General Zahl
Encyclopedia
General Zahl is a DC Comics
villain. He first appeared in Doom Patrol
vol. 1 #121.
U-boat
captain who tangled from time to time with the Doom Patrol
, originally as "Captain Zahl."
As a U-boat captain, Zahl was ruthless and effective, achieving the highest kill number of any commander in the German fleet
. After the fall of the Nazis, Captain Zahl worked as a mercenary, until a conflict with the Doom Patrol forced him into retirement. Later, Zahl (now calling himself "General Zahl") assisted Madame Rouge
in apparently killing the Doom Patrol. Madame Rouge had previously succeeded (also apparently) in destroying the other members of the Brotherhood of Evil
.
Years later, Changeling
, Robotman
and the Teen Titans tracked down Zahl and Rouge. Near the conflict's end, Zahl, determined to not be taken alive, fired upon Robotman, knowing the bullets would ricochet and strike Zahl, which they did. As Zahl lay dying, he declared "I die now, but that is all right. I haff the last laugh, Robotman!" Unrepentant to the end, his final words were "Hei...Heil Hitl..."
and is now a supporting character on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
villain. He first appeared in Doom Patrol
Doom Patrol
The Doom Patrol is a superhero team appearing in publications from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
vol. 1 #121.
Biography
General Zahl is a former NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
captain who tangled from time to time with the Doom Patrol
Doom Patrol
The Doom Patrol is a superhero team appearing in publications from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
, originally as "Captain Zahl."
As a U-boat captain, Zahl was ruthless and effective, achieving the highest kill number of any commander in the German fleet
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
. After the fall of the Nazis, Captain Zahl worked as a mercenary, until a conflict with the Doom Patrol forced him into retirement. Later, Zahl (now calling himself "General Zahl") assisted Madame Rouge
Madame Rouge
Madame Rouge is a fictional DC Comics supervillainess. She first appeared in Doom Patrol v.1 #86.-Fictional character biography:Laura De Mille was originally a French stage actress. After an automobile accident, she developed a dual good/evil split personality. At this point, she attracted the...
in apparently killing the Doom Patrol. Madame Rouge had previously succeeded (also apparently) in destroying the other members of the Brotherhood of Evil
Brotherhood of Evil
The Brotherhood of Evil is a group of DC Comics supervillains, archenemies of the original Doom Patrol and the Teen Titans.-Origins:The Brotherhood of Evil was founded by the engimatic villain the Brain. In the beginning, the group's motivation was world domination...
.
Years later, Changeling
Beast Boy
Garfield Mark "Gar" Logan, known as Beast Boy or Changeling, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics...
, Robotman
Robotman (Cliff Steele)
Robotman is a fictional character, a cyborg superhero in the . Robotman first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80 and was created by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani.-Fictional character biography:...
and the Teen Titans tracked down Zahl and Rouge. Near the conflict's end, Zahl, determined to not be taken alive, fired upon Robotman, knowing the bullets would ricochet and strike Zahl, which they did. As Zahl lay dying, he declared "I die now, but that is all right. I haff the last laugh, Robotman!" Unrepentant to the end, his final words were "Hei...Heil Hitl..."
Powers and abilities
Zahl is a skilled military commander and soldier, but has no superhuman powers. General Zahl apparently inspired the character General Skarr who was originally featured on Evil Con CarneEvil Con Carne
Evil Con Carne is an American animated series/spin-off of Grim & Evil and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, created by Maxwell Atoms, which first appeared on Cartoon Network during the show Grim & Evil and later became a separate program in 2003, running for one season...
and is now a supporting character on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.
Television
- General Zahl appears in the Batman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics series The Brave and the Bold which features two or more super heroes coming together to solve a crime or foil a super villain...
episode "The Last Patrol!" voiced by Corey BurtonCorey BurtonCorey Burton is an American voice actor, perhaps best known as Count Dooku, Ziro the Hutt and Cad Bane in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Brainiac in the DC animated universe and Spike Witwicky and Shockwave in the Transformers universe...
. In a documentary about the Doom Patrol, it is mentioned that he fought the Doom Patrol in France with his defeat being the last time anyone has seen the Doom Patrol. Years later, General Zahl assembles BrainBrain (comics)The Brain is a fictional character, a supervillain in the and frequent enemy of the Doom Patrol. He is a French mastermind and criminal genius...
, Monsieur MallahMonsieur MallahMonsieur Mallah is a fictional character, a superintelligent gorilla supervillain in the and the criminal and romantic partner of the Brain. Monsieur Mallah first appeared in Doom Patrol Monsieur Mallah is a fictional character, a superintelligent gorilla supervillain in the and the criminal and...
, Animal-Vegetable-Mineral ManAnimal-Vegetable-Mineral ManAnimal-Vegetable-Mineral Man is a fictional supervillain from the DC Universe and a foe of the original Doom Patrol. He first appeared in Doom Patrol #89 . The story was written by Arnold Drake, with art by Bruno Premiani....
, Mutant Master, and Arsenal into targeting the Doom Patrol members. After Arsenal was defeated, General Zahl arrived in a ship and attacked Batman and the Doom Patrol with knock-out gas. Some minutes later on General Zahl's ship, General Zahl had Chief mention the real reason why the Doom Patrol broke up. It turned out that back in the Doom Patrol's last fight with General Zahl in France, General Zahl held a woman at gunpoint. Though General Zahl was defeated, the woman was killed. Now General Zahl reveals that he had planted two detonators on two nearby islands with the Doom Patrol deciding on which island to save with the choice being televised around the world. When Batman breaks free enough for the Doom Patrol to escape, General Zahl assembles the villains he had gathered. When General Zahl mentions that the actual detonator control is on his hat and activates it, the Doom Patrol are caught in the explosion while Batman used a knock-out gas on the other villains. General Zahl even mourned the Doom Patrol's sacrifice as he and the other villains are later arrested (namely because he failed to reveal them as "frauds" and making the world love them even more, thus disappointing him).