In tonight’s episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead, we’re going to be introduced to more of who the fans of the original comics call “the Atlanta survivors.” We were introduced to some of them with last week’s “Guts,” and interestingly enough, most of those we met weren’t from the comic. The key-dropping T-Dog? Nope. The racist hick Dixon? Not a chance. Then again, we also met characters from the comics, like the “glass half full guy” Glenn and the necklace-taking Andrea, who are major characters in the comics. While there are indications of some major changes in the works, here’s a group of comic characters I would like to see pop up in the series.
5. Dr. Eugene Porter — If he had been on a plane that crashed on a mysterious island, his name would have been Leslie Arzt. However, Eugene is even more messed up than Arzt; he claims to be a government employee who knows what caused the zombie apocalypse — though in reality, he’s just a high school science teacher who has overblown his importance to keep himself alive.
Sure, the character has a tendency to get annoying, but every character needs a slightly overweight, mullet-wearing jerk, don’t they? (His choice of hairdo is on purpose, he claims. “I don’t want to stand out — I don’t need people to know anything based on my appearance. I’ve run into a lot of people on my trip so far — concealing my intelligence gives me an advantage.”)
He’s an interesting character who will work well on television. I think it might be worth it to typecast Daniel Roebuck for this one, folks.
4. Axel — He’s one of the more minor characters in the series, but Axel certainly gathered a fanbase. In the comic series, the characters take refuge in a prison for a while, and meet three inmates, the least dangerous of which is the old biker Axel, who is one of the lighter characters of the series. He’s a slightly grizzlier Santa Claus, really, and he forms a trusting bond with many of the survivors. When he’s killed in the comic (it should be no surprise, really), even Rick mourns his death briefly, though he has bigger fish to fry, unfortunately.
Axel’s death unleashed a lot of moaning from fans who loved the character. These fans sent letters in to series author Robert Kirkman, who admitted that he liked the character as well, but didn’t think that there was any way else to continue the character. Maybe Darabont & Co. will find another way to continue the character. If not, I hope we at least get to see him pop up for a while.
3. Tyreese — Fans of the comic need not worry: Tyreese is not, I repeat, is not the character T-Dog we met last week. I had the same worries until I found out that Tyreese has already been cast as a different role than T-Dog. We can all breathe a sigh of relief now.
Tyreese is one of the most prominent characters in the comics, and, perhaps next to Rick, he’s the most recognizable. The former NFL football player is one of the cooler characters, despite the personal tragedies he’s been through. His friendship with Rick is one of the most tumultuous in the series, and the character is deep enough that, despite being mostly used for muscle, he’s one of the smarter characters too.
In one scene, Tyreese is accidentally locked in a room crawling with zombies. The survivors, assuming he died, go back in to retrieve him. To their surprise, they find him sitting in a pile of zombies that he’s single-handedly killed. Badass doesn’t even begin to describe it. I can’t wait to see him.
2. Michonne — She’s undoubtedly the most badass female comics character we’ve seen in a long time, and when she makes the conversion to television, she might be the most badass female character we’ve ever seen on TV. Let me say just one word to say how cool she is: swords. Can I say two more words?: Pet. Zombies.
That’s right. The first time we see Michonne (pronounced ME-SHAWN, if you’re wondering), she simply walks up to the survivors camp with a pair of zombies chained to her. Their arms and lower jaws have been removed, so they can’t attack her. As she later tells the survivors, one was her boyfriend, and one was her best friend. Much like the survivors in the television show smeared zombie guts all over themselves to mask their scent, Michonne masked her own scent in a much classier — yet somehow much more badass — way.
Michonne puts up with some pretty awful things, but the way she gets her revenge on those who wrong her is much more violent (and graphic) than anything you’ll ever see in a vigilante movie. Whether or not they show it in the television series is still unknown, but I can’t wait to see Michonne on the screen.
1. The Governor — No character in the comics thus far has had as big of an impact on our group of survivors as the Governor. He’s responsible (at least indirectly) for the deaths of a large number of major characters, including two on this list — and one that you’ve already seen pop up on the TV series today. He cut off Rick’s hand, and is ultimately the biggest threat the survivors have faced — perhaps even more so than the zombies themselves.
The Governor is a sadistic figure, sure, but the weird thing about him is that he does have sort of a heart. He keeps his zombified daughter in his house, and orders the murders of strangers in order to feed her. He manages to keep an entire town behind him, despite the fact that he’s a rapist and murderer. His real name is Philip, but that’s as personal as it gets.
If the Governor pops up next season, I can’t wait to see who is last in that role. And, more importantly, I can’t wait to see how he plays it.
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