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This article is about the Novel Series character. You may be looking for his appearance in the Comic Series, or his TV Series or Road to Survival counterparts. For other pages with the same name, see: Bruce

Bruce Allan Cooper is main character and an antagonist first encountered in The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor. He is a resident of Woodbury and is one of the Governor's right-hand men and most trusted allies.

Pre-Apocalypse[]

Location Unknown[]

Little is known about Bruce's life before or as the outbreak began. He ran the gas station with 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[]

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 arrive in Woodbury, they wait in the courthouse to meet the town's leader. Philip Blake 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 Years 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 make preparations for the arena fights by willingly chopping up corpses to feed the captive biters.

Lilly, Martínez, Dr. Stevens and Alice Warren plan a coop 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 years 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 backdoor 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 want to survive. They find an RPG and blow the van's backdoor 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 gun point. The Governor spares the four of them and makes an agreement that as long as he keeps the town safe, none of them 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.

Bruce and Gabe flank Philip as he welcomes Rick Grimes, Glenn Rhee and Michonne Hawthorne into Woodbury.

Main Article: Bruce Cooper (Comic Series)

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 gets some information out of her and isn't just for nothing. His legs really ache. After hours, the Governor finally finishes. 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 the asian kid 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, 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.

At exactly 3:55 PM, Bruce tells the Governor about Harold Abernathy's murder. 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.

The Governor comes up with an idea to use Michonne for the arena fights and takes Bruce with him to visit her.

Main Article: Bruce Cooper (Comic Series)

The Fall of the Governor - Part Two[]

"Battlefield"[]

After the Governor's torture and mutilation, rumours start to spread around the town about his 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, who 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 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 a number of cleaning products to the apartment for Philip to tidy up the remaining blood stains and mess left over.

Bruce witnesses the National Guard Station's explosion and takes a small group out there to investigate. Shortly after, Gabe hears gunfire coming from the local Wal-Mart and informs the Governor who goes to investigate.

Main Article: Bruce Cooper (Comic Series)

Death[]

Killed By

Bruce is found bleeding out after being shot in the neck by Andrea. He eventually dies from blood loss.

After discovering him barely alive and choking on his own blood, the Governor puts him down.

Killed Victims[]

This list shows the victims Bruce has killed:

  • Swede
  • Numerous counts of zombies and possibly unnamed people

Relationships[]

Brian Blake[]

Bruce was very loyal to the Governor as a second-in-command and as extremely valuable muscle. Whatever orders or demands were given to him, Bruce followed without question. He helped, for example, the Governor with cutting Rick's right hand off. He was also responsible of forcing Bob to save the Governor's life. When Bruce died, the Governor seemed upset, admitting himself Bruce was one of his few true friends, and took it upon himself to shoot Bruce before he came back. His death added more vengeance on the Prison survivors.

Gabriel Harris[]

Bruce and Gabe were the Governors right-hand men and were often seen together, they were also shown to be friends when Philip, Brian and Nick arrive at Woodbury, talking and joking while construing the walls around the town. They would at times battle each other in the Arena, mocking and messing around with each other to give the audience a good show. When Bruce was killed, Gabe was shown to have cared, as shown when the Governor decided to hold off his attack on the prison, Gabe argued that they needed revenge, specifically mentioning, Bruce.

Michonne Hawthorne[]

Even though Bruce was on watch and heard everything that Brian Blake did to Michonne he seemed to feel sorry and care for her. He even tried to convince the Governor to get the information another way but after he refused Bruce's offer, Bruce never mentioned it again.

Shauna[]

Little is known about their relationship as they are never seen interacting, but it can be assumed they had a close loving one. Bruce mentions that he misses her, showing that he cares for her.

Appearances[]

Novel Series

Rise of the Governor

The Road to Woodbury

  • "This Is How the World Ends"
    • "Chapter Eight"
    • "Chapter Twelve"
    • "Chapter Fifteen"
    • "Chapter Seventeen"
    • "Chapter Eighteen"
    • "Chapter Nineteen"

The Fall of the Governor - Part One

  • "The Gathering"
    • "Chapter One"
    • "Chapter Two"
    • "Chapter Six"
    • "Chapter Seven"
    • "Chapter Eight"
    • "Chapter Nine"
    • "Chapter Ten"
    • "Chapter Eleven"
  • "Showtime"
    • "Chapter Thirteen"
    • "Chapter Fourteen"
    • "Chapter Eighteen"

The Fall of the Governor - Part Two

  • "Battlefield"
    • "Chapter One"
    • "Chapter Two"
    • "Chapter Three"
    • "Chapter Four"
    • "Chapter Five"
    • "Chapter Seven"
    • "Chapter Eight"

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

Trivia[]

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