Saving the world is not easy, and often, it takes some extremely skilled heroes to be able to save humanity from the constant threat of extinction from the likes of demon-worshipping Nazi cults, mythological and folkloric creatures, and various other ghosts, demons, and monsters that readers will find within the pages of Mike Mignola's legendary Hellboy series.
Mike Mignola created a complex, three-dimensional universe of various historical and mythical individuals, usually from regional folklore and mythology from across the globe. At the center of his series is Hellboy, alongside numerous other heroes who assist the famous horned hero on his quest to protect mankind from the many things seeking to destroy or enslave it.
Alice Monaghan
Hellboy has the occasional love interest in his various adventures, but none are seemingly more heartfelt and sentimental than his relationship with Alice Monaghan.
In his younger years, Hellboy saved an infant Alice after she had been replaced by a changeling. In later years, Hellboy and a now-adult Alice would become close and eventually lovers in an obscure bit of Hellboy trivia most people do not know about. Alice is established as one of the few people Hellboy trusts fully, at one time even giving the mythical sword, Excalibur, over to her so she can watch over it.
Dr. Kate Corrigan
Kate Corrigan is the human anchor in the B.P.R.D. after Professor Bruttenholm's death, a normal foil for readers to identify with against the ever-changing backdrop of superhuman individuals within the B.P.R.D.
Though a skilled agent within her department like her predecessor, Bruttenholm, Corrigan also acts as a close friend and confidante to Hellboy as well. At the end of various missions, she has often been someone Hellboy can talk to in private about his missions and the monsters he has faced.
Professor Trevor Bruttenholm
Professor Trevor Bruttenholm may not be the biological father to Hellboy, but the good professor is the closest thing Hellboy ever actually had to a father figure in his life.
Introduced early on in the comics, Hellboy's relationship with Bruttenholm is grown and expanded upon in various nonchronological issues featuring the character through flashbacks. In the present, Bruttenholm is killed surprisingly early on in a stellar issue of Hellboy, but he is forever important for molding the young Hellboy's strict sense of morality, as well as ensuring the young demon-hero received a proper upbringing in his surrogate home in the B.P.R.D.
Ben Daimio
Everyone knows the mythical creatures, werewolves, but far fewer people are seemingly aware of that other unique animal-human hybrid, the werejaguar.
Before his transformation, Ben Daimio was the leader of an elite U.S. Marine Corps team sent into the jungles of Bolivia to rescue a convent of nuns. While there, Daimio and his squad were all killed, with Daimio encountering a strange, jaguar-like entity who promised Daimio a new life. Resurrected from death, though badly scarred, Daimio would eventually the B.P.R.D., using his new werejaguar curse as a tool to assist the Bureau in their missions.
Johann Kraus
A shapeless, formless, disembodied ectoplasmic being with psychic abilities, Johann Kraus is the life of the B.P.R.D., a lovable member of the Bureau who does not seem bothered by anything, forever remaining open, friendly, and approachable to his fellow team .
Born in shortly after World War II, Kraus would lose his physical body after absorbing limitless psychic energy during a seance, requiring him to contain his ectoplasmic spirit within a containment suit in order to avoid dissipating completely. While other of the B.P.R.D. tend to remain morose about their superhuman abilities, Kraus appears forever chipper and at ease, not letting his "condition" influence his mindset at all.
Roger
A member of the B.P.R.D. like no other, Roger differs greatly from his team in that he is actually a Homunculus rather than a human: a creature made from mud, clay, blood, and herbs through alchemy, who begins his life early on in Hellboy's continuity.
Viewed at first as a potentially dangerous enemy, Roger is eventually recruited into the B.P.R.D., appearing as a likable, naive, almost child-like member of the group who is puzzled by much of the modern world. As he does with most of his fellow B.P.R.D. , Hellboy instantly takes a liking to Roger, eventually leaving the Bureau in disgust when he learns that a bomb was secretly placed inside Roger as a failsafe. He is one of the most underrated heroes in the Hellboy universe and a likable character through and through.
Lobster Johnson
A hero with quite possibly the greatest superhero name of all time, Lobster Johnson was a hard-boiled, incredibly violent masked vigilante who combated gangsters and organized crime in New York in the 1930s.
Known for his signature catchphrase, "Beware my claw, for I've come to inflict justice!", Lobster Johnson was something of an idol for Hellboy growing up: a figure the young hero clearly ired and expressed iration towards. Lobster Johnson himself would die in 1939, but he appeared as a helpful ghost aiding Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. on several missions, proving that, even in death, the claw of justice can never be stopped.
Liz Sherman
An original team member on the B.P.R.D. alongside Abe Sapien and Hellboy, Liz Sherman is the conflicted pyrokinetic team member who hates her superhuman abilities but also recognizes how useful they can be in combating various otherworldly threats.
As a child of 11, Liz inadvertently caused a fire in her neighborhood, killing her parents, brother, and pet dog in the process. Feeling severe guilt over the incident, Liz struggles to control her pyrokinetic abilities, which would become a key narrative arc for the character as she learns the extent of her powers and just how powerful she truly is. In one of the biggest differences between the Hellboy movie and the comic, Liz is portrayed as a romantic interest in the film yet, in the comics, is more a close friend than anything else.
Abe Sapien
The other original member of the B.P.R.D. introduced early on in Hellboy's run, Abe Sapien is one of Hellboy's oldest friends and closest allies in the Bureau.
An aquatic humanoid fish-creature reminiscent of The Creature From the Black Lagoon, Abe was originally discovered in a glass tank with the date of Abraham Lincoln's assassination written on it. A creature with a genius-level intellect, Abe is one of the most brilliant minds in the Bureau, as well as one of its most skilled agents. At his heart, though, he is also a genuinely caring friend who only wants what is best for his friends and to protect the world from anyone or anything seeking to do it harm.
Hellboy
The titular protagonist of Mike Mignola's famous series and the very reason Hellboy is one of Mignola's best comics, Hellboy quickly became one of the most famous comic book characters when he was first introduced in the 1990s. Born to a demon king father and a human witch mother, Hellboy is destined to bring about the end of the world.
Raised from infancy by the B.P.R.D. and his father figure, Prof. Bruttenholm, Hellboy struggles at times with his problematic destiny but always returns to the righteous path of saving Earth from the paranormal creatures seeking to destroy it. His resistance to accepting his fate and choice to help people rather than destroy them make him an incredibly likable figure in Hellboy comics, not to mention his hilariously dry wit and genuine desire to save every single person he meets on his numerous journeys.
