Axel (Comic Series)

"You follow me?"

- Axel, saying his catchphrase.

Axel is a character first encountered in Issue 13 of Image Comics' The Walking Dead and is a grizzly looking, old biker imprisoned for armed robbery; he survived the initial outbreak locked inside The Prison cafeteria, along with Dexter, Andrew, and Thomas Richards.

The Prison
His former life is unknown aside from the fact that he had been incarcerated for an undetermined period for armed robbery before the outbreak. Axel is welcoming of the survivors and fits into the group without much trouble, despite their knowledge of his criminal past. When Dexter tries to force the survivors out of the prison, Axel stands up for them. Being the only one of the four convicts to remain with the survivors during their time at the prison and after some general mistrust he eventually earns their confidence after working hard and being willing to help whenever anybody asked for it. This is especially shown during the times when he assists Tyreese and the other survivors in burning the bodies of the dead zombies. He also had a caring and understanding side, shown when he tried to help Andrew realize that Dexter didn't really love him, though this was subsequently rejected by Andrew.

The Prison Assault
During the initial Woodbury assault on the Prison, Axel is shot in the arm. When Dale and several other survivors decide to leave, Axel is seen helping everyone, despite only having the use of one arm. He's seen in the watchtower, but he wasn't ever able to shoot any Woodbury soldiers. He has a brief fling with Patricia. Alice walks in on the two of them having sex and he later admits to her that he "didn't want to regret anything, you follow me?".

Killed By
After helping the survivors set up defenses, Axel was shot in the head by an unknown Woodbury soldier during the beginning of the second prison assault. Patricia is seen crying and holding his corpse.
 * The Governor (Caused)
 * Unnamed Woodbury Soldier

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Axel has killed:
 * Numerous counts of zombies.

Characteristics and Role
Axel was a trustworthy character, even for a prison inmate. He helped to clean out the zombies in the prison and when the prison got overrun or attacked and would help to burn the corpses. Axel was also slightly perverted, 'accidentally' walking in on Lori and Carol while they were showering and would make sexual comments about the female members of the group. He was also known for ending most of his sentences with "You follow me?". Axel died when helping the group defend the prison during Woodbury's attempt to take it for themselves.

Rick Grimes
Though Rick was initially wary of Axel (as he was with all of the other prisoners), he eventually came to trust him. This was evident when Axel took sides with Rick's group when Dexter tried to force them out. Axel showed himself to be a hard worker by helping Tyreese dispose of the dead zombie corpses, which led to him being placed upon Rick's list of necessary people. Rick was saddened for a bit after Axel's death during the final assault of the Woodbury colony. His death had an impact on Rick's mind, as he felt guilty for it, (along with Lori, Judith, Hershel, Billy, Patricia, and Alice's deaths). It is also evident that the two were at least somewhat good friends when in the back-up story for Issue 75. In which Rick is more than happy to see Axel again.

Andrew
Due to their incarceration together, Axel and Andrew developed a friendship of sorts. Axel mentions to Andrew that he can go peek on Lori and Carol in the showers. Andrew is uninterested and tells him that he and Dexter love each other. Axel tries to tell him that the relationship won't hold, because Dexter will be "switching sides" now that women are available again and he doesn't want to see him get his heart broken. This shows that he had some degree of care for Andrew's well-being. This bond was severed when Andrew tried to assist Dexter in overthrowing Rick's control of the prison, afterwards Axel did not try to stop Andrew from running away to his death.

Tyreese
Often seen with Tyreese dragging bodies to bonfires, the two men had seemed to get along very well. When Rick, Glenn, and Michonne left to explore the helicopter crash, Axel moved a couple of chairs near the fence so that he and Tyreese could spend the night on watch. They also started a conversation. Axel had tried to stop Tyreese and Michonne when they left to hunt down the Woodbury attackers, but failed. Axel was more than stunned when Tyreese was executed in front of the prison by The Governor.

Patricia
In their last few days at The Prison, Axel and Patricia's relationship became closer. Before the Woodbury army arrived, they had sex, which was witnessed by Alice. Axel explained to her that since they were possibly going to die soon, he didn't want to have any regrets. He and Patricia are seen in the cafeteria holding each other, when Tyreese died. When the Woodbury citizens shot Axel, Patricia is seen crying and holding his limp body.

Hershel Greene
Due to the fact that Thomas had killed his two youngest daughters, Hershel had an extreme disliking and distrust of Axel because of Axel's criminal background. His attitude was eventually changed by Axel's continuous work in the prison and helping Hershel out with his garden. Although they didn't fully become friends, Hershel and Axel were seen working together in a lot of their appearances together. It can be inferred that those two had put the past behind them.

Billy Greene
Over time, Axel and Billy developed an uncle-nephew relationship. Axel cared for Billy and was often seen talking and joking with him.

Carl Grimes
Axel and Carl seemed to have a decent relationship, though they were only seen interacting a couple of times. Axel seemed to care for Carl, but mostly just saw him as another member of the group.

Lori Grimes
Lori never came to trust Axel. After Thomas killed the twins, Lori blamed Axel and didn't trust him. They weren't seen interacting, so whether their relationship had grown from there remains unknown.

Glenn
Glenn and Axel seemed to have a good relationship. They were seen working together at the gates, clearing out zombies. Glenn more or less ignored Axel, but later on the two of them are seen joking with each other, which hints at an improved relationship.

Carol
Axel and Carol weren't seen interacting much, but it is known that Axel thought she was attractive, as he spied on Lori and Carol showering briefly.

Dexter
Although Axel and Dexter were locked in a cafeteria together along with Andrew and Thomas they were not friends but were civil to one another. Axel tried to warn Andrew that Dexter didn't really have feelings for him but Andrew choose to ignore him, When Dexter threatens to kick Rick and the rest of the group out Axel was quick to try and persuade Dexter to let them stay which Dexter ignored. After Dexter was killed Axel was not shown to be upset and told Hershel that he wasn't like him, Andrew, and Thomas.

Alice
Alice frequently checked out Axel's bandage. She also walked in on he and Patricia having sex, but didn't seem too mortified. Alice asked from Axel if given the chance, would he have left with Dale, but he confirmed that after his life there, that the Prison was his home.

Appearances
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Volume 13: Too Far Gone

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Trivia

 * Robert Kirkman stated, "Axel saying "You follow me" is a personality tick, something he's done for as long as he's been in the book. Issue 41, page 27, "Letter Hacks".
 * Creator Robert Kirkman wrote: "I wanted Axel's death to be pretty abrupt and final ... like things would be In real life. No speech, no moment of heroism or sacrifice ...just a sound and a fallen body. Probably didn't live up to what you wanted but most deaths wouldn't in real life. Not many people really get to go out in a grand style."
 * Axel was the only prisoner who gained the groups trust after they got to know him. He also never did anything malicious to the other survivors, though he did have an understandable desire of peeping on the women while they showered.
 * Lori never trusted him because of his criminal background and because of him peeping on her and Carol in the showers.
 * Axel is the last of the prisoners to die in both, the Comic Series and the TV Series.
 * Axel is one of the few characters Robert Kirkman misses and regrets killing.
 * In the Comic Series, Axel appears to be in his mid to late 50's; in the TV Series, however, he appears to be much younger.
 * In the TV Series, Axel has a country style appearance, whereas in the comic series, he has more of a biker-style.
 * Axel is currently the only character in the comic to have a catchphrase.
 * Kirkman mentioned in the Letter Hacks he wanted Axel and Patricia to have a relationship so Axel's death would be more tragic.