Sheriff Root

Hugo Root was the sheriff in Annville, Texas. He had a wife and a son, and was both feared and loathed by the population. His abrasive, antagonistic character won him no friends, which was perfectly fine by him. His wife didn't love him - she was an alcoholic and a Valium addict - and his son was a rock and roll-loving stoner whom Root regularly beat.

The sheriff himself was prone to bouts of drunken rage and shooting into the sky in his eternal vigil for "Martian niggers." The only thing he wanted was the town's respect, and with a family like his, that wasn't coming anytime soon.

Of course, everything came crashing down around him. His son shot his face off with a shotgun, trying to commit suicide in the fashion of Kurt Cobain. The boy's friend succeeded, but Root's son lived, requiring massive reconstructive surgery and months of therapy, and the eventual nickname Arseface. Root's only words to his son were, "Shoulda put it in your mouth, you dumb little fuck."

With their son in the hospital and her husband drinking himself to sleep every night, Root's wife Martha left her family to their own devices. Root's only family was his disfigured and unintelligible son, who was prepared to be the best son ever, whether his father wanted him to or not.

Root's career ended with the appearance of Jesse Custer on the scene.

Custer was possessed by an entity called Genesis in the middle of a church service, causing an explosion that killed over two hundred people. Root was convinced that his "Martian niggers" were to blame, but the county wanted more investigation. Root then lost fourteen of his men to the Saint Of Killers, an unstoppable, unholy gunman who was on the hunt for Custer.

When the three finally came together, Custer used his Voice of Command, telling Root, "Go fuck yourself." Commands given with the Voice have to be taken literally. The paramedics arrived too late to remove Root's severed penis from his colon to do microsurgery, but assured him that he could still recover.

For the first time since the boy's accident, Root spoke to his son, asking him to bring him his revolver. The boy did, and Root shot himself in the head.