Not much is known about Herr Starr other than the fact that he’s the most feared man in The Grail. The popular villain made his debut in the Preacher #4 Standing Tall issue that was released in July of 1995. When you look up at the definition of evil, Herr Starr is the perfect representation of the four-letter word. The world got a taste of the villain throughout the live-action series Preacher; however, there should be more exploration on the man that stole the show every time he was onscreen. The show got a bit silly with its character in the end, but Herr Starr still managed to be one of the more interesting characters in a world filled with vampires, hillbillies, and a preacher who feels anything but one.
However, the original comics’ character is what’s really intriguing about this mysterious figure. Who is Herr Starr? What exactly was he like as a young kid growing up? Not much is known about his life as a child except the fact that he was an orphan at the age of four. Were his parents terrorists? Or were they loving folks and Starr was just a deplorable human being? There’s so much to dig into when it comes to the life of Herr Starr. They say that your upbringing shapes you as a human being, but given Starr’s life as an adult, the answer may not be as black and white as it seems.
There’s also a fascinating story about Starr protecting the bloodline of Jesus Christ. Was Starr a religious kid growing up? The themes of religion are at strong play when it comes to Preacher. Oftentimes, the exploration can be silly and weird, but that’s mainly the charm of the comic book series. Religion has a different meaning to most people, and further exploration into the world could really be engrossing especially when it comes to focusing on Herr Starr. His backstory doesn’t state whether he’s in some type of religious cult or anything prior to joining The Grail, but surely a man whose purpose ends up protecting the bloodline of Jesus Christ has some deep meaning behind him. However, the spin-off doesn’t have to just focus on the unknown past of Starr, it could actually center around his time as an elite counter-terrorism member.
Again, the show has a heavy dose of religion within its content and it’s a nice juxtaposition to see a man who’s so cruel like Herr Starr as the central protagonist. It could document his first mission airplane hijacking where a group of anti-Israeli terrorists that were holding passengers and crew hostage. This could actually showcase the humanity that’s not often seen by Starr during The Grail. This actually puts him in a good light as he doesn’t particularly have a sinister view on the world and generally has intentions on saving the planet from evil men who have the desires to destroy it. That’s what makes him such an impactful character. His childhood could be anyone’s guess. Maybe he was pure evil and changed because of the love of his parents? Or perhaps Herr Starr always had a good, but misguided heart until his time in the anti-terrorism group changed his view on the way he sees the world.
Of course, his time as a Grail member could be explored further. The series does a good job documenting Starr, but it doesn’t focus on his character prior to meeting Jesse and the gang. Starr is intelligent, but lacks human compassion, and given the lack of genital, something happened to the man who wanted to save the world from evil terrorist prior to his stint in The Grail. Exactly why did his journey lead up to such an organization? It’s actually shocking that a Herr Starr spin-off was never explored as the villain has an extremely complex story that demands to be told. Herr Starr isn’t a typical comic book villain, he’s not particularly looking to destroy or take over the world, nor is he a crazed mad man wreaking havoc. He’s a man who lacks much humanity with a moral standing that has dominated a good portion of his life. Herr Starr is more than just the grotesque figure that represents the popular comic book series, and his journey could really be engrossing like the world of the limited series Watchmen on HBO. Of course, it wouldn’t be Preacher if it didn’t have the oddball and quirkiness that the comic book series is known for. Herr Starr deserves his own spin-off as there’s too many avenues left unexplored about the Preacher villain.
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