Superhero Media: Hellboy II The Golden Army

I love Hellboy II, perhaps even more than the original. Yes, the tone lightens somewhat and there's more comedy, but heaven forbid that superhero films be fun to watch, right? Following on from the first film, the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense is continuing to operate as normal, though Hellboy is trying harder and harder to breach the veil of secrecy and engage with the human world. In this, Hellboy his repeatedly clashing with Special Agent Manning, with whom Abe Sapien has developed a rapport, but the real strain is on Hellboy's relationship with Liz Sherman. Meanwhile, the exiled Fae prince Nuada is closing in on the missing pieces of the clockwork crown that will enable him to raise the Golden Army and wage war on the human world. Whereas Hellboy featured Pulp Nazis and Eldritch Horror, Hellboy II dips into Celtic myth and changeling lore, which can be a little jarring for those expecting more of the same, but gives Del Toro and crew plenty of opportunity for some great creative work. 

Sequences like the Troll Market and the Seelie Court show off what a great team can do with a mix of practical effects and CGI and why the best results come from using both. Del Toro definitely brought the chops his team grew on Pan's Labyrinth and blew it up with all the colour and flair that the superhero genre allowed. The White Wolf World of Darkness game, Changeling: The Dreaming, about fae, looks to be, on the surface, the most hopeful and light in the setting, but on closer examination, is about the slow but certain death of dreams an imagination. Shades of that tragic tone are woven into Hellboy II, with every move that the BPRD makes against Nuada resulting in something magnificent being lost for all time; the Forest God fight makes me want to pick up an Age of Sigmar Treelord Ancient model to battle my new Hellboy stuff at some stage. Add in Johann Krauss, one of my favourite characters from the comics, voiced by Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane, and Hellboy II is a joy to watch. 

When I read criticisms of Hellboy II that aren't "it's not the original" (seriously?), they tend to relate to the tone, which, I'll admit, can feel a little muddled. Hellboy and "His Death" draw heavily on Christian myth, clashing somewhat with the Fae and Celtic elements, but Hellboy and his world have always been a bricolage of themes, which is part of why it's so unique and interesting. The set-up for the third film which never came makes me wistful every time I see it, wondering what could have been and how Liz's choice would have come to haunt her. The real shame is that there is really no series like Hellboy around anymore, sub-par reboot notwithstanding, the design, characters and world are utterly unique and bring something to the genre that Marvel and DC don't. Yes, I think Del Toro and Mignola need to come back to the series, maybe not do a "Hellboy III", but there is plenty of room to explore the setting, be it through the B.P.R.D. or even other characters like The Visitor or Ben Daimo. I really hope this isn't the last we see of this fantastic world.