Comic-Con Flashback: Why Hellboy Rules

Adding to the color and richness of Hellboy's world is Mike Mignola's aquatic creation, Abe Sapien. Not since the '80s Jim Henson movies have we seen such a diverse cast of creatures, and Abe Sapien is one whose personality stands up to his Creature of the Black Lagoon appearance. He's an actual dude who loves books and eating rotten eggs for breakfast -- not just a puppet or CG effect.

Take notes, Jar Jars of the future.

Ron Perlman: the epitome of badass.

Hellboy pumps iron, ages seven times slower than a normal human, smokes cigars, eats three giant bowls of bacon everyday and loves kittens. As Del Toro described him at the 2002 SDCC, he's a combination of every part Perlman has ever played -- which is why Perlman's the only one who could have played him. A big, red, three-dimensional character leading a summer superhero movie is something you don't see everyday. In fact, you only see it when a Hellboy movie is coming out.

Del Toro doesn't mind slowing down the action once in awhile to hear his two best bud crime fighters, with two wildly differing personalities, spar back and forth with their words of wisdom and wit. On the way to mission, Abe brings up the sensitive subject of Liz, former B.P.R.D. employee and Hellboy's romantic interest.

Hellboy's a guarded figure, but he won't show it. He always has a great one-liner.

Whenever you're feeling woozy from too much shaky cam action, you can always take shelter in the work of Guillermo Del Toro. The battle between Hellboy and the recently resurrected hellbeast Sammeal in the science museum is infused with plenty of adrenaline and hard-hitting punches, but it's done so in a way that we can comprehend every move. There aren't 1,000 shots in the sequence -- just enough to know that Hellboy's Samaritan gun packs a might punch, but so does Sammeal's claw, which sends Hellboy flying out a window.