The Walking Dead: Comparing [Spoiler]'s Death to the Comics

Major Spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 7 premiere follow. You've been warned!

The Walking Dead Season 7 launched with a smashing premiere that finally answered the question: Who did Negan kill? As Jeffrey Dean Morgan joined the cast in the season 6 finale, he swung his barbed wire bat named Lucille at an unknown member of the cast's head.

Now, we know that was Abraham (as played by Michael Cudlitz) - a bit of a surprise to fans of the comics, where there's only one victim of Negan's opening assault. But Abraham's death also came earlier in the printed version of The Walking Dead, and strategically, he made a lot of sense as Negan's victim - or sorry... Negan's first victim.

That's because, after Daryl (Norman Reedus - read about his experience with the episode here) tried to stand up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves, Lucille found another head. This time, it was the one comic book fans were expecting, and the victim of Negan in The Walking Dead #100: Glenn (Steven Yeun). When Glenn takes the first major hit, his eye starts to bulge out, and he stammers, trying to say some final words to his wife, Maggie. And sadly enough, that scene was taken directly out of the comic's pages, as written by Robert Kirkman (also an executive producer on the show) and drawn by Charlie Adlard.

The shot is stunningly similar, from the placement of the blow to the bulging eye - even the way the blood streamed down Glenn's face (you can see the direct comparison shot below). On the show, he stammered out "Maggie" as well, saying, "I will find you" as his last words to his love. It was a call back to when they'd been separated before in the series, though this time was permanent. Unfortunately, Negan continued to swing until there was nothing left of Glenn's head but a bloody mush - and that was straight out of the comics too. Luckily, on the show, they went a little farther and didn't show anything recognizable of Glenn's face, whereas the comics kept just enough there to really see his devastation.

The next line after the beating was also pulled right from the comics: "Lucille is a vampire bat." In fact, much of Negan's monologue while killing both these characters was taken out of the comics. "He's taking it like a champ" was in there, as was "Seems like you're trying to speak, but you took a hell of a hit. I cracked your sull so much that your eye popped out. It's gross as shit."

Alas, that's it for Glenn, and Negan has certainly made his mark on the show - so much so that some fans thought the show crossed a line.