Hellboy may be a devil and the harbinger of the end, but he's also a genuinely good guy. He's the sort of everyman who just wants to enjoy a beer and a nice cigar while hanging out with his friends. Honestly, a plateful of waffles is more important to Hellboy than his role fulfilling some cosmic destiny.
But despite this, he has continually risen to the occasion when called upon to help others (or to investigate and if necessary put down various paranormal threats). Hellboy has some dear friends who he would do anything for, and he also has foes who have wreaked havoc on his life. Who exactly are they, and what did they do to either earn Hellboy's friendship or a fist to the face? Find out more in this list.
10 FRIEND: Kate Corrigan
Dr. Kate Corrigan is a researcher with the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). She is also probably Hellboy's greatest friend. After completing a mission, he frequently speaks with her about everything he has encountered.
At the end of the events of the story "The Conqueror Worm," he speaks with her about his decision to leave the B.P.R.D. after they made the decision to put a bomb inside Roger. Years later, Kate returns to the spot with a member of the German military and describes this conversation with Hellboy as the moment when their friendship ended. Despite this, she is shown to be closer to him than almost anyone else.
9 ENEMY: Azzael
Azzael is a demon and a Duke of Hell. He is also Hellboy's father. Struggles between fathers and sons are a common theme in life and literature, but with a dad like Azzael, this becomes an even more hellish rivalry than might otherwise be the case.
In the 17th Century, Azzael slept with a human woman, Sarah Hughes, who bore him his son. He hacked off the newborn's right hand, then attached the magical Right Hand of Doom. He was punished by the other lords of the Pit for this. While Hellboy never met his father as an adult, so many of his troubles come from Azzael's actions.
8 FRIEND: Abe Sapien
Abe is a field agent with the B.P.R.D. who accompanies Hellboy on missions. The aquatic humanoid was found locked in a glass tank with the date of Abraham Lincoln's death written on the outside. He and Hellboy have worked together a long time, fighting the frog-like creatures at Cavendish Hall before the War of Frogs was underway.
Abe is one of the few characters in the B.P.R.D. who looks only partially humanoid. He and Hellboy respect one another and have lived through some truly terrible confrontations, coming out the other side. After Hellboy leaves the B.P.R.D., Abe begins to learn more of his own mysterious past and even takes up a leadership role within the agency.
7 ENEMY: Rasputin
The Russian mystic Rasputin is a figure steeped in legend. His love of occult knowledge and his rumored immortality play a central role to the story of Hellboy (though his involvement with women and the Russian Royal Family are barely acknowledged).
Rasputin is directly responsible for the ritual that freed Hellboy from Hell. Using his magic and manipulation, he allied with the Nazis to summon the Ogdru Jahad, the Dragons of Revelation. Both trying to end the world and working with Nazis are pretty much the clearest acts of evil one can engage in.
6 FRIEND: Roger the Homunculus
Roger is a Homunculus; a man who was not born but made through the alchemical arts and given life with sorcery. He is one of the two best examples of a Homunculus ever made. When he is discovered by the B.P.R.D., they set him free then later recruit him to join the agency. However, when Roger is taken in, the officials at the B.P.R.D. actually put a bomb inside him.
Hellboy really cares about Roger but he also saw how the agency looks at non-humans as monsters who are disposable. In disgust, he leaves after seeing how they betrayed his friend. During Hellboy's absence, Roger seems aimless for a long time until he eventually bonds with Daimio.
5 ENEMY: Hecate
The goddess Hecate is the Queen of Witches with great magical powers. As she is written in the Hellboy mythos, she is supposed to have a rivalry with the red-skinned devil, albeit one with a bit of mutual respect.
The real villainy here actually comes from Ilsa Haupstein, a Nazi who followed Rasputin and allowed herself to be magically turned into a monster and then a vessel for Hecate to enter and use as a corporeal vessel. Both as a human Nazi and as a magically augmented monster, Haupstein proved to be a formidable opponent, one of the few who could really hurt Hellboy.
4 FRIEND: Liz Sherman
Despite being portrayed as Hellboy's lover in the movies that were written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, in the comics, Liz is just his friend and coworker. Liz has the magical ability to create and control fire. She uses this as an offensive ability while fighting alongside Hellboy and his other teammates in the B.P.R.D. to battle the Frogs and other supernatural threats.
Shortly after Hellboy leaves the B.P.R.D., Liz begins to learn more about her powers. It turns out she does not merely possess pyrokinesis, but actually is in control of the fires of creation called Vril (aka the Secret Fire or Famma Reconditus). This is literally the power used by the Biblical God, and it's now something that she can generate at will and even exert mastery over.
3 ENEMY: Baba Yaga
The figure known as Baba Yaga is a powerful magic user who is similar to a goddess though she seems to be in a category all her own. As she is written in the Hellboy series, she has a long-standing feud with the titular hero since he is responsible for taking her eye.
Later, she takes his eye in turn, thus evening the score between them, though not without first making her displeasure known. She sends her loyal vassal, the immortal Russian spirit known as Koshchei the Deathless, to hunt down Hellboy. Eventually, when he gives her his eye, she agrees to aid him in taking down Nimue, who has become Queen of the Witches.
2 FRIEND: Alice Monaghan
As a baby, Alice was stolen from her crib and replaced by a changeling. Hellboy saved her and returned her to her parents. Years later, he reunites with her, now a grown woman. She becomes his lover, but more than that, she becomes his friend and a trusted confidant, being someone who he can rely on and open up to in his time of need.
In fact, she even watches over the sword Excalibur for him and has also given counsel to Abe Sapien at a time he was struggling to accept his own destiny. It was during this time that she encouraged Abe to accept his obligations to the world.
1 ENEMY: Ogdru Jahad
Ogdru Jahad are the Dragons of Revelation, destined to bring about the end of the world. Known also as the Seven Who Are One and as the Seven Gods of Chaos, they were imprisoned by the Right Hand of Doom before the Earth was created--the same Right Hand of Doom that Hellboy now bears.
Hellboy is also tied to them by destiny, but he is not about to let a little thing like destiny get in the way of living his life. He is committed to saving the world, and will use the Right Hand of Doom and anything else at his disposal to keep the Ogdru Jahad from breaking free of their prison.