Negan (Comic Series)

"You keep me locked up here as long as you fucking want. Forever if you want. I'm the toughest motherfucking Trump you're ever going to meet. I can take it. Hell, I fucking love it. I'm having a good time here. No need to boss people around... No fighting for my life against walking socialists. I should be thanking you. Wait! Thank you. From the bottom of my fucking heart. Thank you. But Rick... Don't kid yourself into thinking you keep me locked up here as some kind of symbol of your mercy. We both know that's not true. You know the real reason I'm here! I'm here because after everything you did... Everything you lived through... I'm the only thing you can use to convince yourself you're a good person. After everything I did... You fucking let me live! Me! Only the greatest person on earth would do that! Rick Grimes is the greatest man who ever lived! He's the guy who's going to fix everything! He's the guy who's going to save the world! Because he's the most civilized of all of us! Remember that when you're screaming at that poor fat woman who left my cage unlocked... Remember that when you threaten to exile her... Throw her to the wolves... For making a fucking mistake. You fucking monster!"

- Negan to Rick Grimes.

Negan (pronounced NEE-gan) is a main character first encountered in Issue 100 of Image Comics' The Walking Dead. He is the former leader of The Saviors and a primary antagonist in the Comic Series. He uses his authority and resources to subjugate other communities, such as the Hilltop Colony, The Kingdom, and later the Alexandria Safe-Zone, into paying tribute to The Saviors, in exchange for protection against zombies.

The communities join together and start a conflict against The Saviors, which ends up with Dwight, former lieutenant and defector, taking charge of The Saviors, now willing to cooperate with all survivors leading to the four communities setting up their trade routes. Negan is then incarcerated, receiving a life sentence. He serves as the primary antagonist from Volume 17: Something To Fear to Volume 21: All Out War - Part Two, but has also been present as a minor antagonist since Volume 22: A New Beginning to date. In Issue 152, Negan is seemingly freed by Brandon, and his whereabouts and intentions are currently unknown.

Personality
Negan is a casual, jolly, yet savage man who adores violence and mayhem, although he is against sexual violence. He is very intelligent and logical, and possesses a knack for controlling and manipulating others. He has a strong affinity for profane language and offensive comments and a morbid, perverse sense of humor, seeming to enjoy the shock value. His charismatic persona and domineering presence allows him to easily intimidate friends and foes alike.

In spite of his violent and savage nature, Negan can be very reasonable for the sake of practicality, like when he spared Carl's life to keep relations steady with Rick, even though Carl slaughtered many of Negan's men.

Perhaps a bit mentally unstable, Negan possesses a sense of sympathy underneath his cold exterior, though he has almost no empathy at all. Rare examples of his sympathy can be seen in his dealing with Carl. Negan believes that his horrific methods of keeping his people in line, which involve burning the faces of rule breakers and using fear to keep people subjected, are to justify a greater good, and he does stick by his own code of ethics. For instance, he murders a Savior after he tries to rape Holly, with Negan claiming that if his men are to commit rape, then their goal of rebuilding civilization can never be achieved.

Location Unknown
Nothing is known about Negan's life before or as the outbreak began, except that he enjoyed billiards and ping-pong and used to be a used car salesman.

Something To Fear
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 Grimes, Carl Grimes, Glenn, Maggie Greene, 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 the new world order and whom 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 smashed Glenn's skull in by slamming Lucille down hard on Glenn's head. Negan laughed and when Glenn attempted to get to his feet, the former remarked that "he's taking it like a champ" before swinging Lucille at Glenn, dislocating his jaw and beating Glenn to death. 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, beat Rick with his bare hands and turned around, leaving the survivors with Glenn's corpse.

What Comes After
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. Bemused that not everyone knew his name, Negan remarks that he "had to make a pretty fucking strong first impression" and asks him to get Rick. When Spencer left, Negan and the Saviors began killing the roamers 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 whispered, "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 amazed 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 fires at them until he loses control of his gun. 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 that he'd like to get know to Carl a little better, but, he gets distracted by Carl's bandaged face. He orders Carl to remove the bandages, showing interest in seeing the injury to his eye. Carl allows him to see it only after being threatened; 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 break and 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 reverts 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. Negan has Carl hold "Lucille" while he follows him to witness the event.

In a ritualistic fashion, complete with chanting from the followers answering to Negan's words, shows that whoever 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 who hands back "Lucille" and leads him away, contemplating what to do with him. Negan runs into Rick while the latter was on his way to find Carl. Negan then tells Rick how eager he is to show him "what he has done to his son". He is then attacked by Rick in a fit of rage before revealing that Carl is fine and he meant that he is eager to show Rick "that he has done nothing to his son".

March To War
Several days later, Negan arrives at the Alexandria Safe-Zone a few days ahead of schedule; he's informed that the community is "practically" out of supplies and that Rick went out looking for more. Negan decides that he will stay in Alexandria until Rick returns from the supply run. He makes an offhand comment about Olivia's weight, who overhears it and starts to cry. He tries to apologize, but, she merely slaps him. Despite several Saviors offering to kill her, Negan dismisses them. Negan is later approached by Spencer Monroe and asks for a little background on the Safe-Zone. After awhile, Negan gets impatient with Spencer and wants to know why he came to him. Spencer then tells Negan that Rick is not a suitable leader for the community and asks that once Negan kills him, Spencer be given control over the Safe-Zone. Negan feels insulted that Spencer would wait until Rick is gone to tell him this. He responds by telling Spencer that Rick may hate him, but, he has guts unlike Spencer who acted like a coward. Negan then slashes Spencer's stomach killing him almost instantly, remarking that he had guts after all. He then orders Seth of his men to clean the mess up "before a kid sees it."

Negan asks Denise, who witnessed the attack, where Spencer lived so he could go and shoot some pool. Rick later returns and confronts Negan, who casually blows him off. Rick demands to know what happened or he won't leave Alexandria alive. After picking up Lucille and praying to give him strength, Negan drops the excessive profanity he normally uses and tells Rick that he feels like he's "bent over backwards to show how reasonable I can be" in regards how he brought Carl back to the Safe-Zone safely and hints about how Spencer wanted to have him kill Rick.

After seeing the supplies gathered by Rick, Negan initially demands all of it, but, then decides to take nothing as payment for killing Spencer. Rick insists that they take their share and Negan has no objections. As they are driving back to the foundry, Negan notices Rick and a few others were following them. An instant later, the driver is shot and killed. Confused and angry, Negan takes Lucille and sees Rick pointing a gun at his head. Suddenly, a gunshot is heard and Rick's gun is destroyed as well as the other's who came out with him. Negan remarks on how stupid Rick and the others are by using bullets on the roamers instead of saving them for 'the much more dangerous thinkers'  (aka the living.) Negan reveals that before every pickup, he has a back-up team armed with guns surround the Safe-Zone and guard the area while himself and the others go in and salvage for supplies. With a crazed smile on his face, Negan leans in to Rick and says that him and the Safe-Zone residents are 'fucking fucked.' Negan smiles and says that in a stand-off situation, snipers tend to give away their position after several shots. He clarifies that Rick's 'sniper bitch is as good as dead', causing Rick to try and strike him. As Negan holds him off, Carl shoots off a portion of Lucille, causing the Saviors to open fire at the Safe-Zone walls. Negan orders them to stop and is shocked and angry about the damage to Lucille. Rick tackles him from behind, but, Negan subdues him once more. He calls Carl a one-eyed asshole and shouts for Carl to be thrown over the wall, saying "I want him to pay for what he's done!" Rick tries to object, but, Negan beats him and issues an ultimatum: "Give me the boy or I'll bash in all four skulls of the people out here!" Negan admits that he liked Carl at first and that he never had a kid of his own; if he did, he wanted them to be like Carl. Rick says that if Carl dies, their agreement is over, but, Negan states that it already IS over. He orders his men to line up Rick, Heath, Nicholas and Holly, then begins to decide which one to kill first. He notices a figure falling from the bell tower and smugly repeats that he knew Rick's sniper was good as dead, not realizing that it's not Andrea, but, Connor.

Negan taunts Rick about Andrea's supposed demise and Nicholas interrupts him, pleading for his life. Negan berates Nicholas for doing this and accuses him of being a coward, he asks Rick, Heath or Holly to ask him to kill Nicholas and that if they do so, he will spare them. However Heath tells him no and he begins to pick which one of them he will kill, however he is interrupted when Paul Monroe grabs a Savior by the foot and uses him as a shield from the Saviors bullets. Negan tells his men to stand down and when he does this Paul leaps out of a trench and kicks the nearest Savior in the face. Paul orders Rick and the others into a trench and proceeds to fight his way towards Negan. When Paul reaches Negan he manages to disarm him and hold him hostage. Paul stalls the Saviors until Ezekiel and his men arrive, Negan breaks free from Paul and runs to a truck, where he retreats back to The Sanctuary with his men.

Negan is later seen back at The Sanctuary where he gives the Saviors a speech about them being the dominant force in the world and that they need to remind people of that and then states that they are going to war.

All Out War - Part One
Several days later, Rick's army arrives to the Saviors base and demands that Negan come out. Initially, Negan is amused by this and begins to taunt him. Rick reveals that they know there are women, children and others inside who aren't part of this fight, he offers a chance to surrender and let them live; for the rest, he reaffirms his old saying: "You kill and you die." Negan plays along with it and asks what will happen if he refuses. After hearing that "whatever happens, happens" Negan thinks for a split second and blatantly refuses Rick's offer. He muses that if he thinks the army he's assembled "can actually accomplish something... that's fucking rich." He briefly entertains the idea of letting Rick's plan go through only to reveal a wildcard; after the ambush at Alexandria, Negan ordered Gregory kidnapped and brought to him. Afraid of what Negan might do, Gregory quickly pledged his allegiance (and that of the Hilltop) to Negan and the Saviors.

After Gregory informed his loyalty towards Negan, he told Negan that the majority of Rick's army comprised of people from the Hilltop colony. Negan is pleased with this but when Rick's army arrived, he is furious that only eight people accept the ultimatum and leave. Negan berates Gregory for this misinformation and kicks him off the balcony. He refuses Rick's offer once more and his snipers begin to fire at the militia. Negan asks Lucille if she "believes this shit" and retreats from the bullets and falling glass. He calls Dwight, ordering him to bring the men from the outposts back to help drive off Rick's army. Dwight agrees but due to the commotion, Negan doesn't notice the former's hesitation to immediately act. As more men rush outside, Negan orders them to start shooting the army before all their snipers are killed. He suddenly notices that all their snipers are taking cover and is initially confused as to why Rick's militia are shooting not the snipers, but the windows. He then notices the large herd of zombies that are rapidly approaching the Sanctuary walls. He looks outside the fence and tells Dwight that "I hope you're wearing your shitting pants." Suddenly, Holly drives through the fence, destroying a portion of it and letting the herd inside. Negan frantically orders his men back inside the foundry, but notices that Holly is still alive from the crash. He sees a zombie about to kill her and dispatches it. As she looks up, Negan smiles and says that she wasn't "going to get off THAT fucking easy".

As the zombies converge inside the courtyard area, the Saviors retreat back inside the foundry to develop a new strategy. Negan delivers an analogy to a group of Saviors about how you can destroy a man "by fucking his vagina", meaning that the best way to destroy a man's heart by destroying the woman he loves; Negan clearly believes this to be Holly since Rick "was going to drive a car at us... you wouldn't let him sacrifice himself to tear our gate down." She corrects him by saying he's got the wrong woman; Rick loves Andrea and she herself was in love with Abraham, the man Dwight killed. Negan refuses to listen, insisting that she is the one who killed Connor "and a terrible liar." He then orders her taken away and goes off to clear his head. Later, Negan is seen outside with more Saviors trying to clear the courtyard of all the zombies, swearing that if any of them die he will "fuck them up." Eventually, too many roamers pour in the fence and Negan's group retreat back inside once more. Negan realizes that if the herd keeps them stuck inside for more than one day, they will all be dead and he orders squads outside every two hours to clean up the infestation by any means necessary. He goes to interrogate Holly some more, but catches David in the middle of trying to rape her. Negan demands that he get away from her and grabs him by the collar. He angrily reminds David one of the Savior's main rules: "We don't rape", thus proving Negan does hate sexual violence. As punishment for him breaking this rule, Negan proceeds to stab David in the neck and apologizes to Holly, telling her that "they [The Saviors] aren't monsters".

After killing David, it is presumed that Negan got word of one of his outposts being overrun by Rick's army and sent more to fortify the remaining ones. This in turn led to Ezekiel's army being eradicated in a failed attack. Negan also found a way to eliminate all of the zombies that had flooded into The Sanctuary's courtyard, for he is later seen heading towards Alexandria. When he arrives at the Safe-Zone, he throws a grenade over the wall and it detonates, demolishing one of the houses and getting Rick's attention. He threatens that 'there's more where that came from' and insists that he's here to parlay. To support his claim, he has a blindfolded Holly brought out of his truck and offers to release her back to Rick. Rick agrees to talk only when Holly is safely back inside, to which Negan agrees. This is later shown to be a ploy as it's revealed that Negan had Holly killed and she later reanimated. As the Alexandrians are distracted by this revelation, Negan orders his men to surround Alexandria and throws another grenade over the wall, yelling "Bombs away, motherfuckers!"

Negan is happy seeing all the destruction and chaos and admits to Lucille that "my dick's so hard right now... I should wrap it in barbed wire and call it 'Lucille II'." He asks Lucille if seeing him use the grenades makes her jealous of not being inside to take part in all the mayhem and wishes that he was inside as well watching them all burn. Davis, overhearing the conversation, awkwardly agrees that he's got a boner too and says [they're] hungry for death as well. Negan, confused by this, asks what the hell he's talking about. Suddenly, Davis is shot through the eye and gunfire erupts from behind several buildings. Surprised by this, Negan orders his men behind one of the trucks. He asks for one more grenade to use as cover and tells his men "the last boat is leaving... you'd better fucking be on it." He manages to escape and they are able to make a fast exit. When a Savior makes an offhand comment about retreating, Negan retorts that this wasn't a retreat. Pointing towards the smoke coming from Alexandria, he comments that this means they've "just fucking won."

All Out War - Part Two
After successfully bombarding Alexandria, Negan is seen leading his men back to Sanctuary when he sees a herd of roamers attacking several people from Alexandria. He orders them to kill the roamers and wonders aloud why they are out here beyond the wall. Nevertheless, he orders Eugene and the others to be taken back with them. Later, Negan somehow finds out that Eugene was making ammunition for Rick's army and goes to see him. Flanked by Dwight and Carson, Negan demands for Eugene to begin producing ammo for the Saviors. When the latter refuses, Negan hands Carson Lucille, then proceeds to grab his own groin (referring to it as his 'crystal balls') and tells Eugene what will happen if he refuses to cooperate; smiling, he says that he could iron Eugene's face (while glancing at Dwight) or castrate him. Negan insists that he doesn't want to do this, but threatens Eugene by saying that he does things he doesn't like all the time. Eugene still refuses to betray Rick and Negan leaves Eugene "with his thoughts and his dick... while he still has it." After ordering Dwight to lock Eugene up and to check on the others, Negan goes to have sex with one of his wives (it is implied to be Sherry due to the look he throws at Dwight), saying that he'll see them both the next morning.

Early the following day, Negan reveals to the Saviors that he's come up with a brilliant plan that will help them win the war. He has assembled a group of roamers inside the courtyard to demonstrate his idea, exclaiming "they are the lynchpin of our plans going forward." Reminding them about the fever that comes from getting bit or from any other injury caused by a roamer, Negan approaches one with Lucille. After apologizing to Lucille, Negan begins to rub it all over the roamer, caking the bat with guts and the bacteria that causes the fever. Holding up 'the new and improved Lucille', Negan says that even the slightest touch from Lucille will now essentially be a death sentence. He orders the Saviors to do the same to their weapons and then hit the road. Arriving at the Hilltop later that day, Negan and his men hide inside the forest just outside the Hilltop. He then issues the order: "We attack at sundown."

Several hours later, Negan and his troops arrive at the Hilltop gates, demanding to see Rick. Kal is atop the wall and threatens them by saying they won't survive what's behind the walls. Negan tells him to bring Rick but Kal says "you're talking to me." Insulted, Negan has one of his men shoot Kal off the wall. Once again, Negan demands for Rick to show himself. After no response from him, Negan orders his men to further gunk up their weapons, saying "we're going in." He goes up to Dwight, making sure his arrows are covered. Dwight offhandedly talks back, but Negan dismisses it. He warns Rick one more time what will happen and then orders a truck to ram into the front gates. The truck gets shot up, but Negan issues another to take its place and has motorcycles come in as well. The Saviors pour into the Hilltop and begin to kill off the residents.

As gunfire continues to erupt towards them, Negan and Dwight get separated from the other Saviors. Negan is unaware that Dwight is loading an arrow to kill him when he spots Rick away from the other survivors. He tells Dwight to shoot Rick; no matter where he aims "that muck will make him sick." Dwight is hesitant to do so, but Negan demands why he's waiting and screams at him to shoot Rick. Dwight finally (and reluctantly) does so, hitting Rick in the side. After this, Negan declares that "without him, they're nothing. Game fucking over."

After Rick is hit with the arrow, Negan and Dwight retreat back to the rest of The Savior horde, hoping to devise a plan of attack against the remaining survivors at Hilltop. When night completely falls on the colony, Negan is almost accidentally shot by one of The Saviors, who states he couldn't see properly in the darkness. Negan says that it is not that dark and asks one of his Saviors the status of the battle. The Savior tells him most of The Saviors are now re-grouped and they are ready to get back on the defensive and Negan orders him and the rest of the men to get ready for their attack on the Hilltop mansion. When they begin their attack, they are immediately surrounded by many of Rick's forces, who manage to cause Negan to order and retreat and head back to The Savior camps on the hillside near Hilltop.

After his and The Saviors' retreat, Negan is seen back at the camp alongside Dwight, who questions if camping so close to Hilltop is a good idea. Negan says that they are doing it and remarks that he sometimes wonders if Dwight has ever had a brain in his head. He elaborates by saying that Rick's forces won't have enough manpower to counterattack and that because Dwight shot Rick with an arrow, his death will cause the remaining forces to bow back down to Negan and he says that he will be their Savior again, as long as they let him urinate on Rick's dead body.

Seeing the look on Dwight's face, Negan says that there's nothing weird about that; Negan says that since Rick's ruined everything, "it'd be weird if I DIDN'T piss all over his dead, bloated body." He is informed that Carson has escaped with Eugene. Negan tells him not to worry about it, and that they will deal with them later. Negan arrives at Hilltop's gates, and shoots twice into the air. He claims that he's here to accept their surrender and asks them to send whoever is now in charge out. He swears the area he's in will be a safe zone and there won't be any bloodshed. After getting impatient, Negan threatens to come back inside when Rick exits the Hilltop. Bowled over with shock to see him still alive, Negan turns towards Dwight for an answer but Rick tells him to "look at me". Overcoming his initial shock, Negan asks Rick to surrender, to "let things go back the way they were" but Rick refuses. Negan repeats that he only kills people to make an example and threatens Rick that he will do so again if pushed too far, but Rick replies by saying he's "the stupidest fucking person still alive." Taken back, Negan asks what he's talking about. Rick goes on to say that they should pool their resources and people together. Negan doesn't believe him, saying that with the system he's been using, he is saving lives. Rick tells him in the current situation, the only ones who are winning are the undead; the only way to get through this is by working together. Negan takes this all in and Rick says that they can take their supplies, but they must give the survivors something in return; make supplies of their own to give or trade for others via a barter system. A fog seems to lift from Negan's mind and finally sees what Rick has been talking about; he realizes that his actions and methods have only helped himself while the communities he's been threatening have suffered. Negan says he's been wrong all along and that Rick is right. Rick then slashes Negan's throat with a knife, responding "Good."

Caught by surprise, Negan begins bleeding out while Rick begins to address the remaining Saviors. Negan then tackles Rick and begins beating him. Despite Rick putting up a fight, Negan catches one of Rick's legs and breaks it. Laughing, he eventually passes out due to blood loss. He eventually wakes up inside one of the rooms in the Hilltop and sees Rick standing over him. He admits to Rick that during the conversation Rick had with Carl, he was able to only catch bits and pieces of it. He knows that Rick decided not to kill him, but asks what's going to happen now. Rick reveals that he's gonna keep Negan alive so he can see how much Negan was holding the survivors back. Rick also tells Negan that he's going to rot in jail until he dies an old man.

A New Beginning
Two years after the war, Carl goes to the basement of an unknown house and talks to a figure in the shadows. Saying how he, Mikey and some other boys went to a girl's house after class, and that she showed them her breasts. He says it was cool and all but he kind of had a crush on her, but after this he's not sure, remarking how he doesn't want to have someone who does that sort of thing. The figure says that nothing is wrong with the girl and suggest Carl not hold this one instance against her. He then says to Carl that he enjoys the talks, that it's good for him to keep track of the time and days passed. Carl says he's leaving, before he leaves, the figure asks him if, after all this time, all the things they've shared and the talks they've had, Carl still wants to kill him. He turns around and faces the person behind bars, simply saying: "Yes, Negan. You know I do."

Negan asks how he was supposed to know that Carl wanted to kill him and tells him not to insult his intelligence. Negan says that he thought the two of them were friends to which Carl walks away, making Negan retreat into the corner of his cell.

Negan says to Rick that his least favorite part of the day is shitting in a bucket but it's also his favorite as Rick has to be the one to come get it. Rick says that he's only bringing him food and that someone else will be out to clean his bucket later. Negan asks if Rick is taking Carl to the Hilltop, slightly shocking Rick. Negan says that him and Carl are friends and that Rick couldn't break that bond. Negan asks if the creaking he can hear is a windmill, making Rick say that life would go on without him just as he said it would. Negan tells Rick that he's just getting things ready for him, and that he won't be in his cell forever. Rick says that he knows Negan will die behind bars, Negan says that he won't and that deep down, Rick knows he should have killed Negan. Rick asks Negan if he's noticed that he doesn't use profanity all that much anymore and asks why that is. Negan says he doesn't see the point and that it's best to save his energy. Rick tells Negan that it's not it and that "It's because I've fucking neutered you like a dog. You've got no fight left, you pathetic sack of shit." Negan stares at Rick angrilly as he turns around and leaves, telling Negan to enjoy his food.

Magna and her group later come down to see who was in the jail. When they walk down the stairs to where Negan is being held, Negan grabs the bars to his cell and asks if they're here to rescue him, saying that "they're animals." This shocks Magna and her group.

Negan begs to be released and claims Rick is a monster who locked him up and tortured him for speaking out against him. However, Magna doesn't believe him, having seen actual victims of torture. Negan admits he was lying but had to give it a try. Magna and her companions leave the cell.

Life and Death
Negan is bathing in a small tub provided for him outside of his cage. He is being guarded at gunpoint by two men as Olivia cuts his hair. The two share uncomfortable words about his scars as she does so. Andrea enters to assure that everything was 'good' to which Negan responds "The one thing I've never been accused of is being good." The two men then take the tub as Negan dresses and Andrea orders him to go back into his cell with her gun drawn. Olivia struggles with locking the cell but eventually believes to succeed. The two women then also leave and Negan sighs, leaning against the bars. But much to his surprise, the door swings open, having been left unlocked.

Later on, Rick goes downstairs, and much to his shock, Negan is sitting inside his cell, with the door open. Negan sarcastically welcomes him home. Rick reaches for his gun, only to be taunted by Negan about his leg and his "grandpa" appearance. Negan then questions Rick about the gun, since he could have easily sneaked behind and subdued Rick, but instead he decided to stay, as to make Rick trust him a little. He goes on and say that he could have booby-trapped the safe-zone, he could have started a fire in the house to kill Rick and Andrea while they're asleep or that he could have simply raped Andrea without anyone knowing. Much to Negan's surprise, Rick still says that nothing has changed and that he has no trust in Negan. Knowing that nothing he says will work, Negan proceeds to taunt Rick about the reason why he's keeping him here, only to prove to himself and no one else that he has mercy, and that he wants others to believe he's a good person and the only one who can fix the world.

No Turning Back
After a tumultuous community meeting regarding Rick's proposed plan regarding the Whisperers, Rick goes to Negan's cell and asks for his help. He fills him in on everything that has happened since they've come into conflict with this new group. Negan advises Rick to keep his group happy, even if that means lying to them, touting his expertise as leader of the Saviors, some of whom disliked him. Rick leaves, and Negan dons a grin. When Negan hears the chants and cheers of Rick's name at a later town meeting, Negan smiles and says, "atta boy."

Volume 26
Later on, Negan is approached in his cell by Brandon Rose, who has the keys to the cell and wants to release Negan so they can inform The Whisperers of Rick's plan to attack them, and they can come back to kill Rick and the other members of the community. Negan tells Brandon that he'll think about it. When Rick and Michonne arrive after being told that the keys are missing, they find an empty cell.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Negan has killed:
 * Andy (Caused or Direct)
 * David (Caused or Direct)
 * Crystal (Assumed)
 * Ethan (Indirectly Caused)
 * Glenn
 * Spencer Monroe
 * David
 * Holly
 * Charles (Caused or Direct)
 * Betsy (Caused or Direct)
 * Mr. Orson (Caused or Direct)
 * Mrs. Orson (Caused or Direct)
 * Orsons Children (Caused or Direct)
 * Denise Cloyd (Indirectly Caused)
 * Kal (Caused)
 * Hilltop Colony Survivors (Caused and Direct)
 * The Kingdom Survivors (Caused and Direct)
 * Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people (Caused and Direct)

Relationships
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Carl Grimes
"I thought we were friends."

- Negan to Carl

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. However after Carl shot Lucille (Negan's baseball bat covered in barbed wire), Negan demanded Carl's head or he'd kill everyone else in the safe zone.

In Issue 127, two years after the end of the war, Carl has regularly visited Negan in his makeshift prison. He tells Negan about a girl he has a crush on, and Negan thanks Carl for visiting him, saying that Carl's visits help him keep track of the days. However, he asks Carl if, after all of their discussions, he still wants to kill him, to which Carl responds, "You know I do". Negan is shocked, offended, and upset.

Dwight
"I'll tell you his secrets, his weaknesses...I'll bring you that asshole's head on a silver platter...And then it won't matter if you trust me...Because that motherfucker will be dead. And this nightmare will, at long last, be over."

- Dwight to Rick and Jesus about helping them and Ezekiel kill Negan

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. Dwight's frustration grew when Negan, after playing ping pong, provoked Dwight by saying him that he would "ping pong his dick" with Sherry, causing Dwight's bearing to finally break and assist the alliance. At the end of All-Out War, Dwight takes Negan's position as leader of the Saviors and turns him over to Rick, most likely severing their relationship completely.

Rick Grimes
"We're going to undo all the damage you did... and with you out of the way, we're going to thrive. I'm going to keep you alive... I'm going to make you watch what we become so you can see how wrong you were... how much you were holding us back. You're going to rot in jail until you die an old man, Negan. You're fucked."

- Rick to Negan

Rick has shown nothing but anger and rage at Negan. Negan, on the other hand, has a deep held respect for and acknowledgement of Rick's abilities. Although he acts like a laid-back bully, rather than a psychotic murderer around Rick, Glenn's gruesome death was proof to Rick of the violence and brutality that Negan and his Saviors are capable of. This leads Rick to realize that striking back immediately will most likely result in the destruction of the Safe-Zone, leading him to choose a passive course of action until he can stand a chance to avenge Glenn's death. His first step was to allow their prisoner, Dwight, to be set free so that Paul could follow him to their base. After returning Carl unhurt (after implying to Rick that he had done something to the boy), Negan tried to assure Rick that it was a gesture of good faith and shows that he could be reasonable as long as Rick was compliant. Although Rick was grateful, he made it clear that things hadn't changed between the two of them, to which Negan didn't seemed surprised.

Although Rick bitterly despises Negan, at the end of "All Out War" Rick decides to keep him alive and incarcerated, not wanting to go down to his level by committing murder again, saying Negan will rot in jail until he dies an old man, all the while watching how the survivors are thriving without him. After the time skip when Rick visits Negan in jail, he belittles him and mocks everything he's become.

Ezekiel
"No, I have never been accepting of Negan's truce. I crowned myself king of this Kingdom in order to make the lives of my people as good as they can be. Negan and his Saviors... I wish to be rid of them. Your friend Jesus knows how deep my hatred for these people burns, how I've simply been waiting for the right moment to strike against these devils. Your son's experience provides me with more than enough information needed to launch an assault. I thank you and again, I am truly sorry for what you had to endure to retrieve that information."

- Ezekiel to Rick and Jesus about Negan's rule

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

Maggie Greene
Maggie deeply hates Negan for killing Glenn, and assisted Rick in the war against the Saviors. Maggie's reaction on Rick not killing Negan is unknown, but it is implied she understood by not wanting to kill people if necessary. After the time skip, Maggie reveals that she still believes Negan should be executed.

Gregory
"You said it was half their fucking army! You didn't know how many fucking people left your place?! You thought it was more than eight?!"

- Negan to Gregory as their plan failed.

Gregory is shown to be terrified of Negan and his group, to the point where he avoids as much confrontation as possible between the Saviors and the Hilltop. Negan expected Gregory to force the Hilltop Colony residents to leave the war, but it was only eight members instead, which caused Negan to shout out at Gregory in anger. After that, he kicked Gregory off the building, calling him "pathetic."

Paul Monroe
"Now you listen to me. You're not going to survive this. Even if you kill me... they're still going to mow you the fuck down. Assuming you don't want to die as much as I don't fucking want to die... Where do we go from here?"

- Negan to Jesus while at gunpoint

Paul has a significant role in planning to overthrow The Saviors reign of tyranny and kill Negan. He has a strong dislike of Negan, yet has only seen him in person a few times. When Negan was about to execute Rick and the group at the gate of Alexandria-Safe Zone, Jesus managed to save them all by attacking The Saviors on his own before holding Negan at the gunpoint.

Carson
At first it seemed that Carson respected Negan, but when Dwight tells Eugne about his partnership with Rick and he wants Negan dead. Carson tells him he as well wants him dead.

Olivia
Negan has insulted Olivia multiple times about her weight, up front and behind her back. He once offered to engage in sex with her, leading to her slapping him across the face.

Spencer Monroe
"You wanted to take over...Why not just kill Rick and take the fuck over? You know why? Because you got no guts."

- Negan to Spencer before killing him

Negan is greeted by Spencer when he visits the Safe-Zone several times. During the most recent visit, Negan takes a bit of a liking to him after hearing how the Safe-Zone was formed and all the commodities the Safe-Zone offers. Spencer tells Negan that Rick is a bad leader and proposes that Negan put him in charge once Rick is killed. Negan is disgusted by Spencer for waiting until Rick was gone to tell him this. Negan taunts Spencer, saying that Rick is willing to put the good of others before his own feelings, and then brutally kills him.

Eugene Porter
"Lets leave him to his dick and his thoughts... while he still has them."

- Negan to Carson and Dwight about Eugene.

Negan captures Eugene, and Eugne men while there making bullets. Negan orders Eugne to make him some but Eugene will not do it. Eugne then tells Negan what Rick is building and Negan dosen't care what he has to say about the futcher.

Mark
"See? All done. Now was that so bad? Huh? Passed out?! Pussy."

- Negan to Mark

Negan and Mark have a bad relationship, it is assumed that Mark and Amber were in a relationship before she became one of Negan's "wives" so after she did and Negan demanded that she could not continue her relationship with him, he began to carry on the relationship with Amber in secret. Once found out Negan punished Mark awfully by scarring half of his face with a hot iron. It is likely that, similarly to Dwight, Mark now despises him for the disfigurement of his face.

Amber
"Staying... I love you, Negan."

- Amber to Negan, claiming to "love" him

Amber is one of Negan's wives, though she does not love Negan, she has to pretend, for her and her boyfriend's protection. When Amber slept with her boyfriend, Mark, behind Negan's back, Negan punished Mark and burnt his face, similar to Dwight and his relationship with Sherry, another wife of Negan.

Holly
"We're Not Monsters."

- Negan to Holly after killing David. Negan takes Holly captive after thinking Holly is Andrea. After Negan finds out Holly isn't Andrea he keeps her prisoner. When David tries to rape her Negan kills him telling her that his group is not monsters. Negan later kills Holly, having her zombiefied, and then leads and attack on the Alexzandria Safe-Zone.

Magna
"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

Magna doesn't trust Negan, particularly after he pretended to be held under duress in his cell.

Andrea
Andrea reveals that she believe executing Negan is still a possibility even though two years have past, and believes letting him live is a bad and risky decision.

Brandon Rose
"My name is Brandon, and I'm getting you out of here.."

- Brandon to Negan on helping Negan escape the cell Brandon and Negan just meet. Brandon goes down to Negans cell to help him get out, and go to the Whispers base and alert them about the war between Alexandria. After Brandon tells Negan his plan, Negan then tells Brandon that he likes where this is going and he has to think about it. When Rick and Michonne and alerted by Paula that the cell door keys are gone, they race to see if Negan is still there. When they get there he is gone.}}

Appearances
{{scroll
 * content ====Comic Series===

Volume 17: Something To Fear

 * Issue 100

Volume 18: What Comes After

 * Issue 103
 * Issue 104
 * Issue 105
 * Issue 106
 * Issue 107
 * Issue 108

Volume 19: March To War

 * Issue 111
 * Issue 112
 * Issue 113
 * Issue 114

Volume 20: All Out War - Part One

 * Issue 115
 * Issue 116
 * Issue 117
 * Issue 119
 * Issue 120

Volume 21: All Out War - Part Two

 * Issue 121
 * Issue 122
 * Issue 123
 * Issue 124
 * Issue 125
 * Issue 126

Volume 22: A New Beginning

 * Issue 127
 * Issue 128
 * Issue 129
 * Issue 130

Volume 24: Life and Death

 * Issue 140
 * Issue 141

Volume 25: No Turning Back

 * Issue 148 (No Lines)
 * Issue 149
 * Issue 150

Volume 26
}}
 * Issue 151
 * Issue 152

Trivia

 * Negan's character was not supposed to appear in issue 100, following Glenn's death. Originally, Glenn was going to be put in a situation where Rick was forced to kill him in order to save his son. Kirkman was not satisfied with this route, and thus Negan was born.
 * Negan's appearance and character were also based off of an unknown actor who Kirkman refuses to reveal, just in case that actor wants to portray him and cannot.
 * Charlie Adlard has confirmed that Negan is based on actor Henry Rollins, who is presumably the actor mentioned by Kirkman.
 * Robert Kirkman's first idea for the name was "Negus", emphasizing how negative it sounded.
 * Negan's main weapon of choice is a baseball bat wrapped in barbed-wire, which he calls, "Lucille".
 * Negan's attachment towards Lucille is shown to be deranged. Apart from claiming that it's saved him more times than he can remember, he also says that it's "the only bitch I've ever loved" and disturbingly admits that he occasionally has sexual thoughts towards Lucille, and even acting on these thoughts.
 * 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 #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.
 * 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.
 * Interestingly, every time that Negan shows any sign of remorse, compassion or genuine sympathy for another human being is when he is directly speaking with Carl.
 * 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.
 * Whether or not they choose to follow him willingly never seemed to be an issue, that is, until Rick Grimes began to lead a revolt against him.
 * Negan reveals in Issue 112 that he is not a "fan" of sexual violence. This is also shown in #117 when he kills David for attempting to rape Holly.
 * Negan is the second major recurring antagonist in the Comic Series, and also has the longest lifespan.
 * Negan and Dwight are the only named Saviors to have appeared on more than one issue cover.
 * A fan asked via Reddit which are the hardest characters to write, and Kirkman answered that "Negan is a blast".
 * Negan is based on a social justice warriors view of Donald Trump.
 * Negan's backstory will be revealed through Image+, all-new monthly magazine published by Skybound. It includes 48 pages of story.