Netflix recently updated its catalog with a curated collection of series from AMC and preacher is on the list. Based on the DC/Vertigo comic by Garth Ennis And Steve Dillon, preacher is the story of Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), a priest endowed with the supernatural power to compel others to obey his commands. With his armed ex Tulip O’Hare (Ruth Negga) and Vampire Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun), Jesse goes in search of God — Dealing with supernatural and human threats.

preacher marked the first comic adaptation of Seth Rogen And Evan Goldberg‘s Point Grey; the duo later produced other hard-hitting comic series, including The boys (also by Ennis) and Invincible. Like these shows, preacher retains the core of its source material while making some changes to the canonincluding the introduction of certain characters early in the story and twists that comic fans did not expect.

“The preacher’s triggering incident in the comics is built up over the course of the first season”

The preacher The comic begins when Jesse is possessed by a force called Genesis, which ravages his hometown of Annville and sends him on a quest to find God. The TV show takes a different path, The destruction of Annville is saved for the season one finale, “Call and Response.” By this time, Jesse had already become possessed by Genesis and experienced the more terrifying aspects of his power. By delaying Annville’s destruction, Sam Catlin lets the audience get to know its citizens while showing how Jesse’s actions negatively impact their lives. It also changes the cause of Annville’s destruction by changing the source of the destruction to methane emissions from a packing plant, though the result is no less destructive.

Jesse is not the only person obsessed with Genesis in the “Preacher” show

Jesse is the only person possessed by Genesis in the preacher Comic, but Rogen, Goldberg and Catlin took a completely different approach. The pilot episode shows that Genesis owns several peopleincluding a pastor in Africa who literally explodes after being possessed. Fittingly, he was preaching from the Book of Revelation when this happened. This change actually leads to one of the darkest and funniest jokes in preacher: In the first season episode “The Possiblities” it is revealed that Tom Cruise spontaneous combustion, which according to Catlin was his idea. “We wanted this creature to try out many different hosts. In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter following preacherAt the premiere, Catlin said: “We were traveling in Africa with a devout preacher, then with a Satanist, and then we thought… well, what else are we going to do? And I said, ‘What if it’s Tom Cruise?’ We knew immediately that we had to do this.”

An iconic antagonist appears earlier than expected in “Preacher”

preacher was not averse to changing the appearance of his antagonists, especially in the first season. An antagonist who only appears after a third of the way through the preacher Comic is a central character in season 1: Odin Quincannon (Jackie Earl Haley), which has a huge slaughterhouse. Jesse uses his powers to convince Quincannon to believe in God so he won’t get the deed for his church, but this backfires as the God Quincannon believes in is “the God of the Flesh”. Quincannon is also partially responsible for the destruction of Annville as his slaughterhouse provided the gas necessary for the explosion.

Season 1 of preacher also invents a different fate for one of the most pathetic characters in the comics: Eugene “Arseface” Root (Ian Colletti), who earns his name after a terribly failed suicide attempt leaves him with a sunken face. At the beginning of the first season Jesse uses his powers to send Eugene to hell and is horrified by the result. Eugene survives his ordeal and begins busking at the end of the show – and even sings in his own unique way.

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The ending of “Preacher” is much darker than in the comics

Although Ennis is known for his penchant for black humor in his comics, his comics usually end lighter than they began. This is the case with preacherwhen Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy reunite after confronting God; Cassidy is even turned into a human after a deal he made with God. preacher The series finale, “End of the World,” takes a different approach. Although Jesse faces God and frees himself from Genesis’ powers, “End of the World” dampens this journey because Cassidy is shown at Tulip and Jesse’s graves. After speaking with her daughter, he walks out into the sun and burns alive, unwilling to live in a world where his friends are not alive.

“End of the World” also offers a different ending for Mr. Klaus Starr (Pip Torren), the immensely racist leader of the religious organization known as the Grail. In the preacher Comics, Starr suffers a series of humiliating injuries before Tulip shoots him in the head; in “End of the World” he survives and is on the run, although he does take the time to enjoy a simple game of golf. This is probably the strangest departure from the comics, but not as much as what happens to the Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish). The Saint is tasked with hunting down and killing anyone God commands and has no chance to rest until he finally turns against the Almighty and kills him at the end of the comics. In the series, Jesse kills him and takes away his peace.

preacher made several changes to the original, both for better and for worse. But the formula proved to be a success for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and became a guide for their future comic book adaptations.

preacher can be streamed on Netflix in the US

preacher

Release date

22 May 2016

Main genre

Science fiction

Seasons

4