1
In 1944, a demon was summoned
to Earth to wage war,
but the child of hell
was rescued by good men
who taught him honor,
kindness, and a sense of right.
The scientists and researchers
who gathered around the boy
became the Bureau of Paranormal
Research and Defense,
an international organization
that protects the world from occult
and supernatural threats.
There are things that go
bump in the night.
They are the ones who bump back.
Are you all right?
Well, you know,
water isn't really my element.
We must be somewhere
under the temple complex.
Hmm. So the sun worshipers forced
the bat guys underground?
Quite literally, it would seem.
- All set?
- Sure.
Can't wait.
Ugh.
Slime.
Do you feel air movement?
Yeah, and something dead.
Very dead.
Well, we know what happened
to Agent Hamilton.
Mystery solved, I guess.
Did you know him?
No, but I understand he has family.
I guess we should... Oh.
Cute.
So, what do you think we're looking for?
Oh... I hope not.
Yeah, so where is Hellboy, anyway?
Ugh!
Unh!
Oh, crap.
- Well, this shouldn't be too hard.
- Yeah, right.
Screw this.
Unh!
Oh, fine. Have it your way.
Liz, this isn't working.
We can do this!
- Liz!
- Okay, okay.
Pull it back, Liz.
Pull it back!
Liz.
Liz. Liz!
It's me, kiddo. You did good.
It's over.
So, what did I miss?
Beautiful.
So beautiful.
As for this, it is something
which happened.
The brothers of the dragons,
Thunder and Lightning,
brought their wrath upon the lands
of a powerful daimyo,
smashing them with their
terrible weapons.
The war hammer of Thunder
made mountains crumble
and the forests tremble in fear.
His brother, Lightning,
wielded a flashing spear of white fire
which scorched the earth
and boiled the sea.
The daimyo was helpless
before these monsters.
The save his lands, he offered them
what was most precious to him:
his daughter,
a fragile flower as pale as the moon
and as beautiful as the stars.
But the daimyo had a brave
samurai in his service
who loved the daughter.
Knowing the daimyo's plan
was to sacrifice the girl,
the samurai sent her to a shrine
deep in the woods
where she would be hidden
from the monsters.
So when the demons came
to collect their prize,
they found not the beautiful daughter,
but a samurai warrior
ready to protect his love.
Thunder and Lightning split
the sky with their anger.
Pounding rain fell like daggers
upon the samurai.
But he did not weaken.
Aah!
Aah!
It seemed the demons
could not be stopped.
They would break the samurai to pieces.
But the samurai sword had been
inscribed with ancient words
of great enchantment.
The samurai's sword drank deeply
of the blood of the storm demons.
Its magic trapped them
in its blade forever.
The monsters were gone from his land,
but the daimyo was angered
by the samurai's trick.
His promise to the demons
had been broken.
No matter how onerous the bargain,
the daimyo had given his word,
and the samurai had broken it.
The samurai left to join his love
at the shrine and never returned.
The dishonor to the daimyo's house
could not be undone.
There could only be retribution.
The daimyo beseeched the gods
to ease his shame.
And the gods answered.
Professor Sakai!
Professor!
Just rest a moment,
and I'll fetch you some tea.
Thank you, Toshiro.
I can be foolish sometimes.
I get lost in my work.
It's too late. I can come back.
Nonsense, Professor.
You are here and so are my swords.
You academics, drawing strength
from your studies of artifacts.
Sifting through the rice sacks of folklore
after a single grain of truth.
I'm sure I know the sword
you want to see... right here.
I was just polishing it,
a late 16th century blade
that I believe was owned
by Musashi Miyamoto.
Please, Professor Sakai. Fingerprints.
Ugh!
Huh?
Sorry about the turbulence, guys.
Seems like there's a storm
building to the east.
Wasn't in the forecast.
Should be setting down at the Bureau
in about 20 minutes.
Hey, kiddo, how you doing?
Great... for a walking napalm strike.
You saved our lives, Liz.
I practically torched you.
Not to mention a couple of dozen Mayans.
- Sorry about the burns.
- Barely a sunburn.
Come on, they were mummies,
and they were trying to kill you.
Trust me, there's no upside
to cutting the undead any slack.
You did what you had to do.
I lost control, is what I did.
If you hadn't stopped me,
I would have melted the place,
and probably the two of you.
I can handle the little stuff fine,
but when I try anything big...
God, the Bureau should lock me up.
I'm the real monster.
Okay, okay, I get it.
No, no, you're the monster all right.
Me and Abe, we... I mean,
you're lucky we let you be seen with us.
It's true, you do cramp our style.
The world needs what we can do.
That makes us good guys.
That's enough for me.
Katie, good to see you.
I'd hug you but, hey,
bat god saliva... it's the pits.
Thanks for your restraint.
I thought you were in Prague.
All finished.
We discovered the wolf
apparitions were actually
the hounds of King Vold,
the flying huntsman.
And they weren't wolves at all,
but the transformed ghosts
of berserker Vikings.
There's nothing in the literature
that hints at it.
I can't wait to start my paper on it.
Sounds wonderful, Kate.
Can't wait to read it.
Sorry.
- You okay?
- Sure.
Had to flamb a dozen mummies,
but you know the walking dead.
Can't say no to a party.
We'll talk when we get back.
- Back?
- Another mission.
Seems a folklore expert-turned-agent
is considered indispensable.
Well, stay safe.
Yeah, it's too bad.
Me? I'm headed for a two-hour
shower and a sauna.
Take care of yourself.
Sorry, Red. Orders. You're with me.
Come on! We're going to Japan.
Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.,
Japanese Standard Time,
Special Agent Russell Thorne, B.P.R.D.
Predictions, impressions,
and psychic resonances.
Yes, yes, something is...
Beware of the umbrella!
It seems friendly, but really isn't.
And I sense there was a sudden
release of energy here,
yes, very powerful.
You're good.
I've worked with psychics before,
but you're really something.
And here I thought it was
just bad feng shui.
- I hate psychics.
- I know, I know,
but we have to use them.
Come on, sometimes they help.
Yeah, but it's always too little,
too damn late.
Excuse me, Agent Corrigan,
this disc from my security cameras
will be a much better witness than I.
That's Sakai-san, all right.
- You know that guy?
- Yes.
Professor Mitsuyasu Sakai.
I met him at the Ipswich Conference
when I delivered a paper.
"Global Interpretations of Troll Legends."
Gosh, Kate.
I feel just terrible luring you away
from your exciting career
of combing through rotting manuscripts.
I mean, you used to research trolls.
That's okay. Now I get to work with one.
Hmm.
The past two days, he's had a teaching
assistant handle his classes.
- What?
- Here, let me freeze it.
Okay. That's never good.
Take your hands off of me!
Let go of that! I need that!
Let go! It's mine...
Oh, for Pete's sake.
Russell, what are you doing?
Agent Corrigan,
please instruct this person
to stop smearing his dirty fingers
all over my antique katanas!
It's him, Kate. His disruptive chi
is ruining a delicate psychic inquiry.
All right, all right,
both of you calm down.
I'm sure Mr. Hiramatsu wants
to get to the bottom of this, too.
After all, his beautiful home was damaged
and he'll need our help
to file an insurance claim.
Oh! I got something!
Uh, never mind.
Something I can do for you?
You there! Watch where you're stepping!
My collection cannot be replaced!
I appreciate your situation,
Mr. Hiramatsu,
but Russell is one of our best agents,
and he'll take great care
with your collection.
Hey, can I get a translator over...
Oh, crap.
Hellboy?
You're not a normal fox.
And you are not a normal man.
Really? What gave it away?
Any idea why I'm here?
Do I look like a philosopher?
Nice.
You carry the Sword of Storms,
and it has tasted the blood of demons.
That is all you need to know... for now.
Sure, 'cause that's just so much
to absorb all at once.
Don't cut yourself.
My love... my love...
My love, why did you not come?
Excuse me?
You sent me here while you
faced those terrible demons,
and when the storms ended,
I knew I had been rescued
from my father's pledge.
I made ready to receive you,
and I waited.
But... you never came.
Once, I thought I heard you...
But I was mistaken.
My father spoke of duty
and shame and death.
Even then I thought,
"Any moment, my love will arrive,
and he will save me."
Why did you not come?
I'm sorry, but you got the wrong guy.
You have been placed on a dangerous path.
Protect the sword and keep moving east
toward the rising sun.
Great. Which way is east?
Hungry people are losing their heads...
Excuse me!
I sense something that starts
with an "S." Maybe a "J."
Look, he disappeared, literally.
Practically in front of me.
I'm really worried about that umbrella.
Shut up, Russell. Tell me you
have him on the satellite display.
- They're running the scan routine.
- We have an agent missing out there.
- Just a moment.
- What the hell is taking so long?
Agent Sherman,
we're doing everything we can.
Guys, get this crap pile working
before I melt it!
Liz.
I can do the little stuff.
It is working, Agent Sherman, it's just...
his tracking beacon
is nowhere on the grid.
So he's not on the planet.
This has happened before?
- There was the Marrakech thing.
- Oh, jeez.
Do you really think
it's something like that?
- How about Prague?
- Bombay. March, 1993.
Istanbul, '89.
And that Marrakech thing?
Hmm? Oh.
Hellboy disappeared and
turned up eight weeks later
near Glacier Bay,
frozen in a block of ice.
Yeah, he wasn't too pleased about that.
You just made the newbie face.
Well, if he gets out of this with nothing
worse than a case of frostbite,
I'll be happy.
Kate, he's not on the planet.
Great.
Anything new on your professor friend?
Well, his study of the origins
of the supernatural
is highly regarded in academic circles.
But his research seems to have led him
into some very hazardous territory.
Some of these artifacts
are potentially dangerous.
Nothing too serious,
just enough to get him into trouble.
Hold it! I need to see that.
I'll have to call you back, Abe.
Ma'am, you'll need these.
Mm-hmm.
- Ma'am!
- Why don't you boys take a break?
What is it? Kate!
This is one of the 18 scrolls
of the lost monks.
Tokugawa ordered them burned,
but every so often, you run across one.
And it's always bad.
It's always a problem.
I knew something in here
carried a charge.
These seem like innocent little fables,
but allegedly, arcane secrets
and rituals are hidden in the prose.
Here. A samurai imprisoned
two demons in his sword.
Thunder and Lightning are destined
to bring their brothers,
the dragons, into this world.
According to Mr. Hiramatsu,
that's the sword that went missing with Hellboy.
- Here.
- Ah!
From what I saw on the security cameras,
we're talking about demonic possession.
If Professor Sakai has been possessed,
then he went after that sword
to release the demons.
Is Sakai hosting these things voluntarily?
I mean, are we to consider him
a villain or a victim?
Take your pick.
Either way, he's connected
to Hellboy's disappearance.
And we are going to find him.
Hey, old man,
I don't care what your problem is,
stay the hell away from my garbage.
Get out of here before
I teach you a lesson!
Damn.
I'll figure it out in the morning.
Hellboy!
Jeez! What's your problem, pal,
I was sleeping!
You can't sleep here, too dangerous.
Why?
Bad things in these woods at night.
You come and stay at my house, okay?
Sure. Why not?
I have other guests tonight.
They will be happy to see you.
Uh, I don't want to be any trouble.
No trouble. Big house.
Lots of room.
Someone's here.
Ooh, he's a big one.
Don't mind her, it's the sake talking.
Just travelers, like you. Good people.
Ah! Mr. Liu here tells very funny stories.
Uh... don't let me interrupt.
Maybe you know this one.
A farmer met a ghost woman,
and she gave him a golden box.
She said, "You must never open this box."
So this fellow, he took it home
and hid it from his wife.
But one day she found it
and looked inside.
And what do you suppose was in the box?
It was full of gouged-out human eyes.
And at the very moment she saw them,
the farmer dropped dead in his field.
And the wife went mad and lived
the rest of her days
like an animal.
The end.
Wow, that is a funny story.
You know, I just realized I'm awfully tired.
You guys have fun.
This way.
Sleep well. It's very safe.
Yeah. I bet.
Huh.
Clean as a whistle.
Not a spot of blood anywhere.
Where the hell are your heads?
He must be asleep by now.
- Yes.
- Good, I am starving.
A fine meal they've sent us
for the price of a broken sword.
But it is the Sword of Storms that
holds the brothers of the dragons.
For that, we deserve a feast like him.
He's gone! And he's taken our bodies!
What? Our bodies?
He has hidden them!
Find him!
Look around. He can't have gone far.
- Boo.
- Ah!
Ah!
Get him!
You guys were gonna eat me? Ow.
Jeez.
- Make him talk.
- What have you done with our bodies?
Talk! We're wasting time!
Tell us!
I've had about enough of this crap.
Ugh!
Ah!
Oh, please!
What have you done with our bodies?
Damn heads.
Appreciate the batting practice,
but...
...the sun's coming up.
Where did you hide them?
I dropped them in the lake.
You guys didn't look too hard.
Where?
Bet that hurts.
Great. I suppose the roof leaks, too.
It's all right.
The scanning array and computer system
are on a different grid than the lights.
I suppose we can't consider the sudden
appearance of these storms
just a coincidence?
Maybe if we wished real hard.
Agent Sherman, we've got something else.
- Uh-oh.
- Let's hear it.
We're picking up tectonic anomalies.
They are localized earthquakes.
Very intense,
but not on any known fault lines.
I can't see how they could be
related to the storms,
but I thought I should mention them.
But I don't think they're connected.
When have we ever been that lucky?
With Hellboy gone,
Kate could be in way over her head.
We have to go to Japan.
Because we're the good guys.
Right.
Oh... you're just in time.
I was about to play
one of my own compositions.
Lucky you.
I am, now that you've fallen into my lap.
But you look tired.
A pleasant tune will ease your burdens.
Sit with me and we will enjoy ourselves.
Mm... don't think so.
I've got somewhere to go.
Listen to the tone of this koto,
I made the strings from my finest silk.
Is it not beautiful?
Okay, then. Huh?
Hey!
Jeez.
I'm sorry I couldn't share
my music with you.
All the same,
a mother must feed her children.
Screw you.
I don't have time for this.
Man.
Air Force 916, suggest you divert
and return to Honolulu.
No can do. Got a couple of heavyweights
that have to get to Tokyo.
- Can we go around?
- Negative.
The storm front is spreading too fast.
We see it, Honolulu.
- Air Force 916, out.
- Holy mother.
Look at the size of that thing.
The radar's picking up
hurricane-force winds.
- Can we climb over it?
- I don't know if we can fly that high.
Strap in. This isn't gonna be smooth.
We definitely need a new travel agent.
I'm tired of flying economy.
It's not much better in First Class.
It's going to be rough.
No surprise there.
Son of a...!
I'm not in my element.
Thanks, Abe.
Not a problem.
Uh... let's move away from the shore.
Right. Right.
Problem is, there's more shore
than anything else.
So...
You gonna turn into a monster
and try to eat me?
No, no.
The monster is in the lake.
And you're feeding it?
He has already eaten many of my family.
But if I write the names of those
of us left on these cucumbers,
the Kappa takes the vegetables
and leaves us alone...
for a year.
He really likes cucumbers.
I could carve one for you.
No thanks, I...
What is your name?
What is your name?!
Too late.
Ooh!
Spill his water!
Spill his water!
Got it.
Come here, turtle boy.
I'll give you something to chew on.
That takes care of you.
Ask it a question.
You have beaten it.
It must answer your questions.
Why is this sword important?
It holds the demons. It is your way home.
How do I get home?
Break the sword and return home.
Break the sword and free the demons.
How do I stop the demons?
Hey!
Jerk.
Here.
Keep him away from water.
Ugh!
Can you believe this?
At least we're out of the rain.
- I thought you liked rain.
- No, not this.
This feels... wrong.
Underwater... that, um...
giving me air thing... that was... um...
- I didn't know you could do that.
- I wasn't sure it would work, either.
But I have burped excess air before,
so I thought I might...
Ah! I was breathing your burps?
Ugh! I mean...
Uh... thanks.
Good.
Good to know.
You know, it wasn't actually a burp...
- Sapien.
- Good to hear you.
We just picked up your telemetry.
What happened?
The plane was hit by lightning.
We lost the pilots.
Agent Sherman and I are okay.
Rough. It's happening all over.
The storms are off-the-charts.
All commercial air traffic is grounded.
Okay...
There's a U.S. sub near your coordinates.
We can divert it to pick you up.
Have there been any more
of those earthquake anomalies?
Let me check.
Yeah, one at every storm center.
Say, there was one right near you.
You feel it?
Saw it.
Ell Manning to send agents
to check for weird crap
wherever there's been a quake.
And have them take guns.
Big ones.
Sherman and Sapien out.
Here. What?
In Japanese mythology,
a fox is considered a mystical creature.
Japan... Hellboy...
Then I guess it's here for us.
Come here.
Come here!
Come here!
Foxy...
Great. I guess we follow.
Why doesn't it look wet?
Yeah, yeah, we're coming.
It's a cave.
At least it's dry.
Yeah. One mummy and I'm out of here.
Could you give us some light?
- Thank you.
- That's not me.
Oh, then never mind.
See the fox?
Someone else.
Come closer.
Do not worry about your friend.
He walks a path of Fate's choosing.
Much depends on his success.
- Our friend?
- The red one.
Okay. Didn't want to assume.
Two demons, sons of the storm,
seek entrance to this world.
They are Thunder and Lightning.
Their spirits are already here.
These storms...
But the storms are nothing.
Once they walk the Earth,
the demons will wake their brothers,
the dragons.
And when they wake,
the time of Man will be at its end.
They are already stirring.
Ah!
The baby!
Please be careful,
these steps are slippery.
Do not rush.
Head for the bus.
I am sure the rain will pass soon.
Or maybe we head back to town.
- Good morning, swordsman.
- We have something to tell you.
Please come closer.
It is a private matter.
That sword does not belong to you.
Why don't you give it to us?
Oh, I don't know. I like it.
It's a great souvenir.
Come now, there are other ways
of remembering a journey.
Perhaps a memorable evening
with charming company.
- No, thanks. I got places to be.
- Ohh...
- Don't go!
- Don't go!
If you break the sword,
you'll return to your friends.
What?
- Try it and see.
- Break the sword.
- Go ahead.
- Break the sword!
Then we can have some fun.
I said, no thanks.
Ohh.
Oh... crap.
They've cleared everybody out
within an 8-block radius of the church,
but there's no stopping that thing.
They're not having any luck
in Guatemala, either.
Luckily, there's nothing
but jungle around it.
How did Agent Sherman know?
You got me.
We can't raise them on the radio
and we lost their signal a half-hour ago.
Your friend wanders through lands
where you cannot walk.
You have your own challenges to face.
The dragon you have seen
is not fully awakened.
You must not let him join
his demon brothers.
Any hints on how we might do that?
How does Hellboy put up with this crap?
Russell, I am running out of time
and patience as well.
I don't want to hear about talking
animals or hungry heads,
or spiders!
I need you to just sit there,
close your eyes,
and concentrate on finding
Professor Sakai.
Professor Corrigan, please,
I'm not some sort of TV remote
that you can just click off and on.
- My powers are...
- Where... is... he?
Too close.
What the hell kind of answer is that?
Very... close.
Amazingly, unbearably close.
- We should get out of here.
- Not until you find...
Ah!
Calm down.
They're called "suku megami."
Artifact spirits. They're harmless.
Just supernatural fallout from
what the professor's been doing.
Not you.
It's like being in a cartoon. Konichiwa.
Chase these things into
the closet or something.
We have to find the professor.
Ah!
Oh!
Ah!
We cannot leave until you come for me.
Why do you stay away?
She will wait for eternity until
the unfinished business is settled.
It's all about the demons.
I take care of them,
everybody can go home happy.
Perhaps so.
It won't be long now.
All the actors are here.
The play will begin again.
Take care of the sword.
Only the sword carrier can break it.
Yeah, yeah. Can't break the sword
without freeing the demons.
So, how do I get back?
Big help.
Very big.
"Zurich big,"
or "the-thing-in-Cameroon big"?
- Big enough.
- Damn.
Anything we can use?
It likes to eat.
That hardly ever helps.
It's fairly lethargic, except around food.
I really don't want to see it awake.
Maybe it won't wake up.
Maybe Hellboy will do what he needs to
and we can just wait here for a pick-up.
He... could.
So, any plan? In case I'm wrong.
Not one that doesn't involve fire.
At least the rain stopped.
Then I just have to lure it
up here so you can go to work.
Oh, sure. Take the easy job.
Abe?
No big chances.
Liz, run!
That's lethargic?
Wow.
Oh, here we go.
This is just getting better and better.
Ah!
No way it was that easy.
This isn't working.
We should hide in the cave.
No.
No hiding.
Anything?
He's gone to the shrine.
The one from the folktale.
Felt that, didn't you?
Crap.
At least you're solid.
Serves you right.
Only the sword carrier can break it.
Yuck.
Hellboy!
Japan. I can handle that.
You look awful.
I'll live.
Where's the Sword of Storms?
That's not good.
Free!
The land will be dark.
Do you feel them?
Our brothers are calling.
They we should wake them,
and bring an end to this
puny world of men.
Think again, dumb-ass.
'Cause now... I'm pissed.
We only feared one weapon.
And you destroyed it.
Ha!
Stupid, ugly monkey demon.
Me ugly!
Come and get it.
Ahh!
He's starting to look better.
I know you.
Katherine.
The one with the trolls.
Sakai-san, listen.
How have you been?
Listen! You've been possessed!
Excuse me?
Oh!
Big mistake.
Just go get it.
Don't stay under the tree!
It's common sense.
Ha ha!
Ah!
Hurts, doesn't it?
Ah!
I guess we need a new
definition of "little stuff."
That worked.
I have a feeling Hellboy is back.
There you go.
What the hell is that?
Oh, I feel so...
The play has begun.
After the samurai imprisoned
those demons in his sword,
he never returned
for the daimyo's daughter.
He wasn't there to save her.
Unfinished business.
Kate!
Ah!
My love!
Lady, I keep telling you,
you got the wrong...
Oh.
Hey. You can stop this now.
Use your head.
You just have to forgive them,
or else we'll end up doing this all over again.
And you're never gonna win.
Oh, wow.
I'm getting myself some aspirin
and some breakfast.
Who's coming?