The Walking Dead Conspiracy Theory: Are The Wolves Setting Up Negan?

Somewhere down the line, Negan is almost certainly going to make his entrance on The Walking Dead [...]

wolvesnegan

Somewhere down the line, Negan is almost certainly going to make his entrance on The Walking Dead television series. If it's anything like it is in issue 100 of the comic books, it will be both brutal and unforgettable.

Fans went wild in the first half of season 5 when they thought they got a look at Negan at Terminus, but writer Robert Kirkman confirmed that the man with the slick hair was in fact, not Negan. Readers of the comic are hungry for this Negan appearance, though. 

wolveswall


Throughout the second half of season 5, The Walking Dead has been dropping hints left and right about the shows next villainous group, apparently called the Wolves. First, during the episode "What Happened And What's Going On" the group explored Noah's old neighborhood, Shirewilt Estates. The neighborhood was ravaged by an unknown group of assailants, but a clue may have been found in literal writing on the wall. On a brick wall, the phrase, "Wolves Not Far," was spray painted. If viewers looked closely a bit earlier, they could also see this written on a barn, noticed by Michonne on the way to Shirewilt.

Ws


Then, there's the limbless walker torsos that flopped out of the truck outside Shirewilt. Each one had a "W" carved into their foreheads. There is some speculation that this could be linked to the Whisperers that just recently came into play (much later than the equivalent to where the show's plot is at) in the comic book series, but I'm not buying that theory. I think it's more likely that the self-titled Wolves either carve the W into the heads of their victims or use walkers as weapons like Negan and his saviors have in the comics. 

comics


The last one isn't a trail left behind by the group, but simple foreshadowing by the writers. In the most recent episode, "Remember," Carl picked up a comic book. While the audience couldn't really make out the cover, the top of the back side was loud and clear - "Wolf Fight." There's no doubt going to be a show down between this Wolves group and Rick & Co.

Greg Nicotero confirmed on Talking Dead a few weeks back that this is part of the mystery that will unfold, saying that the group is "Bad, sadistic," and "Twisted." I have my theory.

While it's a possibility that the Wolves will be the shows version of the DC Scavengers from the comic books, I think that it's even more likely they will be the television adaptation of Negan's group of crazies: The Saviors.

Think about it... Deanna Monroe told Rick that she banished three people from the community. The community runs a fairly tight ship where people have to hold up their end of contributing and having humanity in order to stay- which we know Negan would not. One of these people will surely be the TV counterpart of Alexander Davidson, the co-founder of the Alexandria Safe-Zone in the comics who got a little power crazy. Perhaps Deanna banished Negan (and maybe one his cohorts, too) from the community, as well, only for him to band an army of wild men together, attack and destroy the Shirewilt community like the animals that they are, and return to Alexandria to demand their cooperation.

While I don't think we'll see Negan in season 5 of The Walking Dead, I do think that we now have met characters who have met and had to deal with him. It's also possible, like I said, that the Wolves is another name for the DC Scavengers, but they're a much less organized and intimidating foe than the Saviors. 

What do you think? Are the Saviors going to be renamed the Wolves on The Walking Dead's TV adaptation? Are the Wolves going to be the DC Scavengers? Or do you have a completely different theory of your own?

0comments