The Saint of Killers' Quest
Sent to kill a preacher, he ends by hunting God.
The Saint of Killers' quest is the long pursuit of Jesse Custer that runs through Preacher. An angel wakes the Saint from his slumber and instructs him to find and kill the young preacher possessed by Genesis. Within hours he shoots his way through the county sheriff's department and catches up with Jesse at a small motel, where Jesse's Word stops both of his guns.
Quick Facts
- Character
- The Saint of Killers
Lore & Background
The Saint learns that God, the only power able to command him, has abandoned Heaven, and he keeps hunting Jesse on his own account. He frightens the angels in Las Vegas into telling him that Jesse has gone to France, hijacks a freighter and sails it to Europe. At the Grail's headquarters a captive angel promises answers about the deaths of his wife and daughter, so he holds off the Grail's soldiers while Jesse questions it, and he is buried when the base explodes.
Reader's Guide
At Monument Valley Jesse tells him that his family's deaths were arranged, and the Saint turns his rage on the army and the Grail and walks out of a nuclear blast. A year later Jesse meets him at Ratwater and proposes a plan against God. Once Genesis is released God returns to Heaven, where the Saint has shot down the angels; the Saint kills God, sits on the throne and goes to sleep.
Origins and Inspiration
The character's conception draws heavily from cinematic Western archetypes, specifically Clint Eastwood's portrayal of William Munny in Unforgiven. Creator Garth Ennis sought to embody the unforgiven outlaw, while artist Steve Dillon modeled the Saint's visage after actor Lee Marvin. Ennis explicitly framed the backstory as a mythic construct, noting that all Westerns operate within this legendary space rather than strict realism. This foundation established a figure who was not merely a villain but a force of nature rooted in American folklore and the harsh realities of the frontier.
Tragic Backstory and Descent
Before becoming a supernatural entity, the Saint was a brutal Confederate soldier whose violence earned him infamy during the Civil War. Post-war life in Texas offered a brief respite when he formed a family with a woman who believed she could redeem his soul. Their decade of peace shattered when illness struck his wife and daughter; a delay caused by outlaws in Ratwater meant he arrived too late to save them. Consumed by grief, he slaughtered the gang responsible, only to be killed himself while executing a hostage to reach his final target. This cycle of loss and vengeance set the stage for his transformation into something far more terrifying.
Supernatural Transformation
Upon death, the Saint's soul descended into Hell, but his hatred was so potent it physically froze the infernal landscape, forcing the Devil to confront him directly. When the Devil failed to break his spirit, the Angel of Death intervened, offering a deal: the gunman would assume the role of divine executioner in exchange for unlimited vengeance. Equipped with Walker Colts forged from the Angel's own sword, he slaughtered the Devil and returned to Earth to wipe out Ratwater entirely. His uncontrollable wrath eventually led Heaven to imprison him in a deep slumber until his services were required again as an instrument of absolute destruction.
Legacy and Critical Reception
As a primary antagonist in Preacher, the Saint is tasked with hunting Jesse Custer due to the latter's possession by Genesis, a being whose power rivals God. Despite this cosmic conflict, the character has achieved significant acclaim outside the narrative. His portrayal in the television adaptation by Graham McTavish further cemented his status as an iconic figure. Critics frequently analyze his unique brand of evil, which blends biblical wrath with the gritty aesthetic of a Western gunslinger, securing his place among the most memorable villains in comic book history.
Elsewhere in Preacher
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