Although AMC’s The Walking Dead started off as a mostly faithful adaptation of the acclaimed, and on-going, series of graphic novels that it was based on, sooner than later it started to veer off from the source material. Of course, there have been positive changes, such as the additions of characters like Daryl and Merle. But not every change has had the same impact with the fanbase. For instance, fairly recently, we saw the departure of Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes, who’s still very much present in the comics, as most fans are well aware of. But these massive story and character changes aren’t the only things that have caused a stir. In some cases, there have been some weird smaller details that were left out of the show entirely.
From a filmmaking perspective, some of these changes make sense as they work better on the page than they do on-screen. However, some of the things left out of the show probably should have been kept in to appease the fans who tend to like shows that are more devoted to sticking to the choices made in the source material. Regardless of the reason, they were left out, the entries on this list are almost certainly some of the weirdest aspects of the comics. Additionally, this list contains some of the stronger choices the comics have made that the show took in very odd directions. Without further ado, here are 25 Weird Things Cut From The Walking Dead (That Were In The Comics).
Carl’s Days As A Blacksmith
Due to the events of the midseason finale of Season Eight, we will never get to see Carl living out his days as a blacksmith. That may sound a bit odd, but this was something that Carl actually did. In the comics, Carl Grimes is still very much alive and doing quite well. In fact, he even spent some time living at the Hilltop as an apprentice to a blacksmith and entering into a relationship of his own with Lydia.
Lydia’s Banishment By The Whisperers
With Carl gone, Henry has stepped into his role from the comics. This is especially true when it comes to the Whisperers storyline and how Lydia fits into it all. Recently, we saw Lydia and Henry get rescued from The Whisperers by Daryl and Connie. But in the comics, Lydia isn’t saved, she is actually banished. This is because she and Carl have a series of discussion with Alpha that causes the Whisperers to believe that Lydia doesn’t fall in line with their ideology. She is then banished for it and sent home with Carl and Rick.
Maggie’s Pregnancy Reveal
During the first half of Season Six, Maggie let it slip that she was pregnant with Glenn’s baby. She first tells this to Aaron. It’s only later that she actually informs the love of her life. In the comics, she and Glenn learn of this news together when they’re visiting Alexandria’s Dr. Cloyd. Although Dr. Cloyd wasn’t in the show either, a version was - Denise. The show opted to go for a more built-up reveal as opposed to something that the pair got to enjoy together for the first time.
A One-Handed Rick
In the comics, Rick had a rather tumultuous first encounter with The Governor. This is because he got his right hand taken off with a knife. This was something that we thought the show would do but never saw. Although it might have made things a little more interesting, it posed a large technical and logistical issue for the filmmakers. If they had taken Rick’s hand off in the show, Andrew Lincoln would have had to wear a green glove for all of his shots. Then, with the help of CGI, it would have had to have been removed.
Tyreese’s Relationship With Carol
The Carol we see in the AMC show is very different than the one from the comics. In many ways, her television counterpart is more engaging and has provided audiences with some of the best moments in the show’s history. But, as a result, we’ve lost out on some pretty interesting and downright odd things about her character. For instance, Carol had a thing with Tyreese in the comics. In the show, it appeared as if the writers would take the characters down a similar road but they never did.
Carol Going Looney
As we mentioned earlier, the version of Carol in the show is vastly dissimilar than the one from the comics. In the comics, Carol basically goes nuts during the events of the first few issues. Eventually, she becomes so unhinged that she becomes convinced that a walker wants to be her new pal. She ends up feeding herself to the walker and passes away during the group’s time in the prison. That’s right, in the comics, Carol is not only loony but she’s also gone. Thankfully, the show decided to cut this plotline.
Eugene’s Loyalty To Rick And Alexandria
The show took the character of Eugene down a slightly different road in Season Seven. This is because, in the show, Eugene becomes a willing collaborator with Negan and the Saviors. Although Eugene wants to save his own life, as well as try and sway Negan away from war with Rick, the decision ultimately makes him out to be a turncoat. However, when Eugene was captured in the comics he refused to help Negan and the Saviors and remained in captivity.
Maggie’s Continued Reign
Fans were unprepared for Maggie’s departure during the Ninth Season. Everybody knew that actor Lauren Cohan would be leaving at some point, but they had no idea that she would disappear in the same episode as Andrew Lincoln’s Rick. In the comics, Maggie is still very much alive and is a born leader as well as a committed mother to her baby. Additionally, Maggie went on to be a mother figure for other characters in the show. Even though her character on the show is still alive somewhere, it’s unlikely that we will ever see Maggie on the show again.
Negan’s Excommunication
Negan’s storyline in the comics is pretty similar to the one on the AMC show. While there are a couple of minor differences, most of the broad strokes are the same. This is with one notable exception. In the comics, Negan has been released by Rick, Carl, and the citizens of Alexandria and completely exiled and excommunicated. On the show, he gets out for a time but swiftly rushes back to prison after he realizes that there’s nothing out in the zombie-filled world for him.
Rick’s Romance With Andrea
Andrea in the graphic novels is far more engaging than the one we were given on the show. In fact, Andrea became one of the most disliked characters in the history of The Walking Dead which led her to be cut. But, on the page, Andrea lasted far longer due to the fact that she was a more interesting character and that she was actually dating Rick. That’s right, Rick and Andrea had something quite similar to the relationship that Rick had with Michonne on the show. However, recently, comic-book Andrea passed away.
Glenn The Farmhand
For the most part, the Glenn we saw on the show was completely dedicated to Rick and the group. If there was a mission, he was first in line for it. This is a character that started off as a pizza-boy with little skill and ended up becoming a very formidable ally. However, in the comics, Glenn wasn’t always super dedicated to battling walkers with Rick. For a time, he actually stayed behind on Hershel’s farm to help with mundane chores. Essentially, he became Hershel’s farmhand. Since we spent SO much time on that farm, we should be thrilled that this was cut.
The Chaos Caused By Hershel’s Secret
Hershel immediately came across as a good man who started out being pretty delusional. After all, Rick and the group found out that he was hiding walkers in his barn. These walkers were Hershel’s family members, neighbors, and friends. He couldn’t just let them go. Instead, he wanted to turn them back into their former selves. In the show, Shane managed to convince the group to take out the walkers, including a zombified Sophia. This choice cut out any opportunity of things going wrong. But in the comics, Hershel’s secret ends up causing far more damage as the walkers escape the barn and devastate his farm and family in a twist of tragic irony.
Carl Taking Out A Kid
Carol taking out Lizzie in the show was one of the best episodes of The Walking Dead. But this event didn’t exactly happen in the comics. At least, not in the way we saw on-screen. In the comics, Lizzie, and her sister Mika, were boys who were adopted by Dale and Andrea. Eventually, Ben turned on his brother and took him out, eventually turning him into a walker. The adults end up debating what to do with Ben while Carl took it upon himself to “solve” the problem. Although this plotline still could have worked in the show, the decision to cut Carl and replace him with Carol gave her more to do.
The Surviving Inmate At The Prison
While we did see some survivors in the prison, most didn’t cause too much of a problem. At least, the prisoners in the show didn’t end up being like Thomas Richards from the comics. Thomas was an inmate of the prison who survived the initial zombie outbreak. Once Rick and the group moved in, Thomas started to follow Hershel’s twin daughters, Susie and Rachel. Eventually, things took a turn for the worse and he did some really awful things. This weird and unnerving part of the comics was completely ditched in the AMC show.
Douglas And The Eyeball Eating
Before it was overrun by walkers, Douglas Monroe ran Alexandria in the comics. While we didn’t see the character on-screen, Deanna was created in his place. However, she wasn’t a direct copy of the character. After all, she didn’t tell the chilling story that Douglas told Rick. This story was about a father who, in the midst of the outbreak, ate his son’s eyes right from out of his head. This unnerving and weird story was punctuated by the son simply saying, “Daddy ate my eyes”, instead of crying in pain. Perhaps the reason why the show cut this moment was because their version of the character was too different from Douglas.
Lori Surviving Childbirth
The writers of AMC’s The Walking Dead just couldn’t wait to get rid of everybody’s least favorite character. In the prison, Lori passed away while giving birth to her daughter, Judith. The scene was one of the most heart-wrenching as Carl was the one who not only had to help deliver the baby but also put his mother down. But in the comics, Lori survived childbirth. However, not long after, she was taken out during the Governor’s raid. Additionally, Judith met her end alongside her mom. Apparently, the show just couldn’t justify taking out the baby alongside her mother.
Dale’s “Tainted Meat”
Dale was one of the biggest scene-stealers of the first couple seasons of the show. He also provided a much-needed moral compass for the group. However, he ended up passing by the end of Season Two. In the comics, Dale survived for much longer and even took part in a memorable storyline when he was set upon by cannibals. He told them that a walker bit him and therefore they were eating “tainted meat.” If this sounds familiar, it’s because the show gave these scenes to Bob instead.
Sophia’s Survival
Sophia wasn’t very memorable in the show. The only thing she really gave the series was something for Carol to be driven by in the first two seasons. Of course, there was that one heart-twisting moment when the zombified version of her was released from Hershel’s barn and had to be put down right in front of her mother. However, none of this actually happened in the comics. The character is still alive and even got into a romantic relationship with Carl (who is also still alive). Clearly, the show’s creators couldn’t figure out an interesting way to keep Sophia on the show so they decided to cut her altogether.
Carol’s Interest In Rick And Lori
For this entry, we have to go back to the vast differences between the comic book Carol and the television show one. In the show, Carol went from a meek housewife to a strong and devoted warrior. But in the comics, she was just pretty unstable. She also had a weird appetite for many of her fellow survivors. This included Rick and Lori simultaneously. Yes, Carol really tried to push for the three of them to have a polygamous relationship. Unsurprisingly, Lori and Rick just weren’t interested. The writers clearly knew that we wouldn’t be interested in that either.
Ezekiel’s Connection To Michonne
Michonne and King Ezekiel don’t really have a lot of shared screentime on the show. But if the producers and writers were being accurate to the source material, the pair would actually be in a relationship by now. In the comics, their connection started off rocky and eventually grew into a notable romance. Putting this in the show would have challenged Michonne’s relationship with Rick; something that she didn’t have in the comics. But the show’s fanbase seemed to like this romantic pairing leading to the decision to put Ezekiel with Carol instead.
