Tyreese (Comic Series)

Tyreese was a African-American civilian who initially survived the mysterious undead Apocalypse that has swept the planet.

Introduction
Tyreese is a prominent member of the survivors, he was additionally a central character within the series. He was portrayed as a strong survivor who often acted as an unofficial de-facto leader of the group after Rick.

His teenage daughter, Julie, and her boyfriend, Chris, joined Rick's group shortly after they began their journey away from Atlanta. A tall and muscular man, Tyreese's already apparent and impressive physique quickly proved essential for the demoralized Atlanta survivor group, helping them greatly in moving obstacles and clearing zombies on the road. The group's wariness of a new member was quelled by his generally friendly and helpful nature as well as his participation in whatever needed doing. A significant moment in his integration was saving a downed Rick in Wiltshire Estates; this swift act gained Tyreese the trust of their burdened leader. These events also resulted in a strongly evident leadership position alongside Rick, as well as a friendship that would last for the majority of his time in the series.

On The Road and Hershel's Farm
Revealing himself to be a one-time NFL pro football player in the late 1990's, Tyreese was much like Rick in many ways: strong (both physically and mentally), a devastatingly effective melee fighter (managing to kill more than ten zombies by himself), a stern but loving father, and a generally sensible person. Despite his strengths he did have his weaknesses. While traveling on the road he was revealed as a terrible shot, and recognized for it. Thus, his duties in relation to stopping zombie threats was up-close, with his signature weapon being a hammer. It wasn't long with the group until he established an interest and eventual relationship with Carol, who he spent time with while staying at Hershel's Farm. In between their time on the road and at Hershel's Farm, Tyreese was shown to be wary of his daughter and her boyfriend's relationship after catching them in an intimate moment before escaping Wiltshire Estates and trying to be alone several times around the farm, showing an extremely protective nature over Julie, but gaining resentment from the couple.

The Prison
Tyreese was clearly established as an important and strong member of the survivors, and largely remained one of the least affected up until their arrival at The Prison. He proved helpful in clearing the majority of the zombies inside along with Rick and Andrea, as well as keeping the survivors safe and gathering supplies. But his importance to the group was nearly compromised when Julie and Chris committed a double-pact suicide, with Chris shooting too early. He ended up in a rage after Chris shot a re-animated Julie in his arms; this ended in a brutal murder of Chris in front of a shocked Rick. This also was the first instance the group discovered the undead rising no matter what the cause of death, be it bite or mortal wound. Tyreese ended up mutilating Chris's body once Rick left, and burned the remains before anyone knew the next morning.

Even with Rick's support, Tyreese's capabilities were further hindered in a series of reckless bouts of rage against the undead. He volunteered to clear The Prison's gym but ended up nearly being overrun by the zombie occupants after wading in carelessly. He was later found in the midst of corpses he mutilated in fury. He seemed to slowly recover later with the support of mainly Rick and Carol, but the introduction of Michonne to the group would bring back his weaknesses, and caused the first major schism of the survivors. Due to his grieving of Julie and trauma of Allen's death, Tyreese was in a vulnerable position to be sexually seduced by Michonne, which Carol witnessed. However, he did not object and did not tell Carol of his unfaithfulness. After she revealed she knew and they broke up, Rick and his friendship was tested to the brink when Rick forcibly had to step in the conflict when hearing of Carol's subsequent bodily abuse. Distraught and extremely overwhelmed by the entire situation, when Rick brought back Julie's death in anger, the physically imposing Tyreese ended up brutally beating him up to the point where Rick fell unconscious.

The collapse of their friendship proved significant within the rest of the survivors, as their joint co-operation was awkward initially. However as time passed and they settled the Prison, Tyreese still acted for the group as actively and strongly as he did previously. He eventually continued a relationship with Michonne.

Much later on when the helicopter crashed, the three-day disappearance of Rick, Glenn and Michonne caused Tyreese to act as the remaining survivor's leader. Worrying about the group, he ended up donning one of the riot suits and attempted to go out and find them himself, to no avail. This accidentally lead a large group of zombies to overrun The Prison when the panicked survivors rushed to let Tyreese back in. Once Rick and company managed to get back to The Prison and find the rest of them, Tyreese ordered Rick to remain within the safety of The Prison walls, leading the rest to clear the zombies. This act showed he still cared for Rick as a leader and a friend, and re-established their previously long-running strained friendship.

Killed Victims
This list shows the people Tyreese has killed.


 * Chris
 * Jim (Woodbury)
 * Daniel
 * Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed humans.

Death
Tyreese and Rick's newly recovered friendship was unfortunately never able to fully heal. Although co-operation between them resurfaced, the conflict with Woodbury kept them too busy to re-coordinate their strategies and relationship. He, along with Andrea unofficially lead a small group of survivors to find the Army Station the Woodbury survivors had been using to fuel their vehicles and ammo supplies. After they arrived back, Tyreese was active on the front-line of fighting back the Woodbury Army in their initial assault. He and Michonne later faced the consequences of trying to strike back first. When the pair followed the recovering Woodbury Army in the surrounding forest, the encounter was too close and Tyreese was unfortunately captured and beaten badly by Gabe and his men. The Governor later attempted to use him as leverage against the remaining members within The Prison's walls to get in, but Rick established the hard choice of leaving him to die so the rest of them could live. Tyreese remained vigilant to the end and did not give in to The Governor's attempted exchange, yelling to the survivors to not negotiate. Eventually, The Governor, in rage, executed him in front of the survivors; he behead him grotesquely with Michonne's katana, much to the survivor's horror.

His decapitated head later reanimated, but he was eventually put to peace by a sorrowful Michonne.

Robert Kirkman wrote in the episode that Tyreese is decapitated:
 * "Tyreese has been one of my favorite characters in the book for a long time. I'm just as sorry to see him go as, I'm sure, a lot of you reading this are…While some deaths in this series are very spur of the moment actions that I try not to think through (because it makes things more spontaneous, like real life) Tyreese death has been planned almost since his introduction. It's always been something I've known about and have been working toward. It will have great impact on the series and well, frankly ... nobody lives forever in this book."


 * "Nobody."


 * "So these things will continue to happen for the duration of the series. Characters have to die . .. that's just how the book works. So while I will miss Tyreese, I have the luxury of knowing what 's a head for the rest of the crew in this book, and so I know things will be okay."


 * "So, uh ... don' t flip out."

Characteristics and Role
Tyreese was a central figure within the survivor group. Shortly after his introduction it was clear his traits and skills were on par with Rick. He was a physically strong, able-bodied man, able to hold his own against any zombie threats that the group encountered. His strength with his hammer and stamina was recognized, and Rick often specifically requested his for assistance in clearing out the undead. He was also a friendly, approachable man, genuinely caring about the well-being of the entire group, and actively volunteered to help and defend them. He was shown as a stern but loving father, caring deeply for Julie's safety and wary of Chris's irresponsibility.

Although his weaknesses weren't as exposed as other characters, they were highlighted. While traveling on the road he was revealed as a terrible shot with any firearm, which Andrea often mocked him for. He focused instead on being primarily a melee fighter. He had trouble controlling his emotions, such as when he killed Chris after he killed the undead Julie despite clearly saving Tyreese's life. Another instance was when Rick later confronted him about Carol and he engaged in a bloody brawl with the former. He showed the most emotional vulnerability when tempted with the sexual advances of Michonne; this resulted in the first major conflict against Rick that affected the entire survivor group and their opinions.

His tragic death clearly had a significant impact on the survivors; not just emotionally, but practically. As Tyreese often took the initiative as a secondary leader and was one of the more physically stronger defenders, the remaining members of the group who survived the attack of The Governor had more difficulty adapting to the dangers and obstacles when back on the road. It was only with the introduction of Abraham that someone filled the power void Tyreese's death created.

His role as a strong defender of the group and generally righteous man has had an lasting impression. Glenn is seen much later in the Alexandria Safe-Zone re-telling the story of Tyreese's miraculous survival in The Prison gym to the Community locals; admiration and respect is evident in his reminicising.

Much later after the destruction of The Prison, Michonne sadly refers back to Tyreese when confiding in Rick about her loneliness, signifying he had more a lasting emotional impact upon the detached Michonne than she had previously lead readers to believe.

Relationships
Being generally approachable and active in the various situations the group encountered, it was shown several times through-out the series he had close relationships with other members.

Rick
Tyreese and Rick formed a close friendship on the road. Being physically adept, he saved Rick many a time from the constant zombie threats they encountered, and always helped the group to the best of his ability. A significant point was when he saved a downed Rick in Wiltshire Estates. Tyreese also shared many traits and interests with Rick, such as football, and the two were regulary seen conversing. Tyreese's characteristics and reliability quickly gained Rick's respect and trust. This also resulted in an unstated, but obvious leadership position alongside Rick. He was actively involved and regulary sought for opinion on the next course of action by much of the survivor group, and was evidently trusted with unofficial leadership of the group that traveled to the Army station for supplies. Even though they had a major turning point with the incident involving Carol and Dexter respectively, Tyreese and Rick regained respect for each other before the former's untimely death.

Carol
The pair established a romantic relationship after Tyreese's introduction to the group. He often acted as an emotional protector as well as a physical one for the more vulnerable Carol, before their abrupt and costly break-up.

Julie
Being his daughter, Julie was naturally one of the most important people to Tyreese. Her death severely overwhelmed him, and tested his emotional stability.

Michonne
Although the beginning of their relationship was rife with controversy and trouble, Tyreese and Michonne eventually formed a romantic/sexual relationship on the basis of mutual need, with Tyreese needing Michonne more for emotional comfort and Michonne needing him to just have someone. The pair worked closely together in the fight against zombies and Woodbury up until their failed retaliation attempt in the forest surrounding The Prison.

Andrea
The two weren't shown to interact much until half-way through their time at The Prison. Their mutual leadership skills, fitness and interest in sport, as well as their generally sociable nature allowed the pair to be close friends. A strong trust between the two was displayed, such as when Andrea requested Tyreese help make the crutch gifts for the wounded (and wrongly jealous) Dale. Andrea also regularly teased Tyreese about his inability to accurately fire a gun. The two worked closely together on several occasions, such as the initial clearing of zombies within The Prison and their joint unofficial leadership of the supply-run on Woodbury's Military center.

Axel
The pair formed a close-working relationship and were on friendly terms, evident by their frequent co-operation in the zombie clearings and their private talks while guarding The Prison at night.

Trivia

 * Tyreese's family is only group where all members reanimated as zombies at some point. Julie reanimates after Chris kills her, but he shoots her again, causing Tyreese to murder him twice, both as a human and as a zombie. When the Governor kills Tyreese, his decapitated head reanimates. Tyreese's zombie is finally put to rest by Michonne.
 * Tyreese has not yet appeared in the TV series. However, it is stated that his actor is Keith Allen Hayes, which strongly implies that he will be played by that actor in Season 2. (Rumor)
 * T-Dogg may be subtle way of adding Tyreese before he was actually supposed to appear in the TV series (Speculation)