‘The Walking Dead’ Season 3 Comic-to-TV Comparison: “Killer Within”

AMC: Much as we saw a mysterious figure observing Carol’s makeshift autopsy from outside the prison fences, the opening of “Killer Within” highlights the same figure dragging a disemboweled deer into the prison as a distraction for the walkers, before deliberately destroying a lock that kept the walkers contained. Who might our mysterious visitor be?

THE COMICS: The mysterious figure’s identity (which we explain below) combines a few elements of the comics. Prior to their ultimate battle, several Woodbury soldiers were seen to observe the prison from a distance, while it was the inmate Thomas who committed several atrocities within the prison before being discovered. Also worth noting was that the Woodbury soldiers misunderstood why Rick’s group would bring a walker inside the fence, much as AMC’s observer would have been confused to see Carol cutting into one.

AMC: In the process of moving their vehicles away from the front gates, the group calls for Glenn and Maggie’s assistance, only to disturb them mid-hanky panky up in the guard tower. As if you’d be doing any different.

THE COMICS: Comic Glenn and Maggie were regularly observed to sneak off to various locations of the prison as well, including the barber’s room, and the armory full of riot gear. Sadly, most of the barber’s chairs, and the couch in the Warden’s office were ruined forever by their…”fun.”

AMC: Against Rick’s orders, Axel and Oscar appear on the wrong side of the prison to petition Rick to join their group, insisting that they neither wish to live in their spooky cell block nor that they had anything to do with Tomas and Andrew’s plot. You follow him?

THE COMICS: While the comic prisoners were never quite so segregated as AMC’s version, the comic Axel did take it on himself to apologize to the other survivors on behalf of his fellow inmates, and try to ingratiate himself with the group. Though he would eventually find acceptance, at first his pleas fell on death ears. And how about that catchphrase, you follow us?

Also worth pointing out is that AMC’s Rick was quick to assume that Axel and Oscar were responsible for letting loose the walkers, much as people initially assumed Dexter was the one to kill Hershel’s twin daughters. The thread in AMC’s version was not explored, given that the prison alarm activation exonerated the convicts on the spot.

AMC: While we’ve written at great length about AMC and David Morrissey’s Governor having a much more subtle villainy, it’s of interest to see his version attempting to win over Michonne, both by allying her concerns about the recovered National Guard trucks, and even attempting to recruit her into the Woodbury forces. We’re guessing they don’t stay cordial for very long.

THE COMICS: Yeah. Not so much with the friendly. Ever. And if the picture isn’t evidence enough of that, just wait till you see how she gets even.

AMC: As earlier theorized, Lori managed to find some crutches in the prison infirmary, which allow an eager Hershel at least some measure of mobility after recovering from the loss of his leg. Hershel naturally pushes it far more quickly than the others would like, but really proves his skill when he uses the crutches to fend off walkers! Sweet ponytail, too.

THE COMICS: As we’ve mentioned, the Hershel of the books never lost a leg, but rather the honor belonged to Dale, for whom Andrea would similarly find crutches. Eventually, she went as far as to construct a peg leg for Dale, so let’s hope AMC’s Hershel gets the same!

AMC: Thanks to our mysterious saboteur’s earlier efforts, walkers spill into the prison courtyard catching the group off guard, who scramble to take out the horde of undead while Rick races to the scene from outside the gates.

THE COMICS: The closest scene in the books occurred moments after Dexter and Andrew’s insurrection, wherein Rick realized that Andrew’s opening of A-block to retrieve their weapons inadvertently set loose all the walkers within. In both cases, Andrew was responsible (spoiler!), though only in AMC’s version was the outbreak intentional.

AMC: In the process of trying to contain the walker outbreak, T-Dog takes a bite to the shoulder, and knowing his ultimate fate, later hurls himself onto several walkers to buy Carol time to escape. Pour one out for T-Dog, y’all.

THE COMICS: T-Dog has no comic-counterpart, and even if we consider the closest approximation to be Tyreese, neither character’s death really share any resemblance. We just wanted to give T-Dog his due, since ‘The Walking Dead’ apparently didn’t. Womp-wom.

AMC: Seriously, between Shane, the Governor, and even a bit of light flirting with Merle, is there any ‘Walking Dead’ villain AMC’s Andrea hasn’t had an attraction to at some point? Good grief.

THE COMICS: Fans of the comic well know that the honor of Andrea’s longest romantic attachment goes to Dale, who didn’t have a malevolent bone in his body. That isn’t something AMC’s Andrea can really say, if you catch our drift.

AMC: In the chaos of the walker outbreak, Lori finds herself cornered in a prison maintenance room along with Carl and Maggie, where from either stress or natural causes Lori goes into labor. Unable to deliver naturally, Lori has Maggie deliver the baby via C-section.

THE COMICS: Thankfully, comic Lori’s labor didn’t arrive at an inconvenient moment, and the full attention of her husband , Hershel and Woodbury’s former nurse Alice allowed her to safely deliver the baby, with no complications or C-sections required.

AMC: In the process of petitioning the Governor to let him begin the search for his brother, Merle name-drops a fellow soldier named “Martinez,” whom a bit of research revealed to be our backwards-hat-wearing, baseball-bat wielding friend from last week!

THE COMICS: In the books, Martinez was one of the first Woodbury soldiers to greet the trio of Rick, Michonne and Glenn, and would later help them escape in exchange for a place in their group. But, would his defection prove as sincere as it seemed? Stay tuned!

AMC: Sharing drinks with Andrea, the Governor reveals that his wife died in a car accident some 18 months prior to the outbreak of the walking dead, but doesn’t mention the fate of his daughter. As Andrea leaves, the Governor even reveals to her his true name, Philip!

THE COMICS: In keeping with the idea that the Governor of the books has been much more fully formed as a villain than AMC’s version, the Governor’s name and family history were something of public knowledge, as Dr. Stevens willingly explained to Rick the history of Woodbury and its leader. Will The Governor’s “poor daughter” share the same fate on the AMC version?

AMC: The blaring prison alarm system first alerts the group to the working backup generator within the prison walls, and Oscar leads the group there in hopes of shutting it down and getting the zombie outbreak under control. Whether or not they return to utilze the electricity remains to be seen.

THE COMICS: Tyreese and Dale were the first to discover the prison’s generator system, during a routine investigation of the facilities. The group would occasionally utilize its power for movies and other recreational activities, but most crucially during Lori’s delivery.

AMC: Insider the generator room, the prison saboteur is revealed to be none other than Andrew, who somehow survived his fate at the hands of the walkers in the prison courtyard and attempts to kill Rick in hopes of taking back the prison. His plan is put to an end however as Oscar retrieves Rick’s gun, and kills Andrew as a sign of loyalty rather than continue the insurrection.

THE COMICS: We imagine Robert Kirkman had a bit of fun with Andrew’s AMC return, considering the comic book rendition had long been a point of contention. As we noted two weeks ago, comic Andrew wildly fled the prison in the wake of Dexter’s death, and was never seen or heard from again. Fans often theorized that Andrew could have survived, but Robert Kirkman himself expressly confirmed the character to have died off-page.

AMC: In a shocking turn of events, Lori sacrifices her life in order to deliver her baby by having Maggie cut in through the C-section scar without any available anesthesia. The shock and blood loss kills Lori rather quickly, though the baby survives, and Carl elects to take the grim task of ensuring his mother doesn’t return to life. Pour another out, y’all.

THE COMICS: AMC’s rendition of Lori’s death is sure to divide fans, as in the comics Lori survived her delivery of baby Judith, but was struck down during the Governor’s assault on the prison. During the escape, Lori was hit with a blast from behind and fell to the ground crushing the baby, one of the darkest, and most defining moments of the series.