As one would expect from a series revolving around a literal zombie apocalypse, The Walking Dead is chock-full of hyper-violence, intense gore, and shocking death. And contrary to what many people might believe, the zombies themselves aren’t even responsible for the vast majority of the bloodshed in the series, as that honor goes to the living, breathing humans that inhabit this dark and gritty world.

Right from the start, The Walking Dead put a heightened focus on more realistic survival scenarios during a zombie apocalypse. Too often do fans get a zombie movie/show/book that features characters doing things the audience would never do, just for the sake of driving the plot forward. The Walking Dead aimed to not make that mistake, which not only gave the series a level of quality other ‘zombie’ series lacked, it also allowed the flow of the story to evolve naturally, creating an engaging narrative fans have enjoyed since the comic’s release.

While The Walking Dead does focus on the lives of the human survivors as they traverse this post-apocalyptic wasteland, it’s not all ‘drama’, as there are still elements of action, adventure, and horror that are prominently featured throughout the series. And, of course, with everything else comes incredibly gruesome deaths of all sorts. Here are the 10 most shocking deaths in The Walking Dead history!

10

Carl Killing Shane was The Walking Dead’s First Big Shock

The Walking Dead #6 by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore

After just six issues of watching the survivors of the zombie apocalypse traverse the world of The Walking Dead, the series delivers its first majorly shocking moment: Carl killing Shane. At the time, Carl was just a kid who hadn’t yet been exposed to the truly horrific violence of this world. He’d seen Walkers, but he’d yet to face the depravity human beings are capable of. At least, until Carl nearly witnessed Shane kill his father, Rick, which left Carl with no choice but to shoot Shane first, and save his dad’s life.

The image of a child shooting and killing someone is truly disturbing in its own right, but add to that the fact that Shane was something of a father figure to Carl when Rick was believed to be dead, and the whole scene becomes so much worse. Plus, this is one of the first times Carl sees a human, not a Walker, get killed in front of him, and he’s the one who pulled the trigger.

9

Susie & Rachel Greene’s Murders Revealed a Shocking Truth About a Seemingly Harmless Character

The Walking Dead #15 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard

When The Walking Dead survivors take refuge in a prison, where they meet a few inmates already living there – including a man who was allegedly imprisoned for tax fraud named Thomas – they quickly learn this fortress isn’t as secure as they’d hoped. They weren’t really in danger from the Walkers, the prison kept them out pretty well, but rather the humans within the walls. That became clear when Susie and Rachel Greene were found decapitated, and when it was revealed that Thomas was the one who murdered them.

Thomas lied about why he was put in prison before the zombie apocalypse, saying it was for tax fraud when he was, in fact, a convicted murderer. He was believed to be harmless, which is what made the grisly murders of Rachel and Susie that much more shocking.

8

Tyreese’s Beheading was as Gruesome as It was Shocking

The Walking Dead #46 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard

After making the prison their own peaceful community, The Walking Dead survivors are attacked by the Governor and his crew. The Governor comes to the prison after his men seemingly killed Michonne, and stole her iconic katana, and they have Tyreese held captive. The Governor tries to coerce the survivors within the prison to open the gates for him, or else he’d kill Tyreese right then and there. When they didn’t comply, the Governor chopped Tyreese’s head off with the katana in what would amount to some of the hardest-to-read panels in The Walking Dead’s history.

Tyreese was a main character in The Walking Dead, and his relationship with Rick and their team-effort to make the prison their community was one of the standout aspects of the series at that point. So, to see him killed like this, and in such a brutal way, was truly upsetting, and utterly shocking.

7

Lori and Judith’s Deaths Marked a Heart-Wrenching End to the Prison Arc

The Walking Dead #48 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard

The Walking Dead‘s Prison Arc was a chance for a new beginning for the survivors, but any hope they had of sustaining a lasting community behind the safety of the walls was shattered when the Governor and his soldiers waged war on them. The Governor’s assault began with the death of Tyreese, but once he breached the prison gates, it was a bloodbath, and two of the most shocking and utterly heart-wrenching deaths were those of Lori and Judith.

Not only did the deaths of Rick’s wife and infant daughter cut to the core of him and his son, Carl, but it was also a complete shock to the reader. The issue prior offered readers a fake-out moment that saw Lori and Judith held at gunpoint, only for it to be revealed that they were safe. And then, they are gunned down trying to escape the Governor in a moment that will surely stick with The Walking Dead fans well after they read it.

6

Ben Murdering His Twin Brother Billy Showcases the Horror of The Walking Dead’s World

The Walking Dead #61 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard

It’s oftentimes overlooked by fans of The Walking Dead how horrific the world in which these people live truly is, especially for children. However, that’s showcased brilliantly (and tragically) when Ben murders his twin brother, Billy, and has absolutely no idea that he did anything wrong. Ben and Billy were practically raised in the zombie apocalypse, surrounded by people killing each other constantly, not to mention the literally walking corpses all around them. That resulted in the absolute corruption of their moral compasses, which was exhibited by Ben, resulting in the death of Billy.

The inherent morality of these kids is permanently altered by the viciousness of their world, and Ben and Billy are the poster-children for this tragic phenomenon. Not only is this moment shocking, it’s also eye-opening, as it really shines a light on how horrifying this reality really is, all the way down to the corruption of otherwise innocent children.

5

Abraham’s Death Scene is a Truly Disturbing Sequence

The Walking Dead #98 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard

After Rick and his crew have a run-in with Negan’s Saviors (before Negan made his official debut), their conflict results in a number of the Saviors getting killed. That leads to an immediate retaliation from the Saviors, who track Rick and his crew back to their base, and launch a surprise attack on the two people standing guard outside it: Eugene and Abraham. As the two are having a relatively trivial yet heartfelt conversation, Abraham gets shot with a crossbow bolt – in through the back of his head, out through his eye socket.

Abraham’s injury and the unexpected nature of it alone would be enough to make it a standout death in The Walking Dead, but the scene is made truly disturbing by the fact that Abraham doesn’t know he’s been shot for many moments after it happens. Abraham just keeps talking to Eugene like nothing happened, before suddenly falling to the ground, dead.

4

Negan Killing Glenn is The Walking Dead’s Most Iconic Moment of Brutality

The Walking Dead #100 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard

The Walking Dead marked its 100th issue by not only introducing the leader of the Saviors (who had existed as merely a name for many issues prior), but doing so in a truly brutal fashion. Negan’s official debut cemented him as the ultimate villain of the franchise, and that was done with the truly shocking death of a fan-favorite character: Glenn. Negan bashed Glenn’s head in with his ‘vampire bat’, Lucille, and the comic didn’t shy away from the gruesome brutality of that moment in the slightest.

The ‘shock’ factor of this death hit fans two-fold: the shocking nature of the ultra-violence, and the shocking choice of who would be on the receiving end of it. No one expected Glenn, of all people, to die like this, and now they can’t unsee it, as it’s one of the most iconic moments of brutality in The Walking Dead series.

3

No One Saw Alpha’s Death Coming in The Walking Dead… Not Even Her

The Walking Dead #156 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard

In the issues leading up to this one, Negan had seemingly joined the Whisperers after being held captive by them for a time. He accepted their practices, got along with the other members, and even earned the trust of their Alpha (even if Beta wasn’t convinced). Not only that, but many fans were convinced that Negan and Alpha had a potential ‘love connection’, as Negan seemed to understand Alpha like no one else did. However, right as she fully opened up to him, Negan sliced Alpha’s throat open before decapitating her entirely.

There are few villains in The Walking Dead who are more of a threat than Negan, and this issue proves that, if Negan finds one, he cuts their head off. From the initial misdirect to the brutality of the murder itself, this was truly a shocking death in The Walking Dead.

2

Gabriel’s Death Marked the Beginning of The Whisperer War

The Walking Dead #158 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard

After Negan cut Alpha’s head off, he ventured to the community where Rick and the others were living: Alexandria. He brought Alpha’s head back with him to show the others that he was on their side, but unfortunately, Negan also brought the Whisperers right to Alexandria’s doorstep. Gabriel was the one who was assigned to stand post on a water tower outside Alexandria, and when he saw an army of Walkers coming toward the community, he stumbled and fell off the tower, only for his foot to get caught in the ladder, leaving him hanging there for the Walkers to consume.

However, before the Walkers got him, Beta stabbed Gabriel in the stomach, spilling his guts on the ground. Grabriel is then ripped apart by Beta’s army of Walkers, with his death marking the official start of the Whisperer War in a truly shocking and utterly gruesome fashion.

1

Rick’s Death was the Ultimate Shocking Moment in The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead #191-192 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard

From the very start of the series, Rick Grimes was the main character of The Walking Dead. He was the one who inspired people to come together in the face of absolute hopelessness, and he eventually helped usher in a new age of peace for humankind. However, when that peace came at the cost of Pamela Milton’s unchecked power as leader of the Commonwealth, it was her son, Sebastian, who took matters into his own hands.

Sebastian shot Rick in his bed after he turned the Commonwealth on his family once Pamela started showing signs of becoming a dictator. This moment was the most shocking in The Walking Dead up until that point, especially given that fans didn’t know the series was going to end with issue #193. But even in retrospect, seeing Rick Grimes get gunned down in such an unceremonious fashion is still one of the most shocking moments not just in The Walking Dead, but in all comic book fiction.