The Hero
Played by Ron Perlman, Hellboy is a gigantic, muscular demon who also loves Baby Ruth bars, kittens, and Tecate beer. He doesn’t like Nazis, loves his friend Abe and his surrogate father, and is intensely dedicated to his girlfriend Liz.
In a world of comic book films about characters born to be heroes, Hellboy was born to be a villain. His conflict lies not in his warring nature – Hellboy does not seem particularly tortured by his “fate” – but in the use that others attempt to make of him. He doesn’t fit in, either, as he doesn’t look like everyone else.
He wants to be a hero, a star even, but has to be kept cloistered and away from the very people whom he tries to save. The consistent refrain “a man has a choice” runs through the films, reminding Hellboy that his father has always considered him a “man,” not a demon or a creature of darkness. The franchise forms a hero out of a supposed villain – Hellboy’s choice is to come into the light rather than be thrust back into the darkness.
For all of the above reasons and more, Hellboy is a fascinating character and one that we don’t often see in big budget filmmaking.
