3) Hellboy
There’s a running theme on this list of creatures of darkness defying what they are by nature and becoming heroes. Well, Hellboy is definitely the most significant example of this trope. While these others guys might be vampires or possessed by evil spirits or whatnot, Hellboy himself was sent from hell to bring about the apocalypse.
Nazi occultists summoned Hellboy – true name Anung Un Rama – during World War II but the baby demon was instead discovered by US forces and raised to work with the B.P.R.D (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) to protect the Earth rather than destroy it. Over his quarter of a century of history at Dark Horse Comics, the Mike Mignola creation has battled any number of monsters and malevolent entities.
Hellboy is most known to a wider audience from Ron Perlman’s pitch-perfect take on the character in Guillermo Del Toro’s duo of Hellboy movies in 2004 and 2008. You probably know that the pair have been trying to get a third and final film off the ground ever since, and they might just end up doing so very soon.