Editing Hellboy (section)

==Fictional character biography==
Hellboy, or "anung un Rama 
" as he was called, was conceived on October 5,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecomicbug.com/2011/08/20/mike-mignola-exclusive-hellboy-fury-print-at-the-comic-bug/|title=Mike Mignola Exclusive Hellboy Fury Print at The Comic Bug!|access-date=October 6, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425051033/http://thecomicbug.com/2011/08/20/mike-mignola-exclusive-hellboy-fury-print-at-the-comic-bug|archive-date=2012-04-25}}</ref> 1574, the day his birth-mother, Sarah Hughes, a [[human]] woman, was on her deathbed. In life, Sarah was a witch who gained her powers from being a consort of the [[archdemon]] Azzael, an [[Archduke]] of Hell and Hellboy's "biological" father. Taking Sarah's body to hell when she attempted to repent on her deathbed within a church in [[East Bromwich]], [[England]], Azzael burned her away so their child would be born, and chopped off the newborn's right hand to replace it with the "Right Hand of Doom", a relic with the power to free the Ogdru Jahad (a destructive, seven headed dragon imprisoned in deep space) and awaken the armies of Hell to wage war against Heaven. When the other princes of Hell learned of his actions, Azzael sent his half-demon child away while he was stripped of his powers and imprisoned in ice (like [[Lucifer]] in [[Dante]]'s ''[[Divine Comedy]]'').

The child is eventually summoned to Earth in the final months of [[World War II]] by the "Mad Monk" [[Grigori Rasputin (Hellboy)|Grigori Rasputin]] on Tarmagant Island, off the coast of [[Scotland]], having been commissioned by the [[Nazism and occultism|Nazis]] to change the tide of a losing war ("Project Ragna Rok"). As a direct result of this rite, the child appears on Earth in a fireball at what remains of the ruined Bromwich Church on December 23, 1944, likely guided there by the ghosts of his mother's other children. Proving not to be a [[devil]] in the traditional sense, but a devil-like creature, the child was dubbed "Hellboy" by Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm.<ref>''[[Hellboy (2004 film)|Hellboy]]''. (2004)</ref>

Taken by the [[United States Armed Forces]] to an [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] base in [[New Mexico]], Hellboy is raised by Professor Bruttenholm in a normal [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] home environment, and the [[United States Army]] where he is introduced to the [[Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense]] (BPRD), a private organization dedicated to combating [[occult]] threats. Due to the success of his first mission in 1952, Hellboy is granted "honorary human" status by the [[United Nations]] and becomes a member of the BPRD as the "world's greatest paranormal investigator".<ref>''Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1952 #5''. (2015)</ref> As such, Hellboy interacts regularly with humans, primarily law enforcement officials, the military, Catholic clergy, and various "scholars of the weird", most of whom are not presented as overtly reacting to his strange appearance. During one of his early missions he rescued a young girl named Alice Monaghan, who had been replaced by fairies with a [[changeling]] named Gruagach. He also went to Russia and shot out the eye of the witch [[Baba Yaga]]. Gruagach and Baba Yaga both held lifelong grudges against Hellboy over these incidents. 

As an adult, having matured physically within the years yet aging slowly mentally with a teenage mind, Hellboy becomes the primary agent for the BPRD, alongside other human and quasi-human agents that include Kate Corrigan, a professor of [[folklore]] at [[New York University]]; [[Abe Sapien]], an [[amphibian]] [[humanoid]] (''Ichthyo sapiens''); and [[Liz Sherman]], a young [[pyrokinesis|pyrokinetic]]. Things change dramatically for Hellboy during the events of ''[[Hellboy: Seed of Destruction|Seed of Destruction]]'' when he searches for Professor Bruttenholm after he disappears during an expedition in the Arctic. He finds his adopted father only to witness his death at the hands of a Lovecraftian frog monster. The search takes Hellboy, Abe, and Liz to the Cavendish Hall mansion, which is a trap established by Rasputin to lure Hellboy into an embrace of his own "destiny", with the assistance of Sadu-Hem, one of the 369 spawn of the Ogdru Jahad. Controlled by the spirit of one of the ancestral Cavendish men, Abe impales Rasputin. Liz's firestorm then incinerates Rasputin's body alongside Sadu-Hem's and destroys Cavendish Hall. Soon after, during a visit to Bromwich Church, Hellboy gets a glimpse of his conception 300+ years ago and learns he has two human half-siblings, a nun and a priest whose spirits haunt the church after their deaths, attempting to stop Azzael from claiming Sarah.

During the events of ''[[Hellboy: Wake the Devil]]'', Hellboy, ostensibly content to return to his life of ignorance, is set back on his journey of self-discovery when a mission for the B.P.R.D leads him to Romania to investigate the theft of an ancient box containing the corpse of Vladimir Giurescu, a Napoleonic officer who was, in fact, a vampire before he was "killed" on the order of a fearful [[Adolf Hitler]]. The culprit of the theft is revealed to be Ilsa Haupstein, one of the surviving members of Project Ragna Rok, who was revived from suspended animation and then aided in Giurescu's resurrection. Finding Castle Giurescu after splitting up with the other search groups, Hellboy learns that the source of Giurescu's rebirth is the ancient goddess [[Hecate]]. Though Hellboy destroys Hecate's original body by forcing her into the sunlight, he faces her again after Rasputin unintentionally provides her with Ilsa's iron maiden-encased body. Hecate swallows Hellboy and reveals to him his ultimate purpose as destroyer of worlds, but he returns to his own reality after he denounces his supposed destiny. 

Hellboy later learns that Liz is dying after losing her powers when she accidentally revived a homunculus while searching another location for Giurescu, finding [[Roger (Hellboy)|Roger]] in the events of ''[[Hellboy: Almost Colossus]]'' as he convinces the homunculus to save Liz's life. Following the events of ''[[Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom#The Right Hand of Doom|Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom]]'', gaining insight about his stone hand and being referred to as a harbinger of the Apocalypse, Hellboy is accompanied by Abe to hunt down the warlock Igor Bromhead in ''Box Full of Evil''. But it turned out to be a trap conducted by Bromhead and the demon Ualac to capture Hellboy, using his [[True name#Folklore and literature|True Name]], Anung Un Rama, to restrain him, so that the latter can claim Hellboy's normally invisible Crown of the Apocalypse to increase their power. But this act, however, proves to be counterproductive, as it allows Hellboy to no longer be controlled by his true name, Anung Un Rama (as one of the translations of this name is, lit. "and upon his brow is set a crown of flame"; with the theft of his crown, the name is no longer accurate), and he kills Ualac's mortal body before the demon and the crown are taken to Hell by the archdemon [[Astaroth]], who is later revealed to be Hellboy's paternal uncle.

In the events of ''[[Hellboy: Conqueror Worm]]'', Hellboy is assisted by the ghost of [[Lobster Johnson]], and Roger the Homunculus in preventing an alien entity called the Conqueror Worm from arriving on Earth through the continued machinations of the surviving members of Ragna Rok. Over the course of the story, Hellboy learns that the B.P.R.D has implanted a bomb in Roger as a failsafe in case he should turn on them. Disillusioned by this knowledge and finally ready to look deeper into his origins, Hellboy quits the BPRD. 

After some time with a witch doctor in Africa, Hellboy is captured by a trio of mermaid sisters and brought underwater to a witch known as the Bog Roosh. In exchange for Hellboy, the Bog Roosh grants each sister a wish. The first two sisters are tricked by the Bog Roosh and killed by their wishes, but the third sister is clever and gets her wish, a missing piece of her father's grave. While the third sister returns to her father's grave, the Bog Roosh explains her plan to completely destroy Hellboy, thereby preventing the apocalypse. At the grave, the third sister is told by her father's ghost that the only way to honor him is to save Hellboy. She does, and when the Bog Roosh realizes she cannot prevent the apocalypse, she allows herself to be killed by Hellboy in the ensuing battle. The third sister becomes the new Bog Roosh, releasing the souls of drowned sailors from which the previous Bog Roosh drew her power. She then releases Hellboy, leaving him lost at sea. 

In ''[[Hellboy: Strange Places]]'', after several years adrift at sea and spent drinking with the ghosts of sailors, Hellboy arrives on a mysterious island. He encounters Hecate, who once again insists that they are bound together and must unite in the destruction of the world, but Hellboy, true to his values and somewhat drunk, brushes her off. He travels deeper into the island, and is attacked by a long slumbering Sadu Hem. The fight with the creature takes him into a temple at the center of the island, where the creature stabs him through the chest, seemingly killing him. While dead, Hellboy has another conversation with the Witch Doctor, who somehow resurrects him. Hellboy awakens to find his spilled blood absorbed by the corpse of a long dead mystic who was killed in the temple. Hellboy's blood resurrects him and transforms him into a more demonic looking version of Hellboy himself. The Mystic reveals to Hellboy the true nature of his Right Hand of Doom, which is actually the severed hand of one of the Angels involved in the creation of the Ogdru Jahad, and is therefore the only power in the universe capable of fully returning the Ogdru Jahad to Earth. The Mystic threatens to force all of mankind to worship the Sadu Hem, and Hellboy fights to stop him. Hellboy is ultimately able to win the fight. Rattled, Hellboy sets sail for England, much to the chagrin of Gruagach and the council of fairies who have been watching over him. 

Six years later, as ''[[Hellboy: Darkness Calls]]'' opens, Hellboy's search takes him to England where he finds himself in the middle of a power vacuum caused by Bromhead incapacitating Hecate in Italy. Refusing to serve the witches as their king, Hellboy ends up in the dimension of the witch [[Baba Yaga (Hellboy)|Baba Yaga]]. Managing to defeat Baba Yaga's champion [[Koshchei|Koshchei the Deathless]], Hellboy returns to his reality and is led to Bromhead after he became monstrous and in agony from his attempt to take Hecate's powers for his own. Hellboy gives Bromhead a merciful death before returning to England. 

''[[Hellboy: The Wild Hunt]]'' opens with Hellboy receiving an invitation by the Osiris Club to join them in hunting Giants. Hellboy joins, but is betrayed by the Club and left to die. He survives, and, despite being given a means to escape, decides to engage the Giants in battle. He grows more bloodthirsty and demonic over the course of the fight, only returning to his senses when all the Giants are dead. He is found by Alice Monaghan, who, since being rescued by Hellboy in her youth, has become a close consort to the faeries of England. She takes Hellboy to meet [[Queen Mab|Mab]], Queen of the Faeries, who hints that his mother's ancestry entitles him to a crown. After this, Alice and Hellboy are led into a trap where Alice in nearly fatally poisoned. The two are the taken to the castle of [[Morgan le Fay|Morgana Le Fay]] to save Alice. 

To enter the castle, Hellboy must fight [[Eligos]], a high-ranking demon from Hell. Hellboy is able to defeat Eligos with the help of one of his slaves, in exchange for Hellboy remembering the slave when he becomes ruler of Hell. Once inside, Morgana reveals to Hellboy that, on his mother's side, he is a descendant of Mordred, and subsequently the rightful ruler of England. She also tells him about [[Lady of the Lake|Nimue]], a long-imprisoned witch who has been freed by Grugach and wants to conquer England. She takes Hellboy to the sword Excalibur, but he does not take it. Alice tries to convince him that he should, but is unsuccessful. Soon afterwards, he is visited again by Astaroth, who reveals to him that he is destined to kill Satan and become the ruler of Hell. Hellboy fights against a demonic illusion of himself, exploding into a fireball that destroys part of the castle and seemingly kills Alice. Convinced that Alice was right, Hellboy takes up Excalibur and suddenly finds himself atop a hill, with Alice, alive and well, standing beside him. 

As ''[[Hellboy: The Storm and the Fury]]'' opens, Hellboy and Alice have begun travelling throughout England, amassing an army from the noble dead of England. Soon, they are attacked by one of Nimue's soldiers. Hellboy is able to defeat the soldier, but while dying the soldier warns Hellboy that Nimue is transforming into something else. The two stop at a pub, where Hellboy decides that he no longer wants the sword, suggesting to Alice that she leave it in a lake. They share a kiss, and Hellboy asks Alice to move to America with him after he has defeated Nimue. On the way to Nimue's fortress, Hellboy has another confrontation with Astartoth, rebuking him again. He then runs into Baba Yaga, who tells him that he will only be able to reach the fortress with her magical help. In exchange, Hellboy finally sacrifices his eye to Baba Yaga. Reaching Nimue, Hellboy sees she has been completely possessed by the Ogdru Jahad and now seeks to destroy the world. The two engage in battle as storms rage across England, and Hellboy is able to defeat her using a sword given to him by the ghost of [[Vasilisa the Beautiful|Vasilisa]]. As the Dragon collapses, Nimue's ghost emerges and plucks out Hellboy's heart, damning him to Hell. 

''[[#Issues: Hellboy in Hell|Hellboy in Hell]]'' begins with Hellboy stuck in the Abyss, the outermost part of Hell, and being attacked by Eligos. He is saved by Edward Grey, a british paranormal investigator who wound up trapped in Hell and has been watching over Hellboy for many years. Soon after, Hellboy is visited by three spirits. The first takes him to see his birth in Hell and his father's imprisonment. Then he is shown Satan, who he murders as prophesied, but does not remember doing so. Finally, he is shown the sleeping army of Hell that his Right Hand has the power to awaken. After this, he is attacked by his fully demonic half brothers Lusk and Gammon who are being manipulated by Astaroth. All three are killed, and Hellboy falls again into the Abyss. He is saved again by Grey, who convinces him to commit to his new life in Hell. In between helping out lost souls, Hellboy learns gradually that the aristocracy of Hell have all gone into hiding or been killed by their slaves since his arrival, as they panicked over the thought that he might kill them all. He is poisoned by powerful spirits called the Furies, who were set on him by his half sister Gamori. The furies turn on her, dooming her to destroy the remains of [[Pandæmonium (Paradise Lost)|Pandemonium]], the capital city of Hell. Eventually, Hellboy, in fully demonic form, hunts down the last remaining rulers of Hell and destroys them all with the help of their slaves. After this, he returns to a home on the beach where he is met by three glowing shapes. 

Hellboy returns, resurrected, in ''B.P.R.D: The Devil You Know'', the final arc of the narrative. He fights alongside his original companions, Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien, against the rising Sadu Hem and a small group of demons seeking to conquer Earth. The team defeats the demon Yomyael, who is possessing a young girl named Varvara. Once free, however, Varvara reveals herself to be the daughter of their old foe Rasputin, and resurrects him. Hellboy and Rasputin battle one last time, both dying. As a ghost, Hellboy is shown the remaining path to the end of the world by Edward Grey. Agents of the B.P.R.D. are able to save a small portion of humanity, guiding them to shelter underground. On the surface, the Sadu Hem reign for a short time before the Osiris Club use Hellboy's severed Right Hand of Doom to summon the Ogdru Jahad to Earth and kill it. Once this is done, Hellboy takes back the Hand, killing the Osiris Club in the process. Finally, he sees Liz Sherman, somehow still alive, and instructs her to unleash the full brunt of her pyrokinetic abilities, burning down the world. The world gone, Hecate appears before Hellboy, once again in her Iron Maiden form. She assures him that there is nothing he could have done to prevent any of this. He tries to fight her, but realizes how tired he is of violence. He steps inside her Iron Maiden form, and his blood revives the world.