I just saw last year’s “Hellboy” movie, having known very little about the comics, and really enjoyed it. I understand there are some major differences between the comics and the movie, so my questions are only about the comics:
Does Hellboy remember everything that’s happened to him since coming through the portal in 1944? Or is his memory about his “childhood” as spotty as it would be for any human adult?
Did Hellboy ever meet any of the U.S. presidents (since FDR)?
Is there any romance between Hellboy and Liz Sherman in the comics?
I’ve read that Kroenen is not nearly the Nazi/ninja/cyborg/killing machine in the comics that he is in the movie. True? Tell me more about the comics version of Kroenen.
Why would Rasputin make common cause with the Nazis? Despite Stalin’s despotic rule, wouldn’t Rasputin be more likely to side with his homeland against the Germans?
Has Hellboy’s existence ever been revealed to the world, in the comics? If so, when, and what was the public reaction? If not, is he kept as (relatively) carefully hidden in the comics as he is in the movie?
I may have other questions later… thanks for your help with these.
How did we get this far in and not mention Stanley Kubrick?? I remember waiting patiently for eyes wide shut, only for my dad to stroll in one sunday and ask “Do you know a film director called Cue-ball? Cue-bricks? Something like that?” I knew immiediatley that he was dead; there’s no other reason my dad would know his name.
Also, eerily, Princess Diana. I slept late that Sundaty morning, till noon or so. I walked groggily up the hall, and my mum asked me “Do you know who died last night?” “Princess Diana?” i asked. Stunned silence all round. It wasnt a guess, I just… knew. Maybe the tv was on loud while i was asleep, or something.
So now, i guess I better try answer your questions! I’ve read all the Hellboy G.N.'s, but not the novelisations or any of the bprd stuff, so i’m open to correction.
He remembers pretty much everything. We even get flashbacks now and again, with a young hellboy playing around on an airforce base. He acts just like a regular kid.
Can’t say.certainly no presidents appear in any great capacity.
No. They are friends, and Liz does get ill prompting h.b. to go on an ass-kicking mission to find a cure, but there certainly is no smooching.
Kroenen has only a very small role in the comics. No martial arts, no blades, no appearance without his mask, no mention of his mechanical insides, no clockwork heart… He isnt mute, either, and from what i can remember he’s a bit of a lackey who doesnt show up for long at all.
I think rasputin uses the germans as a means to an end… he definatley isnt a Nazi, per se. After the initial portal opening, I dont think he has much to do with the nazis again.
Welllllllll… Lets just clear one thing up; the comics and the movie are completley different entities. it seems the movie only took inspiration from the comics as far as production and character design. The BPRD in the movie is very different… in the comics, Hellboy comes across as a demonic Scooby-doo, going from case to case. No-one reacts strangely to him. No-one freaks out. He shows up at the door, hi i’m agent hellboy, this is my partner agent sabien. The person just says hi mr. boy, would you come this way! The fact that he’s a big demon never enters the equation. So, there is no big media cover-up, no national enquirer sightings… Just hellboy, kicking ass and cracking wise. Just the way I like it!
In one of the comics, Hellboy meets a priest whose father was a scientist that argued that Hellboy should be destroyed for the safety of the human race. There’s mention of Senate hearings. The impression I got was that there was some sort of a high profile trial to determine if Hellboy was a US citizen or government property, and Hellboy won. Oddly enough, Abe Sapien does wear a disguise when out in public, but that’s mostly because he’s self conscious about being a fish man, not because the public would freak out if they saw him.
As near as I can tell, the exsistance of the supernatural is commonly accepted by just about everyone in the Hellboy universe, even if it never directly affects the lives of most people. There’s never anyone in the comics who refuses to accept that someone is psychic, or a demon, or possessed by spirits, or whatever.
Also, Rasputin isn’t a Nazi, he was merely using the Nazis to summon the diety he worships, who will destroy the world and make him Lord of whatever is left.