Trevor Bruttenholm
Encyclopedia
Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (icon) is a fictional character
in the Hellboy
comic book
universe, created by Mike Mignola
and John Byrne. His first appearance was in the comic book Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
, issue #1 (1994).
academic well versed in the supernatural, Trevor Bruttenholm was a member of the British Paranormal Society. He was an advisor to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
when the Allies realized that the Nazi
leader Adolf Hitler
was racing to use the occult
to turn the tide of World War II
. Project Ragna Rok
, a plan to use black magic
to win the war, was put in place by the supposedly deceased mystic Rasputin. However, on December 23, 1944 in East Bromwich, England
, a youthful demon
came into the possession of Bruttenholm, not Rasputin. Rasputin retreated to the Arctic
and Bruttenholm named the creature 'Hellboy'.
Bruttenholm and Hellboy developed a very strong emotional bond like that of a father and son, and both joined the U.S. Government's new Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. The two worked closely together to combat supernatural threats to the world. Bruttenholm eventually retired from the Bureau and returned to field work. His position was taken over by Tom Manning
, who is the current Bureau director.
An aged Bruttenholm disappeared in 1992 during the Cavendish expedition to the Arctic Circle. Bruttenholm turned up, alive, in 1994 during the Seed of Destruction arc. Before he could explain himself to Hellboy, he was murdered by a 'frog monster', the first of thousands of such beasts the Bureau would eventually face. Bruttenholm's death signalled the first contact Hellboy would have with emissaries of the Ogdru Jahad
. The man who was ultimately responsible for Bruttenholm's death was a revitalized Rasputin, whom Bruttenholm had encountered in the North. Hellboy stopped Rasputin's plans to free the Ogdru Jahad
and saw the mystic burn alive for his crime.
, first as a young man in 1944 (played by Kevin Trainor
), then as the B.P.R.D.'s aging director in the 2000s (played by John Hurt
).
In the film, "Broom" accompanies the team of American commandos
to stop Rasputin from initiating Project Ragna Rok
. He receives a bullet in the leg from Karl Ruprecht Kroenen
that causes him to limp for the rest of his life, but throws a hand grenade under the portal machine that both destroys the machine and maims Kroenen as he is attempting to retrieve it. When the infant Hellboy
appears, Broom adopts him and dedicates himself to raising Hellboy as a human, despite his demonic origins. The film makes the father-son relationship between the two characters more explicit, with Hellboy always calling Broom "Father."
As the movie begins in the present, Broom discovers that he is dying of cancer, and selects the young agent John Myers to serve as Hellboy's new liaison. He is killed by Rasputin as part of a plot to lure Hellboy to Rasputin's grave, where he can fulfil the purpose he was summoned to Earth for. Before he is killed, Rasputin taunts him, saying that Broom has effectively nurtured a creature with the power, and the destiny, to bring about the Apocalypse
, and also shows him a vision of the post-apocalyptic
remains of New York City
, with the Ogdru Jahad looming overhead and Hellboy, with regenerated horns, standing in the center. Broom returns that he will always see Hellboy as his son, and respectfully accepts his fate and allows Kroenen to kill him.
When Hellboy is about to unlock the key that will release the Ogdru Jahad
from their prison as Anung un Rama, Myers stops him by throwing him a rosary
that belonged to Broom, a reminder that Broom raised him to choose his own path - upon which Hellboy tears away his re-grown horns and kills Rasputin rather than turn the final key.
. On Christmas Eve, Bruttenholm reads his "son" a story about the creation of the Golden Army. In the present, Hellboy wears his father's rosary beads on his wrist, like a bracelet.
The creators of the comic book have stated in interviews that Hurt's portrayal of Bruttenholm was uncanny, as though he had been the original model for the comics character.
Hellboy: Blood and Iron, voiced as a young man by James Arnold Taylor
, and as an elderly man by Hurt again.
In the film, a series of flashbacks show the young Bruttenholm traveling to Eastern Europe to combat Erzebet Andrushko
, an evil vampiress who has been terrorizing Transylvania. He emerges victorious, though the only survivor of his team.
Sixty years later, he is still a member of the Bureau, though no longer Director of Field Operations. Experiencing recurring nightmares of Erzebet's resurrection, he suggests that the entire team be sent on an apparently trivial mission in the Hamptons
, where Erzebet's disciples are indeed working to bring her back. Despite the dangerous creatures fought by the other members of the team, it is Bruttenholm who confronts Erzebet, alone, and manages, despite his age, to outwit and destroy her again.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Hellboy
Hellboy
Hellboy is a comic book superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 , and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
universe, created by Mike Mignola
Mike Mignola
Michael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
and John Byrne. His first appearance was in the comic book Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction is the first Hellboy comic book mini-series, published by Dark Horse Comics. It was conceived and illustrated by Mike Mignola and scripted by John Byrne.This was, in part, the basis for the first Hellboy motion picture....
, issue #1 (1994).
Fictional character biography
A BritishBritish people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
academic well versed in the supernatural, Trevor Bruttenholm was a member of the British Paranormal Society. He was an advisor to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
when the Allies realized that the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
leader Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
was racing to use the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
to turn the tide of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Project Ragna Rok
Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures , the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water...
, a plan to use black magic
Black magic
Black magic is the type of magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers or is used with the intention to kill, steal, injure, cause misfortune or destruction, or for personal gain without regard to harmful consequences. As a term, "black magic" is normally used by those that do not approve of its...
to win the war, was put in place by the supposedly deceased mystic Rasputin. However, on December 23, 1944 in East Bromwich, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, a youthful demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
came into the possession of Bruttenholm, not Rasputin. Rasputin retreated to the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
and Bruttenholm named the creature 'Hellboy'.
Bruttenholm and Hellboy developed a very strong emotional bond like that of a father and son, and both joined the U.S. Government's new Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. The two worked closely together to combat supernatural threats to the world. Bruttenholm eventually retired from the Bureau and returned to field work. His position was taken over by Tom Manning
Tom Manning
Tom Manning is a fictional character from the Dark Horse Comics universe. He is director of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense.Manning has classically been portrayed as a stuffed-shirt bureaucrat who refuses to trust the paranormal members of his agency, even though their presence is...
, who is the current Bureau director.
An aged Bruttenholm disappeared in 1992 during the Cavendish expedition to the Arctic Circle. Bruttenholm turned up, alive, in 1994 during the Seed of Destruction arc. Before he could explain himself to Hellboy, he was murdered by a 'frog monster', the first of thousands of such beasts the Bureau would eventually face. Bruttenholm's death signalled the first contact Hellboy would have with emissaries of the Ogdru Jahad
Ogdru Jahad
The Ogdru Jahad are fictional characters in Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic. They are the Dragon of Revelation, and are destined to bring about the end of the world. Though the Ogdru Jahad are the ultimate antagonists in the series, they are not themselves active, their release from imprisonment...
. The man who was ultimately responsible for Bruttenholm's death was a revitalized Rasputin, whom Bruttenholm had encountered in the North. Hellboy stopped Rasputin's plans to free the Ogdru Jahad
Ogdru Jahad
The Ogdru Jahad are fictional characters in Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic. They are the Dragon of Revelation, and are destined to bring about the end of the world. Though the Ogdru Jahad are the ultimate antagonists in the series, they are not themselves active, their release from imprisonment...
and saw the mystic burn alive for his crime.
Hellboy
Trevor Bruttenholm appears in the 2004 motion picture HellboyHellboy (film)
Hellboy is a 2004 supernatural superhero film, starring Ron Perlman, John Hurt and Selma Blair, directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film is based on the Dark Horse Comics work Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola. It was produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures...
, first as a young man in 1944 (played by Kevin Trainor
Kevin Trainor
Kevin Trainor is an Irish actor. He grew up in Kilkeel, County Down and attended St Colman's College in Newry before going up to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he read English...
), then as the B.P.R.D.'s aging director in the 2000s (played by John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
).
In the film, "Broom" accompanies the team of American commandos
Commandos
Commandos is a stealth-oriented real-time tactics game series, available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game is set in the Second World War and follows the escapades of a fictional British Commandos section. It leans heavily on historical events during WWII to carry the plot...
to stop Rasputin from initiating Project Ragna Rok
Project Ragna Rok
Project Ragna Rok is a fictional plan from Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics.It involved a secret team of Nazi scientists and occultists, headed by Rasputin, aiming at creating a doomsday weapon which could end World War II and bring about a victory for the Third Reich.It was named after the apocalypse...
. He receives a bullet in the leg from Karl Ruprecht Kroenen
Karl Ruprecht Kroenen
Karl Ruprecht Kroenen is a fictional character in the Hellboy comic book series, created by Mike Mignola.In the comics, Kroenen was a relatively unremarkable Nazi SS scientist, whose most distinguishing characteristic was that he always wore a gas mask and protective bodysuit, which Mignola...
that causes him to limp for the rest of his life, but throws a hand grenade under the portal machine that both destroys the machine and maims Kroenen as he is attempting to retrieve it. When the infant Hellboy
Hellboy
Hellboy is a comic book superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 , and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers...
appears, Broom adopts him and dedicates himself to raising Hellboy as a human, despite his demonic origins. The film makes the father-son relationship between the two characters more explicit, with Hellboy always calling Broom "Father."
As the movie begins in the present, Broom discovers that he is dying of cancer, and selects the young agent John Myers to serve as Hellboy's new liaison. He is killed by Rasputin as part of a plot to lure Hellboy to Rasputin's grave, where he can fulfil the purpose he was summoned to Earth for. Before he is killed, Rasputin taunts him, saying that Broom has effectively nurtured a creature with the power, and the destiny, to bring about the Apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
, and also shows him a vision of the post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
remains of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, with the Ogdru Jahad looming overhead and Hellboy, with regenerated horns, standing in the center. Broom returns that he will always see Hellboy as his son, and respectfully accepts his fate and allows Kroenen to kill him.
When Hellboy is about to unlock the key that will release the Ogdru Jahad
Ogdru Jahad
The Ogdru Jahad are fictional characters in Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic. They are the Dragon of Revelation, and are destined to bring about the end of the world. Though the Ogdru Jahad are the ultimate antagonists in the series, they are not themselves active, their release from imprisonment...
from their prison as Anung un Rama, Myers stops him by throwing him a rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
that belonged to Broom, a reminder that Broom raised him to choose his own path - upon which Hellboy tears away his re-grown horns and kills Rasputin rather than turn the final key.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Bruttenholm also makes a cameo appearance in the sequel film, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, played again by Hurt. During the film's prologue, taking place in 1955, the middle-aged Bruttenholm is raising the young Hellboy in secret on a U.S. Air Force base in New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. On Christmas Eve, Bruttenholm reads his "son" a story about the creation of the Golden Army. In the present, Hellboy wears his father's rosary beads on his wrist, like a bracelet.
The creators of the comic book have stated in interviews that Hurt's portrayal of Bruttenholm was uncanny, as though he had been the original model for the comics character.
Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron
Trevor Bruttenholm also appeared in the straight-to-DVD animated filmAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
Hellboy: Blood and Iron, voiced as a young man by James Arnold Taylor
James Arnold Taylor
James Arnold Taylor is an American voice actor, Impressionist, and Announcer. He is the current voice provider for Fred Flintstone as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and also the movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Johnny Test in Johnny Test...
, and as an elderly man by Hurt again.
In the film, a series of flashbacks show the young Bruttenholm traveling to Eastern Europe to combat Erzebet Andrushko
Elizabeth Báthory
Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a countess from the renowned Báthory family of Hungarian nobility. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific serial killer in history, the number of murders has been debated...
, an evil vampiress who has been terrorizing Transylvania. He emerges victorious, though the only survivor of his team.
Sixty years later, he is still a member of the Bureau, though no longer Director of Field Operations. Experiencing recurring nightmares of Erzebet's resurrection, he suggests that the entire team be sent on an apparently trivial mission in the Hamptons
Hamptons
The Hamptons may refer to several villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on the far east end of Suffolk County in Long Island, New York. These townships occupy the South Fork of Long Island, stretching into the Atlantic Ocean. The Hamptons form a popular seaside resort,...
, where Erzebet's disciples are indeed working to bring her back. Despite the dangerous creatures fought by the other members of the team, it is Bruttenholm who confronts Erzebet, alone, and manages, despite his age, to outwit and destroy her again.