Zahl

General Zahl
Aliases:	Captain Zahl General Zahl
Continuity:	DC Universe
Notability:	Antagonist
Type:	Military personnel
Gender:	Male
Race:	Human
Location:	Germany Zandia
Status:	Deceased
First:	Doom Patrol, Vol. 1 #121
Final:	New Teen Titans, Vol. 1 #15

Captain Zahl, also known as General Zahl, is a fictional Nazi and supervillain featured in comic book titles published by DC Comics. He is part of both the Pre-Crisis Earth-One continuity as well as the Post-Crisis era of DC publishing. He first appeared in Doom Patrol, Volume 1 #121 in October, 1968.

Overview

General Zahl was an officer of the German Navy during World War II and the commander of a German U-Boat. Years after the war, Zahl served as a mercenary, until a conflict with the Doom Patrol forced him into retirement. Later, he became an associate of the Brotherhood of Evil. One of his macabre scientific experiments transformed a German citizen named Otto von Furth into a being comprised entirely of acidic protoplasm. He became known as Plasmus.

Captain Zahl was the architect of an ambitious plot, which resulted in the seeming destruction of the original Doom Patrol in Codsville, Maine.

Years later, Changeling, Robotman, and the Teen Titans tracked down Zahl and Brotherhood member Madame Rouge. In the conflict, bullets ricocheted from Robotman's chest, killing Zahl.

Abilities

• Military protocol: General Zahl was an enlisted officer in the German Navy, and as such, was knowledgeable of all forms of military protocol.
• Seamanship: General Zahl had extensive knowledge of matters relating to seamanship, including boat handling, nautical navigation and maritime protocols.
• Tactical analysis: General Zahl was a ruthless commander, and often employed the most brutal strategies required to defeat his opponents.
• Firearms: General Zahl was trained in the use of simple firearms.

Notes & Trivia

• The character of Zahl was created by writer Arnold Drake and artists Bruno Premiani and Murray Boltinoff.

• Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, his existence following the events of the 1985-86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.

• During World War II, Zahl held the military rank of Captain. He began calling himself General Zahl of his own accord, but was never actually recognized as a General by any legitimate military organization.

• General Zahl was bereft of his left hand and his left eye.

Appearances

• Zahl appearances
• Zahl reprint appearances
• Zahl flashback appearances

External Links

• General Zahl at DCDP
• General Zahl at Wikipedia
• General Zahl at Comic Vine
• General Zahl at the DCU Guide
• General Zahl at the Villains Wiki