The Walking Dead TV show and comics largely followed each other, with the show’s writers using Robert Kirkman‘s existing story as its foundation. However, there were some changes to keep things fresh and some characters received different deaths. But, if you wanted to get ahead of the TV audience, reading the comics was a good way to get a good idea of what is likely to happen.
Because the TV show didn’t always follow the comics, some characters met different fates. Some TV characters received the deaths that happened to other comic book characters, and some weren’t killed off at all. Here are 7 characters from The Walking Dead that many completely different fates in the comics.
Sophia Peletier
When it comes to the TV show it would be understandable if you just thought “Who?” She was only in the show for a handful of episodes before being killed off early on in season 2. But, Sophia (Madison Lintz) was Carol‘s (Melissa McBride) daughter who went missing while escaping a horde of Walkers before being discovered in the barn of the Greene farm as a Walker. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) ultimately killed her after she reanimated to put her out of her misery.
In the comics, her fate was completely different as she ended the series still alive as an adult. The final issue jumped forward 25 years and showed that Sophia had married Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) and they had a child together. This makes Sophia one of the few characters that survived the entire series, some of which include Carl, Maggie (Lauren Cohan), and Michonne (Danai Gurira).
Lori Grimes
Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies) is the wife of Rick and mother to Carl and later Judith (Adelaide/Eliza Cornwell) who she gives birth to during the show/comics. In The Walking Dead TV show, Lori dies during childbirth due to the lack of healthcare available during an apocalypse. It also doesn’t help that the survivors are trapped in a prison at the time. When it comes to the comics she has a different death. Lori still dies in the prison but she survives childbirth. Instead, she does a short time later during an attack on the prison by the Governor (David Morrissey).
Judith Grimes
Judith is the sister of Carl and stepdaughter of Rick and we see her grow from a newborn baby to a pre-teen throughout the course of The Walking Dead TV series. Despite her young age she becomes quite the skilled fighter and manages to stay alive until the end of the show. But, her comic book counterpart has one of the most tragic deaths in the entire series.
As mentioned in the previous entry, her mother Lori is killed during an attack on the prison. Unfortunately, this is where Judith also dies when she is crushed to death by Lori as she collapsed after being shot. At the time of her death, Judith is still a newborn baby which makes this death very sad and fans were so glad nothing like this was emulated in the TV show.
Abraham Ford
It came as a shock when Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) was chosen to be Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) first victim. The season 6 finale saw Negan swing his baseball bat at one of the survivors but it didn’t reveal who due to the first-person camera shot. This meant fans had to wait for months to discover who was killed. Unfortunately, Abraham wouldn’t be the only victim as Glenn (Steven Yeun) was also killed off in this scene, although he was also the victim in the comics so it was to be expected.
When it comes to the comics, Abraham met a different fate and that was instead given to another character in the TV show. In retaliation for Rick and his group killing members of the Saviors, Negan sends Dwight (Austin Amelio) to get revenge. He then shoots Abraham through the head with a crossbow to kill him. In the TV show, this death is given to Denise (Merritt Wever).
Carl Grimes
Carl Grimes is the son of Rick and was seen as the future protagonist that would take over from his father when/if he is eventually killed. Over the years there have been many theories that the show would end with an older Carl remembering and telling the stories that we saw on screen. This meant that it came as a huge shock when Carl was killed off in season 8 after being bitten by a Walker. It wasn’t just the audience who were shocked by this, Chandler Riggs was also caught off guard after he had relocated to be closer to the filming locations just months prior to his character being killed off.
Thankfully, Carl’s fate in the comics is much better because the old man Carl theory came true. The finale issue of The Walking Dead focuses on an older Carl 25 years in the future and the life that he has built with his wife Sophia and the new community that has rebuilt the world following the apocalypse. This is the finale that many fans believe the TV show should have had.
Paul “Jesus” Monroe
Jesus (Tom Payne) quickly became one of the most popular characters in The Walking Dead and he soon integrated himself well into the community. In The Walking Dead TV show, the character met an unexpected fate when he was killed when the Whisperers made their debut and the survivors were caught off guard when Walkers started stabbing people. HI death caught viewers off guard as much as the survivors. In the comics, Jesus has a much better fate as he survives until the very end. The final issue of the comic flash forwards 25 years and Jesus is still alive in that issue and is now in his 60s. This means that he has seen the apocalypse come to an end and is a key figure in rebuilding the new world.
Rosita Porter
Rosita (Christian Serratos) managed to make it until the finale of The Walking Dead before being killed and the show was better for it. By the end of the show, Rosita was a mother and got bitten while defending her young daughter from Walkers. This led to a very tragic death and people came to say their goodbyes as she slowly died in bed.
In The Walking Dead comics, the character’s fate was very different and very tragic when considering the circumstances. Fans of the show will remember that during the war with the Whisperers, Alpha (Samantha Morton), and her group killed 10 survivors and put their heads on pikes including Henry (Macsen/Matt Lintz), Enid (Katelyn Nacon), and Tara (Alanna Masterson). This was Rosita’s fate in The Walking Dead comics, but what made it even more sad was she was pregnant at the time and the killing of Rosita also killed her unborn child.
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