Negan Should Have Killed Rick, Not Glenn, And Robert Kirkman Knows It

Even The Walking Dead's Creator Knows Negan Killed the Wrong Guy Steven Yeun as Glenn holding a gun while leaning against the wall in The Walking Dead By  Ambrose Tardive Published 36 minutes ago Ambrose Tardive is an editor on ScreenRant's Comics team. Over the past two years, he has developed into the internet's foremost authority on The Far Side. Outside of his work for ScreenRant, Ambrose works as an Adjunct English Instructor. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

According to Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, realistically, Rick Grimes should never have gotten close enough to Negan to cut his throat. It's certifiably Rick's most badass moment, and it was a huge turning point for The Walking Dead. Yet it hinges on a huge moment of hubris for Negan, one Kirkman wishes he'd done more to make believable.

The Walking Dead Deluxe #125 is written by Robert Kirkman, with art by Charlie Adlard. The issue features one of the comic's truly great cliffhangers: Rick catching Negan by surprise and slashing his throat, rather than surrendering.

Walking Dead Deluxe #125, color version of Rick cutting Negan's throat

In his notes, Kirkman admits that Negan probably should have had Rick killed way before he ever got the chance for a sneak attack.

Robert Kirkman Acknowledges It Was A Stretch That Negan Let Rick Grimes Get The Drop On Him

The Walking Dead Deluxe #125, Written By Robert Kirkman; Art By Charlie Adlard

Walking Dead Deluxe #125 cover, Michonne decapitating zombies

"The issue works (I swear!)," Robert Kirkman writes in the afterward to Walking Dead Deluxe #125, as he offers some justification for its big climactic moment, Rick's final desperate attack on Negan. However, Kirkman also readily acknowledges that it could have been justified a bit more overtly on the page.

It's a legendary moment for Rick, who officially claimed the role of Walking Dead's main character in one stroke. The logistical issues come from Negan's side. Why does this character, who has zero problems dispatching his enemies, let Rick survive long enough to engineer his downfall? Why, in this pivotal scene, does he let Rick get within striking distance?

As Kirkman explains:

I wish I'd done a little more to explain why Rick was so confident Negan wouldn't kill him. Or to show why Negan isn't killing him. I know Negan had previously said he didn't want to make him a martyr, but he did just spend two issues gleeful over his possible death and could have just killed him the moment he came down off the bus. Now, it's justifiable and in character that Negan knew he could kill Rick at any time and actually does like Rick and was interested in what he had to say, so he let him talk. The issue works (I swear!) It's just, rereading it for this reprint, I wish I'd done a little more to explain it.

Readers have to accept that Negan's mistake is an essential part of the story. Yet it does highlight how many opportunities Negan passed up to take his biggest threat off the board. So, it's not just one failure on Negan's part, it's a chain of them, going back to his murder of Glenn.

"What If Negan Killed Rick" Is One Of Walking Dead's Biggest Unaswered Questions

The Series Might Have Ended Way Earlier

Walking Dead, Rick (non-fatally) slashes Negan's throat

Villainous hindsight being 20/20, Negan should have killed Rick Grimes instead of Glenn, during his monumental first appearance in The Walking Dead #100. Negan should've been wise enough to decapitate the leadership of the group. Even from the very beginning, his original sin was underestimating Rick Grimes. It's one of Walking Dead's greatest swerves that it didn't cost Negan his life.

If Walking Dead were to indulge in a Marvel "What If?", or Star Wars Infinities-style alternate canon story, at the top of the list would be a look at events if Negan killed Rick instead of Glenn. Perhaps it would turn out even worse for him, or maybe it would be the end of Walking Dead's group of survivors as readers knew them.

The Walking Dead (2010) Movie Poster The Walking Dead Created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard First TV Show The Walking Dead Latest TV Show The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Upcoming TV Shows More Tales from the Walking Dead Universe First Episode Air Date October 31, 2010 Cast Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Danai Gurira, Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chandler Riggs, Steven Yeun, Lennie James

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