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Roger is a character featured in the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. series published by Dark Horse Comics. He is an unusually large homunculus, a humanoid being said to be created by means of alchemy.

History[]

Roger was discovered in 1997 in a medieval alchemist's lab beneath the ruins of Czege Castle, Romania by B.P.R.D. agents Liz Sherman, Bud Waller, and Sidney Leach in Hellboy: Wake the Devil. Waller explained that a homunculus is created from blood and herbs, stewed in a jar, and then incubated in horse manure. Although lifeless upon discovery, the as-yet nameless Roger was activated when Liz touched the socket on his chest, absorbing her pyrokinesis as she was subconsciously looking to rid herself of it. As Liz entered a coma, Roger sprang to life in a violent rage, killing Waller before fleeing the castle into the countryside. After Liz was rushed to the hospital under the supervision of B.P.R.D. doctors, Hellboy and Kate Corrigan arrived to find the homunculus in the hope that Liz's power could be restored to her. Meanwhile, the homunculus was wracked by guilt and prayed for God to kill him. However, he soon encountered his "elder brother", a more crude homunculus created before himself.

The brother sought to take revenge on humanity using a colossal homunculus that he created from human fat. The sinister homunculus captured Kate and planned to sacrifice her for use in the giant homunculus. Roger saved her, but his brother entered the body of the gigantic colossus and began to rampage. While Hellboy struggled against the colossal homunculus, Roger intervened by asking his brother to forgive him. His brother forgave him, and Roger was allowed to join the colossus. Roger then used Liz's power over fire to melt the giant body and slay his brother. Roger returned to base with Hellboy and Kate, and restored Liz's pyrokinesis. Roger, now without a source of energy, returned to his comatose state.

Three years later, B.P.R.D. scientists were stopped from dissecting Roger's comatose body by Abe Sapien, who used an overdose of electricity to awaken the dormant homunculus. The B.P.R.D. fitted Roger with a mobile generator and made him an agent. At the same time, they planted a bomb within him to prevent any uncontrolled outbursts. This decision would later be a factor in Hellboy leaving the Bureau. However, during the Hunte Castle affair in 2001, Roger proved himself as an agent at last when he managed to contain the Conqueror Worm (an energy-based monster from space) within himself, which nearly subsumed his psyche as he managed to destroy Herman von Klempt by throwing them both off a mountain. Roger was saved by the ghost of Lobster Johnson, who used a lightning rod to shock the Worm out of Roger.

B.P.R.D.[]

Roger returned to work with the Bureau, fitted with a new generator. Despite his childlike curiosity for the world, many among the Bureau still held a level of distrust over Roger. Indeed, failing them and being plunged back into dormancy was his greatest fear. But time and again he proved himself a capable and reliable teammate. In one case in Venice, Roger even rescued a local goddess named Cloacina from the clutches of a vampire. Ever since then, Cloacina had left an impact in the homunculus, and Roger continued to read more about her in his spare time.

During the invasion of America by frog monsters, Roger grew attached to newcomer and team leader Benjamin Daimio, despite their differing attitudes. Ben regarded Roger more like a rookie agent, calling him 'kid' often as he attempted to accommodate the homunculus, such as trying to give him pants or promising to provide him a sidearm that he lacked. Over time as the B.P.R.D. combated the frogs, Roger began to imitate Ben's mannerisms like smoking. He grew to be very effective in wiping out the frog monsters and eventually got promoted to a leadership role and led his own squadron of agents. However, his new-found cockiness proved to be his undoing. Surprised by the villainous Black Flame, who was leading the frog monsters, Roger and his team were blown to pieces. His death left everyone devastated.

Kate Corrigan went to France to secure an occult text, The Secret Fire, which could restore Roger to full health. However, the ageless marquis who held the book attempted to bargain for Roger's corpse instead, using Kate as collateral. Kate managed to outwit the marquis by releasing the demon Marchosias from the marquis' hold, but in the ensuing carnage the book was lost and Roger's fate was sealed. When Johann Kraus communicated with Roger's spirit and asked him why he had not moved on to an afterlife, Roger explained that because he is not human, there is no place for his spirit to go, so it simply remained within his body. Yet by the grace of Cloacina, he was allowed a small piece of paradise, seen by Johann as an Arcadian landscape surrounding an Etruscan shrine.

Roger told Johann that he was preferred being at peace, and expressed how he disliked killing, and how the war on frogs made him good at it. He made one last request and told Johann that he would like his body to be buried in the ground like a man. Roger's grave, marked with a false identity "Archie Stanton" (a reference to the 1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), was engraved with a quotation from the King James Version of Job Chapter 32, Verse 9: "Great men are not always wise."

Roger's spirit later appeared before Hellboy in Hell in the company of Sir Edward Grey. Sir Edward informed Hellboy that he still had two tasks to accomplish, after which Hellboy took the place of Roger's body on Earth after the brief reunion with his spirit.

Appearances in other media[]

Roger appeared fleetingly in Guillermo del Toro's film version of Hellboy and its sequel, although only in his dormant state. When Trevor Bruttenholm first showed Agent Myers around the B.P.R.D., a large glass display case with Roger inside was visible in the background of a hall of artifacts, albeit only for one brief scene. In 2006, Roger made his debut as an action figure; he was part of the Hellboy Comic line (Series 2) from Mezco Toyz.[1] Roger was one of four figures; the others included Rocket-pack Hellboy, Johann, and the Alien from Seed of Destruction and Conqueror Worm. Roger was also made into a Heroclix figure.

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