Not all The Walking Dead fans may realize just how many liberties AMC takes with the comic series. Here are some intriguing examples. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
The question of paternity
So we all know how this whole post-apocalyptic love triangle starts off, with Lori having an extended fling with Shane, the best friend of the husband she believes to be deceased. Of course, he isn’t and winds up finding her. Not long after, she discovers she’s pregnant. Although the paternity is largely left up in the air on the show, it’s implied much more strongly in the comic series that the kid Rick ends up raising is actually Shane’s.
Say hello to Merle
The introduction of Merle Dixon in the TV series was a memorable sequence — Rick’s crew handcuffs him atop an Atlanta department store rooftop and ditches him for dead. Of course, he wasn’t exactly the most likeable character. Merle (played brilliantly by Michael Rooker) was a racist, misogynist and just about any other negative -ist you can dream up. At least on the AMC series, that is. He doesn’t even exist in the comics.
Hershel’s fatal mistake
Hershel was an undeniably sympathetic character in the TV series. He’s kind of a father figure to everyone who comes to the farm, despite his initial reticence to trust newcomers around his family. He was still a likable guy in the comics prior to his death, but he did make one massive mistake with dire consequences. While he is trying to show Rick’s crew how to humanely handle walkers, the ones trapped in the barn escape. Two of his own children get bitten, forcing him to shoot them (along with an already “turned” son) before they reanimate.
The fate that befell Shane
In the TV series, Rick memorably kills Shane, and Carl only shoots the newly walker-ized Shane when he realizes his dad’s life is in danger. That isn’t exactly how it plays out in the comic series, though. Rather, Carl shoots and kills Shane before Shane — whom Carl believes to be a major threat — can kill Rick. And, in a similar swap, Rick is the one who kills the reanimated version of Shane.
Ciao, Sophia
Poor little Sophia. You remember how this played out, right? In Season 2, she slipped away from her mom, Carol, and was the subject of an exhaustive search. Eventually, she turned up as one of the walkers hiding out in Hershel’s barn. Naturally, she had to be put down, so to speak. However, she’s still alive and kicking in the comics! In fact, she and Carl have a teenage romance going.
Lilly who?
If you have trouble recalling Lilly on the TV show, don’t feel bad. It’s been a while since her story arc. To jog your memory, she is Tara’s older sister who, along with daughter Meghan and Tara, joins up with the Governor. Before long, Lilly and the Governor become romantic and he assumes a father-like role in Meghan’s life. When Meghan is killed by a walker, though, Lilly blames the Governor and ultimately lets walkers swarm her. In the comics, she is much more of a power player — aiding in the attack on the prison and becoming the leader of Woodbury after the Governor’s demise.
Shish Ka-Bob
Bob wound up being such a likable guy on the AMC series that no one wanted to believe it when he got captured by cannibals known as the Hunters, who promptly decided to devour his leg. As his leg is being eaten, though, Bob begins laughing hysterically, saying, “Tainted meat!” because they are unaware he has been bitten. (He dies back at the church later.) This entire sequence actually happens to Dale in the comic series; AMC switched the scene up, making Bob the meal. See also: In the comics, he is an older caucasian man.
Tyreese’s cross to bear
In the show, Tyreese’s closest and seemingly only longtime companion is Sasha. But in the comics, we encounter Tyreese early and he is traveling with his daughter, Julie, and her boyfriend, Chris. In an important story arc in the comics, Julie and Chris make a suicide pact that goes horribly awry when Chris shoots too early and only Julie ends up dead. Unhinged by the loss, Tyreese chokes Chris to death and then savagely dismembers his body once he becomes a walker. Yikes.
Off with his head
In Season 4 of the TV series, Hershel is brutally decapitated by the Governor. The murder transpires during the attack on the prison, and Maggie and Beth sadly watch as their dad dies. In the comics, though, the Governor kills Hershel by putting a bullet through his noggin. The decapitation scene does happen, but Tyreese was actually the one slowly beheaded by the villain in the comic series.
Carl and Ben the twin
In the comic series, a couple named Allen and Donna have twin sons named Ben and Billy. Following the death of his parents, Ben begins to exhibit sociopathic tendencies and eventually murders his own brother. Although the group debates what to do with the troubled boy, they can’t bring themselves to take action. Except, that is, for Carl — he sneaks into the van serving as Ben’s makeshift lockdown and he executes him. This sequence of events plagues Carl’s conscience in the comics, but never occurs in the TV show.
The truth about Terminus
Prepare to have your minds blown, my friends. Are you ready? Are you sure? Perhaps you should sit down, because what I’m about to say may come as a huge shock. OK, here goes. Terminus, the supposed “safe haven” Season 4 and Season 5 of the TV series revolved around, does not exist in the comics. As in, never. Nada. Some fans theorize it could be the equivalent of the Hunters’ camp, but that hasn’t been corroborated.
The Samuels sisters
One particularly heart-tugging storyline in the TV series is that of Lizzie and Mika Samuels, sisters Carol takes under her wing after their father is killed. However, it soon becomes apparent something isn’t quite right about Lizzie. Eventually, her odd affection for walkers drives her to slaughter her sister with a knife, insisting she’ll “come back.” Realizing what she has to do, Carol takes her outside, tells her “just look at the flowers,” and kills the troubled girl. Although the Samuels sisters aren’t in the comics, they closely resemble the twin boy characters, Ben and Billy.
Deanna, by any other name
In the TV series, the Monroe family is all mixed up if you’re going by the comics. In the latter, there is no Deanna. The mother of the Monroe family is named Regina. Her husband, who goes by “Reg” in the show, is named Douglas. In the show, Deanna is the leader of Alexandria and a former Congresswoman. In the comics, Douglas is the leader and was a Congressman (he’s also a bit of an adulterer). In the show, “Reg” is killed by an irate Pete, who is then killed by Rick. In the comics, the same sequence occurs, only Pete kills “Regina.”
About the undead
Even though the characters on the AMC series are clearly in the midst of a zombpocalypse, you don’t ever actually hear them call the undead denizens all around them “zombies.” Rather, they are exclusively referred to as walkers. In the comic series, the term zombie does occur, along with the use of the slang expression.
Are we talking about the same Carol?
We’re all used to watching Carol kick some major ass on the TV series, unbothered for the most part by men in any way, shape or form since the death of her abusive husband. In the comics, though, she has a pretty solid ‘ship with Tyreese. She’s so in love with him, in fact, that when he winds up having an affair with Michonne (yes, Michonne), she suggests a threesome with Rick and Lori (yes, a threesome). Between Tyreese cheating and the vetoed threesome, she’s heartbroken enough to commit suicide by letting a walker kill her.
Say it ain’t so, Beth!
Can you imagine the TV show without Beth? If you read the comics, you certainly can. That’s because while Hershel did have daughters in the comic world, they didn’t include anyone named Beth. In addition to Maggie, the Greene children were Billy, Shawn, Lacey, Arnold, and twins Rachel and Susie. When the family traveled to the prison with Rick’s crew, Hershel’s twin daughters were brutally murdered by inmates.
Enid-matic
It’s no wonder Enid is such an enigma to fans of both the TV series and the comic — she’s a relatively new character on the show, and she doesn’t exist at all in the comic. Turtles of the post-apocalyptic world, rejoice!
The romance that wasn’t
As The Walking Dead ‘ships go, Tara and Denise are just about as cute as they come. Although their romance is new, it seems to be progressing nicely. Unfortunately, such is not the case in the comic world. Why, you ask? Oh, you know, just a little issue involving the existence of Tara. While Denise is in the comics and the AMC series stays pretty true to her character there, Tara is a product of the show’s imagination.
Those pesky whatchamacallits
Here’s a minor detail, but one that manages to change the whole narrative of The Walking Dead world. In the TV show, the villains who terrorize Alexandria call themselves “Wolves” and they are viscious. In the comic, though, they are less savage and simply go by “the Scavengers.” Interesting, huh?
Shane’s descent into darkness
Although Shane does meet a similar fate in the comics as he does on the show, Shane doesn’t become nearly as villainous in the comics. This is largely because he really isn’t around long enough. His characters survives much longer on the show than in the comics, the latter of which kills him off before they even leave Atlanta. Remember in the show when Shane sacrifices Otis to escape a throng of walkers? That didn’t happen in the comics, and likely only took place on the show to play up Shane’s supposed shadiness.
The CDC was not meant to be
In the first season of the show, our survivors make their way to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, hoping to find out from the doctors there if there is a cure for the walker virus. What they actually find is the sole survivor there, Dr. Jenner. This sequence is important because it leads to the epiphany that everyone is infected with the virus and thus all “the walking dead.” In the comics, there is no journey to the CDC and the survivors remain clueless about the nature of their condition.
Dale and Andrea’s BFF-dom
In the TV series, Andrea and Dale are besties until they begin butting heads over Shane and the use of guns. In the comics, not only do they not have a falling out, they actually wind up raising twin brothers Ben and Billy together after the boys’ parents die. Of course, Dale does wind up dying in the comics (albeit differently than it happens in the TV series), and Andrea goes on to start a relationship with Rick.
A mother/daughter du-OH NO
Lori may have been a polarizing character, but the way the show played up her death with the dramatic birth of Judith and the touching scene with Carl at least made her last few moments sympathetic. Such was not the case in the comics, though. Rather, she dies on the Governor’s raid to the prison after she gives birth. Upon the Governor’s orders, Lilly fires a shotgun round into Lori’s back. Worst part? When she falls, she lands on baby Judith and crushes the infant to death.
You only think you know Andrea
One of the most controversial characters in the show’s history was Andrea, who was viewed by many as whiny and disloyal. But if you’re part of the Andrea haters club, you owe this chick a posthumous apology — not only is she likable in the comics, she is actually a badass sharp shooter central to the protection of the survivors. Oh, and did we mention she and Rick are a thing?
No Richonne for you
Sorry, shippers! Richonne may be the hottest new couple on AMC’s The Walking Dead right now, but — thus far — they’re still in the friend zone when it comes to the comic series. They do have a deep and abiding respect for one another and she is possibly his most trusted companion, though. There is hope, however, since recent issues hint that Michonne might harbor romantic feelings for Rick.
The tale of Tomas
If you go looking for Tomas in the comic series, well, you’ll be looking for a while. Or forever. That’s because he doesn’t exist as Tomas in the comics, but rather as a character named Dexter. Much like his portrayal in the show, Dexter is an alpha among the prison inmates in the comics. However, Rick doesn’t stab Dexter to death in the comics as seen on the show. Instead, he slyly shoots him in the head while fighting off walkers.
We still love you, T-Dog
You’re not going to like this and, in full disclosure, neither do I. But sometimes the truth hurts, my friends, and this is one of those times. So I’ll just give it to you straight — T-Dog, as endearing as he wound up being on the TV show, isn’t a character in the comics. He is one of the many characters created by AMC for their series.
The Governor’s aesthetics
The Governor may not be a stand-up guy on the TV show, but he’s a relatively good-looking one — clean-cut, sharply dressed, etc. You wouldn’t necessarily think he was an evil dictator just by looking at him. However, the comics make this connection much more clear by giving him long, scraggly hair and a big ol’ intimidating mustache. Aside from those differences though, there’s also the question of ethnicity, as he appears to be Hispanic in the comic series.
The ugly truth about Michonne and the Governor
It’s not as though Michonne and the Governor had a good relationship on the TV show — in fact, I think we can all agree it was downright horrible. However, it kind of pales in comparison the animosity between these two in the comic series. Unlike on the TV series, the Governor rapes Michonne. She retaliates by mutilating and torturing him before escaping, including ripping off his fingernails, digging his eye out with a spoon and nailing his penis to a board.
Daryl or bust
Arguably the most popular character on the AMC series, Daryl Dixon (played by the incomparable Norman Reedus) tends to steal every scene he’s in. But remember how we talked about Merle not being in the comics? Well, he isn’t the only Dixon brother who was fabricated for the show. That’s right — Daryl doesn’t exist in the comic series. This fan favorite was fabricated for the TV drama, but that hasn’t stopped fans from adopting the mantra, “If Daryl dies, we riot.”
The Shabraham ship
While the budding relationship between Sasha and Abraham currently heating up on Season 6 sure is fun, you won’t find much back story on it in the comics. And by “much,” I mean “any.” The simple explanation for this is that Sasha isn’t a character in the comic series at all. Abraham does have a relationship with Rosita, and he does break it off nearly verbatim to the TV show. However, in the comics he leaves her for Holly, not Sasha (which is a good thing, since Sasha doesn’t even exist in that world).
Right hand man
This one’s a biggie: In the TV series, Rick clearly still has his shooting hand. Why is this major? Well, basically as soon as Rick and his crew arrive in Woodbury in the comic series, the Governor whacks off Rick’s right hand. So you can imagine how that might alter Rick’s storyline if the TV show had stayed true to this particularly painful detail.
Carl’s eye casualty
In the comic series, the scene leading up to Carl losing his eye is very close to what we saw on the TV series: Rick, Carl, Jessie, Ron, Michonne and some other were leaving the house in the recently overrun Alexandria disguised in the guts of walkers. Only instead of Jessie’s younger fictional son, Sam, getting bitten by a zombie and her following suit, the comics kill off Ron first. So who shoots out Carl’s eye if not Ron? Douglas, who you may remember from a previous slide is basically played on the show by Deanna. Confusing, I know.
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