While most of the comic book characters that have received film and TV adaptations hail from established publishers like Marvel and DC, some have managed to stand apart from the "Big Two" and gain their own foothold in pop culture. One of these characters is Hellboy, the self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator". The Mike Mignola creation has been the subject of quite a few movies. Of course there's the pair of Hellboy films, Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, helmed by gothic auteur Guillermo del Toro. And there's the less than well recieved 2019 reboot which managed to squander the talents of Neil Marshall and David Harbour. Yet there's one Hellboy film that nearly every fan would love - Hellboy: Blood and Iron.
Blood and Iron is the second of two Hellboy Animated films, with the first film - titled Hellboy: Sword of Storms - released a year prior. Mignola had a major hand in the creative process: not only did he come up with the story for both films with Tad Stones, but he also served as a producer on both projects. And both Sword of Storms and Blood and Iron draw heavily from the Hellboy comics. Blood and Iron, in particular, draws elements from the "Wake the Devil" storyline where Hellboy battles the goddess of magic Hecate - as well as the revelation that he will become the harbinger of the Apocalypse.
del Toro was also a creative producer on the films, with both featuring the return of the principal cast from his films. Once again, Ron Perlman would lend his signature gravelly voice to Hellboy. And Doug Jones and Selma Blair would provide voices for the merman Abe Sapien and pyrokinetic Liz Sherman, respectively. Even John Hurt would return to voice Hellboy's adoptive father, Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm. Combined with an intro that replicated the opening of del Toro's first Hellboy movie, these films could easily fit alongside the live action ones - and were meant to, as they both serve as prequels to the first del Toro film.
In fact, Bruttenholm plays a major part in Blood and Iron, as his past is slowly unfurled. Throughout the film, flashbacks reveal that a younger Broom encountered the vampiress Erzebet Ondrushko (Kath Soucie) - better known to the world as Countess Elizabeth Bathory. True to the legends surrounding her, Erzebet would seduce young women and lure them to her castle, then subject them to unspeakable torture so that she could bathe in her blood. Keeping in line with the Hellboy mythos putting its own spin on supernatural myths and legends, the blood kept Erzebet forever young - until Bruttenholm lures her into sunlight, effectively atomizing her. However, her spirit survives and wanders the castle that is her birthright.
This is important because it finally sheds light on Bruttenholm's younger years, and why he eventually formed the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. In Erzebet, he encountered a truly evil being - and after witnessing Grigori Rasputin attempting to open the gates of Hell in the first Hellboy, it's no wonder he'd dedicate his life to fighting that evil. The film also proves that despite his advanced years, Bruttenholm still possesses the knowledge and the will to fight evil. After Erzebet resurrects herself, she takes a bath in the blood of one of her victims. However, she slowly begins to scream and decay - Bruttenholm added holy water to the blood, effectively poisoning her and allowing him to deliver the killing blow.
That same force of will and desire for justice is present in Hellboy, since Bruttenholm raised him as his adoptive son. It comes in handy when he confronts Hecate (Cree Summer), who Erzebet sold her soul to in order to obtain immortality. As in the "Wake the Devil" story, Hecate tries to tempt Hellboy to fulfill his destiny as the Right Hand of Doom. But the red-skinned hero refuses and engages the Goddess in battle, despite the fact that he's heavily outmatched. And like his adoptive father, Hellboy is able to finally beat Hecate by tricking her into stepping in the sunlight, which banishes her back to her realm of shadows. Like father, like son.
In addition to boasting the cast and crew from the Hellboy films, Blood and Iron also features some top-notch animation. Director Victor Cook delivers some haunting - and often disturbing - imagery throughout the film, as Hellboy and friends fight Erzebet's forces. There are harpies with torn, leathery wings and sallow skin that attack Liz. Hellboy has to fight a werewolf, eventually snapping its jaws apart in a gruesome display. And of course there are copious amounts of blood, given the source material and the creatures they're fighting. Character designer Sean Galloway delivers designs that hew fairly close to Mignola's original artwork, giving Blood and Iron the appearance of a living, breathing comic book. Cook would also direct a Hellboy Animated short titled "Iron Shoes", based on the Hellboy comic of the same name, that came attached to the Blood and Iron DVD. He, Galloway, and screenwriter Kevin Hopps would also work on The Spectacular Spider-Man, which took a similar approach to Peter Parker's adventures (though significantly less bloody).
Plans for a third Hellboy Animated film, which would have featured the heroic Lobster Johnson, never got off the ground. But Blood and Iron is a great example of why Mignola's comics and del Toro's films are loved. It captures the same gothic spirit and unbridled creativity that both men brought to the world of Hellboy, and its tight seventy-five minute runtime keeps viewers engaged without overstaying its welcome. Fans of del Toro's films, or Hellboy in general, should check it out - especially as this year marks the 15th anniversary of Blood and Iron. It proves that even though there are things that go bump in the night...Hellboy and his allies will more than likely bump back.