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Summary
The Walking Deadforeshadowed one of its most gamechanging moments at the very origin of the series , as one of the early publication featured Lori Grimes fretting over her husband Rick ’s hand – the same one he would lose , just over two dozen issues later , when he was captured and maim by the series ' first condescending - resister , the Governor .
The Walking Dead#3 – written by Robert Kirkman , with fine art by Tony Moore – featured a belittled , apparently throwaway moment , where Lori expresses concern about Rick ’s hand . The former sheriff would afterward go on to lose the same hand to the Governor , not long beforeLori herself was taken from himby the maniacal scoundrel .
As is frequently the case with Robert Kirkman ’s writing , it would have been well-nigh - impossible to extrapolate a large meaning from this here and now at the metre , while in retrospect it was a clear portent of what was to come , whether knowing or not .
Abraham Ford , a sports fan - pet right - hired man world to Rick Grimes and his mathematical group of survivors in The Walking Dead , was primitively a much more threatening form .
The Amputation Of Rick’s Hand Changed The Trajectory Of The Walking Dead
The abbreviated exchange between Rick and Lori in the serial ' very other Clarence Day , fromWalking Dead#3 , suggests that Kirkman was always preparing to inflict this adversity on his cardinal role , and that he patiently waited until exactly the right time
The Walking Deadconcluded just shy of its milestone 200th issue , withWalking Dead#193 show to be a sudden , unexpected ending to the series – with Kirkman killing the ongoing in a manner not unlike his signature expressive style of dispatch sports fan - favored characters . Rick Grimes , the book ’s overarching protagonist , waskilled in what turn out to be the next-to-last issue , # 192 . Up to that point in time , Rick had been one - handed for the legal age of the series , after the nefarious Governor chopped off his hand inWalking Dead#28 – a move that , when it first happen , irrevocably interchange the narrative ’s flight .
In plus to being one of the franchise ’s most lurid early twists , the loss of Rick ’s handescalated the Governor ’s function asWalking Dead’sfirst heavy major villain , setting a foundation for cruel , bestial actions that late antagonist such as Negan and Alpha would ramp up on . The brief substitution between Rick and Lori in the series ' very earliest days , fromWalking Dead#3,suggests that Kirkman was always preparing to visit this hardship on his fundamental lineament , and that he patiently waited until incisively the proper time to pull the initiation , or as it were , swing out the chopper .
Losing His Hand Defined Rick Grimes – And Perhaps Saved Him
AsWalking Dead#3 made clear , peril lurked in even the tranquil moments of Robert Kirkman ’s zombie apocalypse , those uncommon respites from blood , chaos , and tragedy that its characters were so frequently denied .
As a character reference , Rick Grimes prove more than just the focal character around which the many storylines and characters ofWalking Deadaggregated ; throughout the serial ' run , he evidence to be an essential counterpoint to fictitious character like the Governor , Negan , and the series’cavalcade of villains and sadists . Though his own humanity – and further , his compassion for humanity – certainly waver at times , Rick never became the villain , despite living long enough to have , if Robert Kirkman had want to make that tale decision . It is potential this could have been the theatrical role ’s flight , had he not lost his hand .
Alternatively , Rick could have been killed off far earlier than he finally was , had he not had the consistent adversity of his injury to further his storyline . AsWalking Dead#3 made clear , danger lurked in even the quietest moments of Robert Kirkman ’s zombie apocalypse , those rarefied respites from stock , chaos , and tragedy that its characters were so frequently deny . Whether Rick Grimes ' hard knocks was mapped out well in advance , or come at an opportune storytelling second , it was one of the earliest , most polar , and most shocking second inWalking Dead .
