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Abe Sapien

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Abraham "Abe" Sapien
Abe Sapien by Mike Mignola
Publication information
PublisherDark Horse Comics
First appearanceHellboy: Seed of Destruction (1994)
Created byMike Mignola
In-story information
Alter egoLangdon Everett Caul
SpeciesIchthyo sapien (formerly human)
Team affiliationsB.P.R.D.
PartnershipsHellboy
Liz Sherman
Notable aliasesAbe, Brother Blue, Fishstick, Waterfisher, King Ocean, The Fish Guy, Creature From Another World, Agent Sapien
AbilitiesUnderwater breathing
Genius-level intelligence
Excellent marksman
Formidable hand-to-hand combatant
Psychometry
Telepathy

Abraham Sapien, born Langdon Everett Caul, is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Ichthyo sapien", the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham Lincoln, on whose assassination date the Oannes Club abandoned Abe's body in a suspended animation tank beneath a Washington D.C. hospital, leaving only a cryptic note as explanation. He is occasionally referred to as an "amphibious man."

In addition to his regular appearances in Hellboy and B.P.R.D., Sapien has also starred in his own comics, with trade paperback collections and omnibus editions including The Drowning, The Devil Does Not Jest and Other Stories, Dark and Terrible and Lost Lives and Other Stories.

Fictional biography

Sapien began his life as Langdon Everett Caul, a Victorian scientist and businessman who became involved with the Oannes Society, an occult organization who believed in life and all knowledge having come from the sea. After retrieving a strange jellyfish-like deity from an underwater ruin, Caul and the other members performed an arcane ritual that inadvertently ended with the creature's release and Caul being turned into an ichthyo sapien. Believing him to be Oannes reborn, the society sealed the developing icthyo sapien's body in a tube of water in the hidden laboratory beneath a Washington, D.C. hospital until such time as he was fully formed. Forced to abandon the site by the outbreak of the American Civil War, the Society never found occasion to return for Caul, and there he stayed until he was found by workmen in November 1978.

With no memory of his life before, the icthyo sapien received a new name from a piece of paper attached to the tube, dated the day of Abraham Lincoln's assassination (April 14, 1865). Abe Sapien was taken to the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD) for a grueling round of research by curious BPRD scientists and was saved from vivisection by an empathetic Hellboy. Thereafter, Abe entered the ranks of the BPRD as a valued field agent, embarking on his first mission with Hellboy in 1979.

At Cavendish Hall, during the climax of Seed of Destruction, Sapien was possessed by the spirit of long-dead whaler Elihu Cavendish. Cavendish was a contemporary of Langdon Caul, who killed the mad monk Rasputin, foiling his plans to unleash the Ogdru Jahad to destroy the world. During the subsequent "Girescu affair" during Wake the Devil, Abe and a fellow agent were led into a trap which left the agent dead and Abe with a broken arm. Rasputin's vengeful spirit appeared before him and prophesied that Sapien will one day be speared to death.

In Plague of Frogs, Rasputin's prediction came true when Sapien was impaled by a spear and apparently killed by one of the Ogdru Jahad's followers. Sapien appeared to die and had an out of body experience that brought him to his former life in antebellum America. Witnessing his past self's actions, Abe entered Caul's body prior to his transformation, creating a spiritual/mystical time loop before Abe returned to live in the present, where he made a fast recovery and began to do research into his past life. As a result, Abe learns of Edith Howard, Langdon Caul's wife, who drowned herself out of madness. She had become a specter, who was finally exorcized after she attempts to have Sapien resume his life as Caul.

In Garden of Souls, Sapien was contacted by Panya, an ageless mummy trapped by the Oannes Society. Members of the society were sequestered away on a hidden island in Indonesia, their now-withered psychic forms contained in cyborg bodies. Aware of the imminent apocalypse, the society was determined to save at least some of mankind's spiritual essence, and were poised to use bombs to cause massive tidal waves which would devastate the southern hemisphere. The souls of those killed could then be harvested by the Society in vat-grown bodies made expressly for the purpose, granting them god-like powers. Horrified, Abe managed to single-handedly destroy the society and escape with Panya, and in so doing finally came to terms with the ghosts of his past; he was truly a separate identity from Langdon Caul, who would likely have agreed willingly to the society's plan. Abe has since fully returned to the BPRD and continues to be one of the most trustworthy agents.

However, in King of Fear, Abe led a return mission into the Hyperborean underworld and was confronted by the supervillain the Black Flame, who had gathered a vast army of frogs and Hyperboreans to usher in the apocalypse. The Flame revealed that Abe was going to be the epicenter of this new Earth and that he was a fully evolved version of the frog monsters: one of the New Men first mentioned in Hellboy: Conqueror Worm by Rasputin. While Abe rejected the idea, many of the BPRD field agents are now wary of him, most notably Andrew Devon; in New World, there is visible tension between Devon and Abe implying that Devon thinks Abe should be much more closely monitored. A vision of the future in King of Fear by Liz Sherman showed that, by that time, Abe will have a more monstrous form.

In Gods, Abe was shot by a psychic girl named Fénix, in whom the BPRD has shown interest. According to Professor O'Donnell, Fénix is equal to the ancient Hyperborean shamans who keep the Ogdru Hem for entering in Earth after Hyperborea's fall using the Vril energy. Fénix says, before shooting Abe, that she knows who he is, implying that she figured Abe's condition as an evolved form of the frog monsters. Abe is last seen in a helicopter, being treated for his bullet wounds. Devon witnesses the shooting, but lies when asked regarding it later.

In Monsters, it is revealed that Abe's condition in the BPRD headquarters suddenly worsened, and, despite putting him on life support to keep his body alive, he suffered extensive brain damage. His doctors declared him brain dead. However, he miraculously recovered, but began mutating further: he grew taller, his limbs and neck lengthening, and his nose receded, all while he was comatose. Abe eventually awakened, discovered his transformation, and stumbled into the empty monitor room, to discover the world in apocalypse while he was out. Panya confronted Abe, telling him what happened and that Hellboy has died. Taking Panya's advice, Abe fled the BPRD, stealing a truck, to go out on his own and discover if he is involved in the apocalypse. Kate Corrigan, highly desiring her friend's return, sends agents to bring him home but eventually give in due to more pressing matters.

In the Abe Sapien series, Abe traveled through the US on a quest to prove he was not part of the apocalypse and avoid the BPRD (fearing death and dissection from Devon's influence), first travelling to the Salton Sea to inspect the Ogdru Hem there, then back to Texas where he was shot and finally to the undersea temple where Langdon Caul found the relic that transformed him. Because of his appearance and heroism, Abe was seen as something as prophet in a growing religion humanity was creating to deal with the "Hell on Earth". Abe although was not the only one looking into his origin, Gustav Strobl was magically weakened due to the turmoil in hell caused by Hellboy and became desperate and disillusioned by the fact it was nearly the end of everything and he didn't have significant part to play. Sensing Abe was important, both men the Black Flame was partially telling the truth. Abe was the "Adam" of the race of man to replace the old after the apocalypse but not instrumental in it and most of all not connected to the Ogdru Jahad and the frogs. Abe was psychically contacted by Shonchin, who revealed that the jellyfish entity was an ancient hyperborean shaman of the right hand, who transcended to that form after being martyred by worshipers of the black goddess. This revelation finally confirmed to Abe that he was a gestalt of the shaman and Caul (a combination of hyperborean and man), destined to usher the next race of man, a amphibious race with a connection and innate knowledge of the Vril.

In The Devil You Know, following the destruction of the Ogdru Hem, the apocalypse resumed after the destruction of a powerful demon when Rasputin was brought back to the physical world, revealed to have become host to the power of the destroyed Ogdru Jahad's power. He was confronted by Abe, Liz and the recently resurrected Hellboy in the streets of New York, where Abe was quickly killed by Rasputin breaking his back. Abe's body fell to the bottom of the river were Ichthyoplankton flowed out of a wound across his chest. After Hellboy killed Rasputin at the cost of his own life, his and Hecate's spirits called upon Liz to cleanse the damaged Earth of the Ogdru Jahad's corruption, releasing her full power, reducing the earths surface to a smoking cinder so Hellboy could enter Hecate (as an iron maiden) and his blood remade the world anew. Abe's spawn survived Liz's cleansing and left the sea to occupy the land where they found Liz in a hyperborean crystal.

Powers and abilities

  • Amphibious physiology: Abe can breathe underwater and swim at a great speed.
  • Excellent marksman and hand-to-hand combatant.
  • Possibly immortal: Abe is exactly 220 years old and technically died twice only to come back to life, also survived numerous wounds that would be fatal to humans.

With his second transformation to his current form, Abe's strength, agility, and speed has significantly increased, performing feats never seen before by him. His speed is at its peak underwater. Lately, by his own admission, Abe has been having an intuition of danger, always knowing something bad is going on before it happens with little to no proof.

In the films, he displays a genius-level intelligence, and has psychic intuition, making him adept at telepathy and psychometry. However, his strength is not increased, while he has superhuman speed underwater. He is also capable of surviving wounds that would be fatal to humans.

Publication history

Issues

Abe Sapien had an internal numbering on the inside cover from its second issue onwards. When the series became an ongoing series in 2013, an ongoing numbering was present on the cover, which reset back 1.[1] However, the internal numbering is still present on the inside cover.

Issue Title Date Story Art Colors Cover Collection
― Drums of the Dead March 4, 1998 Brian McDonald Derek Thompson James Sinclair Mike Mignola B.P.R.D. – VOLUME 1
Hollow Earth
& Other Stories

B.P.R.D. PLAGUE OF FROGS
VOLUME 1
#1 The Drowning February 6, 2008 Mike Mignola Jason Shawn Alexander Dave Stewart Mike Mignola ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 1
The Drowning
#2 March 12, 2008
#3 April 2, 2008
#4 May 7, 2008
#5 June 4, 2008
#6 The Haunted Boy October 28, 2009 Mike Mignola
and John Arcudi 		Patric Reynolds Dave Stewart Dave Johnson ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 2
The Devil Does Not Jest
and Other Stories
#7 The Abyssal Plain June 30, 2010 Mike Mignola
and John Arcudi 		Peter Snejbjerg Dave Stewart Dave Johnson
Peter Snejbjerg (variant)
#8 July 28, 2010 Dave Johnson
#9 The Devil Does Not Jest September 28, 2011 Mike Mignola
and John Arcudi 		James Harren Dave Stewart Dave Johnson
Francesco Francavilla (variant)
#10 October 26, 2011 Dave Johnson
#11 Abe Sapien #1–3:
Dark and Terrible 		April 3, 2013 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Sebastián Fiumara Dave Stewart Sebastián Fiumara
Max Fiumara (variant) 		ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 3
Dark and Terrible
and The New Race of Man

ABE SAPIEN: DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 1
#12 May 1, 2013 Sebastián Fiumara
#13 June 5, 2013
#14 Abe Sapien #4–5:
The New Race of Man 		July 3, 2013 Mike Mignola
and John Arcudi 		Max Fiumara Dave Stewart Max Fiumara
Sebastián Fiumara (variant)
#15 August 7, 2013 Max Fiumara
#16 Abe Sapien #6–7:
The Shape of Things to Come 		October 9, 2013 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Sebastián Fiumara
Max Fiumara (#7 inks) 		Dave Stewart Max Fiumara ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 4
The Shape of Things to Come

ABE SAPIEN: DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 1
#17 November 13, 2013
#18 Abe Sapien #8:
The Land of the Dead[2] 		December 11, 2013 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Michael Avon Oeming Dave Stewart Sebastián Fiumara
Michael Avon Oeming (variant) 		ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 9
Lost Lives and Other Stories
#19 Abe Sapien #9–11:
To the Last Man 		January 8, 2014 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Max Fiumara Dave Stewart Max Fiumara
Mike Mignola (variant) 		ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 4
The Shape of Things to Come

ABE SAPIEN: DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 1
#20 February 12, 2014 Max Fiumara
#21 March 12, 2014
#22 Abe Sapien #12:
The Garden (I) 		May 14, 2014 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Max Fiumara Dave Stewart Sebastián Fiumara ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 5
Sacred Places

ABE SAPIEN: DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 1
#23 Abe Sapien #13:
The Healer 		June 11, 2014 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Sebastián Fiumara Dave Stewart Sebastián Fiumara
#24 Abe Sapien #14:
Visions, Dreams, and Fishin' 		July 9, 2014 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Max Fiumara Dave Stewart Sebastián Fiumara
#25 Abe Sapien #15:
Lost Lives 		August 13, 2014 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Juan Ferreyra Juan Ferreyra
with Eduardo Ferreyra 		Sebastián Fiumara ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 9
Lost Lives and Other Stories
#26 Abe Sapien #16–17:
Sacred Places 		September 10, 2014 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Sebastián Fiumara Dave Stewart Sebastián Fiumara ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 5
Sacred Places

ABE SAPIEN: DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 1
#27 October 8, 2014
#28 Abe Sapien #18–22:
A Darkness so Great 		Grace
December 10, 2014 		Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Max Fiumara
with R. Sikoryak 		Dave Stewart Max Fiumara ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 6
A Darkness so Great

ABE SAPIEN: DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 2
#29 Dayana
January 14, 2015 		Sebastián Fiumara
#30 Megan
February 11, 2015 		Max Fiumara
#31 Arbogast
March 11, 2015 		Sebastián Fiumara
#32 Abe
April 8, 2015 		Max Fiumara
#33 Abe Sapien #23:
The Ogopogo 		May 13, 2015 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Kevin Nowlan ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 9
Lost Lives and Other Stories
#34 Abe Sapien #24–26:
The Shadow Over Suwanee 		July 22, 2015 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Sebastián Fiumara (pencils and inks)
Max Fiumara (inks) 		Dave Stewart Max Fiumara ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 7
The Secret Fire

ABE SAPIEN: DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 2
#35 August 12, 2015 Sebastián Fiumara (pencils and inks)
Max Fiumara (inks)
with Tyler Crook
#36 September 9, 2015 Sebastián Fiumara (pencils and inks)
Max Fiumara (pages 4–9, inks)
#37 Abe Sapien #27:
Icthyo Sapien 		October 14, 2015 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Alise Gluškova Mike Mignola ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 9
Lost Lives and Other Stories
#38 Abe Sapien #28–29:
The Garden (II) 		November 11, 2015 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Max Fiumara Dave Stewart Max Fiumara ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 7
The Secret Fire

ABE SAPIEN: DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 2
#39 December 9, 2015
#40 Abe Sapien #30:
Witchcraft & Demonology 		January 13, 2016 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Santiago Caruso Dave Stewart Max Fiumara ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 9
Lost Lives and Other Stories
#41 Abe Sapien #31:
The Black School 		February 10, 2016 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Sebastián Fiumara Dave Stewart Max Fiumara ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 7
The Secret Fire

ABE SAPIEN: DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 2
#42 Abe Sapien #32–33:
Regressions 		April 13, 2016 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Max Fiumara Dave Stewart Sebastián Fiumara ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 8
The Desolate Shore

ABE SAPIEN: DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 2
#43 May 11, 2016
#44 Abe Sapien #34:
Dark and Terrible Deep 		June 8, 2016 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Sebastián Fiumara Dave Stewart Sebastián Fiumara
#45 Abe Sapien #35:
The Garden (III) 		July 13, 2016 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Max Fiumara Dave Stewart Sebastián Fiumara
#46 Abe Sapien #36:
The Desolate Shore 		August 10, 2016 Mike Mignola
and Scott Allie 		Sebastián Fiumara Dave Stewart Sebastián Fiumara

Collected editions

Trade paperbacks

Number Title Collects Published ISBN
1 Abe Sapien: The Drowning September 17, 2008 9781595821850
2 Abe Sapien: The Devil Does Not Jest and Other Stories
  • The Haunted Boy
    (one-shot)
  • The Abyssal Plain
    (2-issue miniseries)
  • The Devil Does Not Jest
    (2-issue miniseries)
 April 18, 2012 9781595829252
3 Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible and The New Race of Man
  • Dark and Terrible
    (3-issue arc)
  • The New Race of Man
    (2-issue arc)
 December 11, 2013 9781616552848
4 Abe Sapien: The Shape of Things to Come
  • The Shape of Things to Come
    (2-issue arc)
  • To the Last Man
    (3-issue arc)
 July 9, 2014 9781616554439
5 Abe Sapien: Sacred Places
  • The Garden (I)
    (one-shot)
  • The Healer
    (one-shot)
  • Visions, Dreams, and Fishin'
    (one-shot)
  • Sacred Places
    (2-issue arc)
 February 3, 2015 9781616555153
6 Abe Sapien: A Darkness So Great
  • A Darkness so Great
    (5-issue arc)
 July 15, 2015 9781616556563
7 Abe Sapien: The Secret Fire
  • The Shadow Over Suwanee
    (3-issue arc)
  • The Garden (II)
    (2-issue arc)
  • The Black School
    (one-shot)
 June 15, 2016 9781616558918
8 Abe Sapien: The Desolate Shore
  • Regressions
    (2-issue arc)
  • Dark and Terrible Deep
    (one-shot)
  • The Garden (III)
    (one-shot)
  • The Desolate Shore
    (one-shot)
 January 18, 2017 9781506700311
9 Abe Sapien: Lost Lives and Other Stories
  • The Land of the Dead
    (one-shot)
  • Lost Lives
    (one-shot)
  • The Ogopogo
    (one-shot)
  • Witchcraft & Demonology
    (one-shot)
  • Icthyo Sapien
    (one-shot)
  • Subconscious
 June 7, 2017 9781506702209

Omnibus editions

Title Collects Published ISBN
Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible – Volume 1
  • Dark and Terrible and The New Race of Man
  • The Shape of Things to Come
  • Sacred Places
 November 8, 2017 9781506705385
Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible – Volume 2
  • A Darkness so Great
  • The Secret Fire
  • The Desolate Shore
 March 21, 2018 9781506703855
Abe Sapien: The Drowning and Other Stories
  • The Drowning
  • The Devil Does Not Jest and Other Stories
  • Lost Lives and Other Stories
  • "The Calm Before the Storm"
 July 11, 2018 9781506704883

In other media

Doug Jones as Abe Sapien in Hellboy

Films

Hellboy (2004)

In the 2004 film adaptation, Hellboy, Sapien is portrayed by Doug Jones, and voiced by an uncredited David Hyde Pierce who refused credit out of respect for Jones's performance.[3] This version of Abe has a dolphin-like frontal lobe that enables him to transmit and receive electro-psychic information in the same way that cetaceans use sonar. He also has an encyclopedic knowledge of the occult and holds paranormal expertise rivaled only by Professor Bruttenholm. Additionally, he is unable to survive out of water for long periods without a collar-like apparatus that provides water to his gills.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Sapien appeared in the film's 2008 sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, in which he was played by Doug Jones who provides his speaking parts. He doesn't wear his breathing apparatus as much in this film, and he shows his marksman skills in the film. He is also the one who discovers Liz's pregnancy in the mission where Hellboy is revealed to the world. He falls in love with the elf Princess Nuala, which leads to his helping Prince Nuada by giving him the magical crown piece (to control the Golden Army) for her safety, but Princess Nuala kills herself to prevent Nuada from killing Hellboy. While mourning her loss, he decides to follow Liz and Hellboy in leaving the B.P.R.D.

Hellboy (2019)

In the 2019 reboot film Hellboy, Abe appears on the final scene of the film having been discovered by Hellboy, Alice and Daimio inside his stasis tank which is located on a secret facility in the middle of Siberia.

Animation

Abe Sapien is one of the characters appearing in two straight-to-DVD Hellboy Animated films, Hellboy: Sword of Storms and Hellboy: Blood and Iron, in which he is voiced by Doug Jones. This version of the character, although similar to the movie Sapien, is much more like his comic book counterpart, showing signs of neither the psychic abilities nor breathing apparatus. However, he is far faster, more agile and stronger than humans in the films, allowing him to fight giant creatures that only Hellboy is thought to be strong enough to fight.

Video games

Abe is a playable character in Hellboy: The Science of Evil with Doug Jones reprising his role.[4]

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Talkin' Abe Sapien with Scott Allie". Interview. Mignolaversity. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  2. ^ Glendening, Daniel. "Allie & Oeming Ask if "Abe Sapien" is Messiah or Monster". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Doug Jones interview". Horror.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-03. he was quoted as saying, "That was Doug's character and I wanted to leave it that way"
  4. ^ "Abe Sapien Voice - Hellboy franchise | Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. December 20, 2019. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
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