The Walking Dead Is Done, But the Series Still Needs to Answer One Burning Question

The Walking Dead has always been praised for its fantastic character writing and complex themes. The comic ran for over one hundred issues and nearly wrapped up every single loose end in the story, but there's still one burning question that fans demand to know the answer to.

Very little is shown about the world of The Walking Dead before the zombie apocalypse, as the main character that readers see the story through, Rick Grimes, was in a coma during the end of the world. He only awakens months after the apocalypse has already happened, and the zombies have taken over.

This was a great narrative device to get readers right into a world already ravaged by zombies without having to make them sit through the initial fall. But there's one lingering detail about The Walking Dead #1 by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore that has never been resolved, and that's the question of who shot Rick Grimes.

Who Was the Man Who Shot Rick Grimes?

The Walking Dead Deluxe #1 by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Dave McCaig, and Rus Wooton

Rick ends up in the hospital after he and his partner, Shane, come across an escaped convict brandishing a shotgun, insisting he won't go back to prison. This encounter leads to a full-on shoot-out between the two police officers and the individual known as Reggie. It's unclear exactly how Reggie escaped prison, or why he was so terrified of going back that he was willing to try and murder two police officers. Reggie also seems pretty skilled with a gun, as he manages to shoot Shane's gun out of his hand and nail Rick right in the chest.

What happened after with Reggie is unclear, but it seems that he managed to escape, as Shane likely rushed to Rick's aid instead of going after Reggie. Somehow, Reggie eventually ended up in Atlanta, where he was killed and zombified. Readers later see the zombie Reggie in The Walking Dead #5, but how he ended up in Atlanta, how he died, and everything about his past remains shrouded in mystery. How he even encountered Rick and Shane is unclear, as Shane comments that Reggie isn't from their general area.

The Walking Dead Has Never Shied Away from Exploring Backstories

So Why Not Reggie's?

The Walking Dead has so many fantastic villains, and the comics have never shied away from putting those villains in the spotlight. When Negan hit the scene, he immediately became a fan-favorite villain. He is, without a doubt, the most famous villain in the franchise. Naturally, with such a popular character, people were dying to know how Negan ended up leading one of the largest groups of survivors in the franchise. This question was fully explored by Kirkman in Here's Negan, a collection of sixteen chapters detailing the character's backstory.

This story included every bit of knowledge that a fan might want. It showed Negan's home life, revealed his prior job, and showed where he got his leather jacket as well as his iconic baseball bat, Lucille. It also showed how he survived in this new apocalyptic world and how he eventually grew into the person he was. It took Negan losing a lot of groups and friends before he finally got the idea of creating the Saviors, and readers got to see every step that led to him becoming such an iconic villain.

Another major villain that Kirkman had no issue exploring was the Governor, also known as Philip Blake. The Governor's group was one of the first major hostile factions that Rick and his allies encountered in the series, and Philip was a major threat. Exactly how he rose to control over Woodbury and how he got his title was explained in The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor by Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga. This story detailed everything that Brian, who would later change his name to Philip, experienced. Readers know exactly why he became the monster that he is.

Despite Years of The Walking Dead Stories, Almost Nothing Is Known About Reggie

How Did He Die? Who Even Was He?

With the backstory of Philip and Negan in mind, it's honestly surprising that Kirkman has never seen fit to explore who Reggie was before the events of the first Walking Dead arc. It's not like Kirkman hasn't stepped aside to devote little stories to minor characters. While Reggie is pretty minor, he's also the character who kicks off the entire story for Rick. If it wasn't for Reggie, Rick would have been involved in the apocalypse; he would have gotten his family to safety; and Shane never would have slept with Lori. Just about everything would have changed. That is by no means a small role in the plot.

Despite the fact that everything in the story only played out as it did because of Reggie's actions, fans still have no clue who he was. How did he escape prison? How did he get from his prison to the city Rick and Shane were in, since Shane points out that he isn't a local? How did Reggie get from there to Atlanta? These aren't small questions. Taken together, they could easily fill an issue or two of a comic to give much-needed context about who this guy was. It's also so perfectly Walking Dead to give a backstory to a character who is destined to die.

The Walking Dead Should Explore This Important Character

Just a Short Story Would Be Enough

The amazing thing about The Walking Dead franchise was that just about every character felt alive. They had real reasons for doing what they did, and it was understandable when they responded - and how - to the events around them. Readers got to see Brian Blake's backstory; they know why he became Philip and took on the name of the Governor. Same with Negan: they know his backstory, how he got his iconic baseball bat, and everything else that led to his role in Rick's version of the story. There was even a spin-off comic detailing Rick Grimes' brother, Jeffrey, who pretty much no one has heard about.

The Walking Dead has always thrived due to the complex writing of its human characters, and it's never seemed to care if a character was big or small. Over the years, the story managed to wrap up just about every loose end there was. Every character got an ending and fans had a pretty good idea how the future was going to play out. But there's still Reggie: the one character who sets everything in motion, who now just seems like a massive missed opportunity. Hopefully, someday, Reggie's point of view will be explored in The Walking Dead.