| NOTE: This page is only about the 2004 film version of Karl Ruprecht Kroenen as the comic book and 2019 film versions of Kroenen were not voted Near Pure Evil, and thus only the 2004 film version of Kroenen's info and crimes should be put here. |
| “ | Karl Ruprecht Kroenen. Hitler's Top Assassin and Head of the Thule Occult Society. | „ |
| ~ Professor Trevor Bruttenholm's description of Karl Ruprecht Kroenen. |
Karl Ruprecht Kroenen is the secondary antagonist of the 2004 superhero film Hellboy, based on the Dark Horse Comics eponymous comic book series.
He is an enigmatic Nazi assassin who came to serve Grigori Rasputin during World War II, assisting him on bringing the Ogdru Jahad, eldrich abominations from another dimension, to the Earth, but their efforts were frustrated by a group of Allied soldiers with Professor Trevor Bruttenholm's help. Years later, Kroenen and Rasputin resurface and restart their plan, with Bruttenholm's adopted demonic son Hellboy being the only one who can stop them.
He was portrayed by Ladislav Beran.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- His tragedy of being cast out after puberty ruined his angelic singing doesn't excuse any of the atrocities he later committed in life. Plus, while his obsession for a perfect body eventually leads him to self-mutilate his loathed "imperfect" body, the dysmorphic body disorder he developed didn't have any influence on any of his crimes.
- Quickly ascends within the Schutzstaffel's ranks by killing any enemies, from within or outside Nazi Germany's regime, of Adolf Hitler, becoming his "top assassin" and becoming the leader of the Thule Society, impressing all his superiors. He was also said to have been a commandant at Auschwitz concentration camp and was indicted in absentia for his “bloodlust” though this mostly relies on fridge horror as it’s offscreen and it’s not specified what crimes he committed there.
- Despite this, it’s not confirmed that he had any genuine loyalty to the Nazis since his backstory indicates that he served Rasputin long before he ever joined the Nazi party, meaning he was only working for them to further Rasputin's plan and likely intended to betray them all along.
- Helps Grigori Rasputin along with some Nazis in his plot to conjure the Ogdru Jahad from their dimension to the Earth so they could provoke the Ragnarok all over the planet.
- Kills many of the Allied soldiers who came to stop Rasputin's experiment, also injuring Professor Trevor Bruttenholm in the process to prevent him from running away.
- Decades after the Allied foil their plans, Kroenen teams up with Isla Haupstein to revive Rasputin, who resorts to resume his work on the Ragnarok.
- Frees Sammael from his museum prison, allowing Rasputin to give Sammael the power of immortality and asexual reproduction to cause catastrophes wherever he went.
- Murders several FBI agents as they look for two of Sammael's eggs and poses as a corpse to trick Hellboy into taking him to the Headquarters of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.
- Fatally pierces Professor Bruttenholm in the neck after he assures Rasputin that he sees Hellboy as his son and not as the agent of destruction he insists him to be.
- Attempts to murder Hellboy and the FBI director Tom Manning when they come across to him as they explore Rasputin's mausoleum to stop his plot, which nearly causes Kroenen to drop them into a spiky pit to dispose of them.
- While the Heinous Standards of the franchise are high, Karl Ruprecht Kroenen is easily the most personal of all of Hellboy's enemies, given how he personally killed his father.
What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]
- Since a majority of his actions are done under Grigori Rasputin's orders, Kroenen fails the Heinous Standards to him, even when compared to more powerful and resourceful villains such as Prince Nuada.
- He is extremely loyal to Rasputin, always following his orders and performing most of the action for him. It's possible that he was similarly loyal to Hitler, given all the men he killed under his orders.
Trivia[]
- Only the 2004 film version of Karl Ruprecht Kroenen from the Hellboy duology counts as Near Pure Evil, as the original comic book version is actually affable to his underlings as well to his friend Herman and the 2019 film reboot version only makes a cameo appearance and doesn't do anything remotely heinous when compared to Nimue.
- Guillermo del Toro originally intended to bring Karl Ruprecht Kroenen back in his planned third Hellboy film, intending to reveal that Kroenen actually survived his presumed death in the first film and was going to have some association with Johann Krauss. Had Hellboy III not been scrapped, it's possible that Kroenen's status as Near Pure Evil could have been affected.
External Links[]
- Karl Ruprecht Kroenen on the Villains Wiki
- Karl Ruprect Kroenen on the Wikipedia
