Fans of Hellboy don't only love the big red guy, Abe Sapien is also extremely popular. The fish-man was great in Guillermo Del Toro's original Hellboy and he was actually quite a show-stealer in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. However, given the recent reboot, not all about Abe Sapien has been revealed to film fans. Particularly in that, the new Hellboy film is a reintroduction of the B.P.R.D. for filmgoers.
So, here are 10 things that the recent Hellboy (2019) reboot has not explored about Abe Sapien, but very well may in future sequels.
10 He was actually discovered in the 1970s, prior to The Wild Hunt
A great deal of the plot in the recent Hellboy film is an adaptation of Hellboy: The Wild Hunt. In the comics, however, Abe Sapien was part of the B.P.R.D. for decades before that event. There is a hint that Abe exists in the reboot's continuity, of course. In the comics, as far back as the first Hellboy comic, Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, Abe was a key member of the B.P.R.D. investigation team, along with Hellboy and Liz Sherman.
Abe Sapien was found in 1978 in a long-lost chamber beneath St. Trinian's Hospital by a group of plumbers before being quickly claimed by the B.P.R.D. Abe was comatose, and the agency had no real identification for him beyond a simple scrap of paper that read "Ichthyo sapien" and the date April 14th, 1865. Thus, he was designated Abraham Sapien as April 14th, 1865 was the date of Lincoln's assassination.
9 Abe died!
Abe Sapien is no stranger to death. During 2004's B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs the team, led by Abe in Michigan, discovers a scheme to turn humans into the frog-beasts from Hellboy: Seed of Destruction. Abe confronts the culprit, Humbert T Jones, an acolyte of Rasputin.
Abe is stabbed by a spear, fulfilling Rasputin's earlier prophecy, and bleeds out. Agent Johann Kraus arrives to try to save Abe, but is too late, with Abe Sapien dying on the scene. Thankfully, death did not stick.
8 His real name is Langdon Everette Caul and he used to be human
A now dead Abe in B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs finds his spirit going back in time to witness his own origins. He witnesses a diver take a cocoon from a sunken temple and watches the Oannes Society engage in a ritual with the cocoon.
Abe finds himself in St. Trinian's and sees the cocoon crumble at the hands of Langdon Everette Caul, who freaks out at the sight of Abe. Abe then finds his spirit entering the body of Caul, causing the transformation and eventual future discovery of "Ichthyo sapien" in the 1970s. Abe's adventures as Langdon Everette Caul can be further seen in Abe Sapien #27.
7 Abe is one of "the big three" of the B.P.R.D.
Abe Sapien was one of the central empowered agents of the B.P.R.D., alongside Hellboy and Elizabeth Sherman. Hellboy was particularly pivotal in getting Abe assigned as an agent as early as 1979, though Abe would be declared a full agent on his own merits in Abe Sapien: The Drowning.
The trio was mostly inseparable until Hellboy left the B.P.R.D. to pursue a relationship with Anastasia Bransfield (Hellboy: The Dragon Pool). Abe and Liz continued to bond almost like siblings during this time. The three were first introduced to readers, together, in Seed of Destruction.
6 He used to disguise himself... very poorly
While Hellboy was a pretty public figure for a couple of decades before he even met Abe, Abe was not at all very public. Abe, for a great deal of time, seemed to have a form of anxiety about his appearance and would disguise himself if he were anywhere near the public on missions for the B.P.R.D. though he eventually stopped that. He mostly relies on hats, scarves, and goggles or sunglasses, but even as far back as Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, he could be seen wearing a false beard.
5 Abe Sapien speared Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin through the chest while possessed
Back to Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, Abe Sapien tangled with the former Russian sorcerer alongside Hellboy. While exploring Cavendish Hall, Abe encounters the ghost of Elihu Cavendish who possesses the body of Abe. Abe/Cavendish then harpoons Rasputin during a ritual channeling power through Liz Sherman, killing him. Rasputin would later appear as a ghost to prophesize Sapien being speared to death himself one day.
However, this wasn't the first contact between Abe Sapien and Elihu Cavendish. Cavendish was the captain of Langdon Everette Caul in the 1850s and 1860s.
4 Abe spent a lot of time without Hellboy and Liz Sherman at the B.P.R.D.
Around the year 2000, Liz Sherman quit the B.P.R.D. for a period. Soon after, Hellboy left again, fearful of his apocalyptic connections and angered over the implanting of a bomb in Roger the Homunculus during the events of Hellboy: Conqueror Worm. This would not be the only time Abe would be, in a sense, abandoned by his closest friends. However, during this period in the early 2000s, Abe becomes a true leader of the B.P.R.D., eventually leading a team to save Liz Sherman during the events of B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth.
3 He achieved a sense of closure by foiling the Oannes Society
B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls finds Abe Sapien discovering a great deal about his past when he takes on a trip to Indonesia with Captain Ben Daimio. All of this at the urging of the psychic mummy, Panya. While there he encounters Victorian-era cyborgs who were formerly his compatriots in the Oannes Society.
He is dismayed to learn that his former comrades are misguided and plan to kill millions in a bizarre form of preserving humanity. Abe, Panya, and Daimio are able to foil the Society's plans while Abe leaves with a sense of closure.
2 Abe has some serious work-conflicts
Recently, in the late 200s, Abe has found himself the target of aggression of two of his B.P.R.D. colleagues. Agent Andrew Devon, after the events of B.P.R.D.: King of Fear is extremely distrustful of Abe, convinced that Abe is part of the cause of the apocalypse. Tensions between Abe and Andrew grew so bad that he covered up the near-fatal shooting of Abe in New Mexico.
Abe also has been dealing with the animosity of Johann Kraus in B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth - New World. Ben Daimio and Daryl the Wendigo had fled the B.P.R.D. and gone into hiding in Canada. Abe teamed with Ben, later on, to deal with an incident and upon returning to the B.P.R.D. discovers he was tracked. Abe is convinced it was Devon, but it turns out it was Kraus, who was after Ben for revenge over the loss of his second body (it's complicated).
1 He is beginning to change into something else
During the events of B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth - Gods, Abe is shot down by a teenager named Fenix. Abe falls into a coma and is placed on life support, though it seemed like he was never going to fully recover. However, Abe does begin to recover...and change. In B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth - Russia, Abe begins to grow far less human in appearance. Tired of suspicions at the B.P.R.D., Abe finally flees the Bureau and adventures through the American Southwest seeking answers in Abe Sapien.