10 Walking Dead Characters Who Change the Most from Beginning to End

The Walking Dead may be one of the most popular ‘zombie apocalypse’ franchises in history, but that is far from what the series is about. Unlike other zombie stories, The Walking Dead isn’t just a shoot-em-up, action-packed saga filled with grisly violence and widespread mayhem. Sure, it incorporates those aspects, but that’s not what the series is about. Above all else, The Walking Dead is about one thing: people.

Not the zombies, but the survivors themselves are the true focus of The Walking Dead, as the series delves into what happens to human beings when they’re thrust into a literal hell on Earth. In some cases, the horrific hardships this world offers gives them the chance to prove how truly good humanity can be, even in the worst conditions imaginable. In other cases, the exact opposite is true, as many people devolved into monsters more dangerous than the Walkers themselves.

However, there’s one thing that remains the same for everyone in The Walking Dead no matter what: change. Everyone was changed by the experience, and everyone changed during the experience. And of them all, these are the 10 The Walking Dead characters who change the most from beginning to end.

10 Rick Grimes was a Deputy who Never Fired His Gun to the Savior of Humanity

First Appearance: The Walking Dead #1 / Last Appearance: The Walking Dead #192

Before the zombie apocalypse, Rick Grimes was a deputy who never fired his weapon. He lived in a quiet town where he was well respected, and led a simple, happy life. Then, everything changed when he was shot by an unnamed criminal and went into a coma. When he awoke, Rick was thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which saw him finally firing his gun to put the first zombie he encountered out of its misery, marking his metamorphosis into a post-apocalyptic survivor.

After that first zombie kill, this former small-town deputy was put through the most horrific situations imaginable, until he finally emerged on the other side as the savior of humanity. From never firing his gun, to doing whatever it took to save the world, Rick truly saw tremendous change throughout The Walking Dead.

9 Maggie Greene was a Sheltered Young Woman who Became a Semi-Corrupt Leader of Humanity

First Appearance: The Walking Dead #10 / Last Appearance: The Walking Dead #193

When The Walking Dead fans meet Maggie, she is a sheltered young woman with little control over her own life. After leaving the farm, Maggie suffers immense hardship, including watching her family getting killed by Walkers, watching her true love Glenn getting beaten to death by Negan, and raising a son all by herself - and that last point is what made Maggie change so dramatically.

By the end of the series, Maggie becomes President of the Hilltop, and her son Hershel is a spoiled brat who puts their entire community in danger by keeping live Walkers for his traveling show. Maggie uses her power and influence to allow Hershel to do whatever he wants, which is a far cry from the sheltered, complaisant girl she once was.

8 Carl Grimes was a Little Kid who Became a Battle-Weary Remnant of a Barbaric Past

First Appearance: The Walking Dead #2 / Last Appearance: The Walking Dead #193

Carl Grimes, the son of Rick Grimes, was just a little kid when the world fell into a zombie apocalypse. Rather than spending his youth growing up in a safe town with a loving family, Carl witnessed people getting eaten by the undead, he shot Shane in the throat to save his father, and he even lost an eye.

As an adult in a society that had developed well beyond the state of the post-apocalyptic world he grew up in, Carl became a battle-weary remnant of a barbaric past, which is a tragic change from the little kid with his entire future ahead of him that fans saw in issue #2. However, Carl also became a loving husband and father, allowing him the chance to give his daughter the childhood he was robbed of.

7 Andrea Harrison was an Unspectacular Survivor who Became a Sharp-Shooting Hero

First Appearance: The Walking Dead #3 / Last Appearance: The Walking Dead #167

Andrea and her sister, Amy, were two of the original survivors in The Walking Dead, and in the early days of the comic's history, they were pretty unspectacular. That is, until Amy died, which lit a ferocious fire inside of Andrea. From that tragedy, Andrea grew stronger, and eventually trained herself to become an ace sniper. Andrea is arguably the deadliest survivor in The Walking Dead, all the way up until her tragic death.

Andrea died in The Walking Dead #167, as she gets infected while saving the life of a friend and fellow survivor. This, after proving herself to be an integral member of the group, as well as Rick's lover and Carl's surrogate mother. Andrea grew immensely since her first appearance, which is solidified by her heroic death.

6 Eugene Porter was a Fraud who Became a Saving Grace for Humanity

First Appearance: The Walking Dead #53 / Last Appearance: The Walking Dead #193

When Eugene was introduced, he claimed to know of a secret operation in Washington, DC where scientists were working on a cure for the zombie virus. However, it was quickly revealed that Eugene was lying through his teeth. There was no such organization, and even if there was, he certainly wouldn't have known about it. Eugene was a fraud, lying to save his own skin.

Skip ahead a few decades to the events of The Walking Dead #193, and Eugene is working to reunite the east and the west coasts of the United States by way of a railway that he is helping to rebuild. He's literally working to bring humanity together, which is far more admirable than the fraud he originally was.

5 Michonne Hawthorne Goes From Being a Sword-Wielding Badass to a Pillar of Law & Order

First Appearance: The Walking Dead #19 / Last Appearance: The Walking Dead #193

Michonne's debut in The Walking Dead is arguably the coolest out of anyone in the whole series, as she shows up not only wielding a katana, but also with two jawless, armless zombies on chains that act as her camouflage. Thankfully, Michonne was a good person, and quickly became an integral part of Rick's group - and she grew to be far more than that for society at large.

Once humanity started to rebuild (as shown in The Walking Dead #193), Michonne became Judge Hawthorne, the highest-seated judge in all the land, acting as a pillar of law and order in society. Going from a lone warrior to a supreme judge is a dramatic change, indeed, and it's one that Michonne went through in The Walking Dead.

4 The Governor was a Decent Man Before Devolving into a Fascist Psychopath

First Chronological Appearance: The Walking Dead: The Governor Special / Last Appearance: The Walking Dead #72

While the Governor is one of the most twisted and ruthless villains in The Walking Dead, it's revealed in The Governor Special that he didn't start out that way. The Governor admits that being a leader did not come naturally to him, and that he had to become someone else entirely once people started looking to him for leadership. He was a decent, modest man before the apocalypse, but once he had a taste of power, the Governor became the villain fans know him as today.

His past is only briefly touched on in The Governor Special, but it's enough to understand the extent of his villainous metamorphosis. And once he took center-stage as a main villain in The Walking Dead, the Governor's monstrous transition into a full-fledged fascist psychopath was complete.

3 Lydia Survived Being Raised in a Horrifying Cult & Shapes a Brighter Future for Herself

First Appearance: The Walking Dead #133 / Last Appearance: The Walking Dead #193

The Walking Dead fans were introduced to Lydia when she was just a child, the daughter of Alpha who was being raised in the horrific cult called the Whisperers. The Whisperers believed in survival of the fittest to a fault, regularly abusing each other in the name of culling the weak. Thankfully, Lydia was captured by Rick's group, and quickly decided to join them of her own free will.

While her origin was a tragic one, Lydia's future was bright. In The Walking Dead #193, it's revealed that Lydia grew up to be a well-adjusted and valuable member of society, acting as a courier for the Commonwealth. It's heartwarming to see that a child raised in such cruelty could make a better life for herself, and that's exactly what Lydia did, as she found a way to change her life for the better.

2 Mercer Goes from Being a Servant of the Miltons to a True Keeper of the Peace

First Appearance: The Walking Dead #177 / Last Appearance: The Walking Dead #193

Mercer was introduced as the Former General of the Commonwealth Army, but it quickly became apparent that he was little more than a servant of the ruling family of the Commonwealth, the Miltons. Mercer followed the orders of Pamela Milton without question, even when it nearly led to an all-out civil war. However, with Rick's guidance, Mercer finally saw that blindly following someone in power was the wrong path, and that he should have been fighting for peace all along instead of simply being a servant of the Miltons.

When Mercer saw the light, he actually arrested Pamela Milton for nearly causing a civil war within the Commonwealth just to retain her power, marking a major change for his character even in the relatively short time he was in The Walking Dead.

1 Negan was The Walking Dead's Most Brutal Villain, & He Became a Repentant Exile

First Appearance: The Walking Dead #100 / Last Appearance: The Walking Dead #193

Negan's introduction in The Walking Dead is perhaps the most iconic moment in the entire franchise, as he not only immediately established himself as the most brutal villain yet, but he also killed a main character like it was nothing: Glenn. From that point on, Negan continued to show fans how vicious he was as a man with seemingly no morals. But then, when the brutality of the world turned back to civility, Negan was forced to live with the crimes of his past in exile.

The Walking Dead #193 showed Negan living all alone on the outskirts of human civilization, as he had become repentant, viewing himself as unworthy to join society after the many murderous atrocities he committed during the zombie apocalypse. Upon witnessing his debut, no one likely could have guessed that Negan would receive such an ending, making his one of the 10 biggest character changes in The Walking Dead.