Ezekiel (Comic Series)

"My men, they followed me, and I believed in them. But I have never led men into battle. I have never ordered men to die for a greater good. I have never watched those I love lay their lives down for me. We're surrounded by death in this world... but somehow, this was different. I didn't know what to do."

- Ezekiel to Michonne.

Ezekiel, more commonly known as "King" Ezekiel', is a character first introduced in Issue 108 of Image Comics' The Walking Dead. He is the self-proclaimed "King" of a community called 'The Kingdom', the namesake of his own community. Ezekiel had a pet tiger named Shiva. Ezekiel was a friend of the Hilltop Colony and a close friend to Paul Monroe and has a strong hatred for The Saviors which caused Paul to bring Rick to him in the hopes of collaborating to defeat The Saviors.

Location Unknown
Not much is known about Ezekiel's life before or as the outbreak began. It is stated in Issue 110 that Ezekiel was a zookeeper and he knew Shiva since she was born. It is speculated that he lived in or near Washington D.C., where he states he also had a theater background.

The Kingdom
Ezekiel (referred to as "King Ezekiel" by his fellow citizens) is the leader of a community known as The Kingdom. At some point, Ezekiel met and formed a friendship with Paul Monroe who invited his community to join a trading network that includes the Hilltop community Paul belongs to. He later discovered the Saviors were threatening and harassing the other communities in the trade network in exchange for supplies and possibly saw how vicious their leader, Negan really was (despite the truce offered by the Saviors.) He bided his time and waited for the opportune moment to strike back against "this tyrant." The opportunity Ezekiel was waiting for finally came when Paul brought Rick Grimes to meet him and passed on the information that they had regarding the Saviors' strength and the location of their main base of operations.

An Alliance is Formed
Ezekiel forms an alliance between Rick, Paul and Dwight to take down Negan and the Saviors. At first, Ezekiel acts like an adviser, telling Rick and Paul that they should first focus on overtaking the Saviors outposts in the area. Doing so will give them a foothold and can cause them to whittle away their numbers gradually while they move on closer to the foundry. When asked by Rick if he's made contact with Dwight, Ezekiel says that they must be patient before Dwight can reveal himself. During one of Rick's trips to the Kingdom, he brings along several residents from Alexandria, including Michonne, who catches Ezekiel's interest. Initially Michonne scorns him, leading to them crossing swords against one another. Later that night, however, the two share some of their past and each lightly flirt with the other.

Ezekiel is later seen leading his forces towards Alexandria. They are able to get there in time to save Rick and several other members of Alexandria. When Negan escapes, Rick wants to follow them but Ezekiel reminds him that they are still outnumbered by the Saviors. He is later seen inside Alexandria talking to Paul, who comments that he thought Ezekiel had abandoned him; Ezekiel says that he had to get his men close without being spotted and that there's much to discuss. Like Negan and Paul, Ezekiel is impressed with Alexandria and comments to Rick that he "vastly undersold this community" and that it is "spectacular... definitely worth fighting for."

The War Begins
Ezekiel is seen sleeping with Michonne in her house in Alexandria. Michonne informs Ezekiel that this meant nothing and that it has the potential to eventually be something. Ezekiel informs her that he can work with potential and heads downstairs to check on Shiva. He finds Michonne making coffee and informs her that Shiva was very well behaved and "she shit in your tub." Michonne asks him if he is being serious and he says he is, however they are interrupted by the Kingdom's head of security Richard, who informs Ezekiel that the buses are stationed outside the gates as he requested. Ezekiel tells Richard to inform Rick and the others immediately.

He is later seen meeting with Rick, Andrea, Paul and Kal in Father Gabriel's church. They discuss the plans for the upcoming war for one final time before deciding to depart for The Sanctuary. While on the road to The Sanctuary the group decides to stop one mile from Sanctuary to fully prepare for the upcoming conflict. Ezekiel finds Rick and Paul talking and when he approaches Rick asks him if his men know to lookout for snipers. Ezekiel says they are prepared and Rick walks off declaring that it is time to get into position.

Ezekiel alongside over one hundred men from Alexandria, Hilltop and The Kingdom arrive outside the gates of Sanctuary. They are immediately confronted by Negan, who informs them that he is not scared of their forces. Rick offers Negan a chance for surrender, however after reveling that Gregory and the Hilltop have sided with The Saviors eight men from the Hilltop leave Rick's force to depart back to Hilltop. However Rick does not back down and says his offer of surrender still stands. Negan tells Rick he does not accept and Savior snipers open fire on Ezekiel and the rest of the force. Ezekiel quickly moves into cover behind a bus and orders one of his men to take out a Savior snipers on the roof. He does so and Ezekiel's men continue to take down more Savior snipers. After a few minutes of gunfire a large herd of zombies approaches The Sanctuary having been drawn by the battle's noise. Ezekiel quickly orders everyone onto buses, he is interrupted by Michonne who asks Ezekiel what he was waiting for. He replies by saying that he was waiting for her and they both quickly escape into one of the buses.

During the aftermath of attacking the Sanctuary, Ezekiel splits off from the main army and takes a group out to conquer one of the Savior outposts nearby. To his great shock and dismay, the Saviors lured them inside and mowed down nearly all of them. Richard is among those who are shot and Ezekiel tries to assure him the he'll survive, but Richard dies in Ezekiel's arms. Enraged, he reaches for a shotgun from one of his deceased teammates, but the man has already turned and nearly bites him. Shocked by how quickly he turned, Ezekiel bashes the man's skull in and faces the remaining Saviors. Unbeknownst to them walkers arrive, diverting the Savior's attention and allowing Ezekiel to escape. He loses them in the woods, but trips and falls in a river. Several walkers arrive but Shiva arrives and saves him. He turns towards Shiva but is saddened by the sight he sees; more walkers arrived and surround Shiva who valiantly tries to fight them off, but is unsuccessful. He returns back to Alexandria alone and breaks down to Michonne, explaining everything that had happened. He reveals that although he is seen as a leader, he had never before asked friends to lay down their lives and die for him. Michonne comforts him while he ruefully wishing that he was the one who died; he would have been seen as a hero and a sacrifice to rally behind, "but most of all... I wouldn't have lost Shiva."

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Ezekiel has killed:
 * Numerous counts of zombies and possibly unnamed people.

Shiva
"I wish she'd been content. I wish she'd not come after me. There were so many. We were surrounded — But I was able to get away. I turned to call her to me... so we could leave... get away before she was swarmed. She knew there were too many, she knew I'd never get away otherwise. There was no other way. No other way for me to live... I wish I'd died in that field. Coming back here... After losing so many men, I feel embarrassed... ashamed. Things would have been so much better if I had died... My people would see my death as a heroic sacrifice... They'd never have to see me... Like this... But most of all, I wouldn't have lost Shiva."

- Ezekiel's eulogy.

Shiva shows a love to her owner, Ezekiel, she listens to his commands and stays docile unless he tells her otherwise. Ezekiel, working as a zookeeper, saved Shiva's life before the apocalypse, when she got injured and cut open her leg badly. Ezekiel went out of his way to save her, and did not report her for aggressive behavior when she cut his stomach. Ezekiel understood why she cut him and has forgiven her for it. Shiva proves her love for Ezekiel defending him from a herd of zombies after a failed attack against The Saviors. Keeping the zombies away long enough for Ezekiel escape, but she ended up swarmed and was presumably devoured. Ezekiel is deeply saddened by her death.

Paul Monroe
Paul and Ezekiel are good friends, as he happily greeted Paul when he arrived with Rick. Although he considers Ezekiel and his community "more like a tumor rather than a participant" of the trade network with the Hilltop, they are both allies against Negan and the Saviors.

Negan
Ezekiel deeply hates Negan and wants him dead, as he stated saying that Jesus knew how much hate he had for The Saviors. It is also mentioned that he never accepted Negan's supply truce.

Gregory
"Gregory is probably requiring much time to locate his backbone."

- Ezekiel talking to Rick about Gregory.

Ezekiel is shown to not care for Gregory too much, going so far as to call him a "coward." According to Ezekiel, the Hilltop leader has more residents living there than all the other colonies combined and would be able to attack the Saviors, but instead, he spends his time in his house trying to hide the fact that he is too scared to stand up to them.

Rick Grimes
Ezekiel can be seen as a potential ally in Rick's plan of revenge against the Saviors. Both communities have suffered by the hands of the Saviors and Ezekiel refers to Negan as a tyrant. He wants to "right the wrongs that have befallen to the people" under Negan's rule. Also, he shares Rick's view of Negan; both men deeply hate him and want Negan dead.

Michonne
"I shouldn't be telling you all this...but you seem like someone I can trust. Might have something to do with how damn cute you are."

- Ezekiel to Michonne.

Ezekiel's regal posture and the presence of Shiva rubbed Michonne the wrong way at first, almost leading to violence. Ezekiel decided to handle the hostility with good will and almost immediately made attempts at attaining Michonne's trust. He has also admitted that he finds Michonne attractive and both started to flirt a bit in Issue 110. He even goes as far as to drop his act and speak to her without his "King" persona. By Issue 115, Michonne and Ezekiel's relationship becomes a romantic interest.

Dwight
Ezekiel seems to trust or at least respect Dwight, greeting him in his Kingdom as a "traveler sent by fate" and smiling at his declaration of hatred towards Negan. Also, he thinks of Dwight as a useful member of their "army" against Negan.

Appearances
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Volume 20: All Out War - Part One

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Trivia

 * Ezekiel bears a strong resemblance to Dave Fennoy, the voice actor of Lee Everett in The Walking Dead Video Game.
 * The name Ezekiel may refer to a Hebrew prophet of the 6th century who prophesied the forthcoming destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation.
 * Unlike Paul Monroe's nickname "Jesus", Ezekiel states that Ezekiel really is his name.
 * It was stated by Ezekiel that he is not a fan of violence.
 * Robert Kirkman stated in Issue 113's 'Letter Hacks' that Ezekiel could be the smartest person in the Comic Series.

Иезекиль