MULL ISLAND, SCOTLAND, OCTOBER 9TH, 1944:

Cradled in a crumbling city of ruins stands Grigori Rasputin. He is draped in ceremonial robes and blood, as he performs a dark ritual in front of the imposing ‘Ragnarok Engine’, a twisting spire of steel and copper gears. Several Nazi generals look on, with baited anticipation, awaiting the spawn of the ritual, who is fated to save the Nazi cause and the Fuhrer.

Suddenly, as Grigori’s chants grow louder and louder, there is an explosion and as the ground rumbles, a halo of ‘negative energy’ shoots and spirals out of the engine, as a vast portal bursts open. Before anyone can see what passes through the portal, bullets rain down upon the Nazis from recently arrived Allied forces. After the battle dies down, the victorious Allies hear a soft moan. A bright red blur darts from behind rocks and ruins. The Allied soldiers carefully look behind the rocks to discover a tiny red demon, with bright glowing golden eyes, tiny horn-stubs on his forehead, and a left hand which is not a hand at all, but a massive stone gauntlet. This is an unprecedented moment. It is the first time in history any man has laid eyes on the Hellboy.

That’s a summary of the gripping intro of the script for the adaptation of Mike Mignola’s cult classic comic series, ‘Hellboy’. The draft I read was by soon-to-be-Hellboy-director Guillermo del Toro (currently working on finishing Blade 2), and was written in March, 1999. This script is based loosely on two popular Hellboy storylines, Hellboy’s origin story 'Seed of Destruction’, and the sequel, ‘Wake the Devil’. This script not only combines the best elements of both tales (plus a few in-jokes for longtime Hellboy fans), but has enough cool action, awesome sci-fi and generally entertaining humor that it’d probably work just as well for Hellboy neophytes.

Hellboy is a Dark Horse comic book created and illustrated by Mike Mignola. The character was first created in 1993, and has since gained a large and loyal fan following. While not as popular as Marvel or DCs famous roster of super heroes, Hellboy has attracted a diverse fan base with its witty dialogue and imaginative storylines.

The general idea of the film is this – after being discovered in 1944, Hellboy is trained and raised by the U.S. Government as an agent of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.), which works sort of like a cross between the X-Files and the Men in Black. The B.P.R.D.’s mission is to investigate alien, magical, or mythical sightings, assess the situation, and react accordingly. There are two kinds of B.P.R.D. Agents – there’s the ‘normal’ agents, and the ‘freak’ agents (like Hellboy), who are kept locked up until they are needed for missions. They are given minimal respect, and are often feared.

One of Hellboy’s 'freak’ companions and B.P.R.D. co-workers, who plays a large supporting role in the film, is Abe Sapien, a fish-like man with gills and scales of mysterious origin. Other important characters include Hellboy’s 'father’, the man who raised Hellboy, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (pronounced ‘Broom’), pyrokinetic (which means she shoots fire) B.P.R.D. Agent Liz Sherman, new B.P.R.D. recruit Agent Myers, the evil demon Sammael, and the villainous Grigori Rasputin.

To say anything more might risk ruining the film’s plot, but suffice to say it all comes together really well. The characters are all very interesting and cool, especially Hellboy with his confident swagger, sarcastic attitude, and constant beer-swigging and cigar-chomping. What makes him so great is that despite his utterly beastly appearance, he’s really just a normal guy trying to fit in. And he has some great character moments near the end, which make the role even better.

The dialogue is all fantastic, especially the dialogue between Abe and Hellboy. Hellboy’s dry wit comes straight from his comic series, and it made the conversion gracefully at that. While one or two of Hellboy’s one-liners may come off as hokey, the vast majority of them are pretty damn funny – sometimes even laugh-out-loud funny. Abe and Liz have some pretty classic lines, too.

One new element, however, is the inherent mistrust of the Bureau towards their ‘freak’ agents. In the comics, Hellboy was always trusted, and never locked up. All the agents acted like they barely even noticed he was a towering red demon. However in the script, there is a distinct 'us versus them’ feeling with the ‘normal’ agents. It seems to be part of a trend these days to always make the characters who are different "freaks" and "outcasts", and it’s too bad that had to be applied here. Hellboy works fine with this sub-plot, but it worked better in the comics without it. All this may prove insignificant, however, as I hear that this element has been excised from the script altogether in more recent revisions.

And that’s without even getting to what the film will look like. The physical description of Hellboy alone is enough to make any sci-fi fan salivate: "He’s awe-inspiring. There’s the chiseled bone structure, the bright red, patterned skin and deep set golden eyes. And, finally, there is the LEFT HAND: stone, cracked, aged, but powerful as Thor’s hammer."

For those of you with less imagination, just check out the production painting by Wayne Barlow at the top of the page (made specifically for the film) of Hellboy standing over the battered body of the demon Sammael. Now tell me your jaw hasn’t hit the floor.

All in all, this script was really a gem. This film, if made, has the potential to be a real hit. With an impressive combination of humor, action, and fantasy that is hard to come by, this movie has a lot of potential. And with recent stirrings of Vin Diesel’s (Pitch Black, The Fast and the Furious) possible involvement as Hellboy, Universal pictures just may put this film on the fast track sooner than you think. Vin would be beyond perfect for this part, by the way. So spread the word – the Hellboy is coming. And you won’t want to miss him when he gets here.