History ComicBook / Hellboy

* FantasticRacism: Subverted with Hellboy, interestingly enough. Even though he's literally a big red devil with horns and a tail, people's general reaction to him ranges from curiosity to indifference rather than fear and hatred. Ironically, more racist behavior is shown toward Hellboy's non-white colleagues in the B.P.R.D., as shown in the stories taking place in the 1950s.

* AllTrollsAreDifferent: "The Troll Witch"

* AnachronicOrder: While the ''B.P.R.D.'' series usually progresses on a fairly linear path, since characters like Hellboy and Abe are so long-lived, ''Hellboy'' and ''Abe Sapien'' stories might take place at any point in their careers. Also, since the characters often deal with hauntings or creatures from long-lost civilizations popping up, events from decades/centuries/eons prior might be told while "present day" events are shown concurrently. The franchise being able to jump around so much is actually one of its selling points.

* AndIMustScream: "Buster Oakley Gets His Wish"

* BadassBoast: [[spoiler: The Ogdru Jahad: "Hellboy… Your fall should be like the fall of mountains… But I was before mountains. I was in the beginning and shall be forever… The first and the last… The world come full circle. You think you can fight me, kill me, as you would a beast? I am not the wheel--I am the hand that ''turns'' the wheel. I am Time, the Destroyer. We are bound together in that. I was the wind in the stars before this--Before planets, before Heaven and Hell--And when all's done I will be wind again, to blow the world as dust back into endless space."]]
* BadassLongcoat: Of the second Hellboy story, Mignola said it taught him two things. The first was that HB looked better in a trench coat. [[note]]The second, if you're curious, was that [[ItMakesSenseInContext he loves drawing gorillas with bolts sticking out of them]].[[/note]]

* CallBack: "Hellboy, your fall should be like the fall of mountains." [[spoiler: And indeed, when Nimue finally tears out Hellboy's heart and kills him, Hellboy turns to stone and crumbles to dust]].

* CensorShadow: Goes hand-in-hand with FullFrontalAssault. (The {{Chiaroscuro}} makes it easy.)

* ComicBookTime: Averted. The series does not employ a sliding timescale, and most events are dated around the time the arc is published, with, for instance Hellboy quitting the Bureau in 2001, and not being heard from for nearly ten years. The characters are more ambiguous. Tom Manning, Kate Corrigan and Liz Sherman seem to have aged in real time, but that may be due to Guy Davis's different art style. This was mentioned by a fan in a letter to the editor, who responded with [[HandWave "They look pretty good for their ages, but they're pseudomilitary. They work out."]]

* KnightTemplar: The Knights of Saint Hagan, a Crusader who rose headless to fight in the last battle of the Crusades. His followers continued their campaign to destroy all things Satanic with considerable success. Hellboy lampshades their 'kill em all' approach as misguided... however, ''most'' of the demons and heathens killed certainly deserved it. (Mignola admits they're a straightforward {{Expy}} of the real deal. The Knights of Saint Hagan meant he wouldn't have to worry about working around the Templars' complex real-life history and mythology and could just make things up.)

* AMillionIsAStatistic: Used and inverted by the protagonists and the antagonists in "The Black Goddess."
* MindScrew: Mignola is a great admirer of mythology and fairytales, and the Hellboy comics often adhere more to that sort of curious dream-logic than the more linear storytelling most modern readers are accustomed to. This is especially prevalent in the one-shots, as the larger {{Story Arc}}s, by their very nature require a more cohesive approach. In his introduction to ''The Hydra & The Lion'', Mignola comments: "I've always said that in supernatural stories you need bits that are beyond human comprehension. This one is pretty much made of those bits."

* RoswellThatEndsWell: Scenes involving Hellboy's childhood and the early years of the BPRD are sometimes set at the Roswell Army Air Field, where the Bureau was based until the famous 1947 spaceship crash. (It's possible that they might've been able to stay there, were it not for an incident involving kid Hellboy, his dog Mac, and some of the residue from the ship. In the aftermath, it was decided that the time had come for the Bureau to go its own way, at which point it moved to the Connecticut facility seen in stories set during Hellboy's tenure as a BPRD agent.)

* ShowWithinAShow: After his death in 1939, [[TwoFistedTales two-fisted]] adventure hero The Lobster became the subject of a number of these: PulpMagazine stories, [[ComicBookAdaptation comic books]], {{Film Serial}}s, and finally Mexican movies with The Lobster (or, rather, "Lobster Johnson," the last name taken from the SecretIdentity he was given in the pulps) as a MaskedLuchador. Compared to his RealLife, they all make for ''massive'' cases of AdaptationDecay, and [[StylisticSuck are all considered atrociously terrible]], although some people (including Hellboy himself) [[CultClassic enjoy them anyway]]. The existence of these adaptations allow the ''Hellboy''-verse's US government to cover up the existence of the real Lobster (and the fact that he was a spy for them in WWII), and as a further side-effect, the character is more readily known, on both sides of the FourthWall, as "Lobster Johnson".

* SuperhumanTransfusion: ''The Island."
* SupernormalBindings: Rather common when dealing with demons. When attempting a summoning, anyone with half an ounce of sense will use some magical binding or words of power to prevent the demon from leaving the summoning circle. (Of course, anyone with a full ounce of sense wouldn't be summoning demons in the first place, because things always manage to go wrong even with these barriers in place.)

** NaziOccultism: They're not mutually exclusive either.

* WhamEpisode: "The Chained Coffin," where Hellboy's parents are revealed.

* AscendedDemon: Hellboy is so heroic, his spilled blood sprouted lilies during his "paranormal graduation exam" of sorts… [[spoiler:An entire field of them bloomed across the ground where he died]]. Particularly impressive since in traditional Christian iconography lilies represent purity; roses represent the blood of a martyr. [[MessianicArchetype Jesus]] apocryphally did the same thing.

* TheUnmasquedWorld: Since at least the early 1950s, when Hellboy was on the cover of ''Life'' magazine. He was granted honorary human status by the UN and is something of a paranormal celebrity. There's a reason people don't freak out when a giant red demon shows up to investigate a were-rat infestation. In the first trade paperback, while Hellboy stands around in broad daylight when on missions, Abe Sapien wears a [[WigDressAccent coat, hat, goggles, and a fake beard]] to hide his amphibian nature. [[AllThereInTheManual The Companion]] explains that Abe was never too keen on drawing excess attention and lacks the natural charm that Hellboy uses to overcome the fear his appearance causes. Hellboy even speculated at one point that it's easier for people to accept him because Hell seems "more abstract" than anything that reminds them of the [[UncannyValley weird things in the oceans that they know are real]]. Thus Abe uses the CoatHatMask and Hellboy doesn't.

* '''''Frankenstein Underground''''' - FrankensteinsMonster (who first appeared in "House of the Living Dead") journeys to an [[HollowWorld underground world.]] Got a follow-up/prequel set after the events of Shelley's novel called '''''Frankenstein Undone'''''.

There was also a [[TheRolePlayingGame role-playing game treatment]] using the ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' rules from Steve Jackson Games.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: It took a while, but the larger Hellboy-verse has built up a very deep bench of important characters and supporting casts, many of whom can migrate between series, and some of whom have gotten ADayInTheLimelight to flesh them out further.

* ArcVillain: While the [[EldritchAbomination Ogdru Jahad]] serves as [[OverarchingVillain the greatest threat]] to Hellboy's world, and there are a fair share of recurring baddies running around, most individual stories have their villains:

* OverarchingVillain:
** The Ogdru Jahad, a group of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s Hellboy was initially placed on Earth to summon, and spends the series stopping cultists of theirs from finishing the job.
** Grigori Rasputin is the most prominent of the Ogdru Jahad's acolytes, and Hellboy's most personal foe, as the one who summoned him to Earth in the first place. While he's killed in ''The Conqueror Worm'', his acolytes remain a thorn in the BPRD's side.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: Most of the stories involve Hellboy fighting supernatural monsters and demons. And then, in "Buster Oakley Gets His Wish", he suddenly gets abducted by aliens.

* SkunkStripe: Susan Xiang gets one after a harrowing vision where she sees Varvara imprisoned, followed by the apocalyptic future where Hellboy is dead, Varvara is free, the B.P.R.D.'s Colorado headquarters is in ruins, and the Ogdru Hem are loose in the world.

Following several weird revelations and a nasty bit of disagreement with the leadership, Hellboy quits the B.P.R.D. and begins wandering the Earth searching for [[MysteriousPast answers about his past]] and the ''real'' reason why Rasputin summoned him all those years ago…

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: von Klempt's series of "Kriegaffes", one of which prompts Hellboy's entirely accurate line, "Goddamn Nazi Frankenstein monkey!" "Box Full of Evil" involves a gun-toting Satanist getting turned into a chimp and trying to kill Abe. ''Lobster Johnson'' introduces shape-shifting Tibetan were-apes, and [[spoiler:Daimio's grandmother, the Crimson Lotus, had a monkey that seems to have been her familiar.]]
--> '''Hellboy''': "Enough with the damn monkeys! They were monkeys!"
--> '''Von Klempt''': "APES!"

* KingArthur: [[spoiler:Hellboy is the last living descendant of Arthur's son Mordred, and therefore is the Pendragon and rightful King of England.]]
** The [[spoiler:Queen of Blood]]'s true identity is revealed to be [[spoiler:Nimue, the sorceress who seduced Merlin, stole his secrets and imprisoned him. She was driven mad by the Ogdru Jahad]].

->''"In Absentia Luci, Tenebrae Vincunt"'' [[note]]"In the Absence of Light, Darkness Prevails."[[/note]]

Following several weird revelations and a nasty bit of disagreement with the leadership, Hellboy quits the BPRD and begins wandering the Earth searching for [[MysteriousPast answers about his past]] and the ''real'' reason why Rasputin summoned him all those years ago...

Instead of being killed because, well, he's a demon, Hellboy is whisked away by the United States and raised under the auspices of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, a government organization devoted to... well, ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Over the years, Hellboy becomes one of the BPRD's top paranormal investigators and forms a deep relationship with his colleagues, who include:

These members of the BPRD must confront their own pasts, skeletons from the Bureau's own closet and the escalating threat of lingering horrors from pre-human history. This series is almost entirely written by John Arcudi, and had three series dedicated to the origins of the BPRD, ''1946, 1947'' and ''1948''.

* '''''Abe Sapien''''' - Abe mutates, leaves the BPRD and gets his own title. Written by longtime Hellboy editor Scott Allie, and usually drawn by Max and Sebastian Fiumara.

* '''''BPRD: Vampire''''' - A [[SpinOff spinoff of a spinoff of a spinoff]] starring Simon Anders, a BPRD agent bent on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against vampires. A showcase series for [[Comicbook/{{Daytripper}} Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba.]]

* AscendedDemon: Hellboy is so heroic, his spilled blood sprouted lilies during his "paranormal graduation exam" of sorts... [[spoiler:An entire field of them bloomed across the ground where he died]]. Particularly impressive since in traditional Christian iconography lilies represent purity; roses represent the blood of a martyr. [[MessianicArchetype Jesus]] apocryphally did the same thing.

* BadassBoast: [[spoiler: The Ogdru Jahad: "Hellboy... Your fall should be like the fall of mountains... But I was before mountains. I was in the beginning and shall be forever... The first and the last... The world come full circle. You think you can fight me, kill me, as you would a beast? I am not the wheel--I am the hand that ''turns'' the wheel. I am Time, the Destroyer. We are bound together in that. I was the wind in the stars before this--Before planets, before Heaven and Hell--And when all's done I will be wind again, to blow the world as dust back into endless space."]]

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Hecate claims as much in one of the epilogues to "Darkness Calls."

* ChekhovsArmory: Just about everything Hellboy sees or does in "Wake the Devil" (and a couple of the short stories, like "Box Full of Evil") comes back to haunt him in "Darkness Calls."
* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler: Alice Monaghan]] from "The Corpse."

* DemonSlaying: Hellboy's standard M.O.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Also Hellboy's M.O. Given Hellboy's true name and nature, this probably applies whenever someone punches ''him'' out.

* FantasticRacism: Subverted with Hellboy, interestingly enough. Even though he's literally a big red devil with horns and a tail, people's general reaction to him ranges from curiosity to indifference rather than fear and hatred. Ironically, more racist behavior is shown toward Hellboy's non-white colleagues in the BPRD, as shown in the stories taking place in the 1950s.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: A man named Sullivan lures [[DisposableVagrant people who]] [[DisposableSexWorker won't be missed]] into a room in his house where they are killed, receiving a few coins falling down the stairs. When he lures Hellboy inside and asks what price he'll get for him, [[spoiler:a refrigirator-sized block comes crashing down the stairs.]]

* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: While not outright ''evil'', it seems that the head of Research for the [=BPRD=], Dr. Roddel (And to a lesser extent his associate Dr. Cobb) is not a particularly compassionate man. He had to be talked into the procedure that woke Abe from his [[RipVanWinkle Magical Sleep]], and refused to do the procedure that revived Roger after he was first brought back (Abe had to sneak into the lab and do it himself). Abe describes his first few days awake in the [=BPRD=] research labs as "Terrifying", and we see him in a tank with attached electrodes surrounded by dead fish (Presumably that they had thrown into the tank to feed him and never cleaned up after). Hellboy agrees, stating from his own experience that the lab boys will keep going, finding new things to experiment towards until told to stop. Hellboy says this as he charges into an experiment-in-progress, pulls Abe from the tank he's in and takes him to the cafeteria for a sandwich.

* OccultDetective: Hellboy and other B.P.R.D field agents are paranormal investigators, who investigate supernatural occurrences.

** This happens to Abe in an awesome way in the ''B.P.R.D.'' story "The Dead". He returns to field duty... but not for long.

'''Hellboy''': Shut up! Not gonna happen... 'cause you're very, very ugly... and... '''you have a giant snake body'''!\\

* ShowWithinAShow: After his death in 1939, [[TwoFistedTales two-fisted]] adventure hero The Lobster became the subject of a number of these: PulpMagazine stories, [[ComicBookAdaptation comic books]], {{Film Serial}}s, and finally Mexican movies with The Lobster (or, rather, "Lobster Johnson," the last name taken from the SecretIdentity he was given in the pulps) as a MaskedLuchador. Compared to his RealLife, they all make for ''massive'' cases of AdaptationDecay, and [[StylisticSuck are all considered atrociously terrible]], although some people (including Hellboy himself) [[CultClassic enjoy them anyway]]. The existence of these adaptations allow the ''Hellboy''-verse's US government to cover up the existence of the real Lobster (and the fact that he was a spy for them in WWII), and as a further side-effect, the character is more readily known, on both sides of the FourthWall, as "Lobster Johnson."

* SkunkStripe: Susan Xiang gets one after a harrowing vision where she sees Varvara imprisoned, followed by the apocalyptic future where Hellboy is dead, Varvara is free, the BPRD's Colorado headquarters is in ruins, and the Ogdru Hem are loose in the world.

In the final days of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, [[{{Ghostapo}} the Nazis]], through the assistance of [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Grigori Rasputin]], attempted to bring about "Project Ragna Rok" on a small island off the coast of Scotland in an attempt to salvage the war effort for the Third Reich. A group of Allied occultists and soldiers were on hand to witness the event, and found the fruits of Rasputin's labors: An infant demon, quickly nicknamed "Hellboy."

* AlienAbduction: "Buster Oakley Gets His Wish".

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: In the Third Wish Storyline the Sea Witch Bog Roosh grants each of her granddaughters one wish as a reward for bringing her Hellboy. However each of the wishes backfires horribly, the first granddaughter getting murdered by the reanimated corpse of her true love when she wished to be reunited with him, the second granddaughter drowns after being turned human when she wished she could be human so she can go on to land to be with a man, and the last granddaughter wishes for a spear that her father lost but this somehow leads to her father's soul being sent to Hell.

The success of BPRD and the increasing scope of the story led to further spinoffs:

And finally, there are some that are (so far) intended to remain standalone stories.

* AHellOfATime: [[spoiler:Hellboy's ultimate fate is apparently to spend eternity in Hell, which apparently isn't as bad as it sounded at first. Billions of people and demons to meet (or fight), a house, possibly some family, and a nearly infinite world to explore forever. In other words, more like the norse Valhalla than anything. Then again, he '''is''' [[BriarPatching a demon...]]]] At the end [[spoiler:Hellboy is seemingly taken to heaven after wandering hell for a while, though he returns to the world of the living for the last time in ''Ragna Rok''.]]

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: At one point early in development, ''Hellboy'', ''ComicBook/NextMen'', and ''[[ComicBook/MonkeymanAndOBrien Monkeyman and O'Brien]]'' were part of a SharedUniverse. This detail was soon dropped when all three creators of their respective comics agreed that it would be too complicated to coordinate. However, some references still made it into ''Hellboy''[='=]s pages, most notably the superhero "The Torch of Liberty" from ''Danger Unlimited'' being present when Hellboy arrived on Earth. The Torch of Liberty was never mentioned again in later issues, and superheroes in-general were absent entirely from ''Hellboy''[='=]s worldbuilding.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: At one point early in development, ''Hellboy'', ''ComicBook/NextMen'', and ''ComicBook/MonkeymanAndOBrien'' were part of a SharedUniverse. This detail was soon dropped when all three creators of their respective comics agreed that it would be too complicated to coordinate. However, some references still made it into ''Hellboy''[='=]s pages, most notably the superhero "The Torch of Liberty" from ''Danger Unlimited'' being present when Hellboy arrived on Earth. The Torch of Liberty was never mentioned again in later issues, and superheroes in-general were absent entirely from ''Hellboy''[='=]s worldbuilding.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: In ''Sullivan's Reward'', Sullivan is being rewarded in gold for feeding people to his HauntedHouse. He's been feeding it drunks and vagrants, and getting a few gold coins each. He decides to feed it Hellboy, and when he appears to have succeeded he triumphantly calls out to the house asking what the reward for HIM would be. [[spoiler: An entire 8-foot by 3-foot by 3-foot block of gold coins crashes down the stairs, crushing him.]]

** The various short story collections contain no small number of would-be occultists with just enough knowledge to be be a danger to themselves and others, trying to use powers beyond their control for usually very petty ends.