The Walking Dead Confirms What Its Aliens Look Like... Even Though They'll Never Be Full Canon

The Walking Dead is well-known for its harrowing zombie-focused storytelling that constantly puts its characters through the wringer, with an alien invasion being a farfetched idea that series creator Robert Kirkman has only jokingly mentioned being a plausible possibility. But in a new piece of non-canon bonus content, extraterrestrials have invaded the post-apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead, showing fans exactly what aliens would have looked like had they become an official part of Rick Grimes’ constant struggle to survive.

Beginning its almost 200-issue run back in 2003, The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard, focused on the rise of the undead and how a ragtag group of survivors, led by the unflappable Rick Grimes, made life worth living in a world gone to hell.

Though series creator Robert Kirkman has joked before about adding aliens to the long list of problems Rick and crew have to deal with daily, a new “Small Bites” story featured in The Walking Dead Deluxe #110 has finally revealed what these extraterrestrial invaders would look like had they become canon!

The Walking Dead Shows What Aliens Would Look like in Its Zombie-Infested Universe

The Walking Dead Deluxe #110 - 2025 (Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Dave McCaig)

Written and drawn by Derek Hunter, this two-page “Small Bites” short takes inspiration from and acts as a new tale set in the parallel reality introduced in the non-canon bonus ending seen at the back of 2010’s The Walking Dead #75, wherein aliens have invaded Earth. Running with this idea to full comedic effect and featuring Ezekiel, this “Small Bites” story re-introduces Walking Dead’s aliens, with their designs making them look like a bug/crab/humanoid thing capable of transforming into a hulking brute that allows them to brutally pop human heads and take over the world with ease.

Piggybacking on the original full-color tale featured in The Walking Dead #75, this story follows Rick after he's randomly abducted by extraterrestrials revealed to be the cause of the zombie outbreak. Though The Walking Dead #75 notably didn’t show any aliens on-panel, eleven years later, in 2021, they were given their proper debut in a new out-of-continuity sequel series titled Rick Grimes 2000. Developing five sci-fi-tinged shorts, Kirkman and his Invincible artist Ryan Ottley showed Rick as he fought against the invading alien forces, ultimately seeing him prevail with the help of advanced alien tech and his Walking Dead pals.

The Walking Dead’s Characters Might Stand a Chance Against an Alien Invasion

They Can Just Barely Get by in the Zombie Apocalypse, However

Using these previous sci-fi tales as inspiration, this “Small Bites” short uses the same alien designs previously seen in Rick Grimes 2000, confirming that while the mainline Walking Dead universe doesn’t have aliens, this is exactly what they'd look like should a flying saucer drop out of the sky over Alexandria tomorrow. Although aliens and zombies will never coexist in Walking Dead continuity, it’s fun to wonder what would happen if it were beset by hostile alien hordes rather than zombified ones. As seen in this “Small Bites” story, Rick can hold his own by utilizing the alien’s advanced tech.

It’s been proven before Rick and his fellow survivors can hold their own against zombies and humans alike, with an alien invasion being a difficult but not completely unsurmountable situation to overcome. Of course, it took a while for everyone to figure out how to properly handle the undead threat, so as long as Rick and the rest of Walking Dead’s characters similarly use the alien’s own tech against them à la Rick Grimes 2000, it’s possible that an in-continuity war between humans and aliens would still end in a hard-fought win for humanity, especially with Rick leading the charge.

The Walking Dead’s Comic Has Dealt With “Aliens” Before, but Not in the Sci-Fi Sense

The Walking Dead: The Alien Deals With Rick Grimes’ Brother

While these alien-themed bonus stories aren’t canon, there was a Walking Dead comic that put the alien idea into a different context with a comic featuring Rick’s brother, Jeffrey. Titled The Walking Dead: The Alien, by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin, this one-shot saw Jeffrey in Paris when the zombie apocalypse hit, where he was stranded as the titular “alien” in the country while trying to make it home alive. Unfortunately, aliens will never be a real thing in Walking Dead’s comic continuity, but for fans looking for more sci-fi with their horror, The Walking Dead still (unofficially) provides.