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The Walking Dead: Deanna Monroe Comic Comparison

During episode 12 of season 5 of The Walking Dead, the audience was introduced to Deanna Monroe. […]
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During episode 12 of season 5 of The Walking Dead, the audience was introduced to Deanna Monroe. Deanna is apparently the leader of the Alexandria community in the television series, but is she actually as transparent as she seems?

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In the comics, Deanna Monroe does not exist. The leader of the Alexandria community is actually Douglas Monroe. While it seems that the two characters are simply switched in names and genders, there is a lot to say about Douglas/Deanna, the former congressmen from Ohio. We analyze the character in detail in the video below:

Douglas Monroe, as I said, was a Democratic Congressman from Ohio before the outbreak ran rampant. Monroe founded the Safe-Zone community as a co-leader, alongside Alexander Davidson. It wasn’t all perfect in post-apocalyptic paradise for Monroe and Davidson, though. Not long after forming their community, Monroe banished Davidson for abusing women and assigning dangerous jobs to people other than himself.

On the TV version of The Walking Dead, the ‘Deanna’ version of Douglas mentioned to Rick that she had banished three men. While I’m not sure who the ย other two are (people are speculating one is Negan), one of them surely is the show’s Alexander Davidson. Davidson never comes back in the comics, in fact, writer Robert Kirkmanย confirmed at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con that he is indeed dead.

Now, the show does not always follow the comics as an exact adaptation, as many of you know, but for the most part stays on course with them. That’s why it is worth reading on to find out what happens to Monroe in the comics.ย 

Monroe loves the community, dearly. He is willing to put it first in almost all cases. He does, however, have a bit of a creepy old-man vibe. He often makes unwarranted advances on Andrea and calls his marriage “Political.” Andrea is involved with Rick and the two laugh the scenario off together.ย 

Monroe’s wife, Regina, is murdered by Peter Anderson in an attempt on Rick’s life. Monroe becomes seriously depressed at this point. He deems himself unfit to lead and appoints Rick as the head of the community. The Safe-Zone then is attacked by a group called the DC Scavengers which leads to a horde of zombies flocking to the Safe-Zone in the aftermath. Monroe is surrounded by zombies and frantically fires off shots in every direction. One of these bullets goes through the eye and side of Carl’s head, leaving him scarred for life, but he survives. Monroe is ultimately devoured by zombies, though.

So, do you think the television series will follow the comic book series with a simple gender swap? It seems like it, but no one knows for sure. Are you okay with The Walking Dead taking the liberty of changing such characters this way? Let us know in the comment section.