The zombie apocalypse inThe Walking Deadchanged humanity forever, collapsing every existing world power and killing off the majority of the species. The franchise follows the few survivors trying to build a new life and a new world, fighting against both the undead and their fellow humans whose worst impulses have run riot. It’s therefore devastating to know thatno matter whatWalking Dead’s heroes accomplish, the franchise already set up a second zombie apocalypse to destroy it all again.
This chilling fact comes courtesy of Clementine - a major protagonist within the franchise. Clementine was introduced in 2012’sThe Walking Deadvideogame, from Telltale Games. In the original game, Clementine is a young girl who is taken in by Lee Everett, and the story’s sole survivor. She’s since appeared in more games set in theWalking Deaduniverse, as well as theClementinecomic trilogy from Tillie Walden.
Walden’sClementine: Book Onefollows Clementine as she encounters various survivor communities, including an Amish community and a suspicious group set up in a former ski resort in Vermont. While living with the latter, Clementine discovers a ravine full of zombies, who have been frozen by the cold conditions. While she escapes with her life, the encounter reveals that within the world ofWalking Dead,countless undead have been frozen, waiting to emerge once again when the ice eventually thaws.
“Bleak, Sad, Possibly Terrible”: Walking Dead’s Creator Reveals His Plan for the Franchise’s Original Ending
Walking Dead’s creator has revealed his original plan for the franchise’s ending - a twist that would have totally changed the series' meaning.
The Outbreak Can Return Even Centuries Later
Zombie biology is an ongoing mysteryin the canon of the originalWalking Deadcomics (from Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard), but it’s clear that they don’t need to sleep or drink to survive, and their habit of eating the living doesn’t appear to be for nutrition. One of the only weaknesses of the undead is that they rot over time - something that is stalled by being frozen. Clem encounters dozens of Walkers frozen in the ravine, moving incredibly slowly and cut off from the world around them. She even encounters zombies frozen into the walls and, at the conclusion of the story, an avalanche buries a section of the resort under the snow.
In real life, major paleontological discoveries have been made thanks to bodies frozen in permafrost and thus perfectly preserved (for instance, the discovery of a preserved wooly mammoth in 2022). While no living being can survive this process, zombies are another story, and there’s every reason to believe thatWalking Dead’s undead could survive indefinitely in this state.
Kirkman and Moore’s originalDead Planetpitch wasn’t accepted, but could now function as a sequel toWalking Dead.
A particularly warm period or shifting weather patterns could therefore release them at any time, including in the far future, when society has grown careless about the undead (something that’s shown to behappening within Carl’s lifetimeinWalking Dead #193’s flash-forward ending.)What’s so exciting about this theory is that it could give the franchise an entire new era to play with - one that’s similar to its creators’originalzombie pitch,Dead Planet.
The Walking Dead’s Creator Wishes They Could Change Glenn’s Death: “It Could Have Been Way Better”
Glenn’s death is one of The Walking Dead’s most iconic moments, but creator Robert Kirkman wishes he’d done one thing differently.
According toCBR, Kirkman and Moore originally pitched Image Comics a zombie series titledDead Planet.The series was set to begin in the 27th Century, and see a utopian Earth under attack by a zombie outbreak.Each arc of the story would jump forward in time, showing how the futuristic Earth is brought low by zombies. Image Comics reportedly turned down the pitch, with Kirkman and Moore moving on to the more traditional zombie story ofWalking Dead.
Walking Dead’s pseudo-spin-offRick Grimes 2000shows exactly what a futuristicWalking Deadwould look like.
However, setting up a second zombie apocalypse far in the future could allowDead Planetto finally come into existence, this time as a sequel toWalking Dead. This potential is bolstered byKirkman’s recent tease that Walking Dead Deluxe(a reprinting of the original series with new colors from Dave McCaig) may not end at the original issue 193, and that"it’s possible we just keep going with Walking Dead Deluxe #194.“This would fit the original series' surprise ending, with fans being blindsided that it would conclude with #193. Not only is this kind of continuation possible, butfans have already seen exactly what it would look like…
Walking Dead’s Apocalypse Has a Shock Predator DEADLIER than Zombies
The Walking Dead’s zombie are dangerous enemies, but humans face a bigger threat in the post-apocalypse - and it’s not each other!
Rick Grimes 2000 Gave Rick a Spaceship
Kirkman already came close to this projectwithRick Grimes 2000- a tongue-in-cheek action/sci-fi spin-off whereRick awakens to discover the zombie apocalypse was just the first step of an alien invasion, with various characters returning with cyborg enhancements and futuristic weapons. The story ends with Rick flying a ship out into space, patrolling for the next alien attack - a far-future presentation that seems to call back toDead Planet. Of course, even ifWalking Dead’s second outbreak never comes, the survivors still have a lot of new problems to contend with.
With the zombie outbreak contained, the survivors still need to deal with the threat of nuclear annihilation.
Unattended Nuclear Power Plants Could Finish Off Humanity
The original comic series ends by jumping forward to Carl in adulthood, raising his family in a gigantic, zombie-free human settlement still known as the Commonwealth. Plans are underway toconnect the Commonwealth to a ‘Western Alliance’via a new railway, and the younger members of society are already taking the zombie threat lightly, with Maggie’s son earning his living with a traveling zombie show.
While Carl has grown up and Rick is remembered as a legend, the story of this world is far from over. Almost every organized group of humans Rick’s group encounter in the series has some serious flaw, from fascistic leaders to outright cannibalism, so there’s plenty of reason to be suspicious of the Western Alliance. Likewise, it’s clear this society isn’t taking adequate precautions against the fact that anyone who dies will rise again, meaning every human settlement will always be vulnerable to attack from within.
Finally, there’s the major question of hazards like crumbling infrastructure, water pollutionand even nuclear power plants. With the majority of humans dead after the zombie outbreak, the human world had years to collapse, creating major hazards that humanity is only just ready to confront. There’s a lot of story left to tell ifWalking Dead Deluxedoes continue, or if Kirkman chooses to tell a new spin-off following different characters.
Walking Dead’s Creator Ranks the Story’s Strongest Character, and It Isn’t Daryl
According to Robert Kirkman, the Walking Dead franchise character he admires most is not Daryl, but instead it is a pivotal comic character.
Walking Deadwas never a story abouthumanity beating the zombie apocalypseand returning to normal. The comics are clear that humanity must becomebetterthan before, or survival will be pointless. There’s therefore a lot of meat on the bone for a newWalking Deadstory about this new version of human society contending with its own zombie outbreak, withClementine’s frozen zombies explaining exactly how this could take place.
