Negan (Comics)

"I'm not going to turn you into a martyr. The name of the game is breaking you in front of them. I'll slide my dick down your throat and make you thank me for it... Then they'll all fall in line."

- Negan to Rick Grimes Negan has a unique personality; a purer form of sociopathic typification than the Governor, who had psychotic tendencies and often engaged in emotional outbursts. Negan is as feared and respected as a king, seen as the first and last word on the activities of his group, the Saviors. Brutal, foul-mouthed and possessed of a twisted sense of humor, Negan carries a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire he named Lucille. Yet his behavior in certain situations might not always be construed as evil: while he can, of course, be unmerciful and relentless when it comes to getting a point across, at the same time he is (at least on the surface) understanding of others and willing to spare those he sees as potentially useful. He is also shown to be quite reasonable when people attempt to negotiate with him, and has a genuine disgust for the act of rape. Interestingly, this stands in contrast to his need for a harem made up of other men's wives.

Negan has a penchant for provocation and power games. The stronger the resistance to his will, the more he seems to enjoy the test of wills. With insight rarely associated to violent antagonists, Negan appears to both observe and appreciate the concerns and intentions of his opposite numbers. This gives him a serious psychological advantage in most contest of wills, as he is able to anticipate and pre-empt an enemy's plans.

Negan and his men have hounded the Hilltop colony and other communities for months, using fear and threats of violence to receive percentages of their victim's supplies (including food and ammunition). When Rick and his people arrived at Hilltop and assumed authority positions, the free lunch was stopped. On several occasions, Negan's men would attempt to coerce Hilltop residents, only to face Rick and others, often with fatal results for the raiders.

Finally, Negan had had enough. The Saviors ambushed Rick and his small group after they agreed to set camp for the night while they were on their way to The Hilltop to enlist Jesus to help them go against Negan. After lining everyone up and explaining to them how things were going to be from now on he decided that they should be punished for previously killing his men and not following orders. Randomly choosing Glenn from the assembled captives, Negan proceeded to murder him with his baseball bat. More disturbing than the act itself is both the time it took to finish Glenn off (which may have been intentional on Negan's part) and Negan's attempts at casual humor and conversation during the killing. After several violent encounters with Rick and his new Hilltop community, Negan and his group wage war on Rick and a few other communities. Negan successfully eradicates The Kingdom community's forces and bombards the Alexandria safe-zone, only to be stopped by Rick who slashes his throat. Surviving the wound, Negan attacks Rick but is easily taken down in his wounded state and tossed in prison for life.