Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land #1 just gave Hellboy his own scarier version of Skull Island, and it’s a threat to the whole world.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land #1 from Mike Mignola, Thomas Sniegoski, Craig Rosseau, Dave Stewart and Clem Robins, on sale now.
Dark Horse Comics is giving fans an endearing insight into Hellboy’s childhood days courtesy of Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land, where the young demon has a rip-roaring adventure with Professor Broom as they explore the world. While readers might be more accustomed to Hellboy’s older, grittier days saving the planet with the likes of Abe Sapien, but this prequel tells a slightly more relatable story of father and son.
Still, Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land #1 takes the young hero and his adoptive father from an emotional vacation to a shocking battle with monsters as the duo encounters an even scarier version of Skull Island.
In Legendary’s MonsterVerse, Skull Island is the home of King Kong, as well as many other monsters. In 2017, Kong: Skull Island saw the lizard-like Skullcrawlers, not to mention giant versions of spiders, bison, and even large squids. Untouched by time, this land saw monsters worshipped as gods by its indigenous residents. While Kong is the key to this island’s delicate ecosystem, humanity upsets him and sends him off the hinges in the film, setting the stage for the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong.
But in Young Hellboy, Hellboy and Broom head to Peru on an archaeological dig in 1947, but one of the members on board is a religious fanatic. The zealot kills the pilots and attempts to murder Hellboy and his dad, resulting in the plane crashing in the ocean. And as everyone gets out and swims to a mysterious island, giant crabs attacking the humans. Ironically, they’re saved by a giant ape, a behemoth who’s a clear homage to Kong himself.
As they make their way inland, the ape seems to summon other smaller apes to attack Hellboy and his dad as he wants no intruders. Thigns get wilder from there as they find raptors that chase them, forcing them to split up. They even hear gunshots, which leaves them wondering if other pockets of mankind are on the island hunting game like the bigger dinosaurs they saw dead and being fed on.
After they split up, Hellboy’s saved by Scarlett Santiago, the Sky Devil, and a celebrity pilot that he’s clearly in awe of. From their exchange, it’s clear that the young Hellboy knows how dire the situation is, and his only concern is for Broom’s continued safety. beyond the myriad monsters, there’s also quicksand around, evidence of traps and potential sacrifices being prepared.
With humans invading what seems to be holy ground, Hellboy is fearful that the giant ape will come looking for trespassers himself. While Broom’s safety seems guaranteed to a point, the zealot has also found his ear to the island, with his eyes indicating he’s possessed by some supernatural force. And now, Hellboy’s going to have to grow up quickly if he wants to save his dad.
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