301. Hellboy

TITLE: Hellboy

GENRE: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

YEAR: 2004




SUMMARY:

Hellboy (2004): In 1944, the Nazis build a dimensional portal off the coast of Scotland. With the help of Russian mystic , they intend to free the --monstrous entities imprisoned in another dimension--to aid them in defeating the Allies. Rasputin knows that this will be an apocalyptic event that he believes will create a paradise. He opens the portal with the aid of his disciples, Ilsa von Haupstein and , member of the and Adolf Hitler's top assassin. An Allied team is sent to destroy the portal, guided by young Trevor Bruttenholm, who is well-versed in the occult. The German team is killed and the portal is destroyed--in the process absorbing Rasputin--while Haupstein and Kroenen escape. The Allied team discovers an infant demon with a right hand of stone came through the portal; they dub it "".

Sixty years later, FBI agent John Myers is transferred to the (BPRD) at the request of Bruttenholm and he meets the adult Hellboy and a psychic, amphibious humanoid named . He learns that a third BPRD member, , has recently checked into a mental hospital to protect others from her volatile abilities. Despite regular visits and coaxing from Hellboy, she is determined not to return. Kroenen and Haupstein resurrect Rasputin in the mountains of . The three unleash a known as . Rasputin imbues Sammael with the power to reincarnate and split his essence, causing two of the creature's eggs to hatch and mature each time one dies. Rasputin visits Liz as she sleeps, activating her powers and almost destroying the hospital. Myers convinces her to return to the Bureau.

Sammael's ability to multiply becomes a problem, as Hellboy repeatedly kills it, creating dozens. Abe is injured while retrieving some of its eggs, and Kroenen critically wounds one of the FBI agents sent with Hellboy. Kroenen, whose mutilated body is run by mechanical parts, shuts himself down, pretending to be defeated. Kroenen's body is brought to the bureau. FBI Director is angered by Hellboy's recklessness. Myers takes Liz out for coffee and to talk. Hellboy, jealous, covertly follows them. Rasputin appears at the bureau, reanimating Kroenen before confronting Professor Bruttenholm. Rasputin offers him a vision of the future, showing Hellboy is the agent that will destroy the world. Rasputin tells Bruttenholm he will also give him a quick death in return for the care he gave Hellboy. Bruttenholm is stabbed in the neck by Kroenen and dies clutching a rosary.

Manning takes over the B.P.R.D. and locates Rasputin's mausoleum in an old cemetery outside , . A team led by Manning and Hellboy enter the mausoleum, but swiftly become separated. Hellboy and Manning find their way to Kroenen's lair and defeat him. Telling Manning to stay back, Hellboy reunites with Liz and Myers at Sammael's nest to defend them, but the creatures overwhelm him. Liz uses her pyrokinetic powers to incinerate the Sammaels and their eggs. Hellboy, Liz and Myers lose consciousness and are captured by Rasputin. To force Hellboy to release the , Rasputin sucks Liz's soul out of her body, telling Hellboy that Liz will come back to life if he obeys. Hellboy awakens his true power as Anung un Rama, causing his horns to regrow. He nearly releases the Ogdru Jahad, but the injured Myers reminds him of who he is and that he has the right to choose his own path. Remembering his true self and what Bruttenholm brought him up to be, Hellboy breaks off his horns, returning to his former self and resealing the Ogdru Jahad. Hellboy stabs Rasputin with one of his broken horns.

Rasputin has been possessed by a creature from the Ogdru Jahad. The tentacled bursts out of Rasputin's body and grows to immense size, killing Rasputin and Ilsa. Hellboy allows himself to be swallowed by the beast while detonating a belt of . The explosion tears the Behemoth apart. Liz's vital signs are gone when Hellboy returns from the fight, but he whispers into her ear and her life is restored. When she asks how her soul was returned, Hellboy replies that he told the creatures from the other side the cost of taking her: "Hey, you on the other side. Let her go. Because for her I'll cross over, and then you'll be sorry." She and Hellboy kiss, and she surrounds them in flame as Myers stands and watches.



Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008): In Christmas of 1955, an 11-year-old is told a bedtime story by his adoptive father, , involving an ancient war between man and magical creatures, started by man's greed. After years of battle and defeat of the magical creatures' forces, the master of the goblin blacksmiths offers to build an indestructible mechanical army for the elven King Balor. Encouraged by his son Prince Nuada, Balor orders the building of this Golden Army. The humans are devastated by the army, which mercilessly destroys them. Balor is ridden with guilt, and forms a truce with the humans: Man will keep his cities and the magical creatures will keep their forests. Nuada does not agree with the truce, and leaves in exile. The magical crown controlling the army is broken into three pieces, one piece going to the humans and the other two kept by the elves.

In the present, Nuada declares war on humanity; he collects the first piece of the crown from an auction, killing everyone at the site by unleashing , and kills his father for the second piece. His twin sister, Princess Nuala, escapes with the final piece. Meanwhile, Hellboy is having issues with his girlfriend , and trouble accepting their organization, the must remain undercover. Investigating the auction slaughter, Hellboy allows himself to be revealed to the world. In the commotion, discovers Liz is pregnant; she swears him to secrecy as she ponders about keeping the child. Furious at Hellboy's actions, the Bureau's superiors send a new B.P.R.D. agent, the medium , to take command. With Krauss in charge, the team tracks the tooth fairies to the troll market, an enormous merchant city hidden under the Brooklyn Bridge, to search for clues. Abe stumbles onto Nuala, who has obtained a map leading to the Golden Army, and quickly falls in love with her. She is brought under B.P.R.D. protection following an attack by Nuada's sidekick, the Wink, and an forest god, both of which Hellboy kills. During the fight, Hellboy is questioned by Nuada whether it is right to fight for the humans when he too is considered a monster.

Nuada tracks his sister to B.P.R.D. headquarters using their magical bond, which causes them to share wounds and read each other's thoughts. Sensing her brother's arrival, Nuala unsuccessfully tries to destroy the map and hides the final piece of the crown within one of Abe's books. Nuada critically wounds Hellboy with his spear, promising Nuala in exchange for the final crown piece. Unable to remove the spear shard, Liz, Abe and Krauss take Hellboy to the location of the Golden Army in , , . They encounter a Bethmoora goblin who brings them before the Angel of Death, who has been awaiting their arrival. Though warned Hellboy will doom humanity if he lives, and that she will suffer the most from it, Liz pleads for Hellboy's life. The Angel removes the shard from Hellboy's chest and tells Liz to give him a reason to live. She reveals to Hellboy that he is going to be a father, and he recovers.

The goblin leads the team to the resting place of the Golden Army, where Nuada awaits them. In exchange for Nuala, Abe gives him the last piece of the crown. With the crown reformed, Nuada awakens the Golden Army, ordering the team's death; the army proves indestructable as the soldiers magically repair themselves. Hellboy challenges Nuada for the crown, and Nuada is forced to accept, since Hellboy's father was a Prince of . Hellboy defeats Nuada and spares his life, but Nuada tries stabbing him. Nuala commits suicide to stop her brother; the dying Nuada tells Hellboy he'll have to choose whether humanity or magical beings must die. Abe psychically tells Nuala his feelings for her before she and her brother die. Liz melts the crown, deactivating the Golden Army forever. As the team leaves the underground compound, reprimands them. Hellboy, Liz, Abe, and Johann resign from the B.P.R.D. Hellboy contemplates his future life with Liz and their baby. Liz corrects him, saying "babies", surprising him with the fact that she is pregnant with twins.
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