Hellboy is one of the most popular comic book characters of the modern era, which is exceptionally notable since the guy is neither a DC Comics, nor a Marvel Comics character. For a Dark Horse Comics character, Hellboy has achieved a level of popularity that is on par with other mainstream characters from the two major publishing houses. Hellboy is quirky, dark, and in many ways completely unique, which is why the readers absolutely loved his stories, and why I decided to dedicate today’s article to the most famous paranormal investigator who is, himself, a paranormal being!
Hellboy has a lot of peculiar skills and is quite powerful. Alongside the “regular” superhuman abilities he has as a demon, his Right Hand of Doom is a “weapon” that is said to bring about the End of the World, which makes Hellboy not only extremely strong but also extremely dangerous if the prophecy surrounding him is true.
In today’s article, I am going to talk about Hellboy and his powers. You are going to find out what powers Hellboy has but also some details about one or two of his powers. I am also going to reveal some details about the Right Hand of Doom, so prepare yourselves for an interesting text and enjoy!
How many tons can Hellboy lift?
Despite the title of this section, I am not going to talk about this segment of his powers exclusively, but about his powers in general; you are going to find out how many tons Hellboy can lift, though.
With his demonic heritage and extensive physical training and bodybuilding, Hellboy possesses superhuman strength that exceeds the base limit of one ton, stamina, a degree of resistance to injury, and a healing factor that allows him to quickly heal from virtually all bodily injury, just as it makes him immune to all diseases. He also has the innate ability to understand ancient and magical languages.
The extent of his strength is unclear, but he has felled a large tree, thrown it at an opponent, and raised massive stones. He has also picked up and thrown opponents weighing at least four to five hundred pounds. The unofficial Hellboy Wikia states that he is able to lift as many as five tons, which would make him exceptionally powerful in terms of mere power.
Hellboy (real name, Anung Un Rama) has a high degree of resistance to injury. He can withstand powerful blows that could seriously injure or kill a human. He survived being shot many times in the chest with an MG 42 machine gun before destroying it. Likewise, he survived being impaled through the torso with a sword, a severe werewolf attack, blows with heavy iron pincers, falling from extreme heights, being crushed by rocks, and more.
In the film version, Hellboy is claimed to be immune to all forms of fire and burns, including flames produced by Liz Sherman and electrocution, although this has never been confirmed in the comics.
Despite his ability to quickly recover from seemingly fatal wounds, he is far from being completely invulnerable and can be wounded by conventional weapons.
Baba Yaga reveals to the dead Russian nobility that Hellboy cannot be killed, even by supernatural means and that he appears to be as immortal as the warrior Koschei the Deathless.
In the movies, Hellboy has been shown to possess some skill in necromancy, encouraging a corpse to give him instructions.
Hellboy ages very differently than humans. In the story “Pancakes” we see him when he’s only two years old, but he appears to be between 6 and 10 in human years. In “Nature of the Beast,” set in 1954, the ten-year-old Hellboy appears to have grown up completely. His rapid physical maturation is in contrast to his actual rate of aging, however, which appears to be much slower than that of humans.
Throughout the sixty-year-timeline described in the comics, he does not age beyond the plateau of physical maturity. This mystical aging process is similar to that of the other demons and supernatural beings that populate Hellboy’s world. The lifespan of a demon or half-demon, as Hellboy’s mother was human, remains undefined within the comics and appears to range from decades to many thousands of years.
In the movies, Hellboy’s aging process is described by BRPD as “reverse dog years.”
In addition to his natural physical abilities, Hellboy wears a variety of items on his utility belt and jacket that can be used against various supernatural forces. He is known to carry holy relics, horseshoes, various herbs, and hand grenades. Still, he most often carries a large revolver, called the “Good Samaritan”, which was forged from recycled iron from a church bell.
Hellboy freely admits, however, that he is very mean to his weapon, frequently preferring to fight hand-to-hand or to use short-range physical weapons like swords, spears, and his massive stone fist over guns. Hellboy’s lack of formal combat training and education is offset by his decades of experience as a paranormal investigator, though encounters with unknown threats have often forced him to resort to improvisation and the use of his wits.
Why is Hellboy’s arm so big and how strong is it?
As revealed in “Strange Places”, Hellboy’s right hand was originally the right hand of Anum, one of the “greater spirits” who guarded the growing Earth and created the Ogdru Jahad. After sealing the Ogdru Jahad, Anum was destroyed by his fellow spirits.
Only his right hand remained intact, as it was guarded and preserved by many races throughout history, including the first race of man. Doom’s right hand eventually ended up in Azzael’s possession before he grafted it onto the newborn Hellboy.
Like the hand that created and bound the Ogdru Jahad, it is also the key that will “release and order” them; in other words, it is a catalyst that will bring upon the End of the World. The comics themselves never mention how the Right Hand of Doom would actually perform these tasks; they just explain that this is the case and that someone or something will try and do it, with or without Hellboy’s consent.
The film shows that it works like a key: being turned twice in a special obelisk secured by Rasputin, the Hand would release the Ogdru Jahad. It is clarified that the arm does not need to be connected to Hellboy to perform this task.
It has been suggested that if Hellboy dies while the Hand is attached to him, it would be useless. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that the only way to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands is to maintain and protect it.
