When we say the words “comic books,” one of two logos is likely to come to mind; or perhaps both. DC and Marvel Comics have established themselves as the global standard-bearers for superheroes, but they are not the only ones in the fantasy-realization industry. There is a lot more to the American comic book industry than just two corporations. There is a slew of indie publishers whose work is getting widespread recognition as time goes on.
Thanks to Amazon’s constant goal of expanding its content collection, Dynamite Entertainment’s adult comic series The Boys has become the next pop-culture craze. But before Homelander and The Seven, there was Hellboy, a half-demon paranormal investigator and the flagship character of Dark Horse Comics, America’s third-largest comic book publisher. Thanks to his clever world-building and the fabled tale surrounding the Cambion, Mike Mignola’s idea has single-handedly kept Dark Horse afloat.
Every time you open a Hellboy comic book, you know you are in for a history lesson in mythology and cosmic terror, unlike anything you have ever seen before. When he initially appeared in 1993, his adversary was Grigori Rasputin, a mysterious 19th-century Russian mystic. Big Red has battled many occult/mystic figures from world mythology and literature throughout the years.
Mignola has touched on some of the most benevolent- and destructive- deities from every source he could discover, including Hecate, Gabriel, Cthulu, and Kali. And Hellboy himself is the best infernal nightmare Mike could have concocted for his comics! Big Red’s nearly 30-year existence has not been one of self-discovery; at least, not in the traditional sense, because his fate had already been set when he was born. This video will look into Hellboy’s true name, as well as the awful purpose that comes with it.
What is Anung Un Rama?
Professor James Henry O’Connell used to be a world-renowned authority on Ancient Languages with a special interest in the occult. His insight into the subject made him an invaluable liaison for the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defence. Prof. O’Connell’s life would change forever on one fateful day in 1987 when he would gain divine knowledge that was unmatched by any person on planet Earth but pay for it with his sanity. Accompanied by Hellboy, he visited the haunts of the recently-deceased necromancer Alessandro Divizia in an attempt to recover his fabled library’s texts for the BPRD.
Instead, he finds the necromancer’s spirit intact- chanting entranced alongside a dozen other spirits of some of the most-powerful occultists in the world. This mystical group surrounded O’Connell and gave him the gift of knowledge after exacting their toll. Enthralled by the expansion of his conscious mind, James Henry O’Connell would become the first human being to discover Hellboy’s true name; and the meaning that comes attached with it.
In ancient Egyptian, the phrase Anung un Rama roughly translates to “From the Abyss/I am/The Light”. Given Prof. O’Connell’s history with ancient languages, you’d think that he would interpret Hellboy’s true name as such as well. But there’s a reason James went insane in the first place, and it isn’t all related to sensory overload.
In 1617, an English witch known as Sarah Hughes was abducted by a being that was worshipped in Ancient Babylon; but has come to be feared as a demonic Duke of Hell since then. With his reluctant concubine, he sired a child, and in order to make his progeny realize his true destiny, he kidnapped her and took her to Hell. It’s there that she would give birth to a half-human, half-demon child; and die in the process, so Azzael’s son could live. Soon after he entered the world, the baby’s right arm was cut off by his father; and replaced with the Right Hand of Doom.
It was this Hand that created & sealed the primordial Dragon known as the Ogdru Jahad; and also acted as the key that would unleash his judgment on the mortal world, leaving it in ashes. Pleased with his accomplishments and confident in his son’s ability to fulfill his destiny, Azzael gave him the names that would become the basis for the apocalyptic prophecy witnessed by James Henry O’Connell.
Anung un Rama; the One Upon Whose Brow Sits a Crown of Flame. Urush un Rama; the One who would become the Creator of the New World. Anung un Rama; the Agent of Destruction, and the eventual instigator of Ragnarok. Try as he might become a man free of his own fate, every path Hellboy takes leads him to the destiny that awaits him, and his journey to that point is painted with the blood of millions of innocents & accursed alike.
Judgement Day: Hellboy’s Journey towards achieving his Ultimate Form
After being summoned to Earth in a ritual perpetrated by the Third Reich, Hellboy knew nothing about his heritage save that he was…different. He was raised by Trevor Bruttenholm as a normal boy and became a part of the BPRD at the age of 8. Though Big Red was called The World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator, there was one mystery he could never unravel; that of his true parentage.
The first time he’d gain an inkling of a notion of his fate was when he faced off against Grigori Rasputin; the man who’d brought him to the land of mortals in the first place. After foiling the Mad Monk’s attempts at resuscitating the Ogdru Jahad and unleashing it upon All Creation, Hellboy began questioning something Rasputin said to him during their fight. Grigori called Big Red the key to Ogdru Jahad’s release and belittled him for being oblivious to his own fate. Years later, Hellboy would dispatch the demon Ualac and the Greek goddess Hecate, both of whom sought him out to take control of his apocalyptic powers.
The first time that Anung un Rama became even slightly aware of his true nature was when he was approached by the Duke of Hell called Astaroth; one of the most powerful denizens of the Nether Realm and Hellboy’s paternal uncle. Astaroth informed Anung un Rama of his glorious purpose; that he was the man chosen to lead the armies of Hell against the forces of Heaven as its undisputed King; the Destroyer & Creator of the New Universe.
Astaroth was here to return Hellboy to his throne, and help him fulfill his destiny. Obviously, Big Red chose to go his own way, as he has his entire life. But the conversation did make him curious and after investigating his lineage, he realized two very important things about his existence. The first was his true nature; Hellboy confirmed the fact that he was in fact a Cambion, the spawn of the rogue Duke of Hell known as Azazel. The second was that he would never get the answers he needed from his life-long comrades.
Disillusioned with everything that his life had been up to that point, Hellboy quit the BPRD and went into exile to uncover the truth about his presence on Earth; the whole truth. He traveled to the furthest reaches of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean and finally arrived on an island where he met a mystic who would answer all the questions that plagued him. This mystic, an attendant to the Old God Dagon, told Big Red the tail of an ancient angel called Anum. This Greater Spirit was supposed to be a Watcher in the world created by God, but he desired to be more.
Stealing the Secret Fire of Creation referred to as Vril, he created the cosmic entity we know today as the Ogdru Jahad. As soon as he realized his mistake, Anum sealed the Dragon in the Outerverse using his Own Hand; but it would be too late for him. God, in his ceaseless rage, cast down the Greater Spirit and severed his Right Hand, giving it to another angel who would come to be known as Azzael in more recent years. With a look of doom on his face, Hellboy realized that Rasputin and Astaroth were right; Anung un Rama was fated to be the Bringer of the Apocalypse, and it was only a matter of “when”, not “if”.
Broken, Big Red returns to England to despair in isolation, but a lifetime of killing supernatural beings had earned him some rather nasty arch enemies. One of them was the fairy known as Gruagach, a changeling who was trapped in the body of an emaciated Fomorian thanks to Hellboy’s shenanigans. Bent upon revenge, Gruagach would resurrect the malevolent witch Vivienne Nimue; also known as the Blood Queen. There’s a reason even the great Merlin didn’t want to associate with her; although she was the greatest love of his life. Nimue was a fervent follower of the Ogdru Jahad and would do anything to see it released upon the world.
By the time she was done plotting for the Dragon’s return, most of the world’s supernatural forces had pledged their allegiances to her; out of desire, self-preservation, and most importantly, fear. Hellboy uncovered the second secret of his true lineage during this apocalyptic hour; he was a direct descendant of Arthur Pendragon, the owner of Excalibur and the rightful King of England.
But knowing what he was about to become Anung un Rama rejected his throne and took on Nimue himself. He thought he’d finally changed his destiny for good when an Ogdru Jahad-possessed Nimue was finally put down by his Right Hand of Doom. But the Blood Queen’s Spirit arrived in front of Hellboy, and in her vengeful state of mind, ripped his heart out, thereby killing him and sending him to Hell; which is exactly what Astaroth expected to happen when he suggested that Gruagach revive her.
Once there, Anung un Rama was greeted by the ghost of Sir Edward Grey; a paranormal investigator who was dragged to Hell decades ago by a demon. Grey guides Hellboy closer to the Heart of Hell, where he’s greeted by a female vampire that is actually Nyarlathotep in disguise. The Crawling Chaos convinces Hellboy to kill Satan, by telling him that if he wishes to be free from demons pursuing him for his Right Hand, then this is the only solution to his problems. After Hellboy kills Satan, a civil war breaks out all across Hell, and Astaroth approaches him under the pretext of providing a solution to the conflict.
He tells Anung un Rama his destiny awaits him; he should embrace his role as the King of Hell and bring every world in every realm of existence to a climactic end with his untapped might. Hellboy goes in the exact opposite direction. He leads an army of smaller, less powerful spirits against the Stygian Council and the Greatest Gods of Hell; and emerges victorious, having taken out Hell’s elites, including Leviathon and Behemoth. Anung un Rama takes up a life of exile on the banks of the River Styx and seems somewhat at peace thereafter, but no one can escape fate.
After Rasputin is revived yet again, Hellboy makes it back to the surface world for one last mission; putting an end to the Mad Monk. Big Red reunites with Liz & Abe and goes into the broken wreckage that used to be New York City to take down their oldest foe. Rasputin proves to be much more powerful than they could’ve hoped for, though, and manages to kill Abe Sapien and incapacitate Liz Sherman with relative ease.
It is at this moment that Hellboy realizes; there is no other way. He gives in to his rage and his purpose, repeating the name he swore he wouldn’t think of willingly like a broken recorder in his head. Anung un Rama rises, horns aflame, body expanding to the size of Goliath, and does battle with Rasputin over the shattered skyline of the City that Never Sleeps. Even though Grigori is able to rip off his Right Hand, Hellboy has his revenge when he takes Rasputin’s heart out with his left; thus killing the Mad Monk for good, this time.
He seemingly dies himself and only realizes that he’s become a spirit when he finds Sir Edward Grey yet again. The pair survey the world; overrun by Ogdru Hem, and preparing for the arrival of the Old Gods from the Outerverse. Hellboy steels himself to witness the moment when the Ogdru Jahad unleashes its wrath upon Creation and ends everything in the blink of an eye. Instead, he finds them all dead. A baffled Hellboy is then informed that the mystics of the Osiris Club have retrieved his Right Hand and used it to kill all the Outer Gods in existence.
They were in the process of turning themselves into the New Gods of the New Universe when Hellboy intervenes and takes back his Hand; but not before wiping them out, for good. At this moment, Sir Edward Grey’s spirit departs the world, having fulfilled its purpose, and is replaced by one of Hellboy’s oldest adversaries/occasional allies; the Goddess Hecate. She explains to him that the time had come for him to embrace his fate; just as all men should.
Hellboy tries to reason it out one last time, but he knows there’s no point; the universe is beyond saving, and his actions are responsible for it. He takes solace in the fact that life itself would continue on, thanks to the handful of people living in Hollow Earth, and tells Hecate he is ready. The Goddess of Magic first calls him Anung un Rama; the Destroyer of Worlds. She then calls him Urush un Rama; the Creator of Universes. With those two utterances, the world as we know it ends; and Hellboy & Hecate along with it.
The last panel of BPRD: The Devil We Know shows a sentient species of fish-like humanoids populating planet Earth once again. It is revealed that every new life form on this new world is descended from the same universal ancestor; Abe Sapien. Without knowing it, or even wanting to do it, Anung un Rama fulfilled both halves of the prophecy attached to his life since birth: he destroyed the last world with his dying breath and gave it new life in the form of his closest friend’s biological remains.
How Powerful is this form of Hellboy?
We believe it was a philosopher called Tyrion Lannister who once said that a prophecy is like a “half-trained mule”; it’ll pull the weight when you keep it under observation and then kick your ass as soon as you look away. This saying can be applied to Hellboy’s prophecy as well, because, despite all the visions he’d received and been told about, Ragnarok played out much differently than anyone could’ve imagined. We still don’t actually know the full extent of the power of Anung un Rama, but that doesn’t mean we can’t put our fingers on it.
Hellboy’s Cambion physiology already made him much stronger and more perceptive than any average human being. He’s survived a point-blank shot from a double-barrel shotgun and was able to send a harpoon clean through a monster’s chest; along with the mast that held the ship together. He has a healing factor that would put Wolverine to shame, and seemingly cannot die unless he himself wants to, making him functionally immortal. He’s one of the smartest detectives around and has an exhaustive knowledge of the occult, which allows him to take down supernatural nuisances without breaking a sweat.
But it’s when he gets angry that his real powers are revealed. Hellboy keeps his horns stumpy and filed for a reason; whenever he is pushed to the brink, his latent magical powers are brought to the surface and he becomes Anung un Rama; the Destroyer of Worlds. In this form, Hellboy has shown the ability to shape-shift to ungodly proportions, dwarfing Leviathan in their encounter; and the former is supposed to be one of the largest mythic creatures to have ever existed, period!
Hellboy also displays electro-and-pyrokinetic powers, being able to hurl down lightning from the Heavens and manipulate Hellfire to his will. Using this form, Hellboy was able to destroy nearly all of Hell’s legions; a feat that would be considered impossible for anyone except God. The fact that he can grow wings and fly seems almost like an afterthought at that point. Anung un Rama is a form that is potentially limitless and can be lethal for any superhero in existence; including Superman.
The Kryptonian might be a Man of Steel, but even he’s powerless in the face of magic; his only weakness besides Kryptonite. Don’t believe us? Just check out any of his encounters with Mr. Myxzptlk and you’ll understand just how useless Kal-El is in the face of the occult. On the other hand, Anung un Rama might have a difficult time facing off against the God of Thunder.
Thor has faced many demons in his own time, and has a Right Hand of Doom of his own; only his version is his beloved hammer Mjolnir. In recent times, Marvel has turned the Odinson into one of the strongest entities in its history. King Thor was able to kill Galactus and The Black Winter, and even went toe-to-toe with the King in Black; Knull. You have to understand that these characters are far greater cosmic threats than a dragon stuck in another dimension.
Galactus is called the Devourer of Worlds for a reason; what else would you call someone whose diet requires him to feed on entire planets?! If you had asked us if Hellboy can beat Thor a few years ago, we’d probably have said yes, Donny Cates has made it really hard for us to say that anymore. So, yes; Anung un Rama is one of the strongest cosmic beings in All Creation, capable of toying with beings as strong as Superman. But he isn’t all-powerful; and if he’s exposed to an opponent of a similar or higher caliber, he might not be able to make it out of the fight with his head on his shoulders; or his horns on his head, for that matter.
Why Anung un Rama is both Hellboy’s Identity & his Bane
One of the reasons why I personally love Hellboy is because it has a lot of parallels to my own life. No, I’m not the offspring of some demonic succubus; I’m talking about the fact that he was pre-ordained to live life a certain way, and yet he chose to pave his own path. I’ve grown up in a conservative family and I understand just how terrifying it can be to know that your entire life has been planned out for you, even before you were born; and you don’t even have a say in it. Anung un Rama, Urush un Rama.
That prophetic phrase led to the demise of an entire universe teeming with life and goodness and no matter how hard he tried, Hellboy just couldn’t escape his destiny. But the fact that he lived his life the way he wanted to is what makes him such an inspiring figure for me. Hellboy was the inheritor of not one, but two royal thrones, and he rejected both of them because that wasn’t who he was.
The ruling, administration, diplomacy; Hellboy had no interest in such mortal indulgences. He was above waging war, but dutiful enough to take part in one if the occasion called for. He was gruff, but always true to his comrades. And above everything else, he didn’t let the fact that he was different hinder him from doing what he knew needed to be done.
Anung un Rama was one of the strongest beings in the world, who was offered dominion over it on a silver platter on multiple occasions. And yet, he stayed true to himself and only used his powers to help those he cared about; a mark of a true hero, no matter what he was born as. Anung un Rama is genuinely inspirational, and we hope that we’ve been able to instill some of that same admiration we have for him, into you.