Henry Hull
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"One-Eyed" Henry Hull is the protagonist of IDW Publishing's 2023 comic series Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons. A pirate who joined Sir Francis Drake's crew during Drake's circumnavigation of the globe in the 16th century, Hull found himself unraveling a conspiracy to cover up the existence of kaiju, some of which he had personally encountered during an expedition to Monster Island.
Personality
Being a pirate and a drunkard, Henry Hull was a rather unsavory individual, having committed a long list of crimes without an ounce of remorse. However, he proved to have some honorable traits, as he remained loyal to Sir Francis Drake throughout their expedition and appeared to be honest when recounting the story of his encounters on Monster Island.
History
- Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #1-5 (2023)
Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons
Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #1
In 1556, pirate "One-Eyed" Henry Hull found himself in the custody of British colonial authorities in the Caribbean, where he was set to be executed for numerous crimes. Hull bargained a reprieve from the gallows by revealing his knowledge of a lost voyage involving Sir Francis Drake and a fire-breathing dragon. Having piqued the interest of the authorities, Hull went on to describe the tale of Thibauld de Castillon's legendary lost treasure, which the pirate Martin Yanes had buried on Monster Island roughly two centuries prior. More recently, Drake had become aware of the story and shared it with Queen Elizabeth herself, prompting a mission to recover the treasure for the crown during Drake's circumnavigation of the globe. Hull became a member of Drake's crew during this time and joined his expedition aboard the Golden Hind. During the expedition, after Drake had drawn the ire of the Spanish, the Golden Hind became lost in a storm as its crew attempted to escape the Spanish Armada. After the storm subsided, the crew found themselves off the shores of Monster Island, where they bore witness to the arrival of none other than the legendary dragon said to guard the lost treasure of Monster Island - Godzilla.
Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #2
As he recounted his story, Hull revealed that he had attempted to fire upon Godzilla, only to be stopped by Drake, who instead opted to sail around Godzilla in peace as to not draw his wrath. Hull then witnessed the Spanish Armada engage the monster, which resulted in their collective annihilation at the hands of Godzilla. By this point in his story, the authorities began to have doubts about the authenticity of Hull's tale, but nevertheless allowed him to go on. Hull described how the Golden Hind made landfall on the island and encountered giant sea turtles, though at Drake's orders, the men did not attack, allowing the turtles to pass them by without incident. Venturing deeper into the island, Hull and Drake's crew eventually happened upon the wreckage of Martin Yanes' ship, finding the corpse of Yanes himself alongside his journal. Just as Drake and his crew emerged from Yanes' ship, they were attacked by giant bats. Before Hull could go on, he was cut short by the authorities, who found the tale much too ridiculous to allow Hull to continue. After remarking that the Queen was involved in a conspiracy to keep the rest of the world from knowing about these monsters, Hull was dragged off to the gallows to be executed.
Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #3
Just before Hull could be hanged, Sir Francis Walsingham intervened and granted the pirate a stay of execution, having been dispatched to investigate Hull's allegations of a conspiracy involving the queen. Hull told Walsingham of a secret society known as the Sons of Giants, which was formed to conceal knowledge of the monsters from the rest of the world. He also recounted the tale of Captain Cortez Blanco, the lone survivor of Godzilla's attack on the Spanish Armada who had a personal vendetta against Drake. As Hull resumed the story of his encounter with the giant bats, he revealed that he was carried off by one, only to be inadvertently saved by a far larger creature - Ebirah, who killed several of the bats. Just as the crew celebrated their savior, Ebirah began picking off the pirates and devouring them, though Hull and Drake were amongst the crewmen that escaped the creature's wrath. Later, Drake read through Yanes' journal and discovered that Yanes had hidden the treasure in Godzilla's cave, prompting him to craft a plan to get it - by orchestrating a fight between Godzilla and Ebirah.
Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #4
As a reward for Hull's cooperation, Walsingham provided the pirate with a feast. Hull went on to explain how he and the rest of Drake’s crew located Ebirah in an abandoned settlement on the island and angered the crustaceous kaiju by lobbing dynamite at him that they had procured from Yanes' ship. Ebirah gave chase, allowing the men to lure him to the entrance of Godzilla’s cave. Hull and the others then witnessed Godzilla emerge from the cave and engage his rival, just as Drake had planned. With Godzilla distracted, Drake and his crew were free to explore his cave, and eventually discovered what they had been seeking – the treasure of Thibauld de Castillon. However, their elation was cut brutally short by Blanco, who followed the group into the cave and made short work of most of the crew. Meanwhile, Hull also revealed that things had gotten worse for Godzilla, as Oodako joined Ebirah in the fight.
Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #5
While Godzilla faced off against Ebirah and Oodako outside, Hull and Drake were forced to contend with Blanco after he killed the rest of the crew who accompanied Drake in the cave. Hull, however, was quickly incapacitated by a blow to the head, leaving Drake to battle his adversary alone. Ultimately, Godzilla managed to defeat his opponents by stuffing Oodako down Ebirah’s throat and finishing them off with his atomic breath, at which point he returned to his cave to find Blanco and Drake engaged in a brutal fight to the death. Just as Blanco gained the upper hand and prepared to deliver a finishing blow, Godzilla incinerated him with his atomic breath. With no other options, Drake could do nothing but pray, and upon opening his eyes, found that Godzilla had left. Their mission a success, a recovered Hull and Drake collected the treasure and left Monster Island aboard the Golden Hind. Drake went on the deliver the treasure to the Queen as promised and was sworn to secrecy. However, Hull told Walsingham and the authorities present that Drake had recently died anyway, with Hull steadfastly believing that Drake was poisoned by the Sons of Giants in their efforts to maintain the secrets of the kaiju. After Hull confirmed that he had concluded his story and shared all that he knew, Walsingham abruptly and unceremoniously shot Hull dead, revealing himself to be a member of the Sons of Giants before similarly executing the authorities who listened to the story.
Gallery
Henry Hull character sheet
Hull is threatened with execution
Hull and Sir Francis Drake's crew attack Ebirah
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