All the Major Threats in The Walking Dead, Ranked

To say The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman is one of the biggest independent comics ever created would be selling it short. Lasting for 193 issues from 2003 to 2019, the legendary comic series has become a cultural powerhouse, even leading to the massively popular AMC television series of the same name (and its spinoffs.) A big part of why The Walking Dead has been so popular is not just that it’s the story of survival, but because of the threats the characters face. Yes, The Walking Dead is a zombie story, but the zombies were only a threat early on in the series as readers discovered the real monsters were the living, aka other survivors.

While there aren’t a lot of major threats (outside of the ever-present zombies,) the threats in the story are all significant and terrifying in their own ways. In fact, all the major threats made it to the television series, which says something about how significant they really are.

4) The Commonwealth

Starting off with the final major threat in The Walking Dead we have The Commonwealth. While they had an army of 50,000 soldiers, they were more or less the best off community our protagonists came across but that came with a cost. They were terribly corrupt and divided by class systems rather than working together to be treated equally. When Rick and company arrived, they led a charge to change things for the better.

While there wasn’t a full on war like some of the other threats, the Commonwealth showed how the series had evolved from its beginning. The zombies were so far on the backburner that society had rebuilt itself and still needed fixing after everything that had happened. It also signaled the end was on the horizon and that the world would be back on it’s feet in its own way.

3) The Whisperers

By far the creepiest group our heroes ever face, we have the Whisperers. A pack of survivors who wore the skin of the dead to mask their smell, walking around in the packs of the dead to attack others and bring them along into their group was their main plan of attack. They were led by their leader known as Alpha and later, Beta.

They were a stronger group under Alpha’s rule but Beta pushed them further into a war with our protagonists. With the help of Negan and some of his former Saviors, together they took on the Whisperers and won. This was possibly the most fun and inventive group the comic had in a long time and brought back some magic to the book in a dry spell. The art and design for them were top notch and earn their spot.

2) The Governor

The original “big bad” of the series was Brian Blake, the Governor. He led his own community known as Woodbury. Coming to his community he would later takeover he would transform himself from a weak man to a sadistic madman with skills of manipulation towards everyone he would meet. Wanting to take over the prison where our protagonists left was his main goal.

He would attack and harm our protagonists in many different ways and went to show how far the apocalypse could change a many. Later losing and eye and an arm he disappeared for a tiny bit until he came back and killed a good chunk of Rick’s crew. He was the first example of not being able to trust everyone you could meet and his legacy showed that his impact would never be forgotten.

1) The Saviors

Of course we had to have Negan and the Saviors at out top spot. Becoming a fan favorite of sorts even getting the video game treatment, Negan and the Saviors are probably the most recognizable threats in The Walking Dead. Building up to the explosive 100th issue we had met the Saviors who in many ways were a dark reflection of Rick’s crew. They were trying to survive with their leader Negan and lost a good chunk of their men and he had to retaliate.

For the first time in the series we had a villain who was just as in control as Rick was, but he was a lunatic with a colorful vocabulary. That being said, he was endlessly entertaining and would have a redemption arc later on due to his popularity. When he was ruthless, he was extremely ruthless but would prove to be a useful ally. Negan made for some of the best stories in the entire series and it would be hard to imagine what it would be like without him.

Who was your favorite major threat in The Walking Dead? Let us know down in the comments.

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