Created by comics writer and artist Mike Mignola in 1993, Hellboy is a member of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), an organization that fights monsters and other things that go bump in the night. On April 2, 2004, the character made the jump to the big screen in the eponymous film directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film starred Ron Perlman as Hellboy, Selma Blair as Liz Sherman, John Hurt as Trevor Bruttenholm, and Doug Jones as Abe Sapien.

Here’s the film clip where he protects the box of kittens while fighting the monster in the subway:

Members of the Hellboy cast would reunite for two animated films, 2006’s Sword of Storms  and 2007’s Blood and Iron, and the live action sequel, 2008’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION OF HELLBOY FROM SONY PICTURES

From visionary writer/director Guillermo del Toro (director of Blade II, The Devil's Backbone) comes Hellboy, a supernatural action adventure based on Mike Mignola’s popular Dark Horse Comics series of the same name. Born in the flames of hell and brought to Earth as an infant to perpetrate evil, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) was rescued from sinister forces by the benevolent Dr. Broom (John Hurt), who raised him to be a hero. In Dr. Broom’s secret Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, Hellboy creates an unlikely family consisting of the telepathic “Mer-Man” Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) and Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), the woman he loves who can control fire. Hidden from the very society that they protect, they stand as the key line of defense against an evil madman who seeks to reclaim Hellboy to the dark side and use his powers to destroy mankind.