‘The Walking Dead’: Which Characters Are on the Pikes in the Comics?

The Walking Dead on Sunday revealed a ten-victim lineup when Daryl (Norman Reedus), Michonne (Danai Gurira), Carol (Melissa McBride), Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura), and Siddiq (Avi Nash) were horrified to discover the Whisperers had impaled the severed heads of Tara (Alanna Masterson), Enid (Katelyn Nacon), Henry (Matt Lintz), and others on pikes as a gruesome declaration of Whisperer territory.

Among the slain were Highwaymen Ozzy (Angus Sampson) and Alek (Jason Kirkpatrick), former Savior DJ (Matt Mangum), former Sanctuary member Frankie (Elyse Nicole DuFour), and Tammy Rose (Brett Butler), Rodney (Joe Ando Hirsh), and Addy (Kelley Mack) of the Hilltop. Unlike the victims in the books, who were abducted or otherwise lured away from a community fair before their murders, Tara, Enid, and the others are seen in flashback engaging in an ultimately futile last stand against an overwhelming number of Whisperers before their deaths.

The Walking Dead issue #144 sees Rick Grimes, accompanied by son Carl and recently rescued former Whisperer Lydia, stumble across the horrific display erected by Lydia’s mother, Alpha. They’re then joined by Michonne, Dante, and Andrea, who asks, “What do we do now?”

Alpha claims one dozen victims in the books, including Michonne’s once-lover King Ezekiel, a pregnant Rosita, and Olivia, Josh, and Erin of Alexandria, Amber of the Sanctuary, Luke, and the Hilltop’s Ken, Larry, Carson, Oscar, and Tammy Rose.

In the show, the above minor characters are either long dead (Olivia, Ken, Carson, Erin), little-seen (Amber), or uninvolved (Josh, Larry). Ozzy, Alek, and DJ are show-only creations, as are Enid, Henry, and Tara (who shares no resemblance to a Savior named Tara in the books). Rodney and Addy are also exclusive to the show, with the latter inspired in part by Anna, a teen who had a crush on Carl, Henry’s comic book counterpart.

This leaves Tammy — who had recently adopted an abandoned Whisperer baby with husband Earl (John Finn) — as the sole character to be piked in both the comic and the television series. Surprisingly, Luke (Dan Fogler) was spared his comic book fate, leaving the group of Yumiko, Magna (Nadia Hilker), Kelly (Angel Theory), and Connie (Lauren Ridloff) in tact — for now.

The Walking Dead next airs its Season Nine finale, “The Storm,” Sunday, March 31 at 9/8c on AMC.

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