This article is about the Comic and Novel Series character. You may be looking for his appearance in the Comic Series, his Escapists, Road to Survival, or TV Series counterparts. |
Caesar Ramón Martínez, more generally addressed as Martínez, is a comic-adapted main character first encountered in Rise of the Governor. He is the head of security in Woodbury, and one of the most trusted allies of the Governor. Martinez helps Lilly attempt to take down the Governor. Later he is is welcomed back into the Governor's inner circle and is ordered to help Rick Grimes' group escape Woodbury so he can find the location of the prison.
Pre-Apocalypse[]
Augusta, Georgia[]
Martínez was a man with natural leadership skills who loved his job as a gym teacher and a children's sports coach of football & basketball teams at Pope John Middle School. He divorced a young woman from Arkansas,[1] never had kids, and was estranged from his parents - making him a loner.
Post-Apocalypse[]
Augusta, Georgia[]
Martínez's school had been a "safe zone" once the outbreak began, and it was soon home to many children and parents lived in the town. He played basketball with the students before the "biters" overtook the school. Once the zombies overran the school, they killed most of the people inside, while the others (including Martínez) ran for safety; an action he would always regret.
Rise of the Governor[]
Sometime after the school was overtaken, Martínez stumbled upon Woodbury, He did not like the current forced leader Gene Gavin. When Brian Blake killed Gene, Martinez was right by his side helping him retake control of Woodbury. Once Brian became the leader of Woodbury, Martínez became very loyal to him, helping out as his second-in-command and going on search parties for supplies and finding new citizens.
The Road to Woodbury[]
Lilly Caul, Bob Stookey, Joshua Hamilton, Megan Lafferty and Scott Moon raid a Walmart. Megan is taken captive by an armed group led by Martínez. He makes peace with the group and invites them to come and live at their town, Woodbury. The group agrees and follow his truck back to the town. After talking to a few other guards along the way, he joins them in their car and tells them about the town and how he ended up there (having gone on a biter killing spree and passed out in a ditch, only to wake up behind the town's walls).
He leads several groups of people outside the town on supply runs and helps to construct and patrol the walls. One on occasion Dean Gorman and Johnny Pruitt get into a heated fight and Martínez immediately goes to break it up upon arriving at the scene, only to have the Governor temporarily stop him to watch it unfold. After the death of Josh Hamilton at the hands of Sam 'The Butcher', Martínez jumped into action and tackled Sam through the food centre's front window and then proceeded to beat him to the ground.
Later he attends a small Christmas Eve party with Lilly Caul, Dr. Stevens and Alice Warren. The three bond and during this he admits to become wary of the Governor's actions even saying to Stevens that the Governor is "going to push this town off a cliff". He soon agrees and helps set up a plan with the three to take down the Governor and lets four of his most loyal men: Swede, Taggert, Stevie, and Broyles in on the plan. The plot involved a kidnapping during the arena fights, where the Governor would be loaded into a truck and brought out into the woods where they could execute him. However, the Governor catches on at the last second, causing a loud noise and two of the Governor's close men to follow. The Governor's men were also captured, and escaped their bonds in the middle of the drive into the woods. Eventually both groups are led into a Mexican stand-off in the back of the van, only broken by a horde of zombies attacking the van. After losing all of his men, both groups decide they need to work together, and need The Governor alive, much to Lilly's anger.
In the end, The Governor makes a compromise to end the bartering system, much to a humanitarian applause by Woodbury. After the announcement, The Governor makes Lilly and all of her surviving insurrectionists chop up dead bodies (probably as zombie food/bait) as punishment and an act of fair dominance, reminding them he could have killed them easily, even accepting Martínez back into his inner circle, while under her breath Lilly cursed The Governor.
The Fall of the Governor[]
Martínez takes a group consisting of Lilly Caul, Gus Strunk, David Stern, Barbara Stern and Austin Ballard out on a supply run to a Piggly Wiggly store. On the way back they spot a helicopter crashing and go to investigate. The group rescues a woman and takes her and the dead pilot back with them to Woodbury.
Main Article: Caesar Martínez (Comic Series)
After returning from the failed prison assault, Lilly puts down the Governor's collection of zombified heads, amongst them Martinez.
Death[]
- Killed By
- Rick Grimes (Alive)
The group speculates that Martínez might have been ran over and then murdered by the prison survivors, as it doesn't look like he was bitten, and his walk has a limp to it. Gabe decapitates Martínez and takes his head back to Woodbury.
- Lilly Caul (Zombified)
After returning from the failed prison attacks, Bob shows Lilly the Governor's apartment where she puts down the Governor's zombified head collection, among them Martínez.
Killed Victims[]
This list shows the victims Caesar has killed:
- Numerous counts of zombies and possibly unnamed people
Relationships[]
Dr. Stevens[]
It is revealed that Martínez and Stevens were really good friends. When Stevens was killed whilst escaping Woodbury, Martinez was visibly upset.
Brian Blake[]
Martínez was one of the people who helped The Governor overthrow Gene Gavin and became one of his best friends and soon proved his loyalty. However, Martínez grew concerned with his friend's behavior once he became leader and got involved in several of Stevens and Lilly's plots to undermine or remove him from power. However, The Governor forgave him and let him back into his inner circle. When Rick's group arrived, The Governor asked Martínez to help them escape so he could find the prison and report back to him its location. Whether or not Martínez had a change of heart is left uncertain, he is caught by Rick - and later killed - returning to Woodbury, but, despite The Governor's orders he claimed he was only going to gather the good people there and leave behind The Governor and his men, the truth of this is left ambiguous, but, Rick chooses not to believe him and murders Martínez. As The Governor recovered from his own mutilations, Caesar's reanimated body was recovered and the head severed to be used as a symbol for the Woodbury citizens to see that the prison survivors were the insane ones. This act is the most contributing factor in The Governor's plan to lead Woodbury's assault on the prison.
Alice Warren[]
It is revealed during the novel, "The Road To Woodbury", that Alice had a crush on Martínez.
Lilly Caul[]
Martínez helps Lilly in their plan to kidnap and kill The Governor, along with his men, Bruce and Gabe. However, their plan goes awry when a zombie horde interrupts the plan. After returning from the prison, Lilly finds Martínez zombified head in a fish tank and shoots him to put him to rest.
Appearances[]
Novel SeriesRise of the Governor
The Road to Woodbury
The Fall of the Governor - Part One
The Fall of the Governor - Part Two
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Trivia[]
- Robert Kirkman has stated that Martínez was meant to be homosexual, but this plot line was not pursued further.
- Kirkman also mentioned he was planning to overwrite Martínez's story, which would've included not killing him. This was due to him being the first Hispanic character in the comics, which could've received condemnation from fans.
- Martinez' middle name was revealed in the novel "The Fall of the Governor".