Several of Carl Grimes’ storylines from Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead graphic novel series had to be recycled in AMC’s long-running TV series after the character’s shocking death. Actor Chandler Riggs portrayed the son of Rick Grimes until The Walking Dead season 8 mid-season premiere, “Honor,” which controversially saw Carl succumb to a walker bite despite his comic counterpart surviving until the very end of the series. Many felt that Carl’s story wasn’t complete, as many comic storylines had yet to occur: a problem the show attempted to solve by gifting his comic stories to other characters in The Walking Dead.
The Walking Dead made many very significant changes to Kirkman’s original story, such as Sophia’s death, the survival of her mother, Carol, and the departure of Rick Grimes. Since so many changes were made, several The Walking Dead characters found themselves on different journeys than their comic counterparts. While the move from page to screen created the opportunity to bring in beloved original characters such as Daryl Dixon and Sasha Williams, it also meant that TWD comic staples were on the chopping block, which led to Carl’s divisive The Walking Dead season 8 death. Here’s a list of every Carl Grimes story from the graphic novels that was reused for another character in The Walking Dead.
Lizzie Looks At The Flowers
The Walking Dead season 4 saw the introduction of sisters Lizzie and Mika Samuels, who fell under the care of Carol and Tyreese after the Governor destroyed the prison. In “The Grove,” Lizzie became one of The Walking Dead’s creepiest characters thanks to her belief that walkers were her friends and didn’t mean them any harm. This culminated in Lizzie killing her sister, Mika, and planning to kill Judith in an effort to prove her theory, which leaves Carol with no choice but to kill the child and move on to Terminus with Tyreese and Judith, bringing the famous and emotional “look at the flowers” moment to life.
In the comics, a similar scenario played out, except the siblings are twins Ben and Billy, the adoptive sons of Dale and Andrea. After escaping the prison, Ben begins to show signs of developing into a psychopath, teasing other children, playing with the carcasses of dead animals, and eventually killing his own brother under the belief that everyone will come back no matter how they die. While the group debate over what to do with Ben, Carl takes it upon himself to sneak up to him in the middle of the night and kill him in much the same way that Carol did to Lizzie in The Walking Dead.
Rosita Shoots Lucille
While Rick and Aaron are on a hunt for resources in The Walking Dead season 7, episode 8, “Hearts Still Beating,” Negan makes himself comfortable in Alexandria, trying to bond with Carl and killing Spencer, who has betrayed Rick’s way of doing things. Since she had recently started to grow a relationship with Spencer, and was angry at the Saviors’ control over their community, Rosita makes an attempt on Negan’s life with a homemade bullet courtesy of Eugene. The bullet misses Negan, instead planting itself in his baseball bat, Lucille, which angers the villain enough to take Olivia’s life, but this scene played out very differently in the comics.
During The Walking Dead Vol. 19, “March to War,” Negan takes a tour of Alexandria while Rick and the other leaders are plotting their attack on the Saviors. This volume includes Negan gutting Spencer just as he did in TWD, but this event leads to a heated uprising in Alexandria that culminates in a lineup situation similar to the one which saw Glenn lose his life in The Walking Dead TV show. While Rick and Negan battle, Carl fires a shot in Negan’s direction, missing the villain, but tearing a chunk off of Lucille, which leads Negan to threaten the lives of Heath, Holly, and Nicholas before Ezekiel and Shiva arrive and disperse the crowd.
Henry Becomes A Blacksmith
After Andrew Lincoln departed the main series of The Walking Dead in season 9, episode 5, “What Comes After,” a six-year time jump reintroduced The Walking Dead‘s survivors in the years after their leader’s apparent death. This revealed that Carol had married King Ezekiel, and the pair had adopted Henry as their son, leading to the flying-the-nest storyline as Henry leaves the Kingdom to apprentice as a blacksmith under Earl Sutton in the Hilltop Colony. This plays out as something like the real-world going away to college routine that many undertake, but it was Carl who filled this role in the comics.
After the war against Negan and the Saviors, The Walking Dead comic storyline jumps two-years into the future, and it’s revealed that Carl wants to move to the Hilltop Colony and become a blacksmiths apprentice under Earl Sutton. This is proof that the kid is growing up and wanting to take more responsibility in the communities other than just killing when necessary or living from one fight to the next. Rick and his son, Carl, eventually travel to the Hilltop, where the latter is left to find his own way in life as a growing young man, just as Carol leaves Henry in the TV series.
Judith Speaks To Negan In Prison
Much to Maggie’s dismay, Rick and Michonne decide to spare Negan’s life after The Walking Dead‘s war, imprisoning him in a cell in Alexandria where he stays until long after the six-year time jump. During this time, Judith begins to speak to the former villain and starts to create a bond with him, one which would last until the very end of the series. Judith was always shown to be a compassionate person as, while other people would still speak to Negan with disgust, she would always be friendly and supportive, even leading to her allowing Negan to leave Alexandria with her compass.
In The Walking Dead comics, it’s Carl who is featured speaking to Negan after the two-year time jump, before his move to the Hilltop Colony. Carl and Negan speak about girls and share personal information before Carl leaves, and Negan asks him if he still wants him dead. In response, Carl simply answers, “Yes, Negan. You know I do,” which is very different to Judith’s relationship with the reformed enemy. Even though Judith does threaten to kill Negan on more than one occasion, she is shown to have a real care for him, unlike her brother.
Negan Fights The Kids To Save Lydia
After Negan is allowed out of his cell on work duty in The Walking Dead season 10, and Lydia finds herself integrating with the community of Alexandria after being abandoned by her mother, the pair form an unusual connection as both of them are outcasts and looked on as enemies. In The Walking Dead season 10, episode 4, “Silence the Whisperers,” Lydia is attacked by Gage, Alfred, and Margo, but Negan runs to protect her. Inadvertently, this leads to Margo’s unfortunate death and Negan being placed back in his cell, but this shares a striking resemblance to one moment in Kirkman’s comic series.
In The Walking Dead Vol. 23, “Whispers Into Screams,” Carl is visited at Hilltop by his childhood girlfriend, Sophia, and the pair share dinner together while reminiscing over old times. This is before they are suddenly attacked by Brandon Rose and his friend after Sophia defended her friend that they were bullying earlier on. Sophia is hurt in this confrontation, but Carl apprehends both boys with a shovel before beating them both close to death. This mirrors Negan’s actions in The Walking Dead season 10, though Carl doesn’t kill either of their attackers.
Henry Forms A Relationship With Lydia
Before his unfortunate death in The Walking Dead season 9’s penultimate episode, Carol and Ezekiel’s son, Henry, finds himself forming a very close relationship with the escaped Whisperer, Lydia. This even sees Henry escape the Hilltop to try and recover Lydia after her mother, Alpha, takes her back. Unfortunately, this relationship never really had the chance to develop, as Henry was killed very early on, and Lydia was all but forgotten about after the Whisperer storyline had come to an end. Even so, Lydia did continue to have a friendship with Carol, leading into The Walking Dead’s final season.
Despite Carl ending his The Walking Dead comic journey by marrying Sophia, perhaps his most formative relationship in the comics is that with Lydia, who he meets when locked in a cell in Hilltop just like the TV series’ Henry. Carl briefly joins the Whisperers when Lydia is taken by her mother, but the pair soon return to their family and enter into a romantic relationship together that lasts for years. Carl’s relationship with Lydia is perhaps one of the most important storylines in The Walking Dead comic series, so it was a true shame that this didn’t get the chance to play out on screen with Chandler Riggs’ portrayal of the character.
