Hellboy II, viewers are taken into a storyline beginning with a flashback of a story told to Hellboy by his late guardian father, of a "lost" race and their hidden Golden Army - an invincible, re-generating clockwork army of protectors laying dormant for ages.

Through action that surpasses the first movie by leaps and bounds, Hellboy and co. wander through an underworld of strange creatures that put the Star Wars cantina to shame. Hellboy II, overall, was a perfect mix of comedy, science fiction, and extremely bizarre, imaginative creatures and scenery that you have to see to truly admire.