Grail, The

The Grail is a fictional secret society and religious order featured in the ongoing comic book series Preacher published by DC Comics under their Vertigo imprint. They first appeared in Preacher #13 in April, 1996. The Grail also appeared on episodes of the Preacher television series on AMC. They made a cameo appearance in season one in the episode, "The Possibilities". They made their first full appearance in season two in the third episode, "Damsels".

Overview
The Grail is a global secret society whose origins date back to the time of Jesus Christ. Its original formation and membership was comprised of those who were the descendants of Christ, and their goal was to keep the bloodline of Jesus pure. This resulted in generations of inbreeding.

By the modern era, The Grail's membership and function had become deeply perverted and was lead by an ex-German officer named Herr Starr. He orchestrated a grand design, which involved instigating a nuclear holocaust on January 1st, 2000. Such a threat was to be averted by the one true Messiah, who would then usher in a new era of peace and prosperity, with The Grail serving as the world's leaders. However, due to centuries of inbreeding, the current Messiah was effectively an idiot. Herr Starr turned his attention to Texas preacher Jesse Custer, who possessed God-given power to force others to obey his commands. Starr's efforts to use Custer as the new Messiah failed, and the two became enemies. Starr then focused The Grail's resources on a revenge plot against Custer.

Members

 * Herr Starr
 * Lara Featherstone
 * F.J. Hoover
 * Saltonstall

Notes & Trivia

 * The concept of the Grail was developed by writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon.


 * The Grail redirects to this page.

Appearances

 * Preacher: The Possibilities
 * Preacher: Damsels - Introduction of Herr Starr, Featherstone, and Hoover.
 * Preacher: Viktor - Hoover only.
 * Preacher: Pig - Full organization appearance; 2004 flashback.
 * Preacher: Holes - Lara Featherstone and Hoover only.
 * Preacher: Puzzle Piece - Herr Starr, Featherstone & Hoover.
 * Preacher: Dirty Little Secret - Herr Starr, Featherstone & Hoover.