“Preacher” is, to put it mildly, more nutty than a thousand Westboro Baptist Churches. Garth Ennis’ legendary comic series is one of the most beloved and bizarre cult classics in graphic novel history, serving as a gory satirical tale of organized religion and the concept of God, told through a cast of characters that is simultaneously gross and engrossing. For those who need a quick catch-up, here’s a guide to “Preacher” and its congregation. Obviously, some spoilers are ahead.
Jesse Custer — The titular preacher who starts the tale following in his strict father’s footsteps as the holy man of Annville, Texas. Jesse is a stubborn, short-tempered man who refuses to listen to the advice of others, even if his life could be on the line.
Ready for it to get weird? Jesse is one day possessed by Genesis, the unholy bastard child of an angel and a demon. The first episode shows Genesis possessing several preachers of different faiths and causing them to explode when their bodies are not suitable hosts. The last person Genesis blows up before settling on Jesse is Tom Cruise. Yes, THAT Tom Cruise.
With Genesis inside him, Jesse is imbued with the Word of God, which gives him the ability to override free will and force others to do his bidding. Unfortunately, his commands are interpreted far too literally, resulting in gruesome deaths for many of the people Jesse affects with his power. Jesse’s new powers also bring some strange visitors to his parish.
Two of these visitors are Fiore and DeBlanc, a pair of bumbling angels disguised as government agents. As angels, they have the ability to instantly respawn, video-game style, whenever they are killed. “Preacher” has a lot of sadistic fun with this ability, as the two seraphim are shot, sliced, and run over countless times. They are on a mission to retrieve Genesis, but this mission isn’t exactly a mission from God.
Jesse also has to deal with a wisecracking, 119-year-old Irish vampire named Cassidy. His vampire powers include immortality, the ability to fix his body by drinking blood, and superhuman strength. So naturally, his introductory scene shows him demonstrating all these powers by killing vampire hunters on a plane, draining their blood, jumping out of the plane, and then surviving the 30,000-foot drop by eating a whole live cow while severely wounded.
The final intruder in Jesse’s life is someone from his past: his ex-girlfriend and gun-for-hire, Tulip O’Hare. Unlike Jesse and Cassidy, she doesn’t have any superpowers. But judging by one of her opening scenes, where she shoots down a helicopter with a bazooka made from tin cans, action figures and cutlery, she probably doesn’t need them.
All these people try to get the intractable Jesse to listen to them, but to no avail. The angels want Jesse to hand over Genesis to prevent a war between heaven and hell. Cassidy wants Jesse to help the angels, too. Tulip wants Jesse to help her with “one more job.” Jesse refuses them all, believing that his powers were given to him to do God’s will at his parish.
But the people of Annville may be too messed up for salvation. The most messed up is Odin Quincannon, a twisted, greedy old man who cares about nothing but his meat plant… and not even the Word of God can sway him to give up his obsession.
There’s also Hugo, the bitter sheriff of Annville, who has lost his faith in humanity after so many years of arresting the dregs of society. But more than that, his jadedness stems from something far more personal…
Hugo’s son, Eugene, attempted suicide by sticking a gun in his mouth, but botched the attempt and ended up distorting his face. For reasons not immediately explained, Hugo has not allowed Eugene to come to church because of the suicide, but perhaps it’s because of the nickname his son now has thanks to his deformity: Arseface.
Perhaps the one sane person in this series is Emily, a devoted single mom who helps Jesse out at the parish. Emily has some dirty laundry of her own, but her duty to her children and her faith are first and foremost in her mind, which makes it very weird when Jesse starts acting weird for no apparent reason.
There’s one final character in “Preacher” who doesn’t appear in every episode, but is essential to the story’s mythos. In some episodes, we flashback to 1881, where a cowboy loses his family during an ill-fated journey to get medicine for his sick daughter. The show has yet to explain who this man from the past is and what he has to do with Jesse, but those who have read Garth Ennis’ book will know. (Major spoilers ahead!)
This cowboy will go on to become The Saint of Killers, an undead spirit wielding two Colt revolvers forged in Hell. The guns never run out of ammo and always hit their target. The Saint is tasked with gathering the souls of those who die through violence, and he is awakened to continue this task when Jesse merges with Genesis. With “Preacher” renewed for another season, expect the Saint to make a huge bang once his dark origins are fully revealed.
