Magna (Comic Series)

"If something seems too good to be true... It usually is. These people are hiding something... and we're going to find it."

- Magna about Alexandria.

Magna is a character first encountered in Issue 127 of Image Comics' The Walking Dead and is the leader of a small group of six people trying to survive in the Washington, D.C. area.

Richmond, Virginia
Almost nothing is known about Magna's life before the outbreak began except that she is from Richmond, Virginia.

A New Beginning
At the beginning of the apocalypse, Magna is one of many survivors who arrive at a nursing home near Washington D.C. Seeing it as a potential safe haven, she decided to stay. After awhile, the home became too crowded. It is not explicitly said what happened, but Magna and a group of others left and set off on their own. During the next seven months, several of her group mates were killed; Ted got drunk one night and was bitten, and Aubrey and Michelle were ambushed inside a department store and devoured. As they travelled further along, Magna says they had a system where all their possessions were hitched inside a trailer that was hitched to horses and they sat atop the roof of the car, seeing it as a mobile building that they could be secure in. She recalls that they ran across no other people while they traveled. Magna is seen sitting atop of the trailer when one of the members of her group, Luke, starts a conversation with her about their travel destination, Magna stating that they all have no idea where they are going and can take as much time as they like because of it. Suddenly a massive herd of zombies burst out of the woods next to them and start attacking the horses dragging the train-cart, eventually swaying the cart enough so it topples over. Magna and her group are quickly surrounded by the zombie herd and Magna herself is almost bitten on the arm, however, a timely rescue by Paul Monroe saves her life. Paul quickly dismounts from his horse and starts helping Magna and her group fend off the zombies, but one of Magna's group, Bernie, is devoured in the process. Paul then tells Magna to cut the horses free from the toppled train-cart and get to safety, saying he and other members of the Alexandria Safe-Zone scout group will rid the zombie herd from the area.

After escaping from the herd on horseback, Magna and her group manage to get to a safe zone and after a few minutes of hiding, she, Paul, and the rest of his scout group manage to begin leading the zombie herd away. Magna briefly gets into an argument with another member of her group, Kelly, who says they should not trust Paul and his group as they are the ones who led the herd to them and got Bernie killed. Magna says it was not their fault and everyone is a dead-man in the apocalypse anyway. Shortly after, Paul arrives on horseback to meet her and invites her to join Alexandria's community as long as she agrees to give her weapons over to him. Magna is hesitant to do so at first, but when Paul tells her Alexandria has plenty of food, she accepts wholeheartedly.

After she arrives at Alexandria, Paul takes her the the community's great hall, where Rick Grimes is waiting to interview her group. Magna introduces him to all the members of her group, Kelly, Luke, Connie, and Yumiko. Rick then asks if she leads them and she begins to say that they are a team without a leader, but Luke interrupts her and says that she is indeed the leader that kept the group together. Rick tells her that it is okay to be uncomfortable with the title of leader, saying he was for a while too. Magna then asks him what they should do and Rick tells her that they need to hand their weapons over for a few weeks, so that the community can learn to trust them. Magna is at first hesitant and decides to talk it over with her group and they decide that they will trust Rick for the time being because they do not want to pass the chance up of living in such a thriving community. Rick then tells them to rest up for the day, as he would like to interview each member of the group the next day, saying it is best they get to know each other, Magna agreeing with him before she walks off.

Andrea interview's Magna and her group. She asks how they survived. Magna says that they lived in a nursing home and that she's from Richmond, Virginia. They eventually left the home because it became unsafe so the group left and headed towards Washington D.C. because the last broadcasts they had heard had urged people to get to big cities, so they could protect people. She says that there was this place they said with a greenhouse that grew year round and that it was amazing. Eventually, people started showing up and things got 'bad' as she put it. And about seven months ago, the group left. Magna goes on to say that about half of her group had died. Later on, Magna is in a house with her group. The group debates about what they will do. Magna says that Alexandria is too good to be true, and that they're hiding something. She then says they will find out what it is that they are hiding.

Magna tells Rick that her and her group are still trying to figure out what is a private residence or a community building. Rick tells her that it's a jail housing a prisoner for life. Magna seems surprised and Rick says that she can visit him when he returns if she likes before walking away. Magna, Luke, and Kelly all go to the jail, seeing Negan imprisoned. He asks if they're there to rescue him, saying that the people at Alexandria are "animals". However she does not believe him, saying she's seen what torture looks like and he looks well fed and taken care of, and leaves him.

Later on, when Andrea returns to her house, Magna's group pulls her in and Magna demands she answer her questions. Andrea agrees to but tells Magna she'd best not threaten her.

Whispers Into Screams
Magna first asks Andrea about why Negan is locked in a cell in one of the abandoned houses. Andrea goes on and explains a healthy portion of her group's history, including the events of "No Way Out", the ending of "All Out War" and Rick's role as leader. Magna is later seen along with Andrea working on the food fields when she asks about Eugene who walks past. When Andrea briefly touches on it, she switches the topic and comments on how Alexandria is great and they seem to be overloaded on food. The two women then notice Rick approaching and greet him.

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

Luke
"A team with a strong leader... you kept us alive."

- Luke to Magna, while being interviewed by Rick.

Magna and Luke seem to have a trusting friendship. When Rick asks Magna who the leader of the group is, Magna tries to tell Alexandria's leader that there was no leader and surviving was a team effort, but Luke interrupts her and tells Rick that Magna is the leader of the group. This shows that Luke sees Magna as the leader of their group.

Rick Grimes
"So you don't trust us completely then, do you?"

- Magna to Rick.

Magna is wary of Rick and his role as leader. She believes him to be hiding something and subverts his leadership in the same way Rick acted when he first met Douglas.

Andrea
"You trusted us the minute you decided coming here was better than being out there. You're risking nothing... We're risking everything by bringing you in. You earn our trust. Don't like that... we'll escort you to the gate."

- Andrea to Magna.

Magna initially saw Andrea as being abrupt and bossy. This is shown during her 'interview' with Andrea regarding how her group survived before arriving to Alexandria. When Magna became suspicious of them hiding something, she went and captured Andrea as she enters her home, seeing her as an obviously high-ranking member of the safe-zone community. After discussing the safe-zone's last few years, the two seem to now be on friendlier terms with each other.

Negan
"I've seen torture... What it does to someone. You seem well taken care of. And I know when someone is lying."

- Magna to Negan.

At first, Magna was shocked to see Negan inside a cell kept away from everyone else. After hearing that he was locked away and tortured for months, she pointed out that he looked well off for a torture victim and suspected him of lying. When Negan eventually admitted that it was a lie, Magna promptly turns and leaves the cell.

Volume 22: A New Beginning

 * Issue 127
 * Issue 128
 * Issue 129
 * Issue 130
 * Issue 131
 * Issue 132

Volume 23: Whispers Into Screams

 * Issue 133
 * Issue 136

Trivia

 * Magna is a feminine Latin adjective which means "great".
 * Sean Mackiewicz revealed in Issue 130's Letter Hacks that Magna has a "great bullshit detector", referring to the lie she didn't buy from Negan.