All 6 zombie variants in The Walking Dead explained

UndeadThe game’s zombie variants can be divided into types depending on the abilities they have and the way they appeared. For the most part, the zombies in Undead they are slow, incapable of mental reasoning, and driven only by the desire to chew on the nearest source of meat. Gradually, however, AMC’s zombie apocalypse franchise introduced higher levels of the undead, known as “variants.” Many questions about the true nature of these souped-up zombies remain unanswered, but different classes of variants are already beginning to emerge around the world. Undeadseveral shows.

For the purposes of this list, variants will be defined as zombies that are inherently different from a standard zombie victim. UndeadIt’s the zombie virus. This excludes normal zombies that have been superficially altered by the environment, such as corpses covered in stone rocks. Those who live and the sewer-dwelling Zombie King – a mashup of several zombies fused together – seen in Dead City. These monsters have been externally altered, while the true variants Undead have suffered, for one reason or another, a brain or biological mutation.

6

Natural super zombies

Featured in: The Walking Dead: World Beyond

The rarest and probably also the most dangerous variant form of Undead is the type that begins to display various unconventional abilities immediately after reanimation. The only clear example of this naturally occurring super zombie in the franchise so far came during The Walking Dead: The World Beyondis ending.

Shortly after being shot, an unidentified French scientist revived and ran towards the facility’s door, smashing it with repeated blows. This type of variant demonstrated enough speed, strength and intelligence to immediately find the exit door. without stumbling around aimlessly for an hour beforehand.

It is still unclear exactly how this type of variant emerged, but World Beyond offered some important clues. The gunman who shot the scientist accused his victim, and his scientific team, of creating the zombie virus and subsequently producing it.worse”, which could be interpreted to mean that this specific variant mutation was an unintended consequence of culpable researchers trying to cure the outbreak.

UndeadDr. Jenner also mentioned “variant cohorts“existing in France but not in the United States, suggesting that a naturally occurring variant strain exists but has not spread throughout the world until Undead season 1. No obvious zombies of this type of variant have appeared in Daryl Dixon still, despite the show’s French setting. Their absence would indicate that natural supervariants are incredibly rare or that the phenomenon is somehow unique to the scientists who worked on the virus.

5

Artificial Superzombies

Featured in: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

Many of the zombie variants that appear in Daryl Dixon are similar to the type of World Beyondbut created by artificial means. Daryl DixonGenet’s main group of villains, Genet’s Pouvoir du Vivant, has developed a serum that can transform a normal zombie into a super zombie not entirely different from the natural kind seen in World BeyondFrench laboratory.

Created by Dr. This breed of walker gains speed, strength, heightened senses and is considerably more difficult to killbut instead of becoming more intelligent, they are overcome by an uncontrollable bloodlust. As such, Pouvoir variants are prone to attacking each other, prioritizing pure violence over getting a meal.

How Dr. Lafleur’s serum works has not yet been explained by Undeadbut the process may have something to do with decapitated heads. The laboratory at the headquarters of Maison Mère de Pouvoir and the facilities on the boat that captured Daryl contained zombie heads attached to test subjects via tubes, possibly indicating an important ingredient in the UndeadThe zombie variant’s recipe is derived from reanimated brains. A chemical that occurs in the brain after death could be the key to unlocking more potential from a resurrected corpse.

4

Burners

Featured in: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

The burner variants are another grotesque creation of Dr. Lafleur de Pouvoir. Although this variant class does not move quickly or show more intelligence than regular members of the Undeadever-expanding club of undead, he makes up for it with acidic blood. This feature makes a burner much harder to kill, as the survivor must dispatch it without leaving a single speck of blood on their own skin. Because of the rotten flesh, however, the acidic innards of a burner will leak from your body. The simplest touch will leave a significant burn – as Daryl Dixon himself found out the hard way.

UndeadThe burners were created as part of Pouvoir’s ongoing experimentation to strengthen zombies. At some point, however, these creations escaped or were considered failures and broke loose. The fact that artificial super zombies, Lafleur’s latest creations in Daryl Dixonare much more advanced and perhaps point to the latter explanation. However, knowledge and rumors about burner variants appear to have spread throughout the French population, suggesting that the strain is relatively common.

During her first meeting with Daryl Isabelle curiously described the burners as one of several types of unique zombies that populate France.but the exact meaning behind this line remains ambiguous. Isabelle may be referring to naturally occurring variants like the one seen in World Beyondfrom the French lab, but she could just as easily have been talking about other failed experiments carried out in France, courtesy of Dr. Lafleur, or even the kind of variants glimpsed in the United States during Undeadis ending.

3

Lurkers

Featured in: Various

One of the first zombie variants in Undeadlurkers are the type most survivors would rather face if they had the choice. As the name suggests, lurkers remain parked in one placeoften lying down and completely silent. The main danger of stalkers is the difficulty of identifying them.

While most zombies have a habit of making their presence known, the silent stealth of lurkers means that an unsuspecting survivor can be bitten out of nowhere. As demonstrated in the military base scene in Undead In the Season 11 premiere, some lurkers will remain completely oblivious to the fact that humans are nearby unless something — a loud noise or a drop of blood, for example — wakes them up.

Based on how early they started appearing in Undeadlurkers must be a natural phenomenon. Something about the reanimation process seems to make the subject less restless, so although the hunger for meat is still present, a lurker will be content to wait for the food to reach him. As all the zombies in the aforementioned military base were of the lurker variant – a statistical improbability if becoming a lurker depends on chance – it is logical to conclude that a normal zombie can turn into a lurker if left alone for a prolonged period of time.

2

Roamers

Featured in: The Walking Dead

Alongside lurkers, roamers are mentioned by Aaron as another in-universe name for a specific type of zombie. Unfortunately, they are much harder to pin down compared to their lazier, lurking cousins. The defining characteristic of a roamer is aberrant behavior atypical of a normal zombie, although it remains uncertain whether this behavior is caused by increased intelligence or lingering memories of his former life.

The tag “roamer” could be used to describe Morgan’s wife, who tried to enter their old home even though she was a zombie. It could also apply to the young zombie Rick encountered at the beginning of his journey, when she picked up her teddy bear from the ground before moving forward. Roamers tend to replace the herd tendencies of a common zombie in Undead with more individualistic traits and could be seen as the antithesis of stalkers.

Both types have been present since the beginning of the outbreak and occur naturally, but while lurkers are defined by a decrease in physical and mental activity, roamers show higher levels of activity. Despite seeming to remember the echoes of his previous life, no roamer in Undead has so far shown any degree of mercy towards someone you once loved. Any memories retained are not strong enough to overcome the need for food.

1

Climbers

Featured in: The Walking Dead

Despite its name, “climbers” has become a generic term among UndeadSurvivors of, used to describe a zombie with superior cognitive and motor functions. While this typically manifests as climbing stairs, climbing onto vehicles, scaling walls, etc., Climbers have also been shown using nearby objects to reach your goal of a free lunch. Some climbers picked up rocks to wield as weapons, while one of them blocked Lydia’s knife when she tried to stab her. Even without the speed and strength that other variants enjoy, a climber’s intelligence makes even one of them a considerable threat.

Climbers are, by nature, close to roamers in terms of skills. While roamers seem to be driven by their past memories, climbers have a better awareness of their surroundings at any given time and can analyze situations in a rudimentary way to gain a strategic advantage. The most curious aspect of the climbers is how they disappeared for almost a decade of Undeadtimeline. Zombies can be seen using rocks and climbing fences in the first seasonthen effectively disappeared until Undead season 11.

The real explanation for the absence of variants is probably that Undead hadn’t fully cemented its virus rulebook in the first season and didn’t introduce the variant variant until much later. An in-universe explanation is more difficult to provide, and it becomes impossible to say with any conviction whether the climbers represent a small percentage of the total zombie population, whether they were created by human experimentation, or whether they evolved naturally over several years.