Negan (Comic Series)

"You see that kid. Respect."

- Negan to Carl as his fellow Saviors bow to him.

Negan is the leader of a group called The Saviors and an enemy of the Hilltop Colony. Negan is something of the polar opposite to Rick. While Rick has killed to survive, Negan kills out of a sadistic belief that they are the stronger ones and deserve everything and those that don't believe, will suffer. Glenn's brutal and cruel murder shows that Negan has no empathy or remorse for killing those who haven't harmed him.

Pre-Apocalypse
Nothing is known about Negan's life prior to the zombie apocalypse or as the apocalypse began.

Post-Apocalypse
At some point after the outbreak, Negan established "The Saviors" and fiercely ruled over his men. Negan, along with his team (which includes at least 50 or more other men), had made a deal with the Hilltop Colony; they would use the weaponry that the other group was lacking to kill all zombies wandering near their premises. In return, they would obtain half of Hilltop's supplies; such as livestock and crops. To get his point across, if a potential problem would arise, Negan and his men would resort to cruel and manic measures. If they sense they are being tracked or if they feel they aren't getting a sufficient enough amount of supplies, they beat or kill the people from Hilltop. The group also sends "messages" to the community, which are usually very deadly, such as Gregory being stabbed by Ethan.

Later, Negan, along with fifty other Saviors, snuck up on Rick's group and subdued Rick by surprise. They lined up all of the survivors from the van (Rick, Carl, Glenn, Maggie, Sophia, Michonne, and Heath), telling them that he wanted revenge for the Saviors that were killed. Without an agreement from Rick, Negan made a deal; everything that belonged to the Alexandria Safe-Zone, now belonged to The Saviors. He introduced his weapon of choice; Lucille, a baseball bat covered in barbed wire. After a long talk about who he should beat to death using Lucille, he finally chose his victim at random: Glenn. Maggie panicked, as Glenn attempted talking Negan out of it. Negan ignored him and began crushing Glenn's skull, using Lucille. Negan laughed and when Glenn attempted to get to his feet, he said, "He's taking it like a champ", before smashing his head open once again. Negan told the mourning and crying group that the Saviors would be back in one week to collect half of everything that the Alexandria Safe-Zone owned, or there would be more killings. Rick vowed that he would avenge Glenn and kill Negan. Negan laughed at this, turning around, leaving the survivors with Glenn's corpse.

Negan and The Saviors later arrived at the Alexandria Safe-Zone for their first offering. Spencer Monroe arrived at the gate, questioning Negan's identity, to which Negan laughs, referencing the events of Issue 100. He said, "I know how I had to make a pretty fucking strong first impression". When Spencer left to get Rick, Negan and the Saviors began killing zombies surrounding the area. While the Saviors scavenged each of the houses for supplies, Negan made several rude comments about his beating of Glenn, about Olivia being overweight, and toward Carl when he threatened him. Negan also forced Rick to hold "Lucille" while he scavenged the Safe-Zone. When Denise threatened a Savior for taking important medical supplies and Rick attempted to reason with Negan, Negan told the group that their big walls are the only medicine they need. Before Negan departed, he retrieved "Lucille" from Rick and told him, "In case you haven't caught on, I just slid my dick down your throat and you thanked me for it".

He and his men depart from the Safe-Zone with supplies, but unknown to him, Carl was hiding in the truck with an assault rifle. Once he and his men get back to their base, he is shocked to see that Dwight was still alive. "There is always next time, I suppose" he says, much to Dwight's disgust. A savior finds Carl and Carl uses the rifle and kills six saviors. They surround Carl and he demands to speak with Negan. When Negan arrives, Carl breaks free and fires at them until he runs out of ammo. Dwight is about to kill him when Negan stops him and says "Is that any way to treat our new guest?"

Instead of taking immediate action against young Carl, Negan shows an impressive amount of interest in getting to know the child. He goes as far as to lead him through the Saviors facilities, revealing that he is the leader of a cult-like domain of selfless followers who bow to his every word and command. Many followers of his ranks are living on a point system in order to sustain their lives, though many give into his graces for a better living, most notably the women he considers his "wives". It is brought to his attention that one of his many wives, Amber, has committed adultery against him with her former lover. As he goes to handle the situation, he brings Carl along to see his wives and how he handles his affairs before degrading the terrified Amber in front of them all.

Afterwards, Negan and Carl share a private moment in his quarters where he reveals to Carl that he is more interested in seeing the injury to his eye. Carl allows him to see it, removing the bandages to reveal the disturbing effects that being shot had left him with. Negan, in a state of disbelief and awe, jokingly mocks the deformity and goes as far as to ask Carl if he can touch the part of his skull showing through his exposed eye-socket, which causes Carl to finally cry. This appears to have an odd effect on Negan who takes back the gesture and apologizes, seeing that he has finally found a weakness in the child he finds so dangerous. They are interrupted by one of his followers who returns Lucille to him and leaves them alone once again, Negan reverting back to coldness as he orders Carl to sing a song for him while he swings the bat dangerously close by. After this intense encounter between the two, they are interrupted once again and Negan is told that the "iron" is ready and Negan has Carl follow him to witness the event.

In a ritualistic fashion, complete with chanting from the followers answering to Negan's words, shows that whomever falls onto his bad graces are dealt with by having their faces burned by a searing iron. Tied to the end of a pole, the tool once used to straighten clothes is held over a fire before being handed to Negan who presses it against the victims face as punishment for their betrayal. In this case, it was the face of Amber's former lover Mark, who is left deformed in the same manner as Dwight with a portion of his face permanently scarred and leaving an exposed eyeball. After the ritual, Negan dismisses his congregation before turning to Carl and leading him away, contemplating what to do with him.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Negan has killed:
 * Andy (Assumed)
 * David (Assumed)
 * Crystal (Assumed)
 * Glenn
 * Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people.

Carl Grimes
Negan is hated by Carl, and this is demonstrated when Carl risks his life to get revenge, by sneaking into Negan's truck in order to kill him. It appears though, that Negan likes and admires Carl because of how hardened he is. It is shown that he may even have some higher opinion of the child, such as respect, as he is shown to be sincerely concerned and apologetic after making fun of his exposed gunshot injury. Carl returns Negan's admiration for him by accompanying him throughout the Savior's base without even trying to run or take action, also questioning the leader of his wives actually being his. Negan may very well be catering Carl to become a protege of some sort, as he is shown to be more impressed by the boy rather than angered by his violence against his men.

Dwight
Dwight and Negan seem to have a tense relationship, as both seem to dislike the other to a point. However, Dwight's fear of Negan keeps him in line, as it is implied that Negan himself caused the deformity on his face. This is seen when Negan comments on Dwight's return and how he can always try next time to attack the Alexandria Safe-Zone, which resulted in heavy casualties and Dwight's capture. Dwight shows a look of disgust towards Negan after this. Dwight also seems to be intimidated by Negan, as he decides not to tell him about Paul's escape, in fear of Negan's wrath.

Rick Grimes
Negan acts like a common bully, rather than a psychotic murderer around Rick, and has claimed on multiple occasions that he and his people are really nice people if you get to know them.

Trivia

 * Negan's main weapon of choice is a baseball bat wrapped in barbed-wire which he calls, 'Lucille'.
 * Negan is one of three characters in The Walking Dead that has named their weapon. The others being Danny St. John with "Charlotte", and Molly with "Hilda".
 * Negan is notable for using excessive profanity when he speaks, even to his own men.
 * At first, it was implied Negan was some kind of cult leader, as The Saviors believed that Negan spoke through all of them. Though the term cult may not apply to the Saviors, they are most definitely the followers of Negan to an almost religious level.
 * This is heavily supported in issue 105, as it is revealed that he runs the Saviors as a cult would entail, complete with the followers bowing at his entrance and chanting to his words.
 * Negan and Dwight are the only Saviors who have killed people in Rick's group (Glenn and Abraham).
 * Negan is the second named character to be introduced in a triple digit issue, after Mike.
 * Originally, Negan didn't want to kill Glenn, Heath, or Michonne because he felt that this would make him look like a racist, though this was most likely banter on his part.
 * Negan was the second character to be named before he was actually seen, the first being Carl.
 * Glen Mazzara has stated that he is interested in introducing Negan in the TV Series, several seasons from now.
 * In Issue 104, Dwight chooses not to reveal to Negan that Paul Monroe escaped, due to the fear of Negan's wrath. This is similar to how Merle Dixon decides to not tell The Governor about Michonnes's survival, but instead lies about it, for the same reason.
 * In issue 105, a very rare glimpse of Negan's sympathy is shown after he makes light of the disturbing gunshot injury to Carl's eye, making the young boy cry. He apologizes for this with what appears to be sincere concern and admits how easy it is to forget that he is just a child. His twisted mentality rears it's ugly head instantly however, after another savior returns Lucille into his hands.
 * This implies that Negan may not simply be a psychopath, but possibly someone suffering from what is known as bipolar disorder. When unchecked with the regularly perscribed medication, sufferers are known to bounce back and forth between emotions when provoked by certain reactions. Most cases however, take little to no provoking at all however.
 * It is obvious that Negan shows signs of having what is known as a God complex, living a life of total and uninhibited dominion over any form of life he sees, people who will follow his every command. This is similar to how the Romans lived, complete with multiple wives and having a barter-trade system made up of followers ethics towards the ultimate cause, rather than using anything of monetary value to support their lives(in the Saviors case, it is a "point" system).