PREACHER: 8 Of The Most F*cked Up Moments From The Comic That'll Never Make The TV Show
Preacher is easily one of the most controversial comics of all time - and with good reason. We know AMC is fine with a bit of extreme violence, but how much of the other batshit crazy stuff will make the cut?
In less than 2 weeks, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's Preacher will premiere on AMC. We already know the show is going to take quite a few liberties with the source material in terms of the narrative, but how much of the sheer insanity associated with Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's mega-controversial comic series will make the cut?
Preacher is ultra-violent, profane, obscene, sexually explicit, and sets out to shock at every opportunity. Now, while AMC has proven to be fine with a bit of extreme gore, it's very a different story when it comes to course language and nudity - and how they handle child pornographers, chicken-shagging rednecks and religion-baiting blasphemy remains to be seen.
Let's take a look at 8 moments from Preacher's 75-issue run that will never make it to the small screen in a million years without some serious watering down....
8. Allfather D’Aronique And His Cake
The supremely evil Allfather is the leader of The Grail (Jesse Custer's principal adversaries in the comic), and is an immense glutton who is very clearly supposed to represent a Catholic Pope. That might cause problems in its own right, but it's the fact that he also happens to be bulimic that's liable to raise the most fuss.
Eating disorders have always been a touchy subject, so when they are addressed on TV it's usually in a mature, sensitive manner. A 500lb papal parody gorging himself on cake before sticking an ivory stick in the shape of two fingers down his throat and vomiting all over himself doesn't quite qualify.
D’Aronique does play a fairly important role in the story so he'll probably make an appearance in some capacity... just minus the sick stick.
7. Odin Quincannon: Meat Lover
Another irredeemable SOB, the vile Odin Quinncannon will be played by Watchmen star Jackie Earl Hayley on the show. In the comics Quincannon is the owner of the meat processing plant in the town of Salvation, but he'll likely be relocated to Annville for the purposes of this small screen take.
This racist old bastard is a real piece of work, but it's a certain sexual proclivity of his that's caused the most controversy. There's no real way to be subtle about this: Quincannon takes great pleasure in engaging in sexual intercourse with a giant woman made from raw meat.
AMC is iffy about regular, y'know, human sex - so you can probably scratch seeing an emaciated old KKK member banging away on an enormous female meat puppet off the list.
6. Cassidy's Dark Past & Despicable Treatment Of Tulip
Though Cassidy begins as Jesse's pal and a trusted ally, we eventually find out that he's done some pretty horrible stuff over the centuries, including beating ex girlfriends of his to within an inch of their lives. The Cassidy we meet at the start of the story seems to have turned over a new leaf and does genuinely care about his friends, but he also harbors a secret desire for Tulip which manifest through some seriously dark behavior once he believes Jesse is dead.
The vampire keeps Tulip doped up, feeding her grief with a cocktail of booze and pills until she loses the will to resist his advances. So basically, he rapes her.
At some point on the show they will probably take old Cass down a similar route, but it's very unlikely they'll depict him as such a monster.
5. God Is A Total Bastard
For all intents and purposes, the main antagonist of the Preacher comic is God himself, As in, a personification of the Christian deity - and not a very nice one at that. Of course, this wouldn't be the first TV series to take a few swipes at religion, but it would most definitely be the first to literally cast God as the cruel, prideful, narcissistic villain of the piece, who mercilessly punishes anyone that defies him.
Rogen and co. may decide to sidestep this somehow, but leaving all mention of the man upstairs out altogether doesn't seem like an option, unless they completely alter the purpose of Jesse's arc.
4. T.C.'s Fowl Tendencies
One of the most depraved characters in the Preacher comic (and fans will know that's saying something) is T.C., who was one of Jesse's equally twisted grandmother's right-and men. Along with his pal Jody, T.C engaged in many a murder over the years, but it was his predilection for shagging anything and everything (consenting or otherwise) that singled him out as a particularly messed up individual - though thankfully we only witness his sickening behavior once when he rapes an unfortunate chicken.
Though there's a chance T.C.'s debauched nature will be implied, there's no way an actual act of bestiality will be shown in the TV series. Sorry zoophiles!
3. "It's Buggerin' Time!"
Where to start here. In the comics a couple of minor characters named Bob Glover and Freddy Allen claim to be "sexual detectives". What that seems to entail is the pair travelling around, investigating missing persons, and on occasion, buggering them.
At one point Herr Starr, the main villain, falls victim to their seriously questionable sleuthing methods, and as a result finds himself unable to achieve orgasm unless he puts himself on the business end of a huge strap-on. As you can imagine, this caused quite an uproar. Even putting the rape aside, the fact that the encounter leads to Starr only being able to get off through anal penetration was seen as highly offensive to victims of sexual assault.
A lot of horrible stuff will probably happen to Herr Starr on the show, but don't expect this to be one of them.
2. Pedophilia And Child Pornography
The character of Jesus DeSade only appears in one issue of the comic, but his actions became one of the biggest talking points. DeSade is the leader of the Gomorrah people: hedonists who dedicate their lives to indulging in the most taboo/forbidden forms of pleasure imaginable. At one point Jesse and Cass wander into one of their infamous parties and seem to be at least semi-enjoying themselves... until Jesse notices the crying child in the corner with a camera rolling nearby.
Though we never actually see the boy being harmed, it's still a very disturbing, largely unnecessary moment that surely won't make the TV show. In fact, nothing that happens at the party really serves to further the story so don't be surprised if Jesus DeSade is cut entirely.
1. An Inbred Simpleton For A Messiah
Preacher's depiction of God isn't the only thing that got the Christian right-wingers up in arms, as his son (or more accurately, his ancestor) came in for an even worse time.
Towards the end of The Grail arc, we discover that the ancient order has been keeping Jesus Christ's - who in this story was saved from the cross, sired a family, and then died at age 43 when he was run over by an offal cart - bloodline alive, in the hopes of one day unveling the new messiah to the world. Unfortunately, all that "preserving" of the bloodline results in an inbred, monobrowed Last Scion, who is usually kept locked in a cage with his sister.
Even putting the blasphemous elements aside here, can you really see AMC allowing a severely mentally handicapped child become the butt of a whole host of jokes?
Tell us, do you agree with this list? Are there any other messed up things from the comics you don't think will make the cut? Sound off below.