The Saint of Killers is a fictional character who appears in the comic book series Preacher, published by Vertigo Comics in 1995. Writer Garth Ennis created the Saint of Killers with artist Steve Dillon. The Saint is described as "a grim, taciturn, implacable killing machine" with supernatural abilities involving divinity, immortality, and influence over Heaven and Hell. His goals typically center on bringing down individuals through destruction and death by the laws of Paradise.
The Saint of Killers first appeared as a heartless murderer. He is transformed into the Angel of Death, tasked with collecting the souls of those who die by violence. The Saint was a primary antagonist in the Preacher series, who is ordered by Heaven to kill protagonist, Jesse Custer, due to his possession by the entity Genesis. Aside from Ennis and Dillon's Preacher, the Saint was featured in his own four-issue limited series, Preacher: Saint of Killers, which expanded on the Saint's background and motivation, and has appeared briefly in the DC Comics series Hitman. He was portrayed by Graham McTavish in the television series adaptation of Preacher. The Saint's character and the nature of his evil have been the subject of considerable critical attention.
Empire ranked The Saint of Killers number 43 in their 50 Greatest Comic Characters of All Time, Topless Robot placed him number 3 in their Top 10 Least Heroic Antiheroes, What Culture placed the Saint #57 on their list of the 100 Greatest Comic Book Villains Of All Time, and the character ranked #74 on IGNs Top 100 Comic Book Villains compilation.
Publication history
In his foreword to Preacher: Ancient History, Ennis reveals that Clint Eastwood provided the inspiration for the character of the Saint of Killers, specifically his character William Munny in the film Unforgiven. Ennis wanted to evoke the image of the outlaw, while also emphasizing the Saint's role as a sinner - one who is "unforgiven". Artist Steve Dillon based the Saint's face on actor Lee Marvin.
Regarding the Saint's origin story, Ennis declared, "His story is a myth. All Westerns are."
Fictional character biography Origins The Saint of Killers' past fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War and was one of the most violent, bloodthirsty soldiers on the battlefield. His reputation grew throughout the conflict, and after the war he was held in high regard and feared not only by the people he fought against and alongside, but by people who'd only heard of his legend. When the war ended, he returned to Texas, earning money from bounties on Indian scalps.
During a raid on a group of Apaches, he met a captive young lady. Although he maintained that his intention was not to save her and only did because she happened to be there, she was quite thankful and insisted on staying with him instead of returning to her home in Laredo, Texas. She saw a good man within him, and felt it her mission to bring the goodness out. They were together for a decade, had a daughter, and lived off the land, happy and settled. For the first time in his life, the Saint of Killers felt satisfaction and knew that there was more to his life than killing and the sport of death.
At some point, his wife and daughter caught a fever and became bedridden, with the only medicine being a week away by horse. He pledged to get the medicine and get back in time. However, he was delayed in the town of Ratwater, Texas, by a gang of outlaws led by Gumbo McCready. As a result, by the time he returned home, his wife and daughter were already dead. Grief-stricken, he returned to the town of Ratwater and went on a killing spree, hunting down each of the gang members until all but McCready were dead. McCready took a girl hostage, but the gunslinger shot her through the head to get to his prey. However, that turned out to be his last bullet, and McCready was able to get the advantage, knocking him out and impaling him through the chest with a shovel.
The Making of the Saint Due to his many murders, the soldier was sent to Hell. When a soul enters Hell, the horror of the environment's sheer hostility evaporates away the humanity and emotion from it, but the soldier's hatred was so strong, it was able to persist. The freezing cold soul of the gunman caused Hell to literally freeze over, drawing the Devil out of his palace to investigate.
The Devil tried beating the hatred out of the soldier, to no avail. Eventually the soldier revealed his history, the source of his hate, and his continuing desire for vengeance. The Angel of Death, in the area for a poker game and weary of his position, suggested a solution to both of their problems: the gunman would take his place, bringing death at God's will. He would wield two pistols, cast from the Angel's sword, and he could have his revenge and much more. The man agreed. The Devil tended to the gunman's wounds, the magical Walker Colts were cast, and the man left Hell—but not before gunning down the Devil after the latter insulted him.
He returned to earth and slaughtered everyone in the town of Ratwater, including McCready and the corrupt preacher who traveled with him. His killing was indiscriminate: no man, woman, nor child in the town was spared. Due to his dangerously uncontrollable nature, Heaven arranged for him to be put into a deep slumber, until God had need of him as His instrument of death and destruction.
Four years after the events at Ratwater, he was summoned at a place called Wounded Knee Creek.
The Preacher For the final time, an Angel was sent to wake the Saint of Killers and to instruct him with the task of finding and killing a young man named Jesse Custer. Before being shot through the head by the Saint, he spoke to him about the offspring of both demon and angel, Genesis; whose power was greater than God's. Because of Genesis's possession of Jesse, the young preacher has been granted ability of The Word of God, allowing him to give vocal orders that cannot be disobeyed, and this frightened the Angels.
The Saint agreed. Within a few hours of appointment, he shot his way through the county sheriff's department and was hot on Custer's trail. He eventually found Jesse in a small motel, but both of his guns were stayed by Jesse's voice. This marked the first time that the Saint of Killers was held back from his mission, and a target was allowed to flee. Apart from that, the angel revealed that God, the only power in the Universe that could command the Saint, abandoned Heaven. He let the Preacher go, but vowed to track him down.
He crossed Jesse's path after Jesse left Angelville, the estate of Marie L'Angell, the monstrous matriarch of the L'Angell clan. Angelville was burned to the ground, and all of L'Angell's henchmen were killed. Jesse eluded him for a while, but it was time for the Saint to find him again. The Saint realised that without God in Heaven, there was no one who could command him. The Saint was now able to follow his own path to find Jesse Custer, with no constraints. He travelled to Las Vegas, to find the angels, who started a casino and were easy to find. In their terror, the angels told him everything – Jesse went to France to confront The Grail, a worldwide organization dedicated to triggering the Apocalypse and ruling the world. The Saint hijacked a freighter, killing everyone on board, and sailed it directly to Europe. When he discovered The Grail's headquarters, he homed in on Custer. The Preacher was in a basement with The Grail's Sacred Executioner, Herr Starr; and the Saint was more than willing to kill both Custer and Starr.
Yet again, his hand was stayed. In their possession, The Grail held captive an Angel, to which the Seraph told them that the entity Genesis was the key in gaining answers to God's abandonment of Heaven, as well as the reasons as to why the Saint's wife and daughter died; which intrigued the man, thus taking up the offer. He held off the soldiers of The Grail, giving both Jesse and Starr the chance to get the information they needed from the Seraph – they learned that Jesse possessed all the knowledge of Genesis, but in order to unlock its memories they should travel to the American West and use Native American peyote. Jesse and Starr escaped before the whole base exploded, burying the Saint under several millions of tons of rock and masonry, from which the Saint unearthed himself and made his way back to the United States of America.
Many months later, the Saint encountered Custer and Tulip O'Hare. Jesse told the Saint the truth about why McCready delayed him from his family, which revealed that their deaths were not accidental. Discovering the truth placed the Saint into a fit of rage, and he stepped out and confronted the forces of the U.S. Army and the Grail; single-handedly taking on hundreds of soldiers, tanks and helicopters, and destroying every force that was pitted up against him, which drove Starr to pressure the President into sending a stealth bomber to Monument Valley, turning it into an irradiated wasteland with the Saint in the center of it.
Amongst the flames and the ubiquitous radiation, the Saint stood up and spat, "Not enough gun."
God With no one to command him and no targets, the Saint had no purpose. His activities during this point in time are relatively unknown; though after one year he felt a strong sensation which compelled him to go back to Ratwater, Texas, where Jesse was with the Saint's human remains.
Custer told the Saint everything he learned in his quest for God – that God was an attention-fiend, and that he was willing to cause pain, destruction and death for no other reason than to see who would love him. He sparked a war between the angels to find out who would stay on his side. He created a world full of humans who would fight in his name, just to see who adored him more, and that he engineered the creation of Genesis, a being as powerful as Him, in order to see if He could make it love Him.
Custer had a plan; a way of paying God back for the horrors he inflicted upon his creation. But Jesse would require the Saint's help if such a thing were to work. The guns the Saint carried were lethal – no shot hit that did not kill, and their first kill was none other than the Devil himself. But they couldn't simply shoot God, as he shielded himself from Jesse and Genesis's detection. As long as they were looking for Him, God wouldn't budge, but it was the belief of Jesse that if Genesis were out of the picture, that God would head straight for Heaven, where the Saint of Killers would be waiting for him.
When the Saint entered Heaven, the entire Heavenly host was arrayed against him. Rank upon rank of angel flew to keep him away from the heavenly gates, and they were all shot down by his guns. After Jesse's plan worked with Genesis released and God returning to retake his throne, the Saint was waiting for him. God begged for his life, and offered the Saint whatever he wanted – power, life, the lives of his family, anything. But the Saint didn't want anything God offered him. All he wanted, he said, was to rest. The Saint of Killers shot God dead and sat on His throne, pulling his hat over his eyes, and went to sleep, presumably forever.
Characterization
Appearance
The Saint of Killers' body is humanoid and its composition is similar to that of a normal human, with a build similar to a tall muscular male in great physical shape. He is extremely imposing in both height and relative size throughout the Preacher series; generally remains above that of average human height; is distinctly broad-shouldered, generally towering over his fellow characters, including Jesse Custer. Chronologically speaking, his first description was given as, "Just a stooped and weathered man on a flea-bit mare, the Walker Colt worn backwards on his hip and the Henry rifle by his saddle silent now for many a year."