Editing Hellboy

{{Short description|Comic book superhero}}
{{About|the fictional comics character}}
{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
| character_name = Hellboy
| image          = Hellboy The Wolves of St August.jpg
| converted      = y
| alt            = Hellboy
| caption        = Hellboy by [[Mike Mignola]]
| alter_ego      = Anung un Rama
| publisher      = [[Dark Horse Comics]]
| debut          = {{plainlist|
* ''Dime Press'' #4 (March 1993) – first Hellboy prototype appearance, cover only
* ''San Diego Comic Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993) – first full Hellboy appearance, black and white only
* ''Next Men'' #21 (December 1993) – first appearance in a regularly published title, first color appearance
}}
| creators       = [[Mike Mignola]]
| alliances      = [[Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense|B.P.R.D.]]
| partners       = {{plainlist|
* [[Abe Sapien]]
* [[Liz Sherman]]
* [[Johann Kraus]]
}}
| species        = [[Cambion]] (half-[[human]], half-[[demon]])
| aliases        = World Destroyer, Great Beast, Beast of the Apocalypse, Right Hand of Doom, Son of the Fallen One, Brother Red, Big Red, Red Monkey, Big Red Man, Red, Man-Beast, Mane, One Hell of a Superhero, The Guy That's Going to Bring About the End of the World, Lonely Hero, Agent Hellboy, H.B.
| powers         = * Half-demonic physiology (inherited from his father)
** [[Superhuman strength]], endurance, stamina, durability, and longevity 
** Accelerated healing
** Innate capability to comprehend magical languages
** Immunity to fire and lightning
* Right Hand of Doom (which serves as the key to the [[Apocalypse|End of the World]])
* Extensive knowledge of the [[supernatural]] and paranormal
* Expert investigator
* Skilled hand-to-hand combatant 
* Decently skilled marksman
* Equipped with various items meant to repel supernatural threats
}}
'''Hellboy''' is a [[superhero]] created by [[Mike Mignola]] and appearing in comic books published by [[Dark Horse Comics]]. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various [[Limited series (comics)|miniseries]], [[one-shot (comics)|one-shots]], and [[intercompany crossover]]s. The character has been adapted into four live-action films: ''[[Hellboy (2004 film)|Hellboy]]'' (2004) and its sequel ''[[Hellboy II: The Golden Army|The Golden Army]]'' (2008), [[Hellboy (2019 film)|a 2019 reboot film]], and ''[[Hellboy: The Crooked Man|The Crooked Man]]'' (2024). The character also appeared in two [[Hellboy Animated|straight-to-DVD animated films]] and three video games – ''[[Hellboy: Dogs of the Night|Dogs of the Night]]'' (2000), ''[[Hellboy: The Science of Evil|The Science of Evil]]'' (2004) and ''[[Hellboy Web of Wyrd|Web of Wyrd]]'' (2023).

A well-meaning [[Cambion]] (or half-[[Demon]]) whose true name is '''Anung Un Rama''' ("and upon his brow is set a crown of flame"), Hellboy was summoned from [[Hell]] to [[Earth]] as a baby by [[Occultism in Nazism|Nazi occultists]] (spawning his hatred for the [[Third Reich]]). He appeared in the ruins of an old church in the [[Outer Hebrides]] in front of a team assembled by the [[Allies of World War II|Allied Forces]], among them, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who formed the United States [[Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense]] (B.P.R.D.). In time, Hellboy grew to be a large, muscular, red-skinned ape/monkey-like man with a tail, horns (which he files off, leaving behind circular stumps on his forehead that resemble goggles), cloven hooves, and an oversized right hand made of stone (the "Right Hand of Doom"). He has been described as smelling of dry-roasted [[peanut]]s. Although a bit gruff, he shows none of the malevolence thought to be intrinsic to classical demons and has an ironic sense of humor. This is said to be because of his upbringing under Professor Bruttenholm, who raised him as a normal boy.

Hellboy works for the B.P.R.D., an international non-governmental agency, and for himself, against dark forces including [[Nazism|Nazis]] and [[Witchcraft|witches]], in a series of tales that have their roots in [[folklore]], [[pulp magazine]]s, vintage adventure, [[Lovecraftian horror]], and [[horror fiction]]. In earlier stories, he is identified as the "World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator".

==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.

==Powers and abilities==
Afforded by his demonic heritage as well as extensive physical training and bodybuilding, Hellboy possesses superhuman strength that exceeds the 1-ton base limit, endurance, a degree of resistance to injury, and a [[healing factor]] that allows him to heal quickly from virtually all bodily injuries as well as renders him immune to all diseases. He also has the innate ability to comprehend ancient and magical languages. The extent of his strength is unclear, but he has torn down a large tree and hurled it at an opponent and has lifted massive stones. He has also picked up and thrown opponents weighing at least four to five hundred pounds. Hellboy has a high degree of resilience to injury. He can withstand powerful blows that would severely injure or kill a human. He survived being shot many times in the chest with an [[MG 42]] machine gun before destroying it.<ref>''The Lost Army''</ref> He has survived being impaled through the chest with a sword, severe werewolf mauling, being beaten unconscious with heavy iron tongs, falling from extreme heights, being crushed by boulders, and more. In the film version, it is stated that Hellboy is immune to all forms of fire and burns, including Liz Sherman's flames, and electrocution. Despite his ability to quickly recover from seemingly mortal wounds, he is far from invulnerable and can be injured or bloodied by conventional weapons. Curiously in certain instances, the spilling of Hellboy's blood causes lilies to sprout - a supernatural indicator of his true good nature. This unique property comes into play even at the culmination of Ragnarok, where Hecate spills Hellboy's blood onto the incinerated Earth to breathe life back into it. It is revealed to [[Baba Yaga]] by the dead Russian nobility that Hellboy may not be slain even through supernatural means and that he appears to be as deathless as her warrior, [[Koschei]] the Deathless.<ref>''Hellboy: Darkness Calls''</ref> In the films, Hellboy has shown skill in [[necromancy]], animating a man's dead body so that it could give him directions. This also happened in the 2019 reboot, where Hellboy is able to raise an entire army of the dead after embracing his power as Anung Un Rama.

Hellboy ages quite differently from human beings. In the story ''Pancakes'' he is now two-years old but appears to be somewhere between 6 and 10 in human years old. In ''Nature of the Beast'', set in 1954, the ten-year-old Hellboy appears fully grown. His rapid physical maturation is in contrast to his actual rate of aging, however, which seems to be much slower than humans. Throughout the sixty-year span of time depicted in the comics, he does not age beyond the plateau of physical maturity. This mystical aging process is similar to the other demons and supernatural beings that populate Hellboy's world. The lifespan of a demon (or half-demon, as Hellboy's mother was human) is left undefined within the comics and seems to range from decades to many thousands of years. In the films, Hellboy's aging process is described by BRPD as "reverse [[List of unusual units of measurement#Dog year|dog years]]".

In addition to his natural physical abilities, Hellboy keeps a variety of items in his utility belt and jacket that can be used against various supernatural forces. He has been known to carry [[holy relic]]s, horseshoes, various herbs, and [[hand grenade]]s. He frequently carries an oversized revolver, which in the Guillermo del Toro films was named "[[Parable of the Good Samaritan|The Samaritan]]", and whose construction incorporates iron that had been used to forge a [[church bell]]. However, Hellboy freely admits to having extremely poor aim with the weapon, and often favors fighting [[Hand-to-hand combat|hand-to-hand]], preferring to use short-ranged physical weapons like swords, spears, and his massive stone fist over firearms. Hellboy's lack of formal combat training and education is compensated for by his decades of experience as a paranormal investigator, though encounters with unfamiliar threats have often forced him to resort to improvisation and using his wits.

===Right Hand of Doom===
As revealed in ''Strange Places'', Hellboy's right hand was originally the right hand of Anum, one of the Watcher angels that watched over the burgeoning Earth and created the Ogdru Jahad. After sealing the Ogdru Jahad away, Anum was destroyed by his fellow spirits. Only his right hand remained intact as it was kept and preserved by the Hyperboreans, the first race of man. The Right Hand of Doom eventually ended up in the possession of Azzael before he grafted it onto the newborn Hellboy.

As the hand which created and bound the Ogdru Jahad, it is also the key that will "loose and command" them; in other words, it is a catalyst that will bring about [[Ragnarok]]. The comic books themselves never mention how the Right Hand of Doom would actually perform these tasks; they only explain this is the case and someone or something intends to do it, with or without Hellboy's consent. The film shows it working as a key: being turned twice in a special obelisk secured by Rasputin would release the Ogdru Jahad. Astaroth and others also told of how the Hand contains the power to awaken the great Army of Hell, an army powerful enough to shatter the boundaries between Heaven, Hell and Earth for the wielder to rule all of Creation. This prophecy had never come to pass thanks to Hellboy's consistent refusal to embrace his destiny. It is made clear it is not necessary for the arm to be attached to Hellboy to perform its duties. It has been suggested if Hellboy dies while the Hand is attached to him, it would become useless. He has, therefore, concluded the only way to prevent its falling into the wrong hands is to keep and protect it.

==Concept and creation==
Hellboy originated in 1991 with a drawing [[Mike Mignola]] did for a Great Salt Lake Comic-Con promotional pamphlet of a demon with the name "Hell Boy" written on his belt. Mignola had initially no intention of doing anything serious with the concept, but eventually decided he liked the name.<ref name="Back21">{{cite journal|last= Irving|first= Christopher|date= April 2007|title= The Genesis of Hellboy|journal= [[Back Issue!]]|issue= 21|pages= 3–5}}</ref>

Later, Mignola became interested in doing a creator-owned comic, as he felt it made more sense to create his own characters for the stories he wanted to tell, rather than trying to shoehorn existing characters into these stories. Mignola elaborated, "The kinds of stories I wanted to do I had in mind before I created Hellboy. It's not like I created Hellboy and said, 'Hey, now what does this guy do?' I knew the kinds of stories I wanted to do, but just needed a main guy." He initially created Hellboy as part of a team of five, but scrapped this idea when he realized he could not think of any team names that he liked.<ref name="Back21"/>

Much like other American comic book superheroes, such as [[Batman]], [[Wolverine (character)|Wolverine]], [[Iron Man]], [[Daredevil (Marvel Comics character)|Daredevil]], and [[Spawn (character)|Spawn]], Hellboy is constantly tormented by the knowledge of his past. One example being in ''Wake the Devil'' where he describes his mindset since the aftermath of ''Seed of Destruction'' by saying, "I ''like'' not knowing. I've gotten by for fifty-two years without knowing. I sleep good ''not knowing''."

In a 2012 interview, while comparing the Hellboy from the del Toro movies, Mignola revealed the personality of Hellboy was based off his father: "My Hellboy is modeled on my father in some ways, a guy who’s been in the Korean War and he’s traveled and he’s done a lot of stuff, and he’s kind of got a “been there, done that” attitude. He’s also been in the world. Del Toro’s change was to have Hellboy bottled up in a room and mooning over the girl he can’t have. With my Hellboy, there were no girl problems. That element of the character was completely not in the comic."<ref>"https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/nonfiction/interview-mike-mignola/"</ref>

==Publication history==
{{See also|List of Hellboy comics}}
Before ''Hellboy'' was published independently at Dark Horse Comics, the concept was initially pitched to a board of directors for [[DC Comics]], who loved it, but did not like the idea of it involving "Hell".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bamkapow.com/hellboy2-tokens.php |title=Hellboy II: The Golden Army |work=Bam! Kapow! |access-date=2011-02-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625232409/http://www.bamkapow.com/hellboy2-tokens.php |archive-date=June 25, 2009 }}</ref>

The early stories were conceived and drawn by Mignola with a script written by [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] and some later stories have been crafted by creators other than Mignola, including [[Christopher Golden]], [[Guy Davis (comics)|Guy Davis]], [[Ryan Sook]], and [[Duncan Fegredo]]. The increasing commitments from the ''Hellboy'' franchise meant that 2008 [[one-shot (comics)|one-shot]] ''In the Chapel of Moloch'' was the first ''Hellboy'' comic Mignola had provided the script and art for since ''The Island'' in 2005.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18580 | title=Going to the Chapel: Mignola Returns to Drawing ''Hellboy'' | work=[[Comic Book Resources]] | date=October 27, 2008}}</ref>

===Other appearances===
Beyond the ''Hellboy'' comic and its associated spinoffs, Hellboy has made appearances in other publications:

====Great Salt Lake Comic-Con pamphlet====
The character name "Hell Boy" was included in a drawing by Mike Mignola of a demon character in a black and white illustration, with the later recognized name appearing on the demon's belt buckle. This image, accompanied by a short biography of Mike Mignola and his latest creation, appeared in the pamphlet in 1991. It is the first published mention of the later recognized name. This image was reprinted in'' The Art of Hellboy''. This image was also used to create the “First Hellboy” statue by Mondo Tees, in both black and white and full color.

====''Dime Press''====
A prototype incarnation of Hellboy appeared on the cover of ''Dime Press'' #4 (Glamour International Production, 1993), an obscure Italian fanzine, with "Hellboy©Mignola 93" written at the bottom of the cover. The cover, illustrated by Mignola and by the Italian artist Nicola Mari, shows Hellboy in the act of attacking a "diabolic" version of the Italian SF comic book character [[Nathan Never]] (with bat wings and pointed tail). Mari at the time was one of the artists that worked on Nathan Never, and the first two years of the life of this comic were the main topic of the fanzine. With the exception of the cover, there is no other mention of Hellboy within the fanzine. The character shown was still in a draft stage, and although close to the final design of Hellboy, it had gray skin and an outfit not common to the character.

====''San Diego Comic-Con Comics''====
''Mike Mignola's Hellboy'' by Mike Mignola and John Byrne featured the character's first full appearance, and was a four-page black-and-white story that had an approximately 1,500 book print run. It was published by [[Dark Horse Comics]] in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993) for distribution at [[San Diego Comic-Con]]. It was also reprinted in The Comic's Buyers Guide #1069, along with an interview with creator Mike Mignola.<ref name="HBSDC">{{cite web | url=http://www.hellboy.com/_rev1/comic_1993-sdcc2.html | archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090707120729/http://www.hellboy.com/_rev1/comic_1993-sdcc2.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2009-07-07 | title=''San Diego Comic Con Comics'' #2 | access-date=2009-02-21 | work=Hellboy.com}}</ref>

Hellboy travels to an American [[ghost town]], where he encounters a mangy mutt that transforms into [[Anubis]], the [[Ancient Egypt]]ian god of [[mummy|mummification]].<ref name=SDBook>{{Cite book | first=Mike | last=Mignola | year=2004 | title=Hellboy: Seed of Destruction | publisher=Dark Horse Comics | isbn=978-1-59307-094-6 | url=https://archive.org/details/hellboy00mich }}</ref>

The story was collected in the trade paperback ''[[Hellboy: Seed of Destruction]]''.<ref name="SDTPB">{{cite web | url=http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/12-743/Hellboy-Volume-1-Seed-of-Destruction-TPB | title=Hellboy: Seed of Destruction | access-date=2009-02-21 | work=Dark Horse Comics}}</ref>

====''Next Men''====
Hellboy makes a guest appearance in John Byrne's ''Next Men'' #21 (Dark Horse Comics, December 1993); this is the first American appearance in a full-color cameo.

====''Comics Buyer's Guide''====
''Mike Mignola's Hellboy: World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator'' by Mike Mignola and John Byrne featured the character's next solo appearance. It was published by [[Dark Horse Comics]] in a special four-page mini-comic for distribution in ''[[Comics Buyer's Guide]]'' #1,070 (May 20, 1994).<ref name="HBCGC">{{cite web | url=http://www.hellboy.com/_rev1/comic_1994-cbg.html | archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090707113144/http://www.hellboy.com/_rev1/comic_1994-cbg.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2009-07-07 | title=Mike Mignola's Hellboy: World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator | access-date=2009-02-21 | work=Hellboy.com}}</ref>

In the story Hellboy battles with the disembodied head of Nazi scientist [[Herman von Klempt]] and his puppet henchman Brutus the Gorilla to rescue a captive girl from the doctor's transference of nutrient fluids process.<ref name=SDBook />

The story was collected in the trade paperback ''[[Hellboy: Seed of Destruction]]''.<ref name="SDTPB"/>

====''Celebrate Diversity''====
''Hi, My Name is Hellboy'' by Mike Mignola was a one-page panel ad that related the character's fictional origins. It was published by [[Diamond Comic Distributors]] in catalog supplement ''Celebrate Diversity'' collector's edition (October 1994).<ref name="HBCD">{{cite web | url=http://www.hellboy.com/_rev1/comic_1994-cdce.html | archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090707111307/http://www.hellboy.com/_rev1/comic_1994-cdce.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2009-07-07 | title=Celebrate Diversity (Collector's Edition) | access-date=2009-02-21 | work=Hellboy.com}}</ref> The ad was collected in the trade paperback ''The Art of Hellboy''.

====''The Dark Horse Book of...''====
''[[The Dark Horse Book of...]]'' was the banner title given to a series of four one-shot hardcover comic book horror anthologies produced annually by Dark Horse Comics between 2004 and 2007. Each issue contained a Hellboy story — “Dr. Carp’s Experiment” (2004), “The Troll Witch” (2005), “The Ghoul” (2006), and “The Hydra and The Lion” (2007). All four stories were collected into the trade paperback ''Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others'' in 2007. ''The Dark Horse Book of...'' series itself was collected into ''The Dark Horse Book of Horror'' in 2017.

==In other media==
{{Main|Hellboy (franchise)}}

==Awards==
The miniseries ''Hellboy: Conqueror Worm'' won a 2002 [[Eisner Award]] for "Best Limited Series", while ''The Art of Hellboy'' won an Eisner in 2004 for "Best Comics-Related Book". Mignola won a 2000 [[Harvey Award]] for "Best Artist", based on ''Hellboy: Box Full of Evil''. ''Hellboy: Darkness Calls'' won a [[Eagle Awards#2007|2007 Eagle Award]] for "Favourite Colour Comicbook – American".

The character Hellboy was nominated for "Favourite Comics Character" at the 2004 and 2005 [[Eagle Awards]]. Other Eagle Award nominations include "Favourite Comics Story published during 2007" for ''Hellboy: Darkness Calls'', and "Favourite Comics Hero".

The comics writer [[Alan Moore]] listed ''Hellboy'' on his recommendations page, particularly ''Wake the Devil (Vol. 2)'', calling it "the skillful cutting and the setting of the stone that we can see Mignola's sharp contemporary sensibilities at work".<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.readyourselfraw.com/recommended/rec_alanmoore/recommended_alanmoore.html
| title= Alan Moore Recommends
| archive-date= December 19, 2007 
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071219030608/http://www.readyourselfraw.com/recommended/rec_alanmoore/recommended_alanmoore.html 
}}</ref>

In March 2009, Hellboy won two categories in the fan voted Project Fanboy Awards for 2008: "Best Indy Hero" and "Best Indy Character".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.projectfanboy.com/index.php?pageid=pfa_winners | title=Project Fanboy Award Winners | access-date=2009-07-26 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902051409/http://www.projectfanboy.com/index.php?pageid=pfa_winners | archive-date=2010-09-02 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2011, Hellboy was ranked 25th of the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes by [[IGN]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/top/comic-book-heroes/25|title=Hellboy – #25 Top Comic Book Heroes|website=IGN|language=en|access-date=2019-04-12|archive-date=2016-11-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124092921/http://www.ign.com/top/comic-book-heroes/25|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Merchandise==
On May 22, 2017, Dark Horse Comics, XXX Distillery LLC, and Prestige Imports LLC officially released Hellboy Hell Water Cinnamon Whiskey, a small batch, naturally-flavored whiskey.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://nerdatron.com/2019/11/02/essential-guide-to-the-whiskey-of-sci-fi-fantasy-and-comics/#Hellboy |title= Essential Guide to the Whiskey of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Comics |work=Nerdatron |date= 2 November 2019 }}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[The Amazing Screw-On Head]]'', another comic book from Dark Horse written and drawn by Mike Mignola.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book | url=http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=12-367 | title=Hellboy: The Companion | first=Steve | last=Weiner | author-link=Steve Weiner |author2=Victoria Blake | author3-link=Jason Hall (writer) |author3=Jason Hall | publisher=Dark Horse Comics | date=December 2006 | isbn=978-1-59307-655-9}}
* {{Cite book | last=Masters | first=Phil |author2=Jonathan Woodward | title=Hellboy Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game | publisher=Steve Jackson Games | date=August 2002 | isbn=978-1-55634-654-5}}
* [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=12754 Mignola on Hellboy's Extended Universe]. [[Comic Book Resources]]. March 3, 2008.
* [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16083 NYCC: ''Hellboy'' Dominates 2008]

==External links==
* {{official website}}
* [http://www.darkhorse.com/Zones/Hellboy Hellboy Zone]. Dark Horse Comics.
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/hellboy.htm Hellboy] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]. <!--Doesn't appear archivable since archiving at Webcitation . org and Archive . is each results in a redirect to a horror webring page-->
* {{comicbookdb|type=character|id=159|title=Hellboy}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080517162548/http://www.konami.com/Konami/ctl3810/cp20102/si1726320/cl1/hellboy ''Hellboy'' videogame] at the [[Konami]] website

{{Hellboy|state=expanded}}
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