History YMMV / TheWalkingDead

** Issue 48: [[spoiler: [[TheCaligula The Governor]], for [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil brutally raping Michonne]], [[AnArmAndALeg amputating Rick's right hand]], and [[HeroKiller directly causing the deaths]] of Tyreese, Axel, Patricia, Billy and Hershel Greene, Alice, Lori Grimes, and her infant daughter Judith.]]

** Issue 156: [[spoiler: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Alpha]], for allowing Lydia to be [[AbusiveParents harassed and raped]] by her fellow Whisperers, as well as [[HeroKiller decapitating several survivors from the AHK]], including Ezekiel, Josh, and a pregnant Rosita.]]

** Issue 66: [[spoiler: [[ImAHumanitarian The Hunters]], for cutting off Dale's leg and ''eating their own children.'']]

** Issue 18: [[spoiler: [[SerialKiller Thomas Richards]], for [[WouldHurtAChild decapitating Rachel and Susie, Maggie's two younger sisters.]]

** Issue 18: [[spoiler:[[SerialKiller Thomas Richards]], for [[WouldHurtAChild decapitating Rachel and Susie, Maggie's two younger sisters.]]

** Issue 18: [[spoiler:[[SerialKiller Thomas Richards]], for [[WouldHurtAChild decapitating Rachel and Susie, Maggie's two younger sisters]].

** Issue 18: [[spoiler: [[SerialKiller Thomas Richards]], for [[WouldHurtAChild decapitating Rachel and Susie, Maggie's two younger sisters]].

** Issue 18: [[spoiler: [[SerialKiller Thomas Richards]], for [[WouldHurtAChild decapitating Maggie's two younger sisters]]. Also, since [[VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne the game]] takes place in the same canon, it's heavily implied that he was sent to prison for butchering his wife rather than for tax fraud.]]

** Issue 18: [[spoiler: [[SerialKiller Thomas Richards]], for [[WouldHurtAChild decapitating Maggie's two younger sisters]]. Also, since [[VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne the game]] takes place in the same canon, it's heavily implied that he was sent to prison for murdering and dismembering his own wife rather than for tax fraud.]]

** Issue 48: [[spoiler: [[TheCaligula The Governor]], for [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil brutally raping Michonne]], [[AnArmAndALeg amputating Rick's right hand]], and [[HeroKiller directly causing the deaths]] of Tyreese, Axel, Patricia, Billy and Hershel Greene, Alice, Lori Grimes, and her daughter Judith.]]

** Issue 48: [[spoiler: [[TheCaligula The Governor]], for [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil brutally raping Michonne]], [[AnArmAndALeg amputating Rick's right hand]], and [[HeroKiller directly causing the deaths]] of Tyreese, Axel, Patricia, Billy and Hershel Greene, Alice, Lori, and Judith.]]

** Issue 48: [[spoiler: [[AxCrazy The Governor]], for [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil brutally raping Michonne]], [[AnArmAndALeg amputating Rick's right hand]], and [[HeroKiller directly causing the deaths of several main characters]], including Tyreese, Axel, Patricia, Billy and Hershel Greene, Alice Warren, and Lori and Judith Grimes.]]

** Issue 77: [[spoiler: [[DrJerk Pete Anderson]] for abusing Jessie and Ron, as well as murdering Regina.]]

** Issue 156: [[spoiler: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Alpha]], for [[AbusiveParents allowing Lydia to be harassed and raped]] by her fellow Whisperers, as well as [[HeroKiller decapitating several survivors from the AHK]], including Ezekiel, Josh, and a pregnant Rosita.]]
** Issue 173: [[spoiler: [[MadeOfIron Beta]], for killing Father Gabriel.]]

** Issue 48: [[spoiler: [[TheSociopath The Governor]], for [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil brutally raping Michonne]] and [[HeroKiller directly causing the deaths of several main characters]], including Tyreese, Axel, Patricia, Billy and Hershel Greene, Alice Warren, and Lori and Judith Grimes.]]

** Issue 153: [[spoiler: [[TheBully Brandon Rose]], for ruthlessly bullying and constantly trying to kill Carl and Sophia.]]

** Issue 156: [[spoiler: [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Alpha]], for [[AbusiveParents allowing Lydia to be harassed and raped]] by her fellow Whisperers, as well as [[HeroKillerdecapitating decapitating several survivors from the AHK]], including Ezekiel, Josh, and a pregnant Rosita.]]

** Issue 156: [[spoiler: [[AbusiveParents Alpha]], for psychologically abusing Lydia and decapitating many people from several communities, including Ezekiel, Josh, and a pregnant Rosita.]]

** Issue 18: [[spoiler: [[SerialKiller Thomas Richards]], for decapitating Maggie's two younger sisters, Rachel and Susie. Also, since [[VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne the game]] takes place in the same canon, it's heavily implied that he was sent to prison for murdering and dismembering his own wife rather than for tax fraud.]]
** Issue 48: [[spoiler: [[TheSociopath The Governor]], for brutally raping Michonne and directly causing the deaths of several main characters, including Tyreese, Axel, Patricia, Billy and Hershel Greene, Alice Warren, and Lori and Judith Grimes.]]

* CatharsisFactor: Pretty much anytime a HateSink character is killed off, fans will likely cheer for this action.

** Did Dwight really [[spoiler: pull a HeelFaceTurn or is he still secretly working for Negan?]] Issue 126 confirms the former interpretation.
** 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.]] Once again, the former interpretation is eventually confirmed.

** Post "All-Out War" seems to reverse this, with [[spoiler: Rick sparing Negan's life, thereby reversing his downward spiral into violent insanity, and kicking off a new dawn for the apocalyptic world founded on peaceful union and stable trade. It's a world plagued by the Whisperers, but still.]]

** 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. Notably, [[spoiler: they are both among the very small amount of characters that Robert Kirkman actually misses and regrets killing off]].
** Alice Warren is one of the most liked female characters of the comic (along with Andrea) for a variety of reasons, but mostly for being [[HospitalHottie a very attractive and helpful nurse]], as well as one of the only sane inhabitants of Woodbury. She later became a badass during the prison assault, and [[spoiler: [[DefiantToTheEnd the way she went out]] was also remembered by many.]]

** In #160, we got a heartwarming scene where Maggie says that [[spoiler: she's happy when she thinks of Glenn. It was even more heartwarming as it was the first issue to be released after the television adaptation of Glenn's death. Then we get to #174 in which Maggie rants to Negan that when she tries to remember Glenn's face, she remembers his eyeball hanging out, and when she tries to remember his voice, she remembers him choking and trying to mumble her name while Negan laughs.]] ''Ouch''.
* LoveToHate: Negan is hated for [[spoiler: killing Glenn]] but he redeems himself for being ComicBook/TheJoker of the comic.

** 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 Lilly calls him out on it. As result, no one was complaining when she shot him in the head at the very next page.]]
** Negan's [[spoiler: brutal execution of resident NiceGuy Glenn in front of his friends and family permanently solidfied him as the bastard we all know and love to hate.]]
** The cannibalistic Hunters have already crossed it by the time the main cast encounters them; [[spoiler: they ''killed and ate [[OffingTheOffspring their own children]]!'']].

** Lori reacts to learning that [[spoiler: Tyreese was left in the gym]] is to awkwardly bite her lip.
** The Governor [[spoiler: cutting off Rick's hand]] is a pretty shocking page, but loses a little impact due to [[TheDragon Bruce's]] dopey facial expression while he holds him down.
** When Jesus and Aaron defeat [[spoiler: Beta]] in Issue 173, they pull 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 when Aaron attempts to tell us [[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.]]

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Dwight was despised at first for being a {{Jerkass}} member of the Saviors who [[spoiler: killed Abraham]]. But after a more complex side of him was shown and he eventually [[spoiler: pulled a HeelFaceTurn]], he began to grow on fans and is now a fan-favorite.

* 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.]]

* {{Squick}}: The Governor [[spoiler: making out with his zombified daughter after pulling her teeth out with pliers.]]
** Lydia [[spoiler:licking Carl's empty eye socket before seducing him.]]

** Patrica ends up throughly disliked by the rest of the cast after her actions listed above, and just when things seem to be getting better for her, [[spoiler: not only does she lose her new boyfriend at the start of the Prison Massacre, but Patrica herself is uncermoneously killed by The Governor and completly forgotten about by all the other characters afterwards]].
** [[spoiler: Spencer]] getting GuttedLikeAFish by Negan after being given TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
** [[spoiler: Gregory]] getting hanged by his community for his treachery.

** [[spoiler: Sgt. Abraham Ford is one of the most badass characters in the series, but gets an ''extremely'' anticlimactic death via an arrow to the eye. To add insult to injury this happens just before the war with Negan, which would have been a perfect storyline to utilize his skills and his murderer got away with it. Robert Kirkman himself even regrets this and thus Abraham was SparedByTheAdaptation in the TV show.]]
*** [[spoiler: Which is ultimately averted since his TV series counterpart ends up taking Glenn's comic death two episodes later.]]
** [[spoiler: Rosita was one of the longest lasting survivors but was also pretty much always OutOfFocus, especially after breaking up with Abraham. She ends up getting a sudden and saddening death at the hands of Alpha during the fair massacre in Issue 144.]]
** [[spoiler: Alpha was the first major female antagonist in the comic and had great potential to be an IceQueen who still had some good left in her. Just when we start to see a more complex side of her she is brutally killed by previous BigBad Negan.]]
** [[spoiler: Gabriel Stokes was a long-lasting survivor but was also ''severely'' OutOfFocus after his initial arc. Just when he finally starts to receive screentime again and [[TookALevelInBadass takes a couple levels in badass]], he is brutally killed by Beta at the start of the Whisperer War.]]

* WhatAnIdiot: If Alpha had marked out whisperer territory with the stakes instead of [[spoiler: putting severed heads of community members on them]] the alliance would have never went to war with them and [[spoiler: wiped them all out.]]

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Lydia took time to be fully accepted as a character. She, at first, caused a DieForOurShip with the Sophia/Carl followers, and then pushed Carl to take some rude decisions while being only there for a little time (Their relationship is basically what caused the deaths of Issue 144 and the whole Whisperer War) and there's the moment Andrea try to protect her by bringing her to the Hilltop and Lydia points a gun at her for not explaining her... instead of simply asking. This bratty behaviour, however, was quickly forgotten when she "breaks" with Carl, being surprisingly adult about their relation, and then being incredibly badass and without compromise or ambiguity with her allegence in the Whisperer War. Near the end of the comics, it seemed like she was ready to dive into scrappy territory by being jealous with Sophia and Carl friendship, but the comics ended soon enough for her to be safe, and many appreciated her maturity - and awkwardness - at the end.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Princess. Many fans either hate her being the [[PluckyComicRelief sort]] [[CloudCuckoolander of]] [[GenkiGirl character]] who really doesn't belong in a dark story like ''The Walking Dead''...or love her for that exact reason.

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

** [[spoiler:Rick's death was certainly divisive, not because of the death itself, but rather, ''how'' it happened: shot to death in his bed by Sebastian Milton, a minor character who Rick could have easily taken apart with his bare hands if he had the chance. Many fans felt like the death was '' massively'' anti-climactic, feeling that he should have received a more heroic send-off befitting his status as the series' main character. Others, on the other hand, liked the sudden shockingness of it, as well as how it underlined the fact that death in real life is often pointless, stupid and without meaning, and that even the great Rick Grimes wasn't immune to the brutal pettiness that drive people to commit monstrous actions.]]

** Sebastian Milton was already a spoiled, entitled asshole when first introduced, but he goes sailing over the line by [[spoiler:killing Rick Grimes. He even freaks out afterwards... about the likelihood that he's going to get in trouble for it, with no regard for the fact that he just ''murdered a man in cold blood''.]]

** 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, [[spoiler:Alpha decapitating several members of the group and putting their heads on spikes]] in Issue 144, and [[spoiler:Andrea's poignant death speech and passing]] in Issue 167.

* BrokenBase: "All-Out War", the conclusion of the initial Negan arc, proved to be divisive with fans. Some felt that it was somewhat underwhelming after the huge amount of buildup due to the lack of major character deaths and devastation that the iconic "Made to Suffer" arc brought in spades. However, others loved it for defying expectations, breaking the DarknessInducedAudienceApathy that had been plaguing the series, and still having major repercussions by opening the door for radically different storylines.

** 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.]]

** [[spoiler:The Governer: He feeds humans to the walkers, keeps his zombified daughter as a pet (implying pedophilic interactions between the two), enjoys rape and torture, and rules a city ''(though it's more like a cult when you think about it)''. The worst part is, unlike most villains, his actions are not justified at all. He’s simply a sadistic murderous psychopath. By himself, he killed more than a third of the protagonists, raped Michonne, and amputated Rick's hand]].

** [[spoiler:The Governer: He feeds humans to the walkers, keeps his zombified daughter as a pet (implying pedophilic interactions between the two), enjoys rape and torture, and rules a city with these principles! The worst part is, unlike most villains, his actions are not justified at all. He’s simply a sadistic murderous psychopath. By himself, he killed more than a third of the protagonists, raped Michonne, and amputated Rick's hand]].

** The Governer: He feeds humans to the walkers, keeps his zombified daughter as a pet (implying pedophilic interactions between the two), enjoys rape and torture, and rules a city with these principles! The worst part is, unlike most villains, his actions are not justified at all. He’s simply a sadistic murderous psychopath. By himself, he killed more than a third of the protagonists, raped Michonne, and amputated Rick's hand..

** The Governer.