Poor Mr. Amsel. He was not really a bad man. Just not so very bright, was he?—Varvara (Yomyael), to Malcolm Frost, regarding Amsel's firey demise
Robert Amsel was a Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense agent that joined Hellboy on his first mission in 1952. While in the field, Amsel attempted to assassinate Hellboy – a task that ended up being his own undoing.[1]
History
Robert Amsel joined the B.P.R.D. in 1951, having been a security adviser at Princeton University prior.
In April 1952, Amsel was part of a team (alongside Archibald Muraro, Jacob Stegner, and Susan Xiang) sent to investigate a series of supernatural murders in a Brazilian village. Bureau Director Trevor Bruttenholm also announced that Hellboy would be joining the group – though only eight years old, Hellboy had already physically matured and his adopted father saw fit for him to begin taking on assignments. Before the group deployed, Amsel made a secretive phone call to Malcolm Frost: "I think I've got him."
In Brazil, the group split up and Amsel found himself alone with Hellboy. Luring his target into an abandoned building, Amsel destroyed the structure with grenades and left Hellboy for dead. Hellboy was made of sterner stuff, however, and Amsel made a swift escape after incapacitating Stegner and Xiang.
After some time, Amsel and Frost rendezvoused in Buenos Aires. Frost, frustrated by his subordinate's failure, urged him to return to B.P.R.D. headquarters and instead assassinate Bruttenholm. As Robert expressed his extreme reluctance to follow through with this, he suddenly burst into supernatural flame – immolated by the demon Yomyael (in the form of Varvara) to serve as a warning for Frost to keep away from Broom.