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Summary
At the clock time of its release , The walk Dead#100 feel like a huge milepost for Robert Kirkman ’s creator - owned , black - and - white-hot zombie comedian . In retrospect , it was mid - full stop of the series , which go on to escape for another ninety - seven take . The issue introduced Negan , the franchise ’s greatest scoundrel , whose unveiling into the story featured him committing the seeminglyunforgivable sin of pop Glenn , a main persona since issue # 1 .
The Walking Deadthrived with Negan as its main antagonist . The stories between his arrival in issue # 100 and shoot down in # 126 were among the comic ’s most taut and tense . When it came time for the serial to move on to a new baddie , however , it swerved out from killing off the graphic symbol , in a reversal of its discourse of late terror .
Writer Robert Kirkman ’s decision to deny his readers – and his character – the narrative catharsis of Negan ’s destruction madeWalking Deada more virtuously complex story ; it is worth asking , though , whether that was the best creative determination .
reply to a fan possibility , Walking idle creator Robert Kirkman did n’t definitively rule out the opening of search an alternate timeline .
Modern writers eff complex villains , but they often scramble writing complex torpedo . [ … ] For good or worse , Rick Grimes ' decision to let Negan live , following his licking , was the result of Robert Kirkman crafting a complex Heron .
Rick Grimes Letting Negan Lives Was The Opposite Of Mercy
Sometimes, Dead Is Better
Modern author love complex villain , but they often scramble writing complex hoagy . The contemporaneous " anti - hero " is often reduced to indulging in vices , or seeking propitiation for past action , in club to mean they are not strictly " licit good , " or virtuously pristine character . lawful complex hoagy clamber in their use as bandstand - ins for the reader , run under complicated moral condition set by the writer , so the proofreader can judge their own reaction to the characters ' actions . For safe or uncollectible , Rick Grimes ' determination to countenance Negan exist , following his defeat , was the answer of Robert Kirkman crafting a complex hero .
Negan was stick in to be a crass , vile scoundrel – unhinged from human society , but also a ware of it . His actions , fromkilling Glenn , through his downfall , were unquestionably reprehensible , and often horrific . Rick ’s choice to let Negan live was not a product of some belief in his opening for redemption ; rather , it come from spite , from a desire for Negan to endure . Most importantly , Rick look for to establish that Negan no longer had great power over him , or his hoi polloi , or anyone . Without a question , this presented a enthralling moral conundrum forWalking Deadreaders to engage with .
In impression , the originative decision to keep Negan alive changed the intact moral perspective ofWalking Dead , shifting it from a story where good guys triumphed over spoilt hombre , to a imagination of a earth where those standard became more and more meaningless .
Negan’s Survival Fundamentally Changed The Walking Dead’s Moral System
Negan Became A Central Character
As Rick told a captive Negan on the final page ofWalking Dead#126 :
" With you out of the way , we ’re going to thrive . [ … ] I ’m break to make you see what we become , so that you could see how wrong you were … How much you were holding us back . "
Rick assure Negan he would pass the repose of his day a prisoner , though ultimately , this did not turn out to be the slip . Robert Kirkman hasnamed Negan his favoriteWalking Deadcharacter , and as a resolution , the character unavoidably mature into one of the series ' protagonists . The early geological era of his captivity maintained the tension of his prior appearance , portraying him as a predatory threat , scheming to get on the loose from his batting cage . By the terminal of the series , Negan was free , and remarkably , alive .
WhenWalking Deadsuddenly ended its rivulet with issue # 194 , Negan had not only survived , but achieved at least seem grade of redemption , in the estimation of the other characters , if not the audience . Over the course of ninety - four issues , Negan had undeniably become " nerveless , " and unquestionably made the series more complex . In effect , the creative decision to keep Negan alert changed the total moral perspective ofWalking Dead , shifting it from a story where good guys triumphed over bad guy , to a vision of a world where those standards became increasingly meaningless .
In the case of Negan ’s survival , the question is whether it was correct to move away fromWalking Dead’smore traditional heroes - defeat - villains narrative social organisation , and toward a more objective portrayal of the story ’s post - apocalyptic civilization .
Robert Kirkman revealed that iconic Walking utter part Negan almost had a dissimilar backstory , tie into dispute plans for an earlier villain .
Through Walking Dead’s TV Adaptation, Negan’s Survival Had A Ripple Effect
Positive Or Negative, Audiences Will Decide
With storytelling decisions , it ’s less a matter of analyzing whether something was " right " or " wrong , " as much as it is deserving considering whether the decision was the best possible one for the story . In the case of Negan ’s survival , the interrogative is whether it was right to move aside fromWalking Dead’smore traditional hero - defeat - villains narrative structure , and toward a more accusative depicting of the story ’s post - revelatory civilisation . While characters would still have epic and nefarious moment , the serial became more and more interested in charting how new ethical concerns would arise in a post - zombie worldly concern , rather than explore old ones .
At times , modern audiences mistake gritty , bleak storytelling for complexness – Walking Deadwas all of these things , but up until Negan ’s survival , it seemed to cohere to a conventional moral register . This was less and less the case as the serial come along , and consequently , the creative team behind theAMC television version ofWalking Deadwould render Robert Kirkman ’s oeuvre to the screen , which would in turn influence many of the current multiplication of God Almighty across all medium . In other word of honor , Negan ’s discharge inThe Walking Deadfranchise is likely more influential than many masses might realize .
Negan ’s survival of the fittest – and Rick Grimes ' morally - weighty rationale behind it – can be argued as having a ripple effect through American storytelling , not unlikethe outcome Alan Moore’sWatchmenhadon the comical Koran industry in the 1980s , or the films of Martin Scorsese have had on film from the seventies to the present Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . It may seem like a grand proclamation , but it is probable that time will prove Robert Kirkman’sWalking Deadto have allow for a defining cross well beyond the zombie genre , and the comic book culture medium .
