General Zahl is a fictional character who appears in

American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'', ...

published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. Initially known as Captain Zahl, he is a former officer of the German Navy who has come into conflict with the

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appe ...

from time to time.

Publication history

General Zahl first appeared in ''Doom Patrol'' #121 (October 1968) and was created by

Bruno Premiani Giordano Bruno Premiani (January 4, 1907 – August 17, 1984)
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia, which notes, "Most American sources ...

and

Murray Boltinoff Murray Boltinoff (January 3, 1911 – May 6, 1994 in Pompano Beach, Florida) was a writer and editor of comic books, who worked for DC Comics from the 1940s to the 1980s, in which role he edited over 50 different comic book series. Biograph ...

Fictional character biography

During World War II, Captain Zahl was an officer in the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

and commanded a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

. As a U-boat captain, Zahl was ruthless and effective, achieving the highest kill number of any commander in the German fleet. After his boat was sank by anti U-boat bombs developed by Dr. Niles Caulder, he was crippled and forced to wear a neck brace. After the end of World War II, he worked as a mercenary, until a conflict with the Doom Patrol forced him to retire. Later, Zahl (now calling himself "General Zahl") assisted

Madame Rouge Madame Rouge is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, first appearing in ''Doom Patrol'' #86 (March 1964). The character was created by Arnold Drake. Michelle Gomez portrays the live-action version of the cha ...

in seemingly killing the Doom Patrol, who sacrificed themselves to save the lives of a small town. It was later revealed that Robotman survived, but was heavily injured in the explosion. Years later, the

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

, together with Robotman, tracked down Zahl and Rouge during their attempted takeover of Zandia. With the help of

Changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human (typically a child) stolen by other fairi ...

and the

Brotherhood of Evil The Brotherhood of Evil is a group of DC Comics supervillains, archenemies of the original Doom Patrol and the Teen Titans and enemies of the Justice League. The Brotherhood of Evil appears in the third season of the HBO Max series ''Doom Patrol ...

, they put a stop to their plans. Near the conflict's end, General Zahl fired upon Robotman but the bullets ricocheted from his chest and struck Zahl, killing him.

Powers and abilities

Despite possessing no superhuman abilities, Zahl is a skilled military commander.

In other media

Television

General Zahl appears in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "The Last Patrol!", voiced by

Corey Burton Corey Gregg Weinberg (born August 3, 1955), known professionally as Corey Burton, is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake, Dale and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transforme ...

. This version caused the

to retire years prior after they failed to stop him from killing a hostage he had taken. In the present, he forms an alliance with the

Brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

Monsieur Mallah Monsieur Mallah is a fictional character, a superintelligent anthropomorphic gorilla supervillain in the . He is the loyal servant of and, in time, the partner to Gorilla Grodd, and the Brain while serving as an enemy of the Doom Patrol and the ...

Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a foe of the original Doom Patrol. The character made his first live adaptation on the first season of the ''Doom Patrol'' tele ...

, Mutant Master, and Arsenal to seek revenge on the Doom Patrol by exposing them as frauds. However, he and his alliance are defeated by Batman while the Doom Patrol sacrifice themselves to save a small town Zahl was threatening, which causes the world to appreciate them even more.

References

External links

General Zahl
at DC Comics Wiki
General Zahl
at Comic Vine {{DEFAULTSORT:Zahl DC Comics supervillains DC Comics male supervillains DC Comics Nazis Comics characters introduced in 1968 Doom Patrol Fictional mass murderers Fictional generals Fictional ship captains Fictional Nazi fugitives Fictional mercenaries in comics