Caesar Ramón Martínez (Comic Series)

"So gym teacher--turned out to be not so 'cool' in the end."

- Caesar Martinez to Glenn after telling his survival story.

Caesar Martinez (accosted always with his last name, and couple misprints with the name "Rodriguez" ) is a character first encountered in Issue 27 of Image Comics' The Walking Dead and is a fence guard in Woodbury, and helped Rick, Glenn, Michonne, Dr. Stevens, and Alice escape Woodbury.

Location Unknown
Martinez was a man who was formerly a gym teacher before the outbreak. He divorced and never had kids, and he was not on speaking terms with his parents. His school had been designated as a "safe zone" once the outbreak began, and it was soon home to many of the children and parents that lived in the town. He played basketball with the students before the "biters" overtook the school. Once the zombies overran the school, they killed most of the people inside, while the others (including Caesar) ran for safety; an action he would always regret.

Woodbury, Georgia
Sometime after the school was overtaken, Martinez stumbled upon Woodbury, He did not like the current forced leader Major Gene Gavin. When Brian Blake killed Gene, Martinez was right by his side helping him retake control of Woodbury. Once Brian became the leader of Woodbury, Martinez became very loyal to him, helping out as his second-in-command and going on search parties for supplies and finding new citizens. Taking people in like Lilly Caul, Bob Stookey, and Josh Lee Hamilton. He looked and cared for the people of Woodbury on several occasions breaking up fights and even helping fellow citizens like Lilly and Josh fight off Walkers. He did become wary of The Governor's actions even saying to Stevens that The Governor is "going to push this town off a cliff".He soon set up a plan with Lilly Caul, Dr. Stevens, Alice and, four of his most loyal men: Swede, Taggert, Stevie, and Broyles. The plot involved a kidnapping during the arena fights, where The Governor would be loaded into a truck and brought out into the woods where they could execute him. However, The Governor catches on at the last second, causing a loud noise and two of The Governor's close men to follow. The Governor's men were also captured, and escaped their bonds in the middle of the drive into the woods. Eventually both groups are led into a Mexican stand-off in the back of the van, only broken by a horde of zombies attacking their vans. After losing all of his men, both groups decide they need to work together, and need The Governor alive, much to Lilly's anger.

In the end, The Governor makes a compromise to end the bartering system, much to a humanitarian applause by Woodbury. After the announcement, The Governor makes Lilly and all of her surviving insurrectionists chop up dead bodies (probably as zombie food/bait) as punishment and an act of fair dominance, reminding them he could have killed them easily, even accepting Martinez back into his inner circle, while under her breath Lilly cursed The Governor.

He was the guard who allowed Rick, Glenn, and Michonne into the town. While on a trip to see Dr. Stevens, he saw that The Governor had sliced Rick's hand off, and realized that The Governor was a monster. He then devised a plan to help Rick and party escape, (on the orders of The Governor of course) and fight their way back to The Prison which had become temporarily overrun.

Killed By

 * Rick Grimes

While Tyreese and Axel were burning zombies, Martinez snuck out of the prison to inform the citizens of Woodbury of the location of the prison. However, during his run back to Woodbury, he was run over by Rick in the RV, who had seen through his facade and had been chasing him down the entirety of the way. Martinez admitted to being sent by The Governor, but said that he planned only to bring the good citizens back to the prison, and not The Governor or his men. Rick, however, strangled him to death, saying that Martinez doesn't know what people are capable of. Martinez's murder made Rick think that he was just as brutal as The Governor.

Caesar's reanimated body was discovered by a Woodbury scouting party, and his head was brought back to Woodbury to be used as a form of propaganda for The Governor to rally the townsfolk to lead a siege of the prison. Caesar's head was then kept in one of the fish tanks that The Governor had in his apartment, as a form of "television".

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

Rick Grimes
Martinez appeared to Rick and others he as though he was on their side, and assisted them in escaping Woodbury, as ordered by The Governor to show him where the Prison was located. Rick was suspicious of him throughout the journey back, but he began to trust Martinez. Throughout their journey to the prison, Rick is the most distant from Martinez until their arrival, finding the prison overrun. After the onslaught and aftermath, the survivors introduce the new people to one another. Rick wanted to introduce Martinez to Carl only to realize he had escaped. Coming to terms with his suspicions, Rick leaves once again to pursue Martinez in the RV. He catches up to the running man and disables him with the speeding vehicle before having one final confrontation. Martinez reveals he had been more interested in leading his fellow citizens to the prison for a safer life rather than follow The Governor's initial orders, though Rick does not care to hear it anymore after everything he and his people went through. His final acknowledgement upon his death at the hands of Rick is that Rick is just as twisted as The Governor himself.

Dr. Stevens
It is revealed that Martinez and Stevens were really good friends. When Stevens was killed whilst escaping Woodbury, Martinez was visibly upset.

Brian Blake
In addition to being one of The Governor's best friends, Martinez was also very loyal to him. Martinez was sent to the Prison by The Governor to scout its location. Despite the fact Martinez may have had a change of heart upon arriving at the prison, he was still returning to Woodbury before being murdered at the hands of Rick. As The Governor recovered from his own mutilations, Caesar's reanimated body was recovered and the severed head was used as a symbol for the Woodbury citizens to see that the prison survivors were the insane ones. This act is the most contributing factor in The Governor's plan to lead Woodbury's assault on the prison.

Alice
It is revealed during the novel, The Road To Woodbury, that Alice had a crush on Martinez.

Lilly Caul
Martinez helps Lilly in their plan to kidnap and kill The Governor, along with his men, Bruce and Gabe. However, their plan goes awry when a zombie horde interrupts the plan.

Appearances
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Volume 13: Too Far Gone

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Trivia

 * Robert Kirkman has stated that Martinez was meant to be homosexual, but this plot line was not pursued further.
 * Kirkman also mentioned he was planning to overwrite Martinez's story, which would've included not killing him. This was due to his Hispanic background, which could've received condemnation from fans.
 * In the Comic Series, Caesar said to Rick and Glenn that he never had wife or children; while in the episode "Arrow on the Doorpost" in the TV Series, he said to Daryl that he lost his wife and kids when the apocalypse began.
 * It should also be noted that in the Novel, "The Road to Woodbury", he tells Lilly Caul that in he did in fact have a wife whom he divorced.
 * The Walking dead Survivors' Guide incorrectly lists Martinez as deceased but should be listed undead from his zombified self on the same page.
 * He is the only member of Woodbury to be killed by Rick Grimes.
 * He was mistakenly called "Rodriguez" on two separate occasions in Woodbury, first by Glenn and then by Dr. Stevens.