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This article is about the Savior in the Comic Series. You may be looking for his Road to Survival counterpart. For other pages with the same name, see: John

You know we trade lumber and goods for that food. We have people out there breaking their backs to chop down trees. Lumber, security, metalwork--and eventually our excess of crops. The more we can offer, the better off we are. You remember Negan's way. When everyone was scared--and no one was happy. His way was to take, and that made enemies. Our way is to give, and that makes friends. Our way is so much better than Negan's. Nobody wants to go back to that.
―John to Christopher.[src]

John is a former antagonist and a survivor of the outbreak in Image Comics' The Walking Dead. He is one of the original members of the Saviors, serving as the second-in-command for a time, before he became the de facto leader after Sherry's demise. He served as the secondary antagonist of Volume 28: A Certain Doom.

Overview[]

Under the rule of Negan and later Sherry, John was initially like many of his fellow Saviors, a brutal, ruthless, and aggressive bully. Following the All-Out War, John along with the other Saviors become disillusioned by Rick's leadership and want out of the alliance between communities. He goes along with Sherry's plan make a plan to take over Alexandria. As Sherry's right-hand man, John is very loyal to her, often acting as her muscle.

After the accidental murder of Sherry at the hands of Rick, John initially resorts to violence and aggression. However, John proves he can be reasonable as he eventually stands down after Negan reasons with him and the other Saviors. Negan states that although John is a "prick", he is more than just a follower and can think for himself.

Possibly inspired by Negan's words, John steps up and becomes the de facto leader of the Saviors. Since becoming leader, the Saviors are shown to be thriving more than ever. Although John still holds a level of rudeness and snark, he seems to have turned into a much calmer and reasonable authority figure, at one point seen mentoring a young Savior. In contrast to before, when he and the group wanted out of the community alliance, when given the opportunity to ally with the Commonwealth, John has a much more open mind.

Pre-Apocalypse[]

Location Unknown[]

Nothing is known about John's life prior to or as the outbreak began.

Post-Apocalypse[]

Here's Negan[]

Early in the apocalypse, John joined a small group of survivors which included Amber, though it is unknown if John approved of or participated in the sexual exploitation/rape of the women in the group. The group meets up with Negan's group in Part 13. After Negan kills their leader, John asks how he expects them all to watch him murder one of their own and then fall in line behind him to which Negan responds giving John the nickname 'Big-Balled Mother Fucker'.

Time period between 'Here's Negan' and 'What Comes After'[]

John stayed with Negan and the Saviors. They all moved into the Sanctuary. At some point he had a serious injury to his right eye, causing him to be blind.

What Comes After[]

John is first seen with Tara attempting to capture Paul Monroe. John asks Paul to surrender, stating that he remembers him from the Hilltop and that he was nice, so he promises not to hurt him if he comes peacefully. Tara then threatens that she will cut off Paul's testicles while brandishing her knife. Paul kicks John, Tara, and another Savior down, but they hop to their feet, attempting to gain control of him. Tara subdues Paul, and John watches as she prepares to kill Paul, but Dwight intervenes, stating that Negan wishes to question him.

The Whisperer War[]

After the two year time skip, John is still alive and well. While Vincent tries to convince the Saviors to help others on the upcoming war. John and Tara are resistant to do so as they now have no alliance with any community after Dwight left. John tells him to leave his horse at the Sanctuary. Tara says the Whisperers will come after them after they take down Rick's crew, in which John does not care, wanting them to come.

A Certain Doom[]

On Sherry's orders, John ambushes Heath, Dwight and Laura, nearly chocking Dwight to death. He is later involved in a standoff between the Saviors and the Militia, but stands down when Sherry agrees to negotiate with Rick. He and the other Saviors even help with clearing out the walkers around the Safe-Zone, in Andrea's honor. When Rick reveals Sherry is dead, John and the other Saviors train their guns on him and the Alexandrians, but they are talked down by Negan, who knows John never wanted to go to war with the communities. John then leaves with the other Saviors.

The Rotten Core[]

Now the leader of the Saviors, John focuses on increasing food production to get better trade terms with the other communities. He oversees the other Saviors working in the gardens and has a heart to heart talk with Christopher when he is informed about Rick and Pamela's arrival. Though initially somewhat hostile, John quickly warms up to Pamela and is very interested in joining her proposed trade network, surprising both Dwight and Rick. He welcomes them to stay at the Sanctuary as long as they like.

Rest In Peace[]

John is not seen or mentioned in the 25 year time-skip, leaving his fate unknown.

Killed Victims[]

This list shows the victims John has killed:

  • Numerous counts of zombies and possibly unnamed people

Relationships[]

For a more in-depth look at John's relationships, read here: John (Savior)/Relationships

Allies[]

Appearances[]

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

Trivia[]

  • John is blind in his right eye.
    • In Here's Negan, a scar-less John stands up to Negan which confirms that his scar happened post-apocalypse.
  • With Dwight's death, John is tied with Tara as the longest living Savior.

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