Hellboy questions and answers

Hellboy (2004) - 7 questions

Directed by Guillermo del Toro, starring Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair

The "questions" section is for any random questions that occurred to you while watching this film, or anything you didn't entirely understand, and which Google or the IMDb can't help with. Submit them as a question, and hopefully someone will answer (the bold comments in brackets) - check back regularly. If the answer is wrong, or missing information, please use the "clarify answer" option. Don't feel limited - want to know what music played in a certain scene? Whether this was the first film to use a certain effect? Here's the place to ask!

Can someone please tell me the order in which the Hellboy graphic novels take place? I want to start collecting, but they don't have numbers or anything on the spine, so I don't know where to begin. [They run as follows; Seed Of Destruction, Wake The Devil, The Chained Coffin, The Right Hand Of Doom and Conqueror Worm. There are several other books which collect various stories about the character (often by different authors) - these generally take place in different eras and can be read in any order.] Answered by Tailkinker

Why didn't Professor Broom want Hellboy to know that he was dying of cancer? [Most normal fathers would hardly be jumping with joy at the prospect of telling their son such a fact, and Hellboy and the Professor have a slightly more unique relationship than most fathers have with their sons. The Professor is the only family he's ever had.] Answered by Gary O'Reilly

Does the line uttered by one the soldiers at the start 'look at the size of that whammer.' come from the comic? It just seems a bit camp. [Just the type of lingo used in those days, that seen is supposed to be from the time when Hitler controlled Nazi Germany. Just like "oh boy", "hot dog", "jeepers" and so on.]

Rasputin and Hellboy each say Hellboy's real name towards the end. I didn't catch it properly, what exactly do they say, and what (if anything) does the phrase/name mean in English? [According to the comic books, his name is Anung Un Rama, or 'World Destroyer, The Great Beast.']

When Myers is meeting the "family", was the mistake that Hellboy's "dad" made about Hitler's death deliberate, or was he just testing Myers? [It was the truth (in that movie). Hitler died much later and the BPRD kept it secret from the rest of the world. It's a part of the "secret organization that keeps things from the world for it's own good" subplot.] Answered by Grumpy Scot

How does Sammael get across the world? If whenever you kill Sammael, two shall arise, it would be impossible to kill them? [Not if you collect all the eggs and destroy them, as was done in the movie. That way no more Sammaels can hatch. As for transportation, the freaky bald dude probably took care of that.]

Can anyone explain the origin and function of the spectral compass and pendant that Hellboy uses in the graveyard scene? They obviously didn't come through with him, but they're never shown before that in the movie - I figure they must be from the comics. [Just like the artifact that Abe gives Hellboy, the compass is one of the many magical/supernatural items that the BPRD have aquired over the years. As to function, I would assume that it's used to find bodies that they can talk to (bodies with spirits attached, or who can be contacted on the other side.]