Who Are The Whisperers In ‘The Walking Dead’?

First there is the Governor, then comes Negan, and then there’s a savage group known by The Walking Dead comic readers as the Whisperers.

The Whisperers first appeared in issue #130, four issues after the All Out War story between Rick and Negan had concluded. They would quickly become one of the most terrifying and menacing threats to Rick Grimes and Alexandria under the leadership of Alpha and Beta.

Major spoilers from The Walking Dead comics follow!

The group is unlike anything The Walking Dead had ever introduced by the time they came around. Unlike the Woodbury and the Saviors, the Whisperers don’t have a single location they call home. Instead, they wear the skin and faces of the dead and walk among them, never speaking above a whisper, and constantly blending in. They have no rules and live without bounds and are eager to end anyone who will interfere with their way of life.

Unfortunately for characters like King Ezekiel and Rosita, the Alexandrian way of life interfered with the Whisperers, prompting Alpha to infiltrate the community and kidnap several residents. She would then use their heads on pike to mark the territory which Rick and his people were never to cross.

Alpha, a character whose pre-apocalyptic name is never revealed, had a daughter named Lydia. Lydia developed a relationship with Carl and elected stay at the Hilltop with him against her mother’s wishes but is ultimately handed over in a hostage exchange under Maggie and Alpha’s orders. The leader believes Rick and Maggie’s attempts to rebuild civilization are a “shrine to a long dead world.”

After several encounters, a massive war would be waged between the two groups. However, the tipping point was Negan’s escape from an Alexandria prison only to meet with the Whisperer group. While it appeared the villain would seek revenge on Rick and Alexandria for taking his position of power and the Saviors from him, he would decapitate Alpha and return her head to Rick. The exchange allowed for the beloved by many fans relationship between Rick and now anti-hero Negan and the two would be forced to work together throughout the war.

It doesn’t sound as though the Whisperers will be introduced to The Walking Dead TV series in its eighth season, however. “I don’t think there’s a Lydia this season, at least,” Enid actress Katelyn Nacon said at Walker Stalker Con in Atlanta. “Unless that just went over my head.”

Some fans suspect the Whisperers may have already been introduced, with Pollyanna McIntosh’s Jadis potentially transitioning into the role of Alpha further down the line in the AMC series. Given her shortspoken nature and comments about Rick such as, “Talks too much,” the theories have good ground to stand on.

“I think, you know, in a very diplomatic, politician type of way,” McIntosh told ComicBook.com of the Alpha/Jadis theories. “I can say I think anything is possible in this universe we’re inhabiting right now and that’s one of the really strong points of the show because I’m not gonna tell you anything!”

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.