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A demon whose true name is Anung un Rama (the Beast of the Apocalypse), Hellboy was brought to Earth as an infant by Nazi occultists. He was discovered by the Allied Forces; amongst them, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who formed the United States Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD). In time Hellboy grew to be a large, red-skinned demon with a tail, horns (which he files off, leaving behind the signature circular stumps on his forehead, to make his appearance more "normal"), and an oversized right hand made of stone. He has been described as smelling of dry-roasted peanuts. Although a bit gruff, he shows none of the malevolence thought to be intrinsic to demons, and works with other strange creatures in the BPRD. Hellboy has been dubbed the "World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator".
Hellboy is a creature summoned or perhaps made in the final months of World War II by the historical figure Grigori Rasputin on Tarmagant Island, off the coast of Scotland, having been commissioned by the Nazis to change the tide of war ("Project Ragna Rok"). He appears in a fireball in a ruined church in East Bromwich, England, on December 23, 1944. Proving not to be a devil, in the traditional sense, but a devil-like creature with red skin, horns, a tail, and an abnormally disproportionate right hand made of red stone, he is dubbed "Hellboy" by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm.
Taken by the United States armed forces to an Air Force base in New Mexico, Hellboy is raised by the United States Army and by the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), a federal agency dedicated to combating occult threats.
As an adult, Hellboy becomes the primary agent for the BPRD, alongside other human and quasi-human agents that include Kate Corrigan, a professor of folklore at New York University; Abe Sapien, an amphibian humanoid (Ichthyo sapien); Liz Sherman, a young pyrokinetic; Roger, an unusually large homunculus; Johann Krauss, the spirit of a medium kept in a containment suit; and Captain Ben Daimio, a special operations man with occult experiences, the latter two of which have not met Hellboy due to Hellboy's resignation from the Bureau.
Among Hellboy's more obvious powers are superhuman strength and resistance to physical injury. Hellboy has been shown to tear down a large tree and hurl it as a weapon, as well as cars, and toss opponents weighing several hundred pounds many yards away with one hand. He can withstand powerful blows that would severely injure or kill a human, such as being repeatedly struck by a superhumanly strong opponent, with little or no discomfort. Nonetheless, he is far from invulnerable, and can be injured by conventional weapons.
The films make much of the idea that Hellboy is fireproof; however, in the comics he is not actually fireproof. Hellboy can be burned and damaged like any living thing but he possesses an accelerated healing factor (similarly to X-Men character Wolverine) that rapidly heals his body, repairing damaged tissues and quickly regenerating blood cells. In "The Lost Army", he rapidly heals from being shot many times in the chest with an MG-42 machine gun before destroying the gun. He has also withstood being impaled through the chest with a sword, healing completely within a matter of minutes.
Hellboy also ages differently from humans. In the story Pancakes he is two years old but appears to be far older. In Nature of the Beast, set in 1954, the ten-year-old Hellboy appears fully grown. His rapid apparent maturation is in contrast to his actual rate of aging, which seems to be much slower than humans. Throughout the sixty-year span of the comics, he has not aged beyond the point at which he reached physical maturity. He has also shown an innate skill at translating and interpreting ancient and magical languages.
In addition to his natural physical abilities, Hellboy carries a variety of items in his utility belt that can be used against various supernatural forces. He has been known to carry holy relics, horseshoes, various herbs, and grenades. He commonly carries an oversized revolver referred to as the Good Samaritan. The gun uses specialized bullets, typically of his own design, incorporating silver, garlic and even holy water making them effective against demonic or supernatural foes. The Samaritan is fashioned from melted church bells and contains fragments of the True Cross. However, Hellboy freely admits to the fact he is a lousy shot, and prefers to fight hand-to-hand whenever possible.
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