| This article is about the Comic Universe character. You may be looking for his Match 3 Tales, Road to Survival, or TV Series counterparts. For other pages with the same name, see: Bruce |
| “ | What'd you do? We saw the explosion--that was you, wasn't it? You blew up the depot, didn't you? Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you from before, you sniveling little coward? You should never have come back here.
―Bruce Cooper to Glenn Rhee right before shooting him.[src]
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Bruce Allan Cooper is an antagonist and a survivor of the outbreak in Skybound Entertainment's Comic Universe. He is a supporting antagonist in Image Comics' The Walking Dead and a supporting character in Thomas Dunne Books' The Walking Dead. He is a resident of Woodbury and is one of the Governor's right-hand men and most trusted allies. He served as the secondary antagonist of Volume 7: The Calm Before.
Overview
Perhaps the Governor's most loyal soldier, Bruce follows his leader's orders without question and is perfectly willing to assist him in his atrocities, up to and including bodily mutilation and rape. As such, he is implicitly trusted and highly valued by the Governor, not only for his loyalty but also for his physical strength. When Bruce discovers the Governor incapacitated after being brutally tortured at the hands of Michonne, he goes out of his way to save his leader's life. He demonstrates quick thinking under pressure, enlisting the help of Bob Stookey to save the Governor's life.
Pre-Apocalypse
United States
Little is known about Bruce's life before or as the outbreak began. He ran a gas station alongside his dad and had a girlfriend named Shauna. He would lose track of time as he had car sex with her in a 427 Camaro with overhead shafts and hemispherical combustion chambers, which they used to go long at it sweet - making him remember happy in a vaguely melancholy way later. He likely lived in or near Woodbury before the outbreak.
Post-Apocalypse
Woodbury, Georgia, United States
Shortly after the outbreak began, Bruce arrived in Woodbury and helped construct the first walls around the town. Either there or before, he became friends with Gabriel Harris.
Rise of the Governor
"Chaos Theory"
Shortly after Philip, Brian, and Nick arrive in Woodbury, Bruce and Gabe, who were constructing the wall, notice the newcomers and question them about their whereabouts and motives. Though he initially showed caution by raising his shotgun at them, Bruce allows the three of them to enter the town, stating that in Woodbury, it was everyone for themselves.
Just Another Day at the Office
After the death of Gene Gavin, a small herd of biters attacks the town, and Bruce fights alongside their new leader, 'Philip', Gabe, and Caesar Martínez. He helps save a young lost child.
The Road to Woodbury
"This Is How the World Ends"
When Josh Hamilton's group arrives in Woodbury, they wait in the courthouse to meet the town's leader. Philip enters, flanked by a heavily armed Bruce and Gabe, who introduce themselves with quiet grunts. Scott Moon compares Philip to the President, with Bruce and Gabe being his "secret service dudes". Philip prefers 'The Governor'. On New Year's Day, the town discovers that Megan Lafferty has committed suicide. Bruce stands over her sheet-covered body in the street and is about to prevent her from reanimating when the Governor tells him to let Lilly Caul do it. Lilly hesitates, and Megan reanimates when Bob Stookey pulls the trigger instead. Bruce and Gabe spend a lot of time making preparations for the arena fights by willingly chopping up corpses to feed the captive biters.
Lilly, Martínez, Dr. Stevens, and Alice Warren plan a coup against the Governor. Martínez gathers four of his most trusted men to help with the plan. Taggert asks what they should do with Bruce and Gabe, but the group agrees that they're too far up the Governor's ass to change sides and that they'll need to go too. After the big New Year's arena fight begins, the Governor feels on top of the world and goes to find his henchmen. He stops and feels like something is wrong when Gabe isn't at his post, and he notices his gun abandoned on the floor. Philip joins Bruce and Gabe, tied up and thrown in the back of a van. The conspirators drive the three out away from town towards the woods to be executed. Lilly starts to taunt the Governor in the back while Swede holds Bruce and Gabe at gunpoint. The drivers, Stevie and Broyles, run into a massive herd gathered by the storm and are devoured as the van is surrounded. Bruce starts to cut his hands free and tackles Swede, grabbing his .45 before unloading three rounds into his chest. A shootout commences in the back of the van, and Bruce dives for cover. He manages to cut Gabe free, too, but Philip orders them not to kill Lilly or Martínez.
Lilly accidentally knocks the van's back door open when she falls against it, and dozens of walkers from the herd attempt to climb inside. Philip is cut loose, and the two groups team up to fight the horde. After closing the doors, Bruce holds a knife to Lilly's throat, and the group starts waving their guns around again. The Governor threatens to kill Bruce if he doesn't let Lilly go, so he complies. Philip proposes that they all need to work together if any of them wants to survive. They find an RPG and blow the van's back door off, catapulting half a dozen biters into the air. They get out and make their way to the front of the vehicle, push over Broyles' not-yet-reanimated body, and drive out of there. Meanwhile, Martínez climbs on top of the van and fires off a mortar, obliterating a bunch of biters and diverting the others away from their position and the direction of the town.
Back at Woodbury, Lilly and Martínez are held in a concession room under the racetrack. Bruce goes to get Stevens and Alice, who lent the conspirators the stun gun, and brings them in at gunpoint. The Governor spares the four of them and makes an agreement that, as long as he keeps the town safe, none of them will question his leadership.
The Fall of the Governor - Part One
Bruce and Gabe stage a fight in the arena for the entertainment of the town. Bruce narrowly avoids getting bitten by the chained-up biters, and the two make small talk. Gabe tells Bruce that he's fighting like a girl and, at 3:00 PM, wins the fight. Alice goes down to take a look at his broken nose, but Bruce angrily tells her he's fine and kicks over her medical kit.
After the Governor murders Christina Haben, Bruce and Gabe join him on a visit to Stevens. The henchmen hold him at gunpoint, and Philip scolds the doctor for his disobedience, threatening that the only reason he's still here is because of his skills. Gunshots are heard from the front gate, so Bruce and Gabe join the Governor to investigate.
The Best Defense
When Rick Grimes, Michonne Hawthorne, and Glenn Rhee arrive at Woodbury, Bruce and Gabe accompany the Governor as his bodyguards. When the group is led above the arena, Bruce is ordered to close the door by them. Following the Governor's declaration of feeding strangers to the biters, Bruce takes a position behind Michonne and cautiously watches her. Shortly after, he is ordered to pin Rick's head to a table, and assists in the forced amputation of his right hand. Michonne, in retaliation, leaps onto the Governor and bites his left ear. Bruce quickly pulls her off, but she manages to tear a part of his ear off with her teeth. Bruce awaits orders to kill her immediately, but is reprimanded by the Governor, who has other, far worse plans for her.
Bruce and Gabe carry Rick's limp body to the infirmary to be treated by Dr. Stevens. Shortly after, Bruce gets the Governor and tells him that Michonne has calmed down a bit. They head to her cell, where her arms are tied up, and she's talking to herself. The pair waits for a minute outside and thinks she's crazy. Philip orders Bruce to take her pants off and tie her legs to opposite ends of the wall, which he does without question. After he's done, he closes the door on his way out and gives them some privacy while standing guard outside the door.
While the Governor rapes Michonne, Bruce stands guard at the door for ages, thinking about his girlfriend Shauna and how long they would do it for. He becomes slightly concerned about what Philip is doing to the girl, hoping that at least this will get some information out of her, and isn't just for nothing. His legs really ache.
After hours of torture, the Governor finally finishes and is let out by Bruce. Glenn is eventually moved into the cell next door to Michonne's by Gabe. The Governor asks Bruce if she's ready, which she's clearly not, so Bruce opens up the cell door for the Governor's "round two".
The next morning, Philip radios Bruce to meet him behind the racetrack. Bruce asks the Governor if he's asking the girl any questions during her torture, but Philip says he will eventually and asks for Glenn to be moved next door.
Bruce braces himself as he opens up Michonne's cell door when the Governor finishes his third session with her. She is barely alive, but Bruce can tell there is a burning rage behind her eyes, waiting to be unleashed. The Governor knows that she isn't going to say anything, so Bruce asks if they should just separate them all and wait for them to break from isolation because that's what they do in prisons. Philip tells him this isn't a prison and then stops himself. He remembers Gabe saying something about their riot gear suits having no police markings, as if they were from a prison. He tells Bruce to go and get Gabe, then meet him by the infirmary.
He, Gabe, and Bruce wait outside the infirmary for a moment while Dr. Stevens tells Rick all about the Governor's horrific leadership. They enter, and Bruce points his gun at Rick. Philip lies about letting Glenn go after he revealed the location of the prison to get a reaction from Rick. After leaving, the Governor believes their lie worked, as Rick's reaction told them everything they needed to know, and now it's only a matter of time before they figure out where exactly it is.
This Sorrowful Life
At exactly 3:55 PM, Bruce tells the Governor about Harold Abernathy's murder by Eugene Cooney. The Governor says that they shouldn't make a big deal about it and instead, tell the townspeople that Harold died from internal injuries sustained during the fight because he was a hero who gave it his all. Which makes the residents further believe that the fights are actually real.
Bruce and Philip visit Michonne's cell, where Philip offers her a week of rest, food and maybe a chair or a bed in exchange for her replacing Harold in the arena fight. Bruce opens the cell door and presents her katana which she doesn't take her eyes off of. Philip gives her twenty minutes to think about it. He and Gabe later accompany the Governor to the disastrous fight where Michonne uses her sword to immediately decapitate Eugene and kill all the captive biters. Gabe and Bruce are ordered to bring her in immediately so the two run onto the field and tackle her to the ground as the crows incessantly jeers. Shortly after Bruce and Gabe successfully restrain Michonne back into her cell after she puts up a fight. The Governor, in a rage, commands them to open her door so he could kill her, but, reluctantly stops himself and decides to think it over.
After Martínez knocks out Gabe and helps Rick, Glenn, Michonne, Stevens and Alice escape, Gabe wakes up and finds Bruce to tell him they've all gone. The pair urgently rush to the Governor's apartment to tell him the news where they find the door barricaded. Michonne frees Penny as a distraction as Bruce kicks down the door and she escapes. Jameson restrains Penny from biting Bruce and the men gaze, horrified, upon the Governor's mutilated body and wonder if he's dead.
The Fall of the Governor - Part Two
"Battlefield"
Rumors start to spread around the town about the Governor's whereabouts. Lilly convinces Gabe to tell her what's going on, and he shows her Philip completely bandaged and in a coma. Bruce tells her that the black girl attacked him and scolds Gabe for showing Lilly, of all people, this. Lilly breaks them up and assures them she won't say anything. They all exchange their facts on what happened, and Lilly orders Bruce and Gabe to get the guards back on their shifts. They're confused as to why they're taking orders from her now. Lilly becomes the town's de facto leader, and Bruce joins her, Gabe, David, and Barbara Stern at a meeting in the courthouse. Gabe and Bruce want to go after the prison immediately, but Lilly calms them down. Bruce is tasked with making sure all the guards remain on their shifts in the absence of Martínez. At night, a crash and screams are heard from outside. Part of the wall has collapsed, and a guard is being devoured while his drinking buddies scatter. Gabe and Bruce rush into action, and Bruce quickly gets the hole in the wall under control.
Bruce and Gabe talk over the Governor's body in the infirmary. Bruce is getting pissed that they're all taking orders from Lilly now, whom he calls "some lightweight bitch". Gabe stands up to Bruce and tells him that she saved his life the other day and has more balls than most of the guards on the wall. Bruce storms out mumbling obscenities. Immediately after Bruce leaves, the Governor slowly starts to wake up from his coma. Gabe, Bruce, and Bob continue to keep Philip's condition under wraps. Bruce helps them sneak him back into his apartment one night to see Penny. Bruce delivers several cleaning products to the apartment for Philip to tidy up the remaining blood stains and mess left over.
The Calm Before
Following the explosion at the National Guard Station near Woodbury, Bruce and three Woodbury guards drive out to investigate and run into the prison group at the local Wal-Mart. When Glenn reveals himself, Bruce immediately recognizes him and shoots him in the chest, but the bullets luckily deflect off his riot gear armor. Maggie Greene screams and reveals the other hidden survivors' positions, but Andrea acts quickly and shoots Bruce through the neck with her rifle, mortally wounding him. Michonne then kills the other two guards, and Sam is ordered to surrender. He freaks out over the deaths of his fellow guards and is promptly shot, too.
Made To Suffer
During a flashback in Issue 43, Bruce and Gabe are unsure whether or not the Governor is still alive. Penny goes for Bruce again, and he goes to shoot her when the Governor moans and uses all his strength to tell him not to hurt his daughter. They realize that Philip requires serious medical help, but Stevens and Alice are absent. Bruce thinks quickly and orders Gabe to lock the doors before racing outside to find the town drunk and former army medic, Bob Stookey, who used to fight in Afghanistan. Bruce drags him upstairs and forces him to help, but Bob vomits at the sight of the Governor's mutilated and disfigured body. Bruce presses on, and Bob quickly sobers up, agreeing to help and telling them which supplies he's going to need.
A while later, after Philip has recovered, Bruce informs him that Martínez has been found dead and reanimated. The Governor decides it's finally time to reveal himself to the public. Bruce and Gabe try to gather information about any local prisons from the townsfolk. Bruce tells Philip that the closest bit of information they've got was one guy believing there to be a prison off of McAlister Lane, which is a long road they haven't been able to fully search, and the guy isn't even too sure about it.
Gabe informs the Governor about the National Guard Station's explosion and Bruce taking a group out to investigate. He heard gunfire nearby a few minutes later, so Philip and Gabe go to investigate along with Rudy and Wes. The group discovers three corpses at the Wal-Mart, and Bruce, barely alive, choking on his own blood. He tells Philip that the prison survivors did this, and Glenn, the bald one, came back. Bruce goes quiet, and Philip shoots him in the head to prevent reanimation. Bruce's death saddens and enrages the Governor, making him even more vengeful than before.
Death
- Killed By
- Andrea (Alive)
After Bruce shoots Glenn and orders his group to attack, Andrea shoots Bruce in the neck. He later dies from blood loss after being found by Brian and the others.
- Brian Blake (Before Reanimation)
Upset by his death and not wanting him to turn, Brian shoots Bruce in the head.
Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Bruce has killed:
Relationships
For a more in-depth look at Bruce's relationships, read here: Bruce Cooper (Comic Universe)/Relationships
Allies
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Enemies
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Appearances
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| Novels | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rise of the Governor | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| The Road to Woodbury | ✔ | ||||
| The Fall of the Governor | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Descent | |||||
| Invasion | |||||
| Search and Destroy | |||||
| Return to Woodbury |
| ✔ | Appears | ✔ | Voice is heard |
| 👁 | Appears with no lines | ✔ | Appears in a flashback |
| ✔ | Appears as a walker | 🖼 | Appears in a photograph/video |
| ✔ | Appears as a corpse | ✔ | Appears in a hallucination/dream |
| Issues | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book One | |||||||||||||
| Book Two | |||||||||||||
| Book Three | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||
| Book Four | 👁 | ✔ | ✔ | ||||||||||
| Book Five | |||||||||||||
| Book Six | |||||||||||||
| Book Seven | |||||||||||||
| Book Eight | |||||||||||||
| Book Nine | |||||||||||||
| Book Ten | |||||||||||||
| Book Eleven | |||||||||||||
| Book Twelve | |||||||||||||
| Book Thirteen | |||||||||||||
| Book Fourteen | |||||||||||||
| Book Fifteen | |||||||||||||
| Book Sixteen |
| ✔ | Appears | ✔ | Voice is heard |
| 👁 | Appears with no lines | ✔ | Appears in a flashback |
| ✔ | Appears as a walker | 🖼 | Appears in a photograph/video |
| ✔ | Appears as a corpse | ✔ | Appears in a hallucination/dream |
Gallery
- For more images of Bruce Cooper, please visit Bruce Cooper (Comic Universe)/Gallery.
Trivia
- Last Words: “Bald fuck... They came back... They...“
- Robert Kirkman answered the question whether naming characters the same name, Billy, Chris, Jim, Eugene, Eric, and Bruce, was an oversight, "It's not oversight at all. It's completely unrealistic for a group of people to meet at random and never encounter the same names.
- Bruce's middle name was revealed in The Fall of the Governor.