Nerdist Builds HELLBOY's Right Hand of Doom

Mallets are pretty cool. Huge clubs aren’t bad. But if you really want to inflict some blunt-force damage to a demon’s skull or a werewolf’s sternum, no weapon can compete with Hellboy’s trademark Right Hand of Doom. The red brimstone fist is the trademark feature of Mike Mignola’s heir apparent to the Devil’s throne, and is therefore one of the coolest weapons/appendages in all of comics. We’re clearly obsessed with its look and heft, so we wanted to see what it would look like for real.

With the new Hellboy film, directed by Neil Marshall and starring Stranger Things‘ David Harbour as the titular hero, hitting theaters this April, Nerdist sent Dan Casey to make our demonic dream a reality. We enlisted the help of Fon Davis and Fonco Studios to make the Big Red Machine’s iconic Right Hand of Doom and raise a little hell of our own.

It takes a lot of work to whip up such a massive mitt, but the folks at Fonco make it look easy. After creating the distinctive look of the new film’s Hand, using foam and clay, they make a mold which they then fill with fiberglass to hold the shape. Once it hardens and a space for an arm to go, Dan’s ready to do some damage. In slow motion, of course! Bowling balls, energy drinks, zombie heads–nothing is safe, not even Dan’s pristine wardrobe.

Do check out our gallery of doomy, handy goodness from the epic build in the gallery below. And make no mistake, that prop is sturdy. Dan’s deltoids are forever changed by the experience. We’re not really sure how David Harbour did it.