While The Walking Dead sometimes deviates from its source material (just ask Carl), the AMC show managed to follow Robert Kirkman’s comics quite accurately in the Season Eight finale.
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While the choice to keep Negan alive following the All Out War story and each of his crimes which came before it conflicted some fans, it was a decision made years prior in issue #126. Negan spared Rick quite similarly, though the fight between the two powerhouse characters was a bit different on the pages.(Photo: Skybound/AMC)
Below, we compare AMC’s The Walking Dead and its Season Eight finale to The Walking Dead comics and the conclusion of its 12-issue All Out War arc (with photos created by The Walking Dead publisher Skybound)…
The Slice
Fans of the comics were not as surprised as those who exclusively watch the television series when Rick sliced Negan’s throat.
Of course, in The Walking Dead comics, this moment came after a brawl (which we’ll get to later) which did not involve any “give me 10 seconds” moment or mentions of Carl’s view of the world. Carl was and is very much alive in the comics.
Still, Rick elected to slice Negan’s throat and end the war once and for all on both the pages and small screen. In the comics, the Saviors had not yet surrendered as their bullets never exploded as they did on television. Negan’s injury was the end of the road for them.
“Save Him”
“Save him,” Rick called out on the TV series to the dismay of Maggie Grimes.
In the comics, he had a few more words, because he was recovering from a serious injury of his own, as well.
“No, I’m going to live,” Rick said. “You make sure he does, too.” Ultimately, he ruled, “You save his life.” It was a moment where Rick found what it took to rebuild society without killing anyone who did not conform to the norms of civilization. Again, it didn’t require Carl’s death to send the same message in the comics, but the outcome remains the same.
Prisoner
After Negan was captured, Rick had him held in the infirmary and taken prisoner, in both mediums.
“Now we rebuild,” Rick said in the comics. “We’re going to undo all the damage you did… and with you out of the way, we’re going to thrive. I’m going to keep you alive. I’m going to make you watch what we become so that you can see how wrong you were… how much you were holding us back. You’re going to rot in jail until you die an old man, Negan.”
His speech was not unlike the one delivered by Andrew Lincoln’s version of the character. “We’re not going to kill you, we’re not going to hurt you,” Rick said. “You’re going to rot in a cell… You’re going to be evidence that we’re making a civilization. Something like what we had. Something we’re gonna get back. You alive is going to help show people things have changed. Keeping you breathing earns another way, a better way. That’s the part you’re play.”
The Leg
Perhaps the biggest difference, aside from Carl being dead for these moments, was the leg break.
Not only has the AMC show spared Rick Grimes of losing his hand but the war’s culmination kept him from another serious injury. In issue #126, Negan gets the best of Rick on the battlefield for a moment. Capitalizing on his strength and size over Rick, he breaks the Alexandrian leader’s leg.
When the book came back with issue #127, Rick was walking around Alexandria with a cane as his leg never truly recovered, and a considerable amount of time had passed since the war had ended and when the next issue’s story took place.
