Is Hellboy doomed to bring hell to humanity? Will he be the specter that Rasputin imagined so long ago, or does he have a different destiny?

The Wild Hunt is so named because of what happens to Hellboy on the Hunt. The Wild Hunt itself is immaterial to the story. The participants are just another group of whack jobs that want to rule the world. Hellboy's encounter with the giants was the important part of the Hunt.

I have always considered Hellboy to be a meat and potatoes heroe. He's the kind of guy that would have a brew and a meatball sandwich with Ben Grimm while watching a football game, but at the same time, Hellboy also knows exactly what kind of amulet works best against Wights.

I never saw Hellboy at war with himself, as Mignola showed him to literally be last issue. Big Red actively avoided his satanic nature throughout his life. He presented himself as a man, never as a demon.

Lately, though, evil forces reminded Hellboy of his destiny, and he hates it. Hellboy's slaughter of the giants acted as a signal. He was nearing his fate, but not in the way you thought. The slaughter did not draw him closer to hell. Rather, the bloodlust appeared to be a last ditch effort to steer him away from his destiny, which isn't Anung Un Rama but a much nobler calling.

Old friends reinforce Hellboy's faith in himself, and his decision changes reality. Hellboy holds back death, to borrow a phrase from Doctor Who, and this fairy tale ending is quite appropriate given the conflict. On the side of evil, we have the Wild Hunt, Rasputin and bizarre gods as alien as those of Lovecraft. On the side of good sits Morganne of the Fairy, the heroes of Arthurian legend and the characters from Russian folklore. Hellboy is less in the middle than the dark side thinks.

The happy ending gives artist Duncan Fegredo a rare opportunity to show Hellboy at his most playful. Once again, Fegredo gives Alice an earthen beauty, and he adds mortal wrinkles to show that her fire burns bright only for a short while. He gives Le Fey singular dignity. Usually, Morganne is the villain of any piece she's in, but Mignola went back farther in the myths. Fegredo follows his lead. He illustrates her mien as heroic, as well as regal.

Another chapter ends in the saga of Hellboy, and I can't wait to see what happens next. Alice says it best: "Well, I didn't see that coming."

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