Liz Sherman
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth 'Liz' Sherman is a fictional character
appearing in the Hellboy
comic book
series created by Mike Mignola
.
, on April 15, 1962, Liz had a normal childhood until her pyrokinetic abilities began to manifest themselves when she was ten. Raised Catholic, Liz felt that the fires were a result of her sins, and for a short time managed to keep the fires under control by a combination of prayer and sheer force of will. However, in July 1973, at age eleven, she once again lost control. The resulting eruption destroyed an entire city block and, among the thirty-two fatalities, took the lives of her parents, brother, and pet dog. Liz's last uncontrolled manifestation took place on July 4, 1984.
After being juggled between extended family members following the death of her parents, Liz was taken in by the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
in May 1974, where she learned to control her power to some degree. In 1980, she became a full agent. She is often teamed with Hellboy
and Abe Sapien
. However, her childhood trauma has left her bitter and she often leaves the B.P.R.D. only to return soon afterwards.
the Homunculus
, and falls into a coma as a result. Liz is taken to the Wauer Institute in Tirgoviste, Romania, until Roger later returns her powers to her after being plagued by guilt concerning the incident.
s in the Agartha Temple in the Ural Mountains
. She returns to the B.P.R.D., and does her best to accept the changes that have been made to the team.
As a result of her time amongst the monks, Liz now has complete control over fire: she can produce small hand-sized flames to light her way in darkness, she can erupt in a furious explosion of fire to destroy anything around her (the use of her powers on this scale seemingly require her to chant a mantra
: "The fire is not my enemy, it is a part of me, it is mine", and can also manipulate fire into shapes and designs. Her powers have become greatly magnified by an ancient object revealed to her in a dream by the mysterious Memnan Saa. This dramatic increase in her already considerable powers allows her to burn the towering Katha-Hem entity to dust.
Even after defeating Katha-Hem, Liz continued to be plagued by horrible visions and mysterious dreams featuring Memnan Saa; as a result, Liz started losing sleep and becoming more irritable and less reliable. These dreams came to a height during the Killing Ground story arc, where Saa took advantage of Ben Daimio
's transformation to fully possess Liz and drive her into a coma until the ghost of Lobster Johnson
appeared and freed her.
Recently, Liz has been kidnapped by Memnan Saa for an unknown reason. The rest of the B.P.R.D. team tracked her down and Saa was killed, but Saa had claimed that, using Liz's pyrokinetic power, he'd be able to prevent the upcoming apocalypse. Following this, in a mission to the underworld, Saa's ghost intercepted Liz and showed her a new vision of the future: the apocalypse successful. Under the guidance of a mysterious aged man, she unleashed her full pyrokinetic powers, incinerating this world - and sending a vast wave of fire that wiped out a combined frog/Hyperborean army gathered by the Black Flame. This ended the threat of all these menaces for good but caused devastation across Earth, and left her without her powers, if this is permanent or temporary remains to be seen.
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...
appearing 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...
series 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...
.
Fictional character history
Born in Kansas City, KansasKansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
, on April 15, 1962, Liz had a normal childhood until her pyrokinetic abilities began to manifest themselves when she was ten. Raised Catholic, Liz felt that the fires were a result of her sins, and for a short time managed to keep the fires under control by a combination of prayer and sheer force of will. However, in July 1973, at age eleven, she once again lost control. The resulting eruption destroyed an entire city block and, among the thirty-two fatalities, took the lives of her parents, brother, and pet dog. Liz's last uncontrolled manifestation took place on July 4, 1984.
After being juggled between extended family members following the death of her parents, Liz was taken in by the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense is a fictional organization in the comic book work of Mike Mignola, charged with protecting America and the world from the occult, paranormal and supernatural. It maintains the services of several supernatural persons, including Hellboy. The B.P.R.D...
in May 1974, where she learned to control her power to some degree. In 1980, she became a full agent. She is often teamed with 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...
and Abe Sapien
Abe Sapien
Abraham "Abe" Sapien is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Icthyo sapiens," the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham Lincoln, on whose assassination date...
. However, her childhood trauma has left her bitter and she often leaves the B.P.R.D. only to return soon afterwards.
Wake the Devil
Liz briefly tries to rid herself of her pyrokinesis by using it to jumpstart RogerRoger (Hellboy)
Roger the Homunculus is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He is an unusually large homunculus, a humanoid being said to be created by means of alchemy....
the Homunculus
Homunculus
Homunculus is a term used, generally, in various fields of study to refer to any representation of a human being. Historically, it referred specifically to the concept of a miniature though fully formed human body, for example, in the studies of alchemy and preformationism...
, and falls into a coma as a result. Liz is taken to the Wauer Institute in Tirgoviste, Romania, until Roger later returns her powers to her after being plagued by guilt concerning the incident.
Back with the Bureau
In order to learn how to better control her pyrokinesis, Liz lives with a society of monkMonk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s in the Agartha Temple in the Ural Mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
. She returns to the B.P.R.D., and does her best to accept the changes that have been made to the team.
As a result of her time amongst the monks, Liz now has complete control over fire: she can produce small hand-sized flames to light her way in darkness, she can erupt in a furious explosion of fire to destroy anything around her (the use of her powers on this scale seemingly require her to chant a mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
: "The fire is not my enemy, it is a part of me, it is mine", and can also manipulate fire into shapes and designs. Her powers have become greatly magnified by an ancient object revealed to her in a dream by the mysterious Memnan Saa. This dramatic increase in her already considerable powers allows her to burn the towering Katha-Hem entity to dust.
Even after defeating Katha-Hem, Liz continued to be plagued by horrible visions and mysterious dreams featuring Memnan Saa; as a result, Liz started losing sleep and becoming more irritable and less reliable. These dreams came to a height during the Killing Ground story arc, where Saa took advantage of Ben Daimio
Ben Daimio
Ben Daimio is a fictional character in the Dark Horse Comics universe. He works for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.-Fictional character biography:...
's transformation to fully possess Liz and drive her into a coma until the ghost of Lobster Johnson
Lobster Johnson
Lobster Johnson is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and Bureau For Paranormal Research and Defense comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He was created by Mike Mignola....
appeared and freed her.
Recently, Liz has been kidnapped by Memnan Saa for an unknown reason. The rest of the B.P.R.D. team tracked her down and Saa was killed, but Saa had claimed that, using Liz's pyrokinetic power, he'd be able to prevent the upcoming apocalypse. Following this, in a mission to the underworld, Saa's ghost intercepted Liz and showed her a new vision of the future: the apocalypse successful. Under the guidance of a mysterious aged man, she unleashed her full pyrokinetic powers, incinerating this world - and sending a vast wave of fire that wiped out a combined frog/Hyperborean army gathered by the Black Flame. This ended the threat of all these menaces for good but caused devastation across Earth, and left her without her powers, if this is permanent or temporary remains to be seen.
Relationship with Hellboy
In the Hellboy film series Liz has a romantic relationship with Hellboy, becoming pregnant with his twin children. However, in the Hellboy comic books Liz and Hellboy are just friends; there is no hint of a romantic relationship between the two of them and she is more like a little sister than a girlfriend.In other media
- Liz Sherman was played by Selma BlairSelma BlairSelma Blair is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. She has performed in feature films including Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing, Hellboy, The Fog, Purple Violets and Hellboy II: The Golden Army...
in the film adaptationHellboy (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...
of the Hellboy comics. Blair reprised her role in the film's sequel and two straight-to-DVD animated Hellboy films. In the second live-action film, she is revealed to be pregnant with Hellboy's twin children after being scanned by Abe SapienAbe SapienAbraham "Abe" Sapien is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Icthyo sapiens," the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham Lincoln, on whose assassination date...
. - Liz was one of the first four Hellboy Comic action figures produced in 2005 by Mezco ToyzMezco ToyzMezco Toyz is a toy company that makes action figures and other collectibles based on original and licensed properties. Its most popular product is the cult hit toy line Living Dead Dolls. Other popular licensed properties include Family Guy, South Park and Hellboy...
. She appeared with Hellboy, Lobster JohnsonLobster JohnsonLobster Johnson is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and Bureau For Paranormal Research and Defense comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He was created by Mike Mignola....
, and Herman von Klempt and Kriegaffe #10Herman von KlemptHerman von Klempt is a villain created by writer/artist Mike Mignola for the Dark Horse Comics series Hellboy. He first appeared in the Comics Buyer's Guide.-Character Biography:...
.