Six Walking Dead Characters With Radically Different Fates in the Comics

AMC’s The Walking Dead has an unrivaled ability to shock its dedicated fanbase, even those who have read The Walking Dead comics for years.That’s because the show often deviates from the comic in surprising and unexpected ways, leaving everyone guessing which of their favorite characters will be the next to die.Some of The Walking Dead‘s most popular characters have experienced far different fates in the comic and television series, with both positive and negative results.When mixed with the addition of characters like Daryl, who has no counterpart in the comics, it’s impossible to know what will happen next on The Walking Dead, even during storylines (like Negan’s introduction during Season 6’s finale) that mirror the comics.Here’s six characters from The Walking Dead whose fates veered way off course from the comics:

Andrea

In The Walking Dead television show, Andrea tries to broker peace between the Governor and Rick, but eventually turns on the Governor when she learns of his plans to torture and kill Michonne.  Although her actions do bring peace between the prison and Woodbury, the Governor kills Andrea by stabbing his ex-lackey Milton and locking her in a room as he reanimates into a zombie.  Rick and the rest of Andrea’s friends arrive too late, as they find Andrea dying from a bite wound. As Michonne stays behind to comfort her friend, Andrea commits suicide rather than reanimate as a zombie.

While the TV version of Andrea suffered a pretty tragic fate, the comic book version of Andrea remains alive and well.  One of the best shots in Rick’s group, she plays a vital role in keeping the group alive during their travels and eventually becomes Rick’s lover and Carl’s surrogate mother.  

Judith

In Season 3, Lori dies giving birth to Judith, a baby girl whose father is either Rick or Shane. Regardless, Rick claims Judith as her own and the group comes together to protect the baby as she grows up in a zombie apocalypse.  Rick was devastated when Judith goes missing in the aftermath of the Governor’s attack on the prison, but discovers that Carol and Tyreese rescued the baby girl while escaping the grounds.  Judith’s currently happy and safe in Alexandria alongside Rick’s friends.

Judith might have survived the Governor’s attack on the prison on the TV show, but she wasn’t so lucky in the comics. While trying to flee with Judith in her arms, Lori was shot in the back by one of the Governor’s followers. Lori fell on top of Judith as she fell to the ground dead, crushing her. 

Carol

Rick’s quiet ace in the hole, Carol is one of the biggest badasses in The Walking Dead and has had one of the biggest character transformations over the course of the show.  Originally a meek housewife married to an abusive man, Carol came out of her shell when her husband was eaten by zombies. As Carol grew more assertive, she became a pragmatist ready to kill fellow survivors without hesitation for the protection of the group.  Although her willingness to unilaterally kill eventually led to her exile, Carol redeemed herself by saving Rick and her friends from the cannibals at Terminus, and she was welcomed back into the group as one of Rick’s closest advisors.  

Carol might be one of the most intriguing characters on The Walking Dead television series, but she was a pretty sad character in the comics. Carol demanded constant companionship during her stay with Rick’s group and became dependent on Rick’s family for support.  She dated Tyreese for a while, but broke up with him when she caught him cheating with Michonne.  Heartbroken and losing touch with reality, Carol tried to enter into a polygamous relationship with Lori and Rick, but was rejected by both. She eventually committed suicide by zombie attack, leaving her daughter Sophia to be raised by the Grimes. 

Hershel

Maggie’s father and a steadying influence on Rick and the rest of the Walking Dead survivors, Hershel survived a zombie bite to the leg when Rick quickly amputated the infected leg with an axe.  While he survived the zombie attack, he didn’t fare quite so well during the Governor’s attack on the prison. The Governor captured Hershel and used him a hostage to force Rick and his friends to surrender. When the prison community refused, the Governor sliced Hershel’s neck with Michonne’s sword, causing a skirmish to start between both sides. During the battle, the Governor found Hershel and decapitated him.

While the comic book version of Hershel also died during the prison assault at the hands of the Governor, he died with both legs.  As Hershel fled from the prison with his son Billy (who didn’t appear in the TV show) and other survivors, one of the Governor’s followers shot Billy in the head.  Having lost the rest of his family (save for Maggie) over the course of the series, Hershel simply couldn’t go on any longer and collapsed next to the corpse of his son.  The Governor caught up to Hershel as he cradled his son’s body and coldly executed the old man.

Dale

An early voice of reason in The Walking Dead television show, Dale clashed with Rick in an attempt to keep the group from descending into savagery, and kept a wary eye on Shane as Shane descended into madness. Unfortunately,  Shane was mortally wounded by a wandering zombie near Hershel’s farm.  After Rick couldn’t bring himself to put Dale out of his misery, Daryl sadly shot Dale in the head to prevent him from reanimating.

Dale didn’t last too long on The Walking Dead TV series, but he had a pretty long and fruitful run in the comics.  Dale had a romantic relationship with Andrea and formed a small family unit with her and two twin boys that had lost their parents in the early issues of the comic.  It was Dale who had his leg amputated instead of Hershel when he was bitten by a zombie. Although Dale and Andrea fled the prison before the Governor attacked, he later died after getting bitten by a zombie while mourning the loss of the twins.  Not wanting to raise a scene, he tried to quietly leave Rick’s group but was captured by the Hunters and partially eaten.  After Rick and his friends rescued Hershel and killed the Hunters in retaliation, Andrea put down her longtime lover with a bullet to the head.   

Tyreese

A central character for much of The Walking Dead‘s fourth and fifth season, Tyreese dies after he’s bitten by a zombie in Noah’s home shortly before the group reaches Alexandria.  After he hallucinates seeing many of the show’s dead characters, Tyreese lets go of the guilt he had carried for much of the show and accepts his own impending death.

While Tyreese was a psychologically fragile and complex character on the show, his comic book counterpart was much more assertive and charismatic character.  Tyreese was one of Rick’s closest friends (similar to Rick’s relationship with Daryl on the TV series) and helped Rick lead the group after they settled at the prison.  When the Governor attacked the prison, he captured Tyreese instead of Hershel and decapitated him in front of the prison to prove he was serious about killing Rick and his friends.