History YMMV / TheWalkingDead

** The Governor crossed it when he ordered his own troops to shoot helpless civilians fleeing from the prison while they attacked it. [[spoiler: This results in baby Judith's CruelAndUnusualDeath, which he happily brushes off after Lily calls him out on it.]]

* SignatureScene: [[WhamEpisode Issue 100]] contains what has become possibly the most well-known scene in the comic: the new BigBad Negan introduces himself by kidnapping the group, going on a CrazyAwesome monologue about how they are under his control now, and choosing one of them to beat to death as a "lesson" through a game of eenie meenie minie moe. [[spoiler: Glenn]] is the unfortunate victim. It has become such an acclaimed moment that when [[spoiler: the TV adaptation elected to end it on a cliffhanger without showing who Negan killed, fans were ''livid'' and began claiming that the show had butchered a crucial moment in the story and JumpedTheShark.]]

* CompleteMonster: When the protagonists first encounter [[spoiler:Thomas Richards]], he merely comes across as a [[spoiler:nerdy, polite and ultimately harmless inmate imprisoned for tax evasion]]. This makes it all the more shocking when he's revealed to be a homicidal lunatic who was really imprisoned for [[spoiler:dismembering his wife]]. For no reason at all [[ForTheEvulz besides his own enjoyment]], he decapitated [[WouldHurtAChild two little girls]], [[spoiler:Hershel Greene's twin daughters, Rachel and Susie]]. Then, taking advantage of the confusion surrounding his murders, he attempted to decapitate Andrea as well. While he failed in his attempt he ended up scarring her in the process. Eventually captured, when the community looks like they're going to execute him, [[spoiler:Thomas]] is rescued by a woman he had befriended earlier named Patricia. Believing that he is insane, not evil, and in need of psychological help, [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Patricia]] plans on the two of them escaping together. In thanks, [[spoiler:Thomas]] [[UngratefulBastard immediately tries to strangle her to death]]. Though a minor antagonist in the grand scheme of things, [[spoiler:Thomas]] acted as a dark harbinger of what was to come by showing [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters how much worse humans could be than zombies]].

* CompleteMonster:
** [[BigBad The Governor]], real name Philip/[[spoiler:Brian]] Blake, is the [[AxCrazy insane]] despotic leader of Woodbury, a small town of survivors, and takes extreme measures to maintain his status as the leader. These measures include feeding survivors from outside the town to the zombies surrounding them in order to keep them docile; and running violent fights between people in his town and the zombies as an entertainment for the residents. When [[spoiler:Rick Grimes ]] and his group visit Woodbury, Blake [[FauxAffablyEvil initially acts friendly]] until he turns tables on them by [[{{Fingore}} chopping off]] [[spoiler:Rick's]] hand and [[ColdBloodedTorture raping]] [[spoiler:Michonne]] repeatedly for several days, severely traumatizing Glenn in the process. He also has his zombified daughter [[spoiler:actually niece]] chained up as a pet and has almost pedophilic interactions with her. Later, Blake [[ManipulativeBastard manipulates the residents of Woodbury]] to attack the prison and is responsible for the deaths of vast majority of the cast, executing most of them personally in cold blood. He also pressures one of the residents to kill Rick's wife Lori and [[WouldHurtAChild her infant daughter, Judy]] in an action so horrible that the said resident personally betrays and executes the Governor shortly afterwards, leaving his corpse to be devoured by the zombies. Utterly sociopathic and sadistic, the Governor is the [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters absolute worst example of a human being]] that the world of zombie apocalypse has to offer.
** When the protagonists first encounter [[spoiler:Thomas Richards]], he merely comes across as a [[spoiler:nerdy, polite and ultimately harmless inmate imprisoned for tax evasion]]. This makes it all the more shocking when he's revealed to be a homicidal lunatic who was really imprisoned for [[spoiler:dismembering his wife]]. For no reason at all [[ForTheEvulz besides his own enjoyment]], he decapitated [[WouldHurtAChild two little girls]], [[spoiler:Hershel Greene's twin daughters, Rachel and Susie]]. Then, taking advantage of the confusion surrounding his murders, he attempted to decapitate Andrea as well. While he failed in his attempt he ended up scarring her in the process. Eventually captured, when the community looks like they're going to execute him, [[spoiler:Thomas]] is rescued by a woman he had befriended earlier named Patricia. Believing that he is insane, not evil, and in need of psychological help, [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Patricia]] plans on the two of them escaping together. In thanks, [[spoiler:Thomas]] [[UngratefulBastard immediately tries to strangle her to death]]. Though a minor antagonist in the grand scheme of things, [[spoiler:Thomas]] acted as a dark harbinger of what was to come by showing [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters how much worse humans could be than zombies]].

** Lori, for being generally whiny and unreasonable. Even Creator/StevenYeun, who plays Glenn on the show, admitted to hating Lori when he read the comics.

* HypeBacklash: Issue 150. A milestone issue and the possible halfway point of the story, twice as long as a regular issue, and the title "Betrayed" had fans expecting it to be the most shocking issue yet. The plot ended up being mostly build-up for the current arc, without any major moments comparable to what happened in issue #100 and was felt to largely be not much different from a standard issue.
** Some fans feel that the "All-Out War" arc suffered from this as well--see BrokenBase.

** Was Martinez telling the truth or was he going to bring the Governor to the prison?

** After the TimeSkip, [[spoiler: it seems as though Negan genuinely wants to gain Rick's trust, and he even gives him some solid advice when shit starts hitting the fan. However, he does end up breaking out and seemingly aligning himself with the Whisperers, casting doubt on his true intentions.]]

** When the protagonists first encounter [[spoiler: Thomas Richards]], he merely comes across as a [[spoiler:[[BitchInSheepsClothing nerdy, polite and ultimately harmless inmate imprisoned for tax evasion]]]]. This makes it all the more shocking when he's revealed to be a homicidal lunatic who was really imprisoned for [[spoiler: dismembering his wife]]. For no reason at all [[ForTheEvulz besides his own enjoyment]], [[spoiler: Thomas]] [[OffWithHisHead decapitated]] [[WouldHurtAChild two little girls]], [[spoiler: Hershel Greene's twin daughters, Rachel and Susie]]. Then, taking advantage of the confusion surrounding his murders, he attempted to decapitate Andrea as well. While he failed in his attempt he ended up scarring her in the process. Eventually captured, when the community looks like they're going to execute him, [[spoiler: Thomas]] is rescued by a woman he had befriended earlier named Patricia. Believing that [[spoiler: Thomas]] is insane, not evil, and in need of psychological help, [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Patricia]] plans on the two of them escaping together. In thanks, [[spoiler: Thomas]] [[UngratefulBastard immediately tries to strangle her to death]]. Though a minor antagonist in the grand scheme of things, [[spoiler: Thomas]] acted as a dark harbinger of what was to come by showing [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters how much worse humans could be than zombies]].

** [[BigBad The Governor]], real name Philip/[[spoiler:Brian]] Blake, is the [[AxCrazy insane]] despotic leader of Woodbury, a small town of survivors, and takes extreme measures to maintain his status as the leader. These measures include feeding survivors from outside the town to the zombies surrounding them in order to keep them docile; and running violent fights between people in his town and the zombies as an entertainment for the residents. When [[spoiler:Rick Grimes ]] and his group visit Woodbury, Blake [[FauxAffablyEvil initially acts friendly]] until he turns tables on them by [[{{Fingore}} chopping off]] [[spoiler:Rick's]] hand and [[ColdBloodedTorture raping]] [[spoiler:Michonne]] repeatedly for several days, severely traumatizing Glenn in the process. He also has his zombified daughter [[spoiler:actually niece]] chained up as a pet and has almost pedophilic interactions with her. Later, Blake [[ManipulativeBastard manipulates the residents of Woodbury]] to attack the prison and is responsible for the deaths of vast majority of the cast, executing most of them personally in cold blood. He also pressures one of the residents to kill Rick's wife Lori and [[WouldHurtAChild her infant daughter, Judy]] in an action so horrible that the said resident personally betrays and executes the Governor shortly afterwards, leaving his corpse to be devoured by the zombies. Utterly [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] and {{sadist}}ic, the Governor is the [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters absolute worst example of a human being]] that the world of zombie apocalypse has to offer.

** Gregory, who is a total HateSink that has actually deluded himself into believing he is the Hilltop's main protector and is willing to let innocent people die just to save his own ass. His [[spoiler:attempted murder]] of Maggie was the final straw that ultimately led to her [[spoiler:publicly executing him. And absolutely ''no one'' is complaining.]]

** When Jesus and Aaron defeat [[spoiler: Beta]] in Issue 173, they put his mask off and discover that [[spoiler: Beta used to be a famous NBA player and an actor before degrading to a monster]]. While this may be very sad, many people took this as a complete ShockingSwerve. Not to mention the fact that [[spoiler: [[AntiClimax Beta got defeated fairly easily]] despite being tough enough to survive a brutal beatdown from ''Negan'' of all people. And Beta eventually became a ReplacementScrappy for Alpha, who was much more developed as a character.]]

** And when Aaron attempts to speak [[spoiler: Beta's real name]], [[spoiler: Beta suddenly jumps up (despite having a fatal bullet wound in his chest) and [[SelfDeprecation screams]] '''''"I HAVE NO NAME!"''''' before finally expiring. Again, many people found Beta's FamousLastWords hilarious instead of tragic.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: Negan's SignatureScene in the comic was acclaimed as an amazing turning-point in the comic series that established him as an intriguing character and caused a dent on the main characters. However, [[Series/TheWalkingDead the television version]] of this very scene would cause a massive rift between fans of the series and be remembered very negatively for its changes.

* LoveToHate: Negan is hated for [[spoiler: killing Glenn]] but he redeems himself for being TheJoker of the comic.

* BizarroEpisode: The end of issue 75 features Rick suddenly transported to a sci-fi ship and donning a PowerFist and yellow jumpsuit. It's "revealed" the the zombies are part of an alien invasion who turn the dead into super soldiers as part of a diabolical plot to hustle water. Dead characters, Axel, Tyreese, and Martinez are there with superhero outfits as part of an army of humanity, and The Governer is there as TheQuisling, with Lori as his sex slave. This entire back-issue is based on a joke Kirkman said about the plot, and has nothing to two with the story before or after.

** Axel and Tyreese are quite popular and very well-liked amongst the fanbase. The former due to having many funny lines and adding some humor to the series, and the latter for being a massive badass who at one point gets knocked down in a massive room full of Walkers, only to kill them all by himself with only his hammer and without getting bit or scratched in the process. Noticeably, [[spoiler: they are both among the very small amount of characters that Robert Kirkman actually misses and regrets killing off]].

!!YMMV for the novels
* AssPull: The Governor [[spoiler:letting the rebels live even after they tried to drag him out of town and feed him to the zombies. He does punish them... by making them cut up corpses to feed his zombies.]] Needless to say, this goes almost completely against his characterization in the rest of the book as well as the comic.
* BrokenBase: Over this book retconning away the backstory of Lilly from the Telltale Game. For some, it's FanonDiscontinuity.
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Lilly berates herself for her 'cowardice' but doesn't seem aware she's judgmental, haughty, and just plain mean to everyone around her.

!YMMV for the comic

!YMMV for the novels

** Other iconic moments include [[spoiler: The Governor cutting off Rick's right hand]] in Issue 28, [[spoiler: the prison massacre]] in Issue 48, [[spoiler: Carl getting shot in the eye]] in Issue 83, and [[spoiler: Alpha decapitating several members of the group and putting their heads on spikes]] in Issue 144.

** [[spoiler: Gregory]] getting hung by his community for his treachery.