Hellboy 2 And The Irish Creation Mythology

Improved Essays
In Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy 2, aspects of the Irish myth are seen throughout the story. At first glance, it would seem that the story is once again about a group of misfit heroes that come together to destroy an alien race that hope to destroy humans. However, the story contains many parallels to the Irish creation myth. In Hellboy 2, members of a group called the BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) are called to investigate some odd incidents in the area. After many innocent civilians are attacked, they trace the assailant to an elf prince named Nuada Silverlance who is committing murder to destroy the human race and restore the balance of nature. The reason for his hatred is the betrayal of the elves by the human race. …show more content…
In Hellboy 2, the character Nuada is the last prince and heir of a dying elf race. He believes that humans are the cause of nature’s (and the elves’) destruction, and that without them, nature would be able to thrive again. His father, King Balor of the elves, has remained dormant for centuries. The truce has long been broken as people have expanded all over the world, destroying the natural world, leaving the elves to live underground. This angers Nuada, but his father does not seem to care anymore, so long as there is not another war. Since his father refused to do anything, he decides to use the Golden Army one final time to kill all the humans. Nuada cares greatly for his family but also does not want anyone to get in his way. His father sends his bodyguards to stop Nuada, but his sword skills surpass theirs. He even commits patricide to get the key to the Golden Army. This is in contrast to the myth where King Nuada is killed by Balor, who is the king of the Fomorians. The roles of the characters were reversed to fit the movie’s plot and family dynamic. Nuada’s winning quality is his physical strength. Throughout the film, he relies on his swordship to get what he wants rather than his wits. When prince Nuada is introduced at the beginning of the film, he is shown fighting. Later, when he is faced with Hellboy, he quickly beats him with …show more content…
In the Irish creation myth, each race was stronger and more resilient than its precedent. After each race was wiped out, whether by natural reasons or invaders, a new race succeeded it. In Hellboy 2, the main conflict is between the elf race and the human race. Despite the efforts of Prince Nuada, the humans survive due to population and power. Though the elves have their power of long-life, they do not possess any magical abilities. Because possessing magic in Irish myth is a sign of power, the lack of magic use by the elves could be a reason for their inevitable death. When the elves die, their body turns to stone, as if they were monuments. This symbolizes their role in the modern world. Even though they are forever remembered and captured in a moment in time, they are no longer relevant to the world. Likewise, each race in the Irish myth was remembered and recorded in history. However, with the end of each race came another, making the former unimportant. Another recurring theme in both stories is the role of nature in human affairs. In the Irish creation myth, nature is an external force that is neither good nor bad. It is unpredictable but is always present. The first two races are wiped out by natural forces such as a flood and the plague. The film depicts nature in a similar sense. The Forest God is the last of its kind and mostly lies dormant until it is used for evil purposes by Nuada. It begins to attack cars

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Greek Myth of creation is quite a bit different from both the Ute, and the Hawaiian myths of creation, encompassing more of the influences in its people’s lives and the nature of the Gods themselves. The Greek myth of creation is a very complex system of Gods and Goddesses associated with the natural world and aspects of human nature or the human condition. The high level of detail and multitude of Gods mirrors the intricacies of Greek culture to include emotions felt by its people and the relationships they share with one another and the world around them. Whereas the Ute and Hawaiian Myths of creation focus solely on the world around them leaving its people to be masters of their own daily lives, and in their emotions, reflected in…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the creation myth “The World on Turtle’s Back” the Iroquois Native Americans describe their beliefs about the creation of the world and humanity. The myth exhibits many archetypal settings and greatly resembles the story of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis. The differences between the two creation stories’ archetypal settings, however, illustrate the greatest difference between the two cultures; monotheism and polytheism. Both “The World on Turtle’s Back” and the Book of Genesis involve a tree that connects heaven to earth. In the Iroquois story, it is the “Great Tree… [that] had grown there forever….…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fried, poached, scrambled, boiled, deviled-these are all methods one can cook an egg. In the end, one will still be left with an egg, regardless of how it was prepared or looked. The myths related to the creation of the world are very similar to the concept the various preparations of an egg. The basic components are similar; however the specific way that it is attained differs. Specific differences are found in the creation myths of the Iroquois, the Igbo, and the Christian faith; however the similarities between the myths may perhaps be greater than coincidence and still continue to influence the world we live in today.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Role of Myths in My Life As long as America has been a country, myths have been told. From the United States to Europe and beyond, many myths are a part of culture everywhere. Myths are the ultimate “gather round’ the campfire” type of stories, the kind a grandfather would grab the attention of his grandson with. Some are good, some are bad, some are scary and some are joyful,…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout our lives we are taught different stories that can affect us dramatically, either in a positive way or negative way. During our childhood we read the Tortoise and the Hare, which is a story that taught us the moral, “slow and steady wins the race”. We also read things such as: The Boy Who Cried Wolf, which taught us essentially not to lie, because if you lie enough, you won’t be believed when you tell the truth. These stories taught us valuable lessons growing up, but not only do these children books teach us lessons. As we get older we start reading things known as creation myths in our classes.…

    • 1715 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Kane's Creation Myths

    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Kane is the highest of the four major Hawaiian gods and is the god of procreation, water, wild plants or forest, wild food, sea animals, man and the sun, but out of these all water is the most important, because of Kane's association with water, and sun, he is also associated with storms, thunder, lightning, and rainbows. It is belived that Kane along with Kanaloa traveled around the Hawaiian islands together and as they did so they noticed there was no fresh water to drink or make there awa from so they would open up the ground and fresh spring water would come out, and that this is where all fresh drinking water comes from to this day. In early creation stories, it is said Kane made man after his image from clay from all four directions and…

    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In many Native tribe myths there are gods and goddesses whom are spoken of, such as one of the greatest gods who went by the name Red Man. Within the Cherokee tribe they were connected to the world by spiritual beings, such as elemental gods of the Sun, Fire, and Water. “The Cherokee, or ‘The real people’ lived in what is today present Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina” (Raley). In Cherokee Mythology they believed in one Supreme Being who taught them to treat the world with great respect; to this day, traditions of the Cherokee ancestors are still followed by many. Within believing in one spiritual being the myths told by elders have helped teach the young many lessons in life.…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The World on the Turtle’s Back” Analysis Essay “The World on the Turtle’s Back” is an Iroquois myth that attempts to explain the creation of the world through the usage of fable and folktale-like elements. It also utilizes many different forms of language and expression in order to create a coherent story that feels surreal while maintaining an almost wistful atmosphere. All in all, the myth accomplishes its goal of “teaching” about the creation of the world and the Iroquois culture while employing unique, yet appropriate usage of language. The genre of the story is a myth, as it states in the title.…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The myths that I choose to compare and contrast their major elements are the Ute Creation Myth and the Hawaiian Creation Myth. These two myths are similar but they possess some differences as well. In the creation in the Ute Myth there was a spirit in the sky named “Manitou” alone in the heavens with the clouds, sky, and sun. However, in the beginning of the Hawaiian Myth there was only darkness, from there the night was born as a male creature, meanwhile the female one was the essences of the darkness itself. But, both tales the way that things came into the world have a similar order, the creation stared with plants which surrounded the earth, the fishes, birds, and lastly animals.…

    • 123 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Creation myths seem to merely explain the formation of man and the universe’s existence. However, the myths explain views on women and children, provide people with a sense of faith, and use symbols to convey a second meaning. Both creation myths, “Yahweh” and Iroquois, form the foundation of culture, because of the similar views on the representation of the holy tree and contrasting views concerning the appearance of humans on Earth. The Iroquois and “Yahweh” are similar in the interpretation of the significance of the holy tree in their culture.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Works of literature are a reflection of the time period they were written in; they explore the inner workings of the society and examine the most prominent issues of the time. Therefore, as time passes and humanity changes, the issues addressed evolve accordingly, with the exception of one issue, which endured the tests of time and remained one the most recurring themes in literature, the battle between good and evil. The theme made its first appearance in creation stories and while the stories differ between one culture and another, the theme of good and evil remained intact. To illustrate, in the Abrahamic religions’ version, Adam and Eve’s fall from heaven is caused by Satan, the very root of all evil. Centuries later, the battle between good and evil continues to be tirelessly fought whether in literature or other creative mediums.…

    • 1481 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The two chosen myths represented are the Greek and Egyptian creation myths. The Greek Creation myths is represented by the earth, and the sky as the earth Goddess, Gaia was created from the raging chaos that existed before the beginning of time. She gave birth to Uranus, the king of the sky. They became the first husband and wife. The underworld is represented because Gaia and Uranus bore many children, but they were monsters with 100 arms and one eyed creatures called Cyclops (University of Phoenix,,1995-2020).These monsters were like giants.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Hero Myths

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Differences and Similarities of Hero Myths Across Cultures Heroes are a central theme to myths all cross the world. The idea of a hero transcends both time and geographical boundaries. Even in modern times, heroes are the subject of innumerable movies, books, and video games. Humanity loves their heroes; they often act as paragons of everything their respective culture idealized. By comparing the similarities and differences of the archetypal hero’s journey of antiquity across culture to culture, we can track the differences in values, and history.…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The creation of monsters like vampires and zombies presents itself as an allegory the “day to day existence.” Articles like “Why Vampires Never Die” by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan and “My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead “ by Chuck Klosterman emphasizes the correlation between folktale and reality. The difference between Folktale and reality is that folktale and reality is that folktale are variations of stories from many cultures, while reality is something that exist and can be proven. This creates room for the idea of death to be a significant aspect to the rise of monstrous beings, as listed prior. The idea of what happens after life, known as death varies amongst cultures and…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Question #1 Part A: Anthropologists ask: How do different cultures define art, and what purposes does art serve? Use any type of art which you would like to explain the anthropological perspective on art. Be sure to refer to some key concepts discussed in the class lectures related to art. Part B: The anthropology of art does not treat such artifacts as “exotic objects,” but instead examines them for the roles they play in people’s lives.…

    • 1326 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays