Immediately after The walking dead most brutal scene, in which Negan beat Glenn to death, Rick made a bloodthirsty promise to kill the newly introduced villain – and More than a decade later, it still strikes fans as one of comics’ biggest shocks that this promise has ultimately been subverted rather than fulfilled.
Undead Luxury #100 – written by Robert Kirkman, with art by Charlie Adlard – is a stunning return to landmark publishing, this time in color, making Glenn’s death even more harrowing.
The issue serves as a reminder to readers of how truly vile Negan was upon his first introduction. In turn, given the knowledge of how things play out, the moment in which Rick Grimes tearfully declares his intention to avenge Glenn once again raises the question of whether Negan’s surprise arc of survival and redemption was the right creative choice. to Undead.
Rick’s promise to kill Negan created Walking Dead’s greatest hero-villain dynamic – but the series never paid off
The Walking Dead Deluxe #100 – Written by Robert Kirkman; Art by Charlie Adlard; Color by Dave McCaig; Lyrics by Rus Wooten; Main cover by David Finch
“I will kill you“, Rick told Negan in Undead #100, establishing the dynamic between the franchise’s next big adversary and the series’ debatable protagonist. What readers who followed Robert Kirkman’s zombie comic during its original run will remember is that, at the time, there was no reason to believe that Rick wouldn’t eventually make good on this threat. In the comic’s 100th issue, it began to develop a familiar rhythm – Rick and his group of survivors would encounter a malevolent group of human survivors, more dangerous than the last, and eventually overcome them.
In some ways, this narrative pattern applied to Negan and the Saviors, and continued even after they were defeated – except that the defeat left Negan alive, and subsequent arcs transformed him into a more heroic and even more sympathetic figure, providing the antithesis of the outcome that had been established by his introduction. This brought a greater level of complexity to The walking dead story, and it was undoubtedly the right choice, but it was a radical departure from the expectations that author Robert Kirkman had cultivated in his audience up to that point.
How Rick Handled Negan Instead of Killing Him (and Why)
Undead #125 – Written by Robert Kirkman; Art by Charlie Adlard
The battle between The walking dead the core group of survivors and Negan’s saviors lasted twenty-five issues; It’s important to note that Rick didn’t fail to kill Negan, but chose not to. This is what made the narrative so dramatic – and as much as many fans wanted Rick to live up to his previous statement, it represented a huge step forward for his character. Faced with the possibility of becoming more cruel, more like Negan, Rick refused, and that’s what made the decision so powerful for storytelling.
As explained by Robert Kirkman, Undead artist Charlie Adlard defended this twist, arguing against the trope of deriving narrative satisfaction from killing villains. Undead was more than just zombie action entertainment – ​​it was a meditation on human nature after the sudden collapse of civilization, and Adlard convinced Kirkman that this theme could be better explored by having Rick spare Negan, forcing him to face the consequences of his defeat and his loss of power.rather than just being an object of literary catharsis.
How Negan’s survival changed The Walking Dead franchise
The Walking Dead Deluxe #100 – Variant covers by Charlie Adlard and Dave McCaig; Arthur Adams and Dave McCaig; Mattia De Iulis; Yasmine Putri; Julian Totino Tedesco and more
An unexpected byproduct of Negan’s survival and his continued role in The walking dead history, was that the character became increasingly popular over time. Even Robert Kirkman himself admitted that Negan was his favorite character at the end of the series. However, this in itself furthered and complicated the character’s redemption arc; Kirkman, to his credit, did a solid job of fitting the character into a new role without growing too much, but still, the fact that Glenn’s killer has become a fan favorite continues to cause division among Undead readers.
Instead of a villain to triumph over, Negan became one of the The walking dead more recognizable characters.
Although Negan’s survival made the underlying moral structure of Undead Less clearly, it also gave fans the opportunity to root for the character’s behavior. That is, it contextualized his tenure as the franchise’s central villain as part of a larger story arc – but whether that was actually for the better or worse of the series overall is a question for critics to continue to dissect indefinitely. Either way, instead of a villain to triumph over, Negan has become one of The walking dead more recognizable characters.
Glenn’s death remains the bloody template for The Walking Dead’s most brutal scene
Undead #100 – First published in 2012; Luxury Reprint now available from Image Comics
Glenn’s death is widely considered the most devastating in Undead comic series. When it originally happened, it was considered a huge shock, despite the book having already gained a reputation for killing off important characters without hesitation. THE Luxury reprint of Undead questions that led to number 100 highlighted how the seeds were planted for Glenn’s death during his final arc and emphasized the heartbreaking tragedy of his departure from the series.
As visceral as [Glenn’s death scene] it was in black and white and on screen it was never as horrible as it was on Luxury edition, as this crucial point Undead the moment is rendered in vivid, violent color.
Hand in hand with this, The Walking Dead Deluxe #100 is a reminder of what an unrepentant and unforgivable villain Negan was in his debut. Although the shock and blood of Glenn’s death are etched in the memories of Undead fans, what’s often forgotten is the horrific dimension that Negan’s dialogue adds to the moment. While the former were faithfully portrayed on screen in the AMC TV adaptation, Jeffery Dean Morgan’s portrayal of Negan was arguably more restrained than the comic book version.
Although previous Undead Villains like the Governor were deranged and sinister, comic book Negan was an entirely different kind of unhinged. The Walking Dead Deluxe #100 is just the beginning of an ongoing reevaluation of the character, as he appears in color on the page for the first time, beginning with Glenn’s death. As visceral as the scene was in black and white and on screen, it was never as horrific as it was in Luxury edition, as this crucial point Undead the moment is rendered in vivid, violent color.
The Walking Dead Deluxe #100 is now available from Image Comics.