Hellboy has been quite popular, both in the comic book world and in the film world, thanks to Dark Horse Comics. We’ve had multiple animated Hellboy movies, as well as three live-action movies. We now have another live-action Hellboy film: Hellboy: The Crooked Man.
In Hellboy: The Crooked Man, Hellboy and other BRPD agents are transporting a dangerous artifact to their headquarters. When they reach the Appalachian Mountains, the artifact increases in size, overturns the train, and escapes.
The film chronicles their pursuit of the artifact. Hellboy and the agent meet others. They join with them to fight the forces of darkness.
Their journey is one from which we can learn leadership lessons. Let’s dive into those now.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Hellboy: The Crooked Man
1. Some things in leadership are hard to believe, even when you see them:
Bobbie Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph) informed Dennis Gates (Jonathan Yunger) about the contents of the box they were transporting. It was a particularly dangerous spider, known as the funnel-web spider. But the danger wasn’t the most unbelievable thing.
What was the strangest thing? The spider was possessed! Yeah, you heard that right. It was possessed.
Bobbie Jo found the whole ordeal with the spider unbelievable. Even though she had catalogued the spider herself. She’d seen what it was and what it did.
Still… she struggled to believe it.
If you’ve been in leadership long enough, you can understand Bobbie Jo’s disbelief. You’ve seen some pretty strange things. I know I have.
Whether it’s the reasoning behind why things work, how people try to skirt the clock, or the way someone completes their work. It can be hard to believe.
Yet, it’s true. Crazy things work, some people don’t, and then there’s just bad work.
Let’s stop being shocked by what is and try to figure out how to work around them.
2. Leadership is different than anything you’ve done before:
Bobbie Jo was new to field work. As she’s working with Dennis and Hellboy (Jack Kesy), she’s shocked by the things she’s seen in the brief time as a field agent. Some crazy things happen in the world of Hellboy. And Bobbie Jo is seeing them.
Hellboy tells her that field work is much different than doing research. You’re going to see things, hear things, and experience things that are much different from what you’re used to.
Guess what? The same applies to you when you move from your current position to a position of leadership. Things are different. A lot different.
Be prepared to learn new things, interact in new ways, and experience challenging situations.
Leadership is a whole new world. It will be different than anything you’ve experienced before.
3. Hellboy:
This place has the stink.
As Dennis, Bobbie Jo, and Hellboy were transporting the possessed spider, it woke up. The spider had been placed into a deep sleep. It wasn’t supposed to be active.
But something caused the spider to wake up. Hellboy knew what it was. It was the land. The area they were in. Something was calling out to wicked things.
Have you ever been in an organization where nothing seemed to go right? Deals fell through, the turn rate was high, and no one was happy?
It could be the stink.
The stink is an organization that has rotted from within. Nothing you do, nothing you try, will yield the results you expect.
It’s because there’s something inherently wrong.
There are some organizations you can’t change. Recognize it and move on.
4. Bobbie Jo:
Do you mind if we come along?
Tom Ferrell (Jefferson White) arrives at a cabin. A little boy is lying stiff as a board on the group. The little boy had had a spell placed upon him by the witch Cora Fisher (Hannah Margetson). Tom was going to confront Cora.
Bobbie Jo pipes in. She wants to go with Tom. They could all investigate the issue at hand.
What Bobbie Jo did is what leaders do. They identify an issue, form a group, and find a way to contribute to a larger picture.
When’s the last time you asked to be included in something? Have you stepped into new situations, challenges, or processes that you haven’t been a part of before?
Practice asking to be a part of something new or bigger than you’re used to. Ask if you can come along.
You’ll be shocked. People want you along. They’re seeking new partners and individuals who are willing to grow.
5. Grammy Oakum (Suzanne Bertish):
You people want to trade your souls for some balls of poison?
Grammy Oakum was a witch. She knew how to make a witch ball. What’s a witch ball? It was the device used to curse the young boy who was on the floor in the cabin.
When Hellboy’s crew met Grammy Oakum, she was willing to teach them how to make a witch ball. However, witch balls were no small thing to make.
They could cost you your soul.
Know what else could cost you your soul? Leadership.
You may be shocked. Don’t be. Many people have lost their souls because of their thirst for more power through leadership.
You may even be one of those people.
You have to be cautious as a leader. You must watch your motives, heart, and desires. They can all get out of line if you’re not careful.
Don’t let leadership take your soul.
6. The allure of power will call for you:
Tom had met Effie Kolb (Leah McNamara) when he was younger. She called to him. She told him he could have more power than he did now.
Do you know what Tom knew about Effie? He knew she was trouble. Still, he hung around her.
Her siren call, her talk of having power over people, pulled Tom in. He fell for her and the lust for power.
Granted, he broke that call, that hold over him but he fell for it at one point.
Power, especially over others, can sound appealing. So alluring. You’ll begin to desire that power.
You have to be able to resist wielding power over others if you want to be a great leader. Great leaders know they hold power over others but that’s not the point of leading.
When you begin to wield power for power’s sake, you’ve gone to the dark side of leadership. You’re choosing power over influence.
Influence is good. Holding power over someone else, not so good.
7. Bobbie Jo:
How do you get used to this?
Inside of Cora’s house, there was flesh that was empty. The empty flesh was Cora’s. Because of her power as a witch, she was able to leave her flesh and roam the land as an animal.
Bobbie Jo saw Cora come back to her empty flesh. It was disturbing. Cora couldn’t see any way to get used to seeing things like this.
We know that leadership is quite different from other types of work. It challenges us, pulls us, and stretches us to our limits. We do see things that we won’t get used to.
Yet, you continue leading anyway, if it’s your calling.
Leadership can be a challenging concept to adapt to. I can tell you that the longer you lead, the more accustomed you become to it. It may still be a struggle, a challenge, or revolting at times, but you get used to it.
8. Bad leaders will try to bribe you:
The Crooked Man (Martin Bassindale) began to pursue Reverend Watts (Joseph Marcell). Reverend Watts is a blind minister who continues to try to do his best. The Crooked Man understands the Reverend would want his sight back.
So…
The Crooked Man begins to taunt Reverend Watts with power. But only if he’d hand Tom over to The Crooked Man.
What did The Crooked Man have to offer? He could give Reverend Watts his sight back. He could also give him additional years to his life.
All he would have to do is betray Tom.
We may have experienced a leader like The Crooked Man. They promised us the world. They asked us to go above, beyond, and through anything else to achieve the results they demanded.
Except they demanded we do unethical things to get the job done.
Have you been there? I’ve had a boss or two who was like that. It sucked.
We can’t use bribery as a means to get things done. All bribery does is lead down a path that brings more compromise.
9. Hellboy:
Forgiven doesn’t mean forgotten
The Crooked Man raised the dead in the cemetery of the church. Reverend Watts was shocked. The Reverend had said the dead had been dead and buried. Their sins forgiven.
That didn’t matter. Their sins may have been forgiven but they hadn’t been forgotten. The Crooked Man could still see their sin. He called to it. He was able to call them to his cause.
Hellboy recognized this. He knew the sins were forgiven but they weren’t forgotten.
Your team members are going to make mistakes. Things aren’t going to go as planned. They’ll slip up, choose the wrong priorities, or say the wrong thing.
Forgive them. Let them know that you’ve forgiven them. Forgiveness is powerful.
But you also can’t forget some of the mistakes or missteps. Remember them. Hold your team members accountable for repeated mistakes in the future.
10. Your true power lies within you, not in a title:
Tom had long believed the lucky bone had gotten him through his challenges. Hellboy saw through that. It wasn’t the lucky bone. The bone wasn’t fortunate, in fact. It was just a cat bone.
What held the true power? The power was inside Tom all along.
Guess who else has power within? You do!
You have skills, talents, thoughts, and ideas that are powerful. You have to be willing to dig deep, pull them out, and use them.
Don’t doubt the power you have. It’s immense.
