‘The Walking Dead’ Season 4 Comic-to-TV Comparison: “Dead Weight”

AMC: After some initial hesitation, Martinez reluctantly helps the Governor out of the biter pit, allowing him to join the group under his assumed name of “Brian.” Martinez still makes mention of their past together in passing, though not with any real degree of incrimination, even offering to “share the crown” later.

THE COMICS: Though initially in collusion with the Governor, the Martinez of comic Woodbury helped Rick, Michonne and Glenn escape from their initial captivity in Woodbury, denouncing the Governor on the way to the prison. Martinez soon fled the facility with the intent to bring back the Woodbury townspeople, though not the Governor, whom he’d long since given up trusting to be redeemed.

AMC: Though unused for the time being, lingering ominously throughout the hour is a tank stationed among Martinez’s camp that belongs to Mitch, who operated the vehicle before abandoning his military post alongside his brother Pete.

THE COMICS: The tank originated from a National Guard Station near Woodbury, one which had frequently been pilfered by the town for armaments and supplies. The tank itself became the centerpiece of the Governor’s ultimate assault on the prison, though as was correctly deduced by Rick’s group, the Governor’s men largely used the vehicle for show, and had no idea how to fire it. The Governor at one point specified that it took Jared five months to learn to drive the vehicle, which eventually destroyed the prison fences in a last-ditch effort to win the battle.

AMC: The mere mention of Martinez’s leadership insecurity sends the Governor into a homicidal rampage, hitting his former lieutenant upside the head with a golf club, rolling him off the RV and tossing his body in a pit of ravenous walkers to finish the job. Later, the Governor covers his tracks by claiming Martinez to have drunkenly fallen in the pit.

THE COMICS: Rick was the one to finish off Martinez, catching up with him after he’d fled the prison, running him over with Dale’s RV, and strangling Martinez as he explained his plan to bring in the Woodbury survivors. Woodbury soldiers later found the body, the head of which was used by the Governor to shock the townspeople into rallying against Rick’s group.

AMC: In justifying his leadership takeover to Mitch, the Governor makes mention of a brother who once came to his defense over cigarettes stolen from their father, though the pair were both beaten for the slight regardless.

THE COMICS: As with the AMC Governor’s assumed name of “Brian Heriot,” details of this origin are borrowed from Robert Kirkman’s “Rise of the Governor” novels, wherein we learned that the psychotic Philip had died, leading the elder, but more frail brother Brian to assume his name, eventually becoming the villain depicted in the comics. In several instances, Brian was also seen to rely on his brother Philip for protection.

AMC: Following a near-attack on Megan from a lone walker inside the camp, the Governor storms off and once again arrives at the prison, cautiously eying Rick and Carl from a distance, before stumbling upon Michonne and Hershel in the woods nearby, and training his gun on them.

THE COMICS: While the comic Governor only made one major offensive against the prison, worth noting is that Michonne and Tyreese ventured into the wilderness for an assassination attempt, a mission that ended with Tyreese (and briefly Michonne) taken hostage. Not to mention, there was a “Lilly” present at the assault who accidentally killed both Lori and Judith in their escape, eventually training her gun on the Governor himself, and kicking his remains into a crowd of walkers. Coincidence? Hmm…