With a third film on the way, what does the red monster-hunter have to say to us today?
The end of the world could come any day now.
Its an interesting time, then, for a new Hellboy movie.
Credit: Everett Collection
In Mignolas comics, the Blood Queen arrives to bring about the final war between monsters and mankind.
Hellboy is a hero for our time.
Hellboy, by contrast, was first introduced in the Clinton Era.
At the time Mignola wrote these comics, Nazis seemed a distant memory.
Now, of course, things have changed.
President Donald Trump holds the most powerful office in the world.
If so, they share a lot in common with Mignolas monsters.
One could imagine Trump saying something similar as Putins Russian army attacks Ukraine and the NATO alliance.
Hellboys enemies feel creepily relevant.
How, then, does he respond to them?
Hellboy is a hero, but he wasnt born that way.
His true name is Anung un Rama, the Beast of the Apocalypse.
He was created not to save the world but to destroy it.
To make matters worse, Hellboy is constantly reminded of this by almost everyone he ever meets.
Most superheroes save the world with few repercussions.
Hellboys victories are never so clean.
After Katha-Hem destroys Nebraska, it stays destroyed.
Nevertheless, every enemy Hellboy beats means another life saved, and every punch buys more time for humanity.
The future will be different, but it doesnt have to end in oblivion.
As the African mystic Mohlomi once told Hellboy, You are standing at the very crossroads of your life.
And all your roads lead to strange places.
