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Zombies, known universally as Walkers, are an antagonistic force that serve as the primary catalyst for the events within The Walking Dead universe. They serve as universal antagonists. They are humans who have died and reanimated as a result of the Wildfire Virus.
Etymology & Definition[]
Etymology[]
The English word "zombie" is first recorded in 1819, in a history of Brazil by the poet Robert Southey, in the form of "zombi." The Oxford English Dictionary gives the origin of the word as West African, and compares it to the Kongo words "nzambi" (god) and "zumbi" (fetish). For more details, read Zombie on Wikipedia.
Definition[]
Zombie: The reanimated corpse of a human being that has regained limited function and mobility, as well as developed an insatiable hunger for flesh.
Overview[]
Reanimated human beings, while not immortal, will not "die" under typical conditions that would ordinarily cause the death of a living person. They do not appear to feel or respond to pain, can survive even the most brutal injuries, and despite their bottomless appetite for flesh, they do not need food, water, or sleep to function.
They show no other bodily function that relates to a human, showing no signs of self-healing or response to extreme temperatures. The brain maintains limited abilities of the body, allowing for movement of the limbs (provided that they are not decomposed to the point where the bones are not strong enough to bend without breaking), jaws, neck, and even the use of its sensory systems. While the walkers are notoriously weaker than humans, the only way to kill one is to destroy the brain. Despite severely weakened frames, they will continue to hunt for living animals to consume. Even when decapitated, the head will remain active, even though it would be practically harmless at such point.
Nicknames[]
While the term "zombie" does exist within The Walking Dead universe, it is seldom used. In the Comic Series, when Rick Grimes' group discover the prison, both Rick and Tyreese discuss how it still sounds funny to use the word "zombie." Likewise, in the Telltale Series, the term is used very rarely.[1]
"Zombie" has not been used in the TV series; when interviewed, Lauren Cohan (Maggie) stated that Romero movie zombies never existed in the popular fiction of the TV Walking Dead universe.[2] The characters within The Walking Dead TV series and comic books come up with their own monikers and categorizations for the undead.
The term "zombie" originated with the Haitian practice of voodoo and refers to a person who is reanimated as a slave in the thrall of another person. Those zombies are still clinically alive and can be restored, where the "walkers" of The Walking Dead are in fact dead, presumably not under any control, and cannot be restored.
Despite the fact that the idea of zombies was never a thing in the TV Universe, and thus the term would never have been popularized, the Waitress tells Troy that the quesadilla contains "antojitos zombie".
Standard ZombiesAbominations Apex Predators Assholes Bad Ones Baked Bastard Bear Beast Biohazardous Material This term is also used to denote anything that may be related to the dead, such as their blood, anything that has been in contact with the dead, such as clothes, or individuals who are suspected to be infected. Biters Blockers Bobber Bodies Bogies Boiled Bowel Blockades Bruiser Cadavers Cannibals Carcasses Carrion Carnival Prize Chewies Chompers Cold Asses Cold Bloods Cold Bodies Corpses Cow-Catchers Creatures Creepers Creepy-Crawlies Dead Alive Dead Cannibal Freaks Dead-Eyes Dead Losers Dead Ones Dead People Dead Monsters Deaders Deadheads Deadies Decays Decomposing Assholes Delts Demons Devils Dicks Dumb Dead Bastard Dumb Dumbs Dumb Sack Of Shit Dumbass Dusty Eaters Eavesdropper Empties It is also the main term that is used in The Walking Dead: World Beyond. Epidermis Epicureans Exploder Although not referred to as such, the walker that Aiden kills at the Vega Zeta Solar Distribution Group would be considered an exploder as well. Fallen Feeders Fence Clingers Filthy Disease Bearing Motherless Proxy Bastard Flesh Eaters Fleshies Floaters Freaks Friend Geeks Ghouls Goo Googly Eyes Goons Groaners Growlers Guard Dogs Guardians Has-Beens Heads Hissers Homo Mortis[3] Hoss Hostiles Human Remains Hunger Demons Hungries Hungry Ones Husks Idiots Invaders It Jerkymen Jiāngshī Killjoys Krispy Kremes Lab Rats Lame-Brains Les Affames Les Morts Lion Living Dead Looky-Loos Lurkers Meat Flyers Meat Munchers Meat Puppets Metalhead Mindless Freaks Mofos Monsters Monstro Da Fome Moths Munchers Muertito Muertos Necrotics Nightmare Demon Nonkills Odd Duck Original Recipe Patient Pierogies Philistines Poor Sack of Pile of Shit Posters Pricks Psychos Pussbags Reanimated Bodies Reanimated Cadaver Reanimated Corpses Reekers Rippers Roamers Rot Bags Rotters Scarecrows Shells This term is also used by Edwin Jenner to describe the dead. Sick Sickos Skin-Eaters Skin-Munchers Skinbags Skunk Sleepwalkers Slugs Sonambulos Specimen Spiked Spigot Stiffs Stinkers Stragglers Stud Sugar Swimmers Tails Tank Test Subject The Changed One The Damned The Dead The De-Evolution Of Man The Hungry Ones This is another term that is commonly used in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. The Infected The Passed The Reanimated The Stumblers The Wailing The Wasted Things Timmy Toe-Tags Trophies Also used by Dr. Everett to describe the decapitated heads that are taken from Homo Mourtuus corpses by headhunters. TS Tupilak Uglies Undead Vessels Walkers Walker King Walking Bodies Walking Corpses Wanderers Wendigos Wet Ones Whatnots Wildfire Wolves Wretched Variant ZombiesAberration Brulant Burners Climbers Cohorts Dark Eyes Walker Protectors Variant This is also the namesake of "Variant". Variant Cohorts |
The Zombies of "The Walking Dead"[]
| “ | Just to get this on record once and for all... and it is complicated, I know... here's how zombification works. Whatever makes people come back as zombies after they die--it's inside them. It's inside everyone. No matter how anybody dies, as long as the brain is intact... they turn into a zombie. Well... bites, and direct to blood contact with zombie gunk, [...] causes death. It's a strong infection that leads to fever that kills someone. Then the "virus" or whatever is already in them... turns them into a zombie.
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Zombies within The Walking Dead universe are Robert Kirkman's version of George Romero's Night of the Living Dead zombies.
Zombies are relatively weak and unintelligent as individuals, but are dangerous in large numbers and in tight spaces. They are the main antagonists within the post-apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead. The vast majority of the human population (6.3 billion people as of 2003 and 6.9 billion people as of 2010) has been wiped out by zombies, which at their peak, outnumbered humans 5,000 to 1. This leaves about 1,200,000 and 2,000,000 survivors left in the comic and television universes respectively.[7][8]
As a species, Kirkman's zombies do not evolve and are permanently doomed to just deteriorate until there's nothing left but the skeleton.[9]
Pathogen[]
- Dr. Edwin Jenner: "It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal."
- Jacqui: "Or the wrath of God?"
- — Jenner and Jacqui discussing the possible origins of the mysterious zombie pathogen.[src]
The pathogen, in the television universe, is termed the Wildfire Virus. Everyone in The Walking Dead universe somehow contracted the zombie pathogen that, most likely airborne, brings the recently deceased back to "life." It is unknown where the disease originated from nor is it known whether if it's a natural or a man-made disease. Scientist Dr. Edwin Jenner did not even rule out the possibility that the disease is of supernatural origin. In the television universe, it was created by a team of scientists at la Biomédicine DDMI in France.
The exact taxonomy of the pathogen is also unknown. Curiously, the pathogen itself does not kill its hosts. Instead it remains dormant, likely within neural cells in the brain, leaving its host visibly and physically healthy. Only when the host dies, does the pathogen become active, infecting and reviving neural structures in the brain stem and certain parts of the cerebellum, turning a human into a zombie. A zombie is thus a condition a recently deceased host enters when the pathogen is in its active stage.
Transmission[]
The zombie pathogen seems to possess two separate, but parallel modes of infection: latent and fluid contact/bites/scratches.
- Latent: In The Walking Dead universe, most, if not every, human being on the planet is believed to be infected by a dormant strain of the zombie pathogen. It is currently unknown how one contracts the dormant stage of the pathogen, though its apparent total infection rate worldwide suggests it is either air-borne, water-borne, or both. Once infected, the virus spreads throughout the body through the blood, likely concentrating in the central nervous system. However, so long as the host remains alive, the pathogen remains latent or dormant within them and is asymptomatic to the host.
- Fluid Contact/Bites/Scratches: Though physical contact with a zombie's saliva or blood will not cause an individual fatal infection, any fluid contact with open wounds will lead to irreversible contamination of the individual. However, zombie bites are not fatal because of the dormant zombie pathogen. Rather, one possible explanation is that through bites, the active pathogen carried within zombies induces a fatal and irreversible cytokine storm, further exacerbated by bacteria that reside in a zombie's mouth. Scratches could cause similar infections for similar reasons, however, no one in the comic or TV-show has ever gotten the fever as a result of a scratch. While zombie scratches and clawing rarely cause fatal infections, the deep gouges generally left by zombie bites are almost always fatal; death can be potentially avoided if the bite is on an appendage, which must be immediately amputated. However, this does not always work, and bites on the torso, or on veins or arteries are universally fatal. Even if an amputation proves successful at removing the infection, blood loss and subsequent infection is also extremely dangerous due to the generally unprofessional execution of the procedure.
Comics Series[]
In the comic series, getting zombie bodily fluid (blood, bile, saliva, etc.) or any part of the body directly into the blood stream causes infection, fever, and death, as evidenced by Negan's successful tactic to cover weapons in zombie flesh and guts for one-hit kills.
Television Universe[]
It is unclear in the TV-series whether or not the rule of infection above from the comic series is applicable. Sasha accidentally cut Abraham's arm with her zombie-blood soaked knife, yet he survived, indicating that the rules in the television series are different to a degree. This was referenced earlier in the Season 2 episode "18 Miles Out", where Shane cuts his own hand with a knife that was previously used to kill a walker, and later wipes his cut hand on a place which a walker has licked.
However, in Season 8, due to a shortage of bullets, Negan Smith orders his men to dunk their weapons in walker guts to use to infect any living survivor with one slash (very similar to the comics) and the Saviors are successfully able to infect numerous residents of the Hilltop colony by injuring them with their coated weapons. It is possible that more direct injuries to living survivors such as deep penetration wounds and larger quantities of walker tissue entering the bloodstream are able to cause living survivors to die and turn. At one point, Daryl Dixon states that this method of infection isn't the same as being bitten, that some people turn and some don't. However, this is contradicted by Tara Chambler who points out that everyone but her who got hit by tainted weapons fell ill and turned. In Tara's case, it is believed that Dwight purposefully shot her with a clean arrow to save her life. In all probability, the injuries to Shane and Abraham mentioned above were not fatal because their wounds were not deep enough to get infected.
As seen in "The Big Scary U," using the walker guts trick has its own downsides as its possible for the person to get sick from the bacteria and contagions carried in the dead blood and guts. Gabriel Stokes got ill in this manner, though Negan, who used blood from the same walker and put it unprotected on his skin, did not. However, this is simply transmission of already present illnesses and not contagion that turns people into zombies.
As seen in Season 10, it appears that spreading walker blood through a water source does not contaminate it with the pathogen. When Mary did this to Alexandria's water supply, the residents only got cholera. In addition, the community's water filters would've stopped it had Dante not turned them off.
Symptoms of Infections[]
The zombie pathogen seems to possess two stages: a dormant stage and an active stage.
Dormant Stage[]
- Michonne: "They weren't bitten."
- The Governor: "Doesn't matter. However we die, we all turn."
- — The Governor revealing the dormant stage of the infection to Michonne and Andrea.[src]
As mentioned previously, during the dormant stage, the pathogen is asymptomatic. The host will thus remain healthy despite being technically 'infected' and will continue to remain so as long they are alive. After the host dies, the dormant pathogen enters the active stage and will begin the process of reanimating the body through the infection and reactivation of neural structures in the brain. No matter how an individual dies, unless their brain was severely damaged or destroyed, they will reanimate into a zombie following death.[10][11]
Active Stage[]
| “ | It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs. Then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be…gone.
―Dr. Edwin Jenner describing the active stage of the infection.[src]
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The pathogen enters the active stage when an individual dies and is responsible for the host's reanimation as a zombie. When an individual is bitten by a zombie, the active pathogen is transmitted into them as well as a plethora of bacteria and other infectious agents that reside in a zombie's mouth. In the event that amputation fails or is not possible, it is believed that the active pathogen then induces a fatal and irreversible cytokine storm, causing a high fever, aches, extreme fatigue, and nausea. As the infection progresses, the active pathogen invades and spreads through the brain like meningitis, infecting synapses and other neural structures that are concentrated in the brain stem and parts of the cerebellum. At the climax of the infection, the adrenal glands hemorrhage and the brain completely shuts down. All brain activity would cease, followed by the major organs and the body would be clinically dead: no measurable brain activity, no reflexes, and no respiration or pulse. The time between the onset of the symptoms and death, followed by reanimation is very dependent on the severity, location, and quantity of the bite wound(s) of individuals who cannot be saved.
| “ | I've seen it. I've seen what it does. The bites don't turn you, but the infection is not treatable. Infection kills you like anything else.
―Liza Ortiz describing the infection to Travis Manawa.[src]
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In "The Good Man" of Fear the Walking Dead, Elizabeth Ortiz, after spending time with military doctor Bethany Exner, implies that all the infection itself from the bites does is kill the person. The reanimation comes from the person dying as it would if they died of something like a gunshot or stab wound.
Those bitten experience the following symptoms as the infection progresses, ending in death:
- Dizziness
- Weakness and fatigue
- Fever
- Delirium/hallucinations
- Chills
- Nausea/vomiting
- Pale skin
- Diluted pupils
- Soreness
- Fluid discharge
- Spontaneous aggression or anger
- Fainting
- Hair loss and missing scalp pieces
- Dehydration
- Coughing up blood
- Pale yellow sclera
- Internal hemorrhaging
- Organ failure
Reanimation[]
| “ | The rule is WHATEVER it is that causes the zombies, is something everyone already has. If you stub your toe, get an infection and die, you turn into a zombie, UNLESS your brain is damaged. If someone shoots you in the head and you die, you're dead. A zombie bite kills you because of infection, or blood loss, not because of the zombie "virus."
―Robert Kirkman[src]
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| “ | A dead body wouldn't become a walker until its body temperature had lowered enough that another walker wouldn't be tempted to bite it. It reaches a very dead corpse state before reanimation occurs.
―Robert Kirkman[src]
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The dead corpse of anyone that dies for any reason will reanimate as a zombie, unless the brain of the individual is badly damaged or destroyed, or the person was dead prior to the outbreak. As seen on the MRI of Candace Jenner, when a person dies, the active pathogen they carry enters the active stage, and reactivates critical areas of the brain that it infected, specifically the brain stem and some parts of the cerebrum and cerebellum that support necessary vital systems such as movement, resulting in reanimation after a variable amount of time. Since the active pathogen only reactivates the brain stem and not parts of the brain such as the frontal lobe and neocortex that are responsible for higher-order brain functions, the reanimated person retains only a physical resemblance to their former self.
In the TV Series, it was stated by Dr. Jenner that (according to all gathered evidence and research available at the time) a corpse can reanimate between three minutes and eight hours after death, though there are instances where reanimation seems to happen much quicker, and the Telltale Series suggests that it could happen in seconds.
Glen Mazzara elaborated on Shane becoming a zombie in "Better Angels" much faster than Amy, and not getting bit: "We worked hard to make sure that revelation landed. We knew what we were doing there. We knew it would land a punch. We've never had a main character become a zombie to this extent. Those [rapid flashes of zombie mayhem] represent the storm in Shane's brain to some extent … Amy was a weaker character. Shane is in a murderous rage … he's going to reanimate quicker. There's just more life in that zombie, believe it or not. We do have internal rules for that.
Physiology[]
Comic Series[]
In the comic book, the group commonly encounters two zombie types: wandering, noise attracted "roamers," and lethargic "lurkers." In the first volume, a lurker is seen eating a deer. It ignores Rick and Shane. In Volume 4, a lurker bites Allen as he carelessly passes it by.
In Volume 10, Eugene studies a lurker that is too weak to move, suggesting that after time and lack of food, roamers become lurkers that become less alert and active as time passes.
In a recent letter column, Kirkman promises more hints of zombie physiology, and in a recent column he confirmed that "...whatever is making them walk around is also keeping them from rotting to bones in a matter of weeks."[12]
A zombie "lifetime" varies, though it is known that a human will likely outlive a zombie through the course of many years/decades.[13]
The body of the corpses, very likely through the zombie pathogen, manages to avoid immediate decomposition like regular human corpses, being able to halt or at least slow down, decomposition for years, if not decades at a time.[14]
Television Universe[]
In the show, it has been demonstrated that zombies don't require sustenance by eating, but have a strong desire to do so. This is despite the fact that they have no digestive or circulatory activity which makes them unable to digest whatever flesh they consume. Zombies do not need to breathe, evidenced by Pete Dolgen still trying to reach for humans while underwater.
Zombies may very rarely "dodge" melee attacks by leaning out of the way slightly, and some have been observed holding up their arms to likewise block attacks.
Milton Mamet once stated that zombies do starve, but "slower" than humans.
Much like in the comics, decomposition is dramatically slowed down compared to a regular corpse. Duane Jones was still active as a walker almost a decade after his death.
Both Universes[]
Zombies have the ability to detect scents and can differentiate between the living and the dead; they prefer to feed on living flesh. Covering one's self in the scent of decay can act as a camouflage. They can also use sight to distinguish the living from the dead, although they seem to have poor eyesight as their irises fade and decay over time. They make up for this with heightened senses of hearing and smell. Darkness seems to have little effect on zombies' senses at close range, and in areas devoid of light they can still find their way around as they would in the day.
Individual zombie strength depends on the physical makeup of the individual and on how long they have been reanimated. When attacking, zombies often become more lively, exhibiting full-body effort, and can produce enough force to quickly overwhelm an adult human. Zombies have been shown to be able to rip open human and animal victims with ease, and they can even rip off human limbs with enough force. As zombies decay, however, their muscles, and consequently, their entire body, becomes slowly, but surely, weaker.
Zombies feel no pain. Although slow and seemingly unintelligent when not active, they can react quickly to sufficient stimulation, and can rapidly overpower a victim they have taken by surprise. Though their bodies are no more or less durable than a non-decomposed human body, they can absorb all manner of physical damage, even when badly decomposed. Anything other than a head attack, spinal cord severing, or dismemberment leaves them seemingly unfazed. As long as their brain remains intact, everything that is attached to the brain can continue to function as normal, even if only the skull remains and is severed from the body.
Other than a mostly intact brain, zombies don't appear to require any vital systems or organ functions to survive, although their ambulatory functions do decrease as their level of decomposition increases. Sufficient physical damage can slow them down, or render them incapacitated.
Compared to humans, zombies have rather limited mobility. Unstimulated, zombies stand still, or shuffle around slowly. When in this state they are sometimes referred to as "lurkers," as they can quickly activate, attack and kill. Zombies can also be found lying on the ground or in piles of other bodies, and can appear to be dead until stimulated. If they are pursuing a possible victim, zombies can move somewhat more quickly, roughly equivalent to a very light jogging pace. They can also lunge very short distances to grab close prey. They are difficult to shake off if they do manage to grab their victims, often allowing their arm to be ripped off before they will begin to let go.
Behavior[]
| “ | Attracted to sound and movement. Compulsion to eat never subsides. Susceptible to group behavior that makes movement easy to predict and control. They're simple creatures. Easy to figure out.
―Eugene, regarding zombie behavior.[src]
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A reanimated body responds to stimuli such as light, scent, and loud noises. Oddly, even if the head is separated from the body, as long as the brain is intact, the head will still attempt to eat anything within reach. The body of a zombie does appear to be truly dead, which means that it does not feel pain, has no reflexes, and wounds to it will not heal; its rate of decomposition slows drastically but does continue.
There is anecdotal evidence that some retain vestigial elements of memory and personality and this is shown some repeating behavior such as clinging to possessions, attempting to open doors, and even using large rocks to break through windows and doors.[15] Zombies though, are incredibly unintelligent and generally unable to use tools or understand the need for them. It has been hinted at that newly reanimated corpses retain some basic sense of intellect and perhaps memory, and can perform very basic tasks such as opening doors. They have no sense of self-preservation other than eating, and will not react at all to the deaths of other zombies or to potentially lethal dangers to themselves.
Zombies instinctively bite whatever prey they come in contact with, but have also been observed clawing at, tearing, and even punching humans and animals in order to topple them. They are slow and have a hard time overcoming obstacles, but have on occasion been shown to perform tasks like running and climbing fences.
Disposal[]
| “ | These things only go down with a head shot.
―Daryl Dixon describing how to kill zombies.[src]
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Because a zombie is derived from a human form, it is limited physically by many of the same constraints that a human has. But because a zombie is, by definition, dead, it slowly rots and decays like other dead organisms. Over time, flesh and muscles deteriorate, and it becomes less and less formidable.
They are only truly killed by destroying the brain, a common theme in many zombie variations. A severed head will remain animated and aggressive until the brain is destroyed or eventually disintegrates from decomposition. Fire has little effect on zombies, other than possibly angering them further, and normally lethal things such as acid or electricity also do little to impede them. They can be paralyzed if their spinal cords are severed, though if they still have enough functional use of their arms only makes them much less ambulatory, clawing and dragging themselves across the ground. Radiation isn't enough to keep someone from turning and if a person dies of radiation sickness, their walker remains will be radioactive.
Intelligence[]
| “ | Just a shell driven by mindless instinct.
―Dr. Edwin Jenner describing the intelligence of zombies.[src]
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Though zombies retain a physical resemblance to the living, cognitive similarities are almost non-existent beyond low-level functions, though there are examples of behavior that suggest zombies may retain small fragments of memory of their past lives. Zombies have enough intelligence to walk upright, to use their bodies to break objects, and to climb around or over somewhat small obstacles such as chain-link fences. Zombies can ascend and descend staircases, albeit very clumsily and slowly. They cannot generally operate doors or gates and only attempt to do so when they are relatively "fresh"; they tend to bash through obstacles rather than traversing them.
Mostly, zombies are void of any emotional expression and thought. When stimulated, whether by noise, sight of prey, or simply encountering a problem they cannot solve, such as being unable to open a locked door, they quickly descend into a state of homocidal aggression. If they spot prey when stimulated, they can pursue them ceaselessly, showing ravenous hunger.
They are not hunters, however, and take no concern in alerting their victims or trying to hunt them with intelligence, always seeming to roar, grunt, and growl whenever they are stimulated. Zombies seem to only be drawn to noise (such as that of a gunshot), presumably because they attribute the source of the noise to be caused by potential victims, and the smell of any blood that does not belong to a zombie. They have however occasionally been shown to be able to catch their victims by surprise, notably the walker who fatally wounded Dale Horvath which approached him silently and before pouncing him was only stimulated when Dale turned to see it.
Zombies also tend to form groups and stick together, and mimic the actions of other zombies, giving them a mob mentality. This can lead to zombies forming "herds," large hordes of zombies are far more dangerous and aggressive than smaller groups. In "Guts," zombies retain a further animalistic trait within their "herds," appearing to "sniff out" or examine new-coming zombies before leaving them be, as they do to Rick and Glenn, which may indicate that zombies seem to be able to familiarize themselves with their own kind and be cautious of ones they do not recognize.
Newer zombies may rarely use primitive tools, such as using a heavy brick to smash a window, but none have any high-level abilities to use items in their environment. Over a decade after the outbreak began, a zombie of this type was encountered by Aaron, Jerry, Elijah and Lydia and Aaron comes to the conclusion that they are actually a variant type of zombie that is only rarely encountered to the point that they are mostly only relegated to stories.
They lack any remaining speech capabilities, and can only moan, grunt, or wheeze, as well as roar and scream when alerted. Zombies are not shown to be able to "communicate" with other zombies by any means, though they will frequently copy the actions they witness other zombies perform, such as bashing on a door or moving in a group, eventually forming a herd.
Robert Kirkman wrote on Reddit:
...In the beginning of the show we saw walkers do things like using a rock to help bash the doors in or turning a door knob, is there a reason we've stopped seeing them do that?
"Older zombies are less together and capable or doing things like that. Fresher zombies, which there were more of in season one, are able to do more than older, more rotted zombies.
Eating Habits[]
Zombies prefer to eat anything dead or alive: animals and people. Zombies do not digest food. When their bodies are "full," the undigested meat will be forced out through the anus.[16] As zombies are dead, their bodies will continue to rot even if they are well-fed.
Zombies are never shown in any media to exhibit cannibalistic tendencies, even after going through long periods without food, and only show interest in animals and living humans.
If the zombie loses the ability to feed, they evidently lose the desire to do so—a behavior observed in Michonne's pet Walkers. With their loss of desire for eating also comes with a loss of aggression and activity; unless present around other zombies, those who have lost the will to eat will remain quiet and lethargic, mindlessly walking in any given direction and paying no mind to humans.
The presence of many zombies being partially consumed or missing limbs also indicates that zombies, though they seem perpetually hungry, do not always devour prey fully, meaning that, at least for a short period of time, can feel "full" and not want to eat.
In the TV series, the walker that consumed Lori Grimes' body was lethargic, sated and full, and did not attack Rick when he arrived on the scene. Still, they can be driven to attack and consume live prey due to the sheer aggressiveness the reanimative contagion seems to have given them.
Camouflage[]
It's been discovered by survivors that there are ways for them to blend in with zombies without being noticed. It's learned that when a person covers themselves in the scent of a zombie or corpse, other zombies can't tell the difference between them and one of their own. The first camouflage method to be discovered was using the guts technique. By smearing parts of the body with zombie blood, a person is able to come across zombies undetected. Unfortunately there are two problems with this technique. The first problem is that the blood can easily dry up or be washed off, leaving you once again being noticed by passing zombies. The second problem is that zombies will attack regardless of scent if the user draws attention to themselves such as causing extremely loud noises or start bleeding their own blood. This technique was first discovered by Rick and Glenn as they were walking through Atlanta. Nicholas Clark was able to use this technique several times without incident after discovering it by accident. Notably, on the first time he did it, the walkers continued to ignore him even after Nick killed several. Due to the danger of getting sick from normal contagions within the blood, survivors tend to spread the blood and guts on a sheet or piece of clothing that they are wearing rather than direct skin contact. During the final battle of the Whisperer War in "A Certain Doom," the Coalition used this trick to great effect to pass through a massive horde and later to infiltrate it and silently assassinate their enemies within.
The second known technique are "walker pets". By being in close proximity with a zombie without being bitten, the other zombies will instinctively assume the human is also a zombie. In the TV-Series, The Governor once noted that by "walk[ing] with the biters, they think you're a biter". Although the user's close proximity with the zombie usually wards off the other zombies, they can still attract attention since their scent is still exposed. This technique was first discovered by Michonne who kept her zombified boyfriend and his friend in chains after cutting off their arms and jaws.
The third known technique is zombie skin. Similar to the guts technique, the user masks their smell by skinning the skin off zombies, curing it into human leather (which eliminates the danger of contagion), and wearing them as clothing. Faces and scalps are usually used to create a mask, which can be repaired by sewing in newer pieces from other zombies as desired or by necessity. This is perhaps the best out of the three when it comes to camouflage as it can't be washed off and doesn't leave a survivor exposed. However, they can still be attacked by zombies if they draw attention to themselves. Additionally, unfamiliar survivors may shoot camouflaged humans, thinking that they are zombies. This technique is notably used by a group called the Whisperers.
Also of note is that walkers tend not to notice or target those in advanced states of infection, as evidenced by Minerva being able to fall back into a herd in "Take Us Back" without any of the above-mentioned techniques. However, she was also shown to have a large amount of walker blood and gore on her body, likely from the carnage she was caught in earlier, which may have helped camouflage her, though the walkers did eventually take notice of her and attack her after she was shot by Clementine.
It was recently revealed that when a survivor is suffering from a septic or gangrenous wound, the smell of the wound will mask their scent from walkers. This causes walkers to ignore them, until they cause too much noise or become noticeable to the walkers. This method, however, is not safe due to the fact that the survivor is risking blood poisoning and further necrosis of their flesh due to the nature of the septic/gangrenous wound.
Variants[]
While not discussed in-universe until over ten years after the outbreak, it was confirmed by showrunner Angela Kang and producer Scott Gimple that the variant zombies have existed since the beginning of the series.
On the variant zombies, Angela Kang said: "In some way, it is a throwback to some of the walkers we saw back in the very, very first season of 'The Walking Dead'. But not everybody ever encountered those walkers, It's almost like it was a variant that just was regional. And anytime there is a change to the rules, that means that people just need to be that much on their game because they're realizing that the methods that they used to survive don't quite work the same way. Our survivors need to be very, very smart and try to adjust to that, and that is one of the many conflicts that they will be dealing with in the final block of episodes."
Regarding the intelligence of the variant zombies, Scott Gimple clarified: "'World Beyond'-wise, I just would say, I wouldn't co-sign on the word 'smart' for the walkers. There's something going on there."
For examples of variants see:
- Main article: Variants
Characters That Turned[]
The following is a list of characters from The Walking Dead that have all died and reanimated as a zombie. The Telltale Series section shows all characters that can potentially turn undead, regardless of player choice.
Comic Universe and Comic-Adapted[]
Comic Series[]
Telltale Series[]
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Road to Survival[]
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Novel Series[]
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All-Stars[]
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TV Universe and TV-Adapted[]
TV Series[]
Fear the Walking Dead[]
World Beyond[]
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Tales of the Walking Dead[]
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Dead City[]
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Daryl Dixon[]
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The Ones Who Live[]
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Webisodes[]
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Destinies[]
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Social Game[]
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Survival Instinct[]
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Dead Reckoning[]
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Onslaught[]
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Prominent Victims[]
The most notable characters killed by zombies are listed below.
Comic Universe and Comic-Adapted[]
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Telltale Series[]
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Clementine Series[]
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TV Universe and TV-Adapted[]
TV Series[]
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Fear the Walking Dead[]
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World Beyond[]
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The Ones Who Live[]
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Webisodes[]
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Dead Reckoning[]
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Trivia[]
- It is confirmed by Edwin Jenner, most notably in Candace Jenner's brain projection, that only the brain stems and small regions around it are active. However, as the sensoric, problem-solving and coordination centers were completely disabled and inactive, it does not make sense that walkers would be capable of using tools, and possess hearing and smell beyond that of humans. The explanation for this is still unknown.
- It was later revealed that a variant strain of the virus was created by the French in an attempt to neutralize the zombies, but instead made them more intelligent and agile. These zombies may have been infected with the variant form.
- In the TV Series, walkers are shown mainly in "Guts" and "Bloodletting" to run at a very light jogger's pace, despite the fact that Kirkman has stated in the past that all zombies run at the same pace as those seen in the Romero films. This was Darabont's vision before he left the Series.
- This is later retconned as being a rare variant of zombies that returns for the third part of Season 11.
- It is possible that the blood of a zombie being consumed directly or indirectly does not affect a human in any way. This is shown several times throughout the series.
- In the Season 5 finale of the show, Rick has to push his hands through a walker's throat, causing it to bleed out all over Rick's face. If one looks closely, one can see Rick appearing to swallow/consume the blood.
- Another instance is in season 6, episode 3, when Rick comes across two walkers, one of which has a knife stuck in the shoulder. He takes that same knife and accidentally cuts himself with it with the walker's blood visible on it. To this day, Rick hasn't shown any signs of an infection.
- In Season 10, the Whisperers infecting Alexandria's water supply with walker blood and guts combined with Dante turning off the filtration system only gives the residents cholera, presumably from the natural bacteria in the walker remains.
- More evidence comes from Fear the Walking Dead. During the midseason premiere of season 2, Nick watches from an abandoned bus as two dogs that recently attacked him get devoured by a swarm of walkers. After the herd slowly moves on, a very hungry and thirsty Nick crawls up to the dogs' mangled corpses and takes a chunk of the meat and proceeds to eat it, but never shows any sign of infection afterwards.
- In season 1 of the TV series, the walkers' eyes were generally gray or yellow with a red limbal ring, but in the season 2 webisodes, "Cold Storage" and the later episodes of the TV Series, their eyes are generally gold. Older and more decayed walkers, however, have mostly or completely faded irises, leaving only dark pupils.
- According to Robert Kirkman in episode 2 of Talking Dead, in the TV Series, the works of George A. Romero were never made, and thus zombies do not appear in fiction.
- In the Webisodes, it is rumored that terrorists caused the "infection." This is most likely not true, as Kirkman himself never intended to explain the source of the outbreak and thus is just what is a rumor.
- In the Fear the Walking Dead: Radio Waves podcast, a conspiracy theorist claims to have found proof that the infection was caused by the government as a means of population control. How reliable this is is unknown.
- In "The Last Light" of The Walking Dead: World Beyond, it's revealed that the Wildfire Virus began at la Biomédicine DDMI in France and was human-created for an as of yet unknown reason.
- Walkers are some of the many amputees in The Walking Dead. For other victims, see Amputated Victims.
- Scott Gimple believes the walkers' decaying vision attracts them to fire. Fire represents two of the only things walker can still see: light and movement.[17]
- In "Guts," a walker is seen displaying intelligence by using a rock to break the glass of a department store in which a group is hiding. Zombies are also seen climbing fences. The writers of the AMC series say that they agreed on making the zombies of the first season "smart," but for every season since, it has been accepted that zombies are unintelligent beings.
- Perhaps recently deceased people retain their motor functions and can pick up objects and climb over fences.
- In Season 11, this type of zombie returns in "Variant" where Aaron comments that he's heard stories about them before, but he had thought that they were only just stories. Aaron comes to the conclusion that these zombies are another variant like lurkers.
- In "Rest in Peace", another variant zombie is seen breaking a window in the exact same way.
- While smearing oneself in walker guts is seen to be an effective trick in a tight situation, it also carries dangers as the person using the trick can get sick as happened to Gabriel Stokes in "The Big Scary U". On previous occasions, characters took precautions to prevent touching the guts directly with Rick specifically stating in "Guts" to not allow the guts to touch anyone's skin or get in their eyes. When Gabriel got sick, he and Negan Smith, who remained fine, had no way of taking extra precautions. In "Worth", Eugene Porter theorized the infection Gabriel got had to be influenza or cryptococcosis and was likely airborne.
- In "Laura" of Fear the Walking Dead, June warns John Dorie that he can get sick from the walker blood that he accidentally got onto him. In "PADRE", Morgan Jones mentions to Alicia Clark that he's seen people get sick from it before as she prepares to use the trick to follow around a walker in a possible reference to Gabriel.
- Overkill's The Walking Dead features a unique variant of zombies known as "Bloaters", bloated zombies that explode after being killed or just by getting close to them.
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners features another unique variant of zombies known as "diseased" ones. These zombies ooze green slime from the mouth, have flies around them, and lower the player's health significantly during melee combat. No explanation is given as to why these particularly zombies are infected twice.
Gallery[]
- For more images of Zombies, please visit Zombies/Gallery.
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Video[]
References[]
- ↑ Lee calling the dead a "Zombie"
"The Keys are on that Zombie out on the street."
- ↑ Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo 2012, interview panel with Lauren Cohan and Steven Yeun
- ↑ Tweet by the official The Walking Dead account
- ↑ Norman Reedus reveals Daryl Dixon filmed in the Louvre and Catacombs on Entertainment Weekly.com
- ↑ The Walking Dead episode Indifference (season 4 episode 4). 14minutes 5seconds in version that includes "previously on The Walking Dead". Ana said: "We were there about a day and the skin-eaters showed up."
- ↑ The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Reveals New Zombie Variant on comicbook.com
- ↑ Image Comics; The Walking Dead, Issue 10
- ↑ The actual figure for the television universe is unclear, this is assuming that both the comic and television universes have the same 5,000:1 figure
- ↑ Issue 47, page 27, "Letter Hacks".
- ↑ ,Comic book series, Issue 15
- ↑ Revealed gradually in the TV Series episodes TS-19, Better Angels, Beside the Dying Fire and confirmed separately by the Governor in Walk With Me.
- ↑ Issue 121: Letter Hacks.
- ↑ Issue 7 - Letter Hacks
- ↑ Issue 9 - Letter Hacks
- ↑ Season 1 Ep 2, Guts
- ↑ Issue 111: Page 26; Letter Hacks.
- ↑ Talking Dead, Inside the Dead, Season 4, Episode 14. "The Grove"
External Links[]
- Every "Walking Dead" zombie kill in graphic form, Tulsa World, (December 10, 2012).
Themes
| |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Betrayal • Cliffhangers • Denial • Depression • Discrimination • Distrust • Envy • Fear • Foreshadowing • Forgiveness • Hallucination • Heroism • Hope • Humanity • Humor • Leadership • Pride • Regret • Religion • Revenge • Sacrifice • Sanity • Secrecy • Symbolism |
| Realistic | Amputations • Bad Weather • Camouflage • Cannibalism • Decapitations • Framing • Illness • Mercy Killing • Murder • Nicknames • Pregnancy • Punishment • Substance Use • Suicide • Teamwork • Unexpected Survival |
| Miscellaneous | A's and B's • Antagonists • Cast and Crew Crossovers • Continuity • Cultural References • Deuteragonist • Episode Title Meanings • Groups • Herd • Outside Media Crossovers • Outside References • Protagonists • Tritagonist • TV/Comic Death Comparisons • Variants • Wildfire Virus • Zombies |