Negan is
a fictional character in the comic book series The Walking Dead. He
is the leader of a group of over 50 survivors in Washington, DC called the
Saviors, who extort other communities in the area for half of their resources
in return for protection against roamers. The character's appearance is based
on Henry Rollins, as confirmed by Charlie Adlard himself,
and his excessive use of profanity was worked in by Robert
Kirkman and derived from other people he knew. Jeffrey Dean
Morgan portrays Negan in the television series of the
same name and first appeared in the series' sixth season finale.
After Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors agree
to begin a trading relationship with the Hilltop Colony, they are
ambushed by the Saviors and are forced to obey Negan's orders
to give the Saviors half of their supplies, as the other communities
do. Initially obedient, Rick and the others secretly conspire
with other communities in the DC area to prepare for war against the
Saviors. Negan resides in an abandoned factory, where most
of the attractive women, formerly other men's girlfriends or wives, act as his
wives. He soon grows fond of Rick's son, Carl Grimes.
Creation
Robert Kirkman conceptualized
the character after scrapping the idea of Rick Grime's being
forced to protect his son, Carl Grimes, by killing fellow
survivor, Glenn Rhee
Personality
Negan has
a unique personality: a purer form of psychopathic typification than that
of The Governor, who had sociopathic tendencies and often engaged
in emotional outbursts. Negan is as feared, respected as a
king, and seen as the first and last word on the activities of his group, the
Saviors. Brutal, foul-mouthed, and possessed of a twisted sense of
humor, Negan carries a barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat he's
named Lucille. Yet, his behavior in certain situations might not
always be construed as evil. While he can be merciless and unrelenting when
getting a point across, he is also (at least superficially) understanding of
others and willing to spare those he sees as potentially useful. He is also
shown to be quite reasonable when people attempt to negotiate with him, and he
has a genuine disgust for the act of rape. Interestingly, this stands in contrast
to his need for a harem comprising other men's wives and girlfriends.
Negan has a penchant for provocation and power games. The stronger the resistance to his will, the more he seems to enjoy the test of wills. Having insight rarely associated with violent antagonists,[citation needed] Negan appears to both observe and appreciate the concerns and intentions of his opposite numbers. This gives him a serious psychological advantage in most contests of will, as he can anticipate and preempt an enemy's plans.
Appearances
Here's Negan - Chapter 1
Before the outbreak, Negan is playing Ping-Pong
in his garage with some of the neighborhood boys who attend the school where he
works. The boys refer to him as "Coach Negan". After defeating and
belittling one of the boys, they run off and he instantly expresses regret
about his behavior. His wife comes out to yell at him and Negan expresses
his desire for the students to respect him by being the "cool teacher"
outside of school. His wife then suddenly collapses.
A Larger World
At some point after the outbreak, Negan established The Saviors
and fiercely ruled over his group. Negan, along with his team (which includes
at least 50 or more other men), had made a deal with the Hilltop Colony: the
Saviors would use the weaponry the other group was lacking to kill all zombies
wandering near The Hilltop's premises, and in return, the Saviors would obtain
half of Hilltop's supplies, such as livestock and crops. To get his point across,
if a potential problem would arise, Negan and his men would resort to cruel and
manic measures. For example, if they sensed they were being tracked, or if they
believed they weren't getting sufficient supplies, the Saviors beat or kill
people from Hilltop. The Saviors also sent "messages" to the Hilltop community,
which were usually very deadly, such as Ethan's stabbing Gregory.
Something To Fear
Later, Negan, along with 50 other Saviors, snuck up on
Rick's group and subdued Rick by surprise. They lined up all of the survivors
from the van (Rick, Carl, Glenn, Maggie, Sophia, Michonne, and
Heath), telling them that Negan wanted revenge for the Saviors who were killed.
Without Rick's consent, Negan imposed a binding deal: everything that belonged
to the Alexandria Safe-Zone now belonged to the Saviors. Negan also introduced
his weapon of choice; Lucille, a baseball bat covered in barbed wire. After a
long talk about the new world order and whom he should beat to death using Lucille,
he finally chose his victim at random: Glenn. Maggie panicked, while Glenn
tried talking Negan out of it. However, Negan ignored him and
used Lucille to smash Glenn's skull. Negan laughed, and when Glenn attempted to
get to his feet, the former remarked, "He's taking it like a champ",
before swinging the bat again, dislocating Glenn's jaw and beating Glenn to
death. Negan told the mourning and crying group that the Saviors would be back
in one week to collect half of everything that Alexandria Safe-Zone owned, or
there would be more killings. Rick vowed to avenge Glenn's murder and kill
Negan. Negan laughed at this, beat Rick with his bare hands, and then turned
around, leaving the survivors with Glenn's mangled corpse.
What Comes After
Negan and
the Saviors later arrived at the Alexandria Safe-Zone for their first offering.
Spencer Monroe arrived at the gate, questioning Negan's identity, and Negan
laughs, referencing the events of Issue 100. Bemused that not everyone knows
his name, Negan remarks that he "had to make a pretty fucking strong first
impression" and asks Spencer to get Rick. When Spencer leaves,
Negan and the Saviors begin killing the roamers in the surrounding area. While
the Saviors scavenge each of the houses for supplies, Negan makes several rude comments
about his beating of Glenn, about Olivia being overweight, and toward Carl when
Carl threatens him. Negan also forces Rick to hold "Lucille" while he
scavenges the Safe-Zone. When Denise threatens a Savior for taking important
medical supplies, and Rick attempts to reason with Negan, Negan tells the group
that their big walls are the only medicine they need. Before Negan departs, he
retrieves "Lucille" from Rick and whispers, "I just slid
my dick down your throat, and you thanked me for it."
Negan and his men depart from the Safe-Zone with supplies, but,
unbeknownst to them, Carl is hiding in the truck with an assault rifle. Once
the Saviors get back to their base, Negan is amazed to see that Dwight is still
alive. "There is always next time, I suppose," he says, much to
Dwight's disgust. A Savior finds Carl, and Carl uses the rifle
to kill six Saviors. They surround Carl, and he demands to speak with Negan.
When Negan arrives, Carl fires at them until he loses control of his gun.
Dwight is about to kill Carl when Negan stops Dwight and says, "Is that
any way to treat our new guest?"
Instead of taking immediate action against young Carl, Negan shows
an impressive amount of interest in getting to know the child. He goes as far
as to lead him through the Saviors' facilities, revealing that he is the leader
of a cult-like domain of selfless followers who bow to his every word and command.
Many followers in his ranks are living on a point system in order to sustain
their lives, though many give into his graces in exchange for a better
lifestyle, most notably the women he considers his "wives".
It is brought to Negan's attention that one of his many wives,
Amber, has committed adultery against him with her former lover. As Negan goes
to handle the situation, he brings Carl along to see his wives and how he
handles his affairs, before degrading the terrified Amber in front of them all.
Afterward, Negan and Carl share a private moment in Negan's quarters, where he
reveals that he'd like to get to know Carl a little better, but he gets distracted
by Carl's bandaged face. He orders Carl to remove the bandages, showing
interest in seeing the injury to his eye. Carl allows him to see it only after
being threatened; he removes the bandages to reveal the disturbing results of
having been shot. Negan, in a state of disbelief and awe, jokingly mocks the
deformity and goes as far as to ask Carl if he can touch the part of his skull
showing through Carl's exposed eye-socket, which causes Carl to break finally
and cry. This appears to have an odd effect on Negan, who takes back the
gesture and apologizes, seeing that he has finally found a weakness in the child
he finds so dangerous.
They are interrupted by one of Negan's followers who returns
"Lucille" to him and leaves them alone once again. Negan reverts to coldness
and orders Carl to sing a song for him while he swings the bat dangerously close.
After this intense encounter, they are interrupted once again, and
Negan is told the iron is ready. Negan has Carl hold "Lucille" while
he follows him to witness the event. In a ritualistic fashion, complete with call
and response chanting, with the followers answering to Negan's words, Negan
demonstrates shows that whoever falls onto his bad graces is dealt with by having
their face seared by a hot iron. Tied to the end of a pole, the tool once used
to straighten clothes is held over a fire before being handed to Negan, who
presses it against the victim's face as punishment for their betrayal. In this case,
it is the face of Amber's former lover Mark, who is left deformed in the same
manner as Dwight, with a portion of his face permanently scarred and an eyeball
exposed. After the ritual, Negan dismisses his congregation before turning to Carl,
who hands back "Lucille", and Negan leads him away, contemplating
what to do with him.
Negan runs into Rick while the latter was on his way to find Carl.
Negan tells Rick how eager he is to show him "what he has done to his
son".[9] Rick, in a fit of rage, then attacks Negan before Negan reveals
that Carl is fine, and Negan clarifies that he is eager to show Rick "that
he has done nothing to his son."
March To War
Several days later, Negan arrives at the Alexandria Safe-Zone a
few days ahead of schedule; he's informed that the community is "practically"
out of supplies, and Rick went out looking for more. Negan decides that he will
stay in Alexandria until Rick returns from the supply run. He makes an offhand comment
about Olivia's weight; she overhears it and starts to cry. He tries to
apologize, but she slaps him. Despite several Saviors' offering to kill her,
Negan dismisses them. Negan is later approached by Spencer Monroe and asks for
a little background on the Safe-Zone. After a while, Negan gets impatient with
Spencer and wants to know why he came to him. Spencer then tells Negan that Rick
is not a suitable leader for the community and asks that once Negan
assassinates Rick, Spencer be given control over the Safe-Zone. Negan feels
insulted that Spencer would wait until Rick was gone to tell him this. He
responds by telling Spencer that Rick may hate him, but, he has guts, unlike
Spencer, who acted like a coward. Negan then slashes Spencer's stomach, killing
him almost instantly, remarking that he had guts after all. He then orders one
of his men to clean the mess up "before a kid sees it."
Negan asks Denise, who witnessed the attack, where
Spencer lived so he could go and shoot some pool. Rick later returns and confronts
Negan, who casually blows him off. Rick demands to know what happened, or Negan
won't leave Alexandria alive. After picking up Lucille and praying to give him
strength, Negan drops the excessive profanity he normally uses and tells Rick
that he feels like he's "bent over backwards to show how reasonable I can
be" in regards how he brought Carl back to the Safe-Zone safely, and he
hints about how Spencer wanted to have him assassinate Rick. After seeing the
supplies Rick has gathered, Negan initially demands all of it but then decides
to take nothing, as repayment for having killed Spencer. Rick insists that they
take their share, and Negan has no objections. As the Saviors are driving back
to the foundry, Negan notices Rick and a few others are following them. An
instant later, the driver is shot and killed. Confused and angry, Negan takes
Lucille and sees Rick pointing a gun at his head. Suddenly, a gunshot is heard,
and Rick's gun is destroyed as well as those of the others who came out with
him. Negan remarks on how stupid Rick and the others are to use bullets on the
roamers instead of saving them for "the much more dangerous thinkers"
(i.e., the living). Negan reveals that before every pickup, he has a back-up
team armed with guns surround the Safe-Zone and guard the area while he and the
other Saviors go in and salvage for supplies. With a crazed smile on his face,
Negan leans into Rick and says that he and the Safe-Zone residents are "fucking
fucked."
Negan smiles and says that in a stand-off situation, snipers tend
to give away their position after several shots. He clarifies that Rick's
"sniper bitch is as good as dead," causing Rick to try and strike
him. As Negan holds him off, Carl shoots off a portion of Lucille, causing the
Saviors to open fire at the Safe-Zone walls. Negan orders them to stop, and is
shocked and angry about the damage to Lucille. Rick tackles him from behind,
but Negan subdues him once more. He calls Carl a one-eyed asshole and shouts
for Carl to be thrown over the wall, saying: "I want him to pay for what
he's done!" Rick tries to object, but Negan beats him and issues an
ultimatum: "Give me the boy, or I'll bash in all four skulls of the people
out here!" Negan admits that he liked Carl at first and that he never had
a kid of his own; if he did, he wanted him to be like Carl. Rick says that if Carl
dies, their agreement is over, but, Negan states that it already IS over. He
orders his men to line up Rick, Heath, Nicholas, and Holly, then begins to decide
which one to kill first. He notices a figure falling from the bell tower and
smugly repeats that he knew Rick's sniper was good as dead, not realizing that
it's not Andrea, but Connor.
Negan taunts Rick about Andrea's supposed demise, and Nicholas
interrupts him, pleading for his life. Negan berates Nicholas for doing this
and accuses him of being a coward. He asks Rick, Heath, or Holly to ask him to
kill Nicholas and says if they do so, he will spare them. However, Heath tells
him, no, and so Negan begins to pick which one of them he will kill.
Negan is interrupted when Paul Monroe grabs a Savior by the foot
and uses him as a shield from the Saviors' bullets. Negan tells his men to
stand down, and when he does this, Paul leaps out of a trench and kicks the
nearest Savior in the face. Paul orders Rick and the others into a trench and
proceeds to fight his way towards Negan. When Paul reaches Negan, he manages to
disarm him and hold him hostage. Paul stalls the Saviors until Ezekiel and his
men arrive. Negan breaks free from Paul and runs to a truck, where he retreats
back to The Sanctuary with his men. Negan is later seen back at The Sanctuary,
where he gives the Saviors a speech about their being the dominant force in the
world, and they need to remind people of that. Negan then states they are going
to war.
All Out War
Several days later, Rick's army arrives at the Saviors' base and
demands that Negan come out. Initially, Negan is amused by this and begins to
taunt him. Rick reveals that they know there are women, children, and others
inside who aren't part of this fight, he offers a chance to surrender and let
them live; for the rest, he reaffirms his old saying: "You kill, and you
die." Negan plays along with it and asks what will happen if he refuses.
After hearing that "whatever happens, happens" Negan thinks for a
split second and blatantly refuses Rick's offer. He muses that if he thinks the
army he's assembled "can actually accomplish something... that's fucking
rich." He briefly entertains the idea of letting Rick's plan go through
only to reveal a wildcard; after the ambush at Alexandria, Negan ordered
Gregory kidnapped and brought to him. Afraid of what Negan might do, Gregory
quickly pledged his allegiance (and that of the Hilltop) to Negan and the
Saviors. After Gregory informed his loyalty towards Negan, he told Negan that
the majority of Rick's army was people from the Hilltop Colony. Negan is
pleased with this, but when Rick's army arrived, he is furious that only eight
people accept the ultimatum and leave. Negan berates Gregory
for this misinformation and kicks him off the balcony. He refuses Rick's offer
once more, and his snipers begin to fire at the militia. Negan asks Lucille if
she "believes this shit" and retreats from the bullets and falling
glass. He calls Dwight, ordering him to bring the men from the outposts back to
help drive off Rick's army. Dwight agrees but due to the commotion, Negan
doesn't notice the former's hesitation to act immediately. As more men rush
outside, Negan orders them to start shooting the army before all their snipers
are killed. He suddenly notices that all their snipers are taking cover and is
initially confused as to why Rick's militia are shooting not the snipers, but
the windows. He then notices the large herd of zombies that are rapidly approaching
the Sanctuary walls. He looks outside the fence and tells Dwight that "I
hope you're wearing your shitting pants." Suddenly, Holly drives through
the fence, destroying a portion of it and letting the herd inside. Negan frantically
orders his men back inside the foundry but notices that Holly is still alive
from the crash. He sees a zombie about to kill her and dispatches it. As she
looks up, Negan smiles and says that she wasn't "going to get off THAT fucking
easy." As the zombies converge on the courtyard area, the Saviors retreat
inside the foundry to develop a new strategy.
Negan delivers an analogy to a group of Saviors about how you can
destroy a man "by fucking his vagina", meaning that the best way to
destroy a man's heart is by destroying the woman he loves; Negan clearly
believes this to be Holly since Rick "was going to drive a car at us...
you wouldn't let him sacrifice himself to tear our gate down." She corrects
him by saying he's got the wrong woman; Rick loves Andrea, and she was in love
with Abraham, the man Dwight killed. Negan refuses to listen,
insisting that she is the one who killed Connor "and a terrible
liar." He then orders her taken away and goes off to clear his head.
Later, Negan is seen outside with more Saviors trying to clear the courtyard of
all the zombies, swearing that if any of them die he will "fuck them
up." Eventually, too many roamers pour in the fence and Negan's group
retreat inside once more. Negan realizes that if the herd keeps them stuck
inside for more than one day, they will all be dead, and he orders squads
outside every two hours to clean up the infestation by any means necessary. He
goes to interrogate Holly some more but catches David in the middle of trying
to rape her. Negan demands that he get away from her and grabs him by the collar.
He angrily reminds David one of the Savior's main rules: "We don't
rape", thus proving Negan does hate sexual violence. As punishment for him
breaking this rule, Negan proceeds to stab David in the neck and apologizes to
Holly, telling her that "they [The Saviors] aren't monsters." After
killing David, it is presumed that Negan got word of one of his outposts being
overrun by Rick's army and sent more to fortify the remaining ones. This, in
turn, led to Ezekiel's army being eradicated in a failed attack.[18] Negan also
found a way to eliminate all of the zombies that had flooded into The Sanctuary's
courtyard, for he is later seen heading towards Alexandria. When he arrives at
the Safe-Zone, he throws a grenade over the wall, and it detonates, demolishing
one of the houses and getting Rick's attention. He threatens that 'there's more
where that came from' and insists that he's here to parlay. To support his claim,
he has a blindfolded Holly brought out of his truck and offers to release her
back to Rick. Rick agrees to talk only when Holly is safely back inside, to which
Negan agrees. This is later shown to be a ploy as it's revealed that Negan had
Holly killed and she later reanimated. As the Alexandrians are distracted by
this revelation, Negan orders his men to surround Alexandria and throws another
grenade over the wall, yelling "Bombs away, motherfuckers!". Negan is
happy seeing all the destruction and chaos and admits to Lucille that "my
dick's so hard right now... I should wrap it in barbed wire and call it 'Lucille
II'." He asks Lucille if seeing him use the grenades makes her jealous of
not being inside to take part in all the mayhem and wishes that he was inside
as well watching them all burn. Davis, overhearing the conversation, awkwardly
agrees that he's got a boner too and says [they're] hungry for death as well.
Negan, confused by this, asks what the hell he's talking about. Suddenly, Davis
is shot through the eye and gunfire erupts from behind several buildings.
Surprised by this, Negan orders his men behind one of the trucks. He asks for
one more grenade to use as cover and tells his men "the last boat is
leaving... you'd better fucking be on it." He manages to escape, and they can
make a fast exit. When a Savior makes an offhand comment about retreating,
Negan retorts that this wasn't a retreat. Pointing towards the smoke coming
from Alexandria, he comments that this means they've "just fucking won."
After successfully bombarding Alexandria, Negan is seen leading
his men back to Sanctuary when he sees a herd of roamers attacking several people
from Alexandria. He orders them to kill the roamers and wonders aloud why they
are out here beyond the wall. Nevertheless, he orders Eugene and the others to
be taken back with them. Later, Negan somehow finds out that Eugene was making
ammunition for Rick's army and goes to see him. Flanked by Dwight and Carson,
Negan demands Eugene to begin producing ammo for the Saviors. When the latter
refuses, Negan hands Carson Lucille, then proceeds to grab his own groin
(referring to it as his 'crystal balls') and tells Eugene what will happen if
he refuses to cooperate; smiling, he says that he could iron Eugene's face
(while glancing at Dwight) or castrate him. Negan insists that he doesn't want
to do this, but threatens Eugene by saying that he does things he doesn't like
all the time. Eugene still refuses to betray Rick and Negan leaves Eugene
"with his thoughts and his dick... while he still has it." After
ordering Dwight to lock Eugene up and to check on the others, Negan goes to
have sex with one of his wives (it is implied to be Sherry due to the look he
throws at Dwight), saying that he'll see them both the next morning. Early the
following day, Negan reveals to the Saviors that he's come up with a brilliant
plan that will help them win the war. He has assembled a group of roamers
inside the courtyard to demonstrate his idea, exclaiming "they are the lynchpin
of our plans going forward." Reminding them about the fever that comes
from getting bit or from any other injury caused by a roamer, Negan approaches
one with Lucille. After apologizing to Lucille, Negan begins to rub it all over
the roamer, covering the bat with guts and the bacteria that causes the fever.
Holding up 'the new and improved Lucille,' Negan says that even the slightest
touch from Lucille will now essentially be a death sentence. He orders the
Saviors to do the same to their weapons and then hit the road. Arriving at the
Hilltop later that day, Negan and his men hide in the forest just outside the
Hilltop. He then issues the order: "We attack at sundown."
Several hours later, Negan and his troops arrive at the Hilltop
gates, demanding to see Rick. Kal is atop the wall and threatens them by saying
they won't survive what's behind the walls. Negan tells him to bring Rick, but
Kal says, "you're talking to me." Insulted, Negan has one of his men
shoot Kal off the wall. Once again, Negan demands Rick to show himself. After
no response from him, Negan orders his men to further gunk up their weapons,
saying "we're going in." He goes up to Dwight, making sure his arrows
are covered. Dwight offhandedly talks back, but Negan dismisses it. He warns Rick
one more time what will happen and then orders a truck to ram into the front
gates. The truck gets shot up, but Negan issues another to take its place and
has motorcycles come in as well. The Saviors pour into the Hilltop and begin to
kill off the residents. As gunfire continues to erupt towards them, Negan and
Dwight get separated from the other Saviors. Negan is unaware that Dwight is
loading an arrow to kill him when he spots Rick away from the other survivors.
He tells Dwight to shoot Rick; no matter where he aims "that muck will
make him sick." Dwight is hesitant to do so, but Negan demands why he's
waiting and screams at him to shoot Rick. Dwight finally (and reluctantly) does
so, hitting Rick in the side. After this, Negan declares that "without
him, they're nothing. Game fucking over."
After Rick is hit with the arrow, Negan and Dwight retreat to the
rest of The Savior horde, hoping to devise a plan of attack against the
remaining survivors at Hilltop. When night completely falls on the colony,
Negan is almost accidentally shot by one of The Saviors, who states he couldn't
see properly in the darkness. Negan says that it is not that dark and asks one
of his Saviors the status of the battle. The Savior tells him most of The
Saviors are now re-grouped, and they are ready to get back on the defensive and
Negan orders him and the rest of the men to get ready for their attack on the
Hilltop mansion. When they begin their attack, they are immediately surrounded
by many of Rick's forces, who manage to cause Negan to order and retreat and
head back to The Savior camps on the hillside near Hilltop. After his and The
Saviors' retreat, Negan is seen back at the camp alongside Dwight, who
questions if camping so close to Hilltop is a good idea. Negan says that they
are doing it and remarks that he sometimes wonders if Dwight has ever had a
brain in his head. He elaborates by saying that Rick's forces won't have enough
manpower to counterattack and that because Dwight shot Rick with an arrow, his
death will cause the remaining forces to bow back down to Negan, and he says
that he will be their Savior again, as long as they let him urinate on Rick's
dead body.[24] Seeing the look on Dwight's face, Negan says that there's
nothing weird about that; Negan says that since Rick's ruined everything,
"it'd be weird if I DIDN'T piss all over his dead, bloated body." He
is informed that Carson has escaped with Eugene. Negan tells him not to worry
about it, and that they will deal with them later. Negan arrives at Hilltop's
gates and shoots twice into the air. He claims that he's here to accept their
surrender and asks them to send whoever is now in charge out. He swears the area
he's in will be a safe zone, and there won't be any bloodshed. After getting
impatient, Negan threatens to come back inside when Rick exits the Hilltop.
Bowled over with shock to see him still alive, Negan turns towards Dwight for
an answer, but Rick tells him to "look at me." Overcoming his initial
shock, Negan asks Rick to surrender, to "let things go back the way they
were" but Rick refuses. Negan repeats that he only kills people to make an
example and threatens Rick that he will do so again if pushed too far, but Rick
replies by saying he's "the stupidest fucking person still alive."
Taken back, Negan asks what he's talking about. Rick goes on to say that they
should pool their resources and people together. Negan doesn't believe him,
saying that with the system he's been using, he is saving lives. Rick tells him
in the current situation, the only ones who are winning are the undead; the
only way to get through this is by working together. Negan takes this all in,
and Rick says that they can take their supplies, but they must give the
survivors something in return; make supplies of their own to give or trade for
others via a barter system. A fog seems to lift from Negan's mind and finally
sees what Rick has been talking about; he realizes that his actions and methods
have only helped himself while the communities he's been threatening have
suffered. Negan says he's been wrong all along and that Rick is right. Rick
then slashes Negan's throat with a knife, responding "Good."[25] Caught
by surprise, Negan begins bleeding out while Rick begins to address the
remaining Saviors. Negan then tackles Rick and begins beating him. Despite Rick
putting up a fight, Negan catches one of Rick's legs and breaks it. Laughing,
he eventually passes out due to blood loss. He eventually wakes up inside one
of the rooms in the Hilltop and sees Rick standing over him. He admits to Rick
that during the conversation Rick had with Carl, he was able only to catch bits
and pieces of it. He knows that Rick decided not to kill him, but asks what's
going to happen now. Rick reveals that he's going to keep Negan alive so he can
see how much Negan was holding the survivors back. Rick also tells Negan that
he's going to rot in jail until he dies an old man.
A New Beginning
Two years after the war, Carl goes to the basement of an unknown
house and talks to a figure in the shadows. Saying how he, Mikey and some other
boys went to a girl's house after class, and that she showed them her breasts.
He says it was cool, and all, but he had a crush on her, but after this he is
not sure, remarking how he does not want to have someone who does that sort of
thing. The figure says that nothing is wrong with the girl and suggest Carl not
hold this one instance against her. He then says to Carl that he enjoys the
talks, that it is good for him to keep track of the time and days passed. Carl
says he is leaving, but before he leaves the figure asks him if after all this
time, all the things they have shared and the talks they have had, Carl still
wants to kill him. He turns around and faces the person behind bars, simply
saying: "Yes, Negan. You know I do." Negan asks how he was supposed
to know that Carl wanted to kill him and tells him not to insult his intelligence.
Negan says that he thought the two of them were friends to which Carl walks
away, making Negan retreat into the corner of his cell.
Negan says to Rick that his least favorite part of the day is
shitting in a bucket, but it is also his favorite as Rick has to be the one to
get it. Rick says that he is only bringing him food and that someone else will
be out to clean his bucket later. Negan asks if Rick is taking Carl to the
Hilltop, slightly shocking Rick. Negan says that he and Carl are friends and
that Rick could not break that bond. Negan asks if the creaking he can hear is
a windmill, making Rick say that life would go on without him just as he said
it would. Negan tells Rick that he is just getting things ready for him and
that he will not be in his cell forever. Rick says that he knows Negan will die
behind bars, Negan says that he will not and that deep down, Rick knows he
should have killed Negan. Rick asks Negan if he noticed that he does not use
profanity all that much anymore and asks why that is. Negan says he does not
see the point and that it is best to save his energy. Rick tells Negan that it
is not it and that "It's because I've fucking neutered you like a dog.
You've got no fight left, you pathetic sack of shit." Negan stares at Rick
angrily as he turns around and leaves, telling Negan to enjoy his food. Magna
and her group later come down to see who was in the jail. When they walk down
the stairs to where Negan is being held, Negan grabs the bars to his cell and
asks if they are here to rescue him, saying that "they're animals."
This shocks Magna and her group. Negan begs to be released and claims Rick is a
monster who locked him up and tortured him for speaking out against him.
However, Magna does not believe him, having seen actual victims of torture.
Negan admits he was lying but had to give it a try. Magna and her companions
leave the cell.
Life And Death
Some time later, Negan is bathing and having his hair cut by
Olivia outside his cell door. After finishing, Negan walks back to his cell at
gunpoint from Andrea, who calls him a 'fucking monster,' much to Negan's
amusement. Olivia then proceeds to lock the door, and they both leave Negan
alone. However, it turns out Olivia didn't lock Negan's cell properly as the
door swings open, which Negan notices. However Negan decides not to escape and
remains in his cell with the door open until Rick comes downstairs, then taunts
him about the numerous ways he could have destroyed Alexandria without anyone
realizing, but claimed to stay as sign of good faith and an offering to amend
their trust. However Rick declines and as he locks up the cage and leaves Negan
he taunts him again by stating the only reason he's alive is so Rick can prove
to himself that he's still a good person, and wants everyone else to believe he
is the only one who can fix the world.
No Turning Back
After a tumultuous community meeting regarding Rick's proposed
plan regarding the Whisperers, Rick goes to Negan's cell and asks for his help.
He fills him in on everything that has happened since they've come into conflict
with this new group. Negan advises Rick to keep his group happy, even if that
means lying to them, touting his expertise as leader of the Saviors, some of
whom disliked him. Rick leaves, and Negan dons a grin. When Negan hears the chants
and cheers of Rick's name at a later town meeting, Negan smiles and says,
"atta boy."
Call To Arms
While in his cell, Negan is approached by Brandon Rose, a young
Hilltop resident who bears a grudge against Rick, Carl and the Whisperers; Rick
killed his father as an act of self defense, Carl beat him up after he had attacked
Sophia and Alpha beheaded his mother. He proposes to help Negan escape, and
Negan says he will think about it. Later on Rick and Michonne discover Negan's
empty cell. After his escape, Negan and Brandon enter Whisperer terrain. Here
Brandon tells Negan that he wants Negan to pit Rick and the Whisperers towards
another. In response Negan stabs Brandon in the chest and enters the Whisperer
zone alone. Shortly afterwards Negan is ambushed by a group of Whisperers led
by Beta and he is taken prisoner. They bring him to Alpha. Negan introduces
himself and declares his love for Alpha.
Television series
Sometime after the outbreak, Negan established himself as the
ruthless dictator of a community of survivors called the “Saviors”. He wields a
baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, that he calls “Lucille”. Negan quickly
gathered a large following and established outposts in various locations around
the Washington, D.C. area. Negan and the Saviors encountered the Hilltop Colony
and extorted its leader Gregory into giving them half their supplies on a
regular basis, or the Saviors would kill members of the community. To set an
example, Negan personally used Lucille to club to death a 16 year old resident
named Rory, after which Gregory submitted to Negan’s demands. At some point one
of Negan’s followers, Dwight, fled the Saviors with his wife Sherry,
sister-in-law Tina, and a truck full of supplies that they refer to as Patty.
Negan subsequently sent out a large group, lead by Wade, to retrieve them and
the stolen supplies.
Season 6
In "Always Accountable", Negan’s existence is
first hinted at when Daryl encounters Dwight, Sherry, and Tina, who mistake
Daryl for a Savior, and they say they’re tired of “kneeling” to “him.” A group
of Saviors, led by Wade, is sent by Negan to find them and bring them and their
stolen supplies back, but they fail, in part due to Daryl's interference.
Negan’s existence is confirmed in the mid-season finale, "Start
to Finish", when Daryl, Abraham, and Sasha are stopped on their way back
to Alexandria, by a group of heavily armed men on motorcycles blocking the
road. The group's leader, Bud, orders them to turn over all their belongings,
saying, "Your property now belongs to Negan.”
More is revealed about Negan and the Saviors by Jesus and the
Hilltop residents in "Knots Untie." They say the Saviors
arrived and beat to death a 16-year old boy, after which the Hilltop's leader
Gregory made a deal to give the Saviors half of their supplies, crops, and
livestock in exchange for not being attacked and killed. However, the Saviors
have been increasing their demands, and when the latest delivery of tribute was
declared "light", two Hilltop residents were killed outright and a
third was taken hostage to force his brother to attempt to kill Gregory, as a
message from Negan. Rick's group also needs those supplies, and with nothing
else to trade, Maggie makes a deal with Gregory for half of everything in exchange
for killing Negan and taking out the Saviors.
In "Not Tomorrow Yet", Rick leads a team of 15
fighters on a sneak attack against what he believes is the Saviors' only
stronghold, planning to kill Negan and all of the Saviors in a single strike.
The attack is wholly successful, but they have no means of identifying Negan
from amongst the dead. Maggie and Carol are abducted by Paula's group, who each
claim to be Negan. After Paula's group is killed, Primo, a Savior who attempted
to escape on the motorcycle Dwight earlier stole from Daryl, says: "I am
Negan", and Rick summarily executes him.
In “Twice as Far” when Daryl, Rosita, and Denise are on a
supply run, Negan sends a scarred Dwight and several others to ambush them.
Dwight's team kills Denise, takes Eugene hostage, and demands the surviving
supply runners take them back to Alexandria. However, Abraham is able to save
them, and Dwight is forced to flee.
In “East”, Negan somehow learns of Alexandria's location
and sends several groups to attack it, but one group is stopped by Carol, while
another, lead by Dwight, ambushes and takes Glenn, Michonne, Rosita, and Daryl
hostage.
In “Last Day on Earth”, while driving the ailing Maggie to
the Hilltop, Rick and his group run into multiple roadblocks set by the
Saviors, which eventually causes Rick's group to travel by foot. While walking
through the woods, the group is ambushed by a large contingent of the Saviors,
who take Rick's and his group's weapons and make them get on their knees.
Dwight also brings out Glenn, Daryl, Michonne, and Rosita, and
makes them get on their knees, too. Negan then comes out of an RV and tells Rick
that he must give him all of his possessions, and that Rick and everyone else
at Alexandria work for Negan now; he owns them. Because Rick's group killed a
lot of Saviors, Negan tells Rick's group they have to be punished, and he is
going to beat one of them to death with Lucille. Negan can't decide whom to
kill, so he decides to choose the victim in a game of "Eeny, meeny, minie,
moe", which he recites while pointing Lucille at each member of the group,
before landing on his victim with, "you are it". Negan warns the
group not to say anything or to move, and he begins to beat someone in the
group to death, as everyone else in the group screams.
Development
Jeffrey Dean Morgan was cast as Negan. He made his debut in the
sixth season finale.
Reception
The character of Negan has been praised by both critics and fans
as an antagonist of the series.
IGN on their review of Negan's first appearance, the 100th issue
said: "The new villain already looks to be worthy addition to the book's cast.
I didn't realize how much I missed having a truly awful antagonist like The
Governor in this series until now. The villain's voice is very distinct,
allowing Kirkman to toy with a very different approach to dialogue. For a
series where the characters sometimes ramble on too much without making a clear
point, this character is very much appreciated. On their review for Issue #103,
IGN felt Negan was "quickly giving the Governor a run for his money in the
villainy department". When Negan's community was explored as well as his
relationship with Carl Grimes, it was said that "There's a palpable
tension as we wonder what fate Negan has in mind for his young enemy. But even
at his most sinister, Negan remains strangely charismatic. It's not difficult
to understand how he managed to build such a lofty position for himself, complete
with multiple wives and the total devotion of an entire town."
On the Talking Dead for the season six finale, Morgan stated that
soon after issue 100 was released, he had many fans approach him and tell him
that he was right for the role of Negan in the show.
