Jesse Custer

Real Name: Jesse Custer

Identity/Class: Human mutate (magically mutated)

Occupation: Former Priest

Affiliations: Tulip O'Hare (girlfriend); Cassidy (ally)

Enemies: Arseface; the Saint of Killers, God, the Grail, Herr Star, Odin Quincannon

Known Relatives: John Custer (father, deceased); Christina L'Angello (mother); Marie L'Angello (grandmother, deceased); Grand Pere Daronique (uncle)

Aliases: Preacher

Base of Operations: Mobile across America; formerly Annville, Texas

First Appearance: Preacher #1 (Vertigo, 1997)

Powers/Abilities: After being merged with Genesis, Jesse gained the power of the "Word of God", allowing him to give orders in a voice which can not be disobeyed by anyone who hears it.

History: Jesse Custer's grandmother Marie was a religious fanatic. Wanting her grandchild to become a minister, preaching the word of the Lord, she murdered her own son-in-law, and kept Jesse as a virtual prisoner. When the young Jesse tried to escape, Marie had him forcibly retrieved and brutally punished. Eventually Jesse did become a preacher in the small town of Annville, Texas, but his experiences meant his faith was in crisis and he had become an alcoholic, unable to cope with the vile secrets he knew about his congregation.

Jesse merges with GenesisEverything changed the day one of his sermons was interrupted by the arrival of a being called Genesis. Genesis was the result of a mating between an angel and a demon, and had just escaped his heavenly prison. It merged with Jesse, causing a conflagration which engulfed the church and killed all within, except for the preacher himself. Jesse was pulled from the wreckage by his ex-girlfriend Tulip, whom he had been involved with during his brief sojourn of freedom from his insane family. Accompanied by Cassidy, an Irish vampire, the three fled the area, pursued both by the authorities and by the Saint of Killers, who had been sent by Heaven to eliminate the threat posed by Genesis.

Through Genesis' memories, Jesse discovered that God had left Heaven when the unholy hybrid had been born. This gave Jesse a new purpose in life - to seek out the creator, and confront him for abandoning his creation. Along the way Jesse made enemies of Herr Starr, leader of the Grail organisation, forged a temporary alliance of convenience, lost an eye after falling out a helicopter, and discovered his mother was still alive.

Comments: Created by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon.

CLARIFICATIONS: Not to be confused with

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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