The Walking Dead Almost Killed Off Rick Instead of Shane – Screen Rant

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman revealed that he almost made the decision to kill Rick off early in the series instead of Shane.

The Walking Dead nearly had a very differentbeginning to the iconic comic series. The comic book's creator Robert Kirkman revealed this week that he considered killing Rick Grimes instead of Shane Walsh early on in its run and explained how he would have made the bold decision - and it was equally as violent as how things actually played out for the two characters.

The Walking Dead comic series first debuted back in 2003 with Kirkman working alongside Tony Moore for the first six issues. Charlie Adlard would take over art duties from issue seven until the series' final issue, with the comic being wildly successful, winning multiple Eisner Award's and getting adapted into an uber-popular TV series (with multiple spinoffs), video games, novels, and more. The main protagonist Rick Grimes nearly made it to the end of the comic series, as he was shockingly killed off in issue #192 - however, it could have been a lot sooner if Kirkman went withhis alternate plans for the character.

Related:The Walking Dead: Who Really Survives In The End

In the reprinted, colorized edition ofThe Walking Dead Deluxe#6 (H/T ComicBook.com), Kirkman wrote about an alternate storyline that would have involved killing Rick instead of Shane. In the comics, Rick kills Shane, his former partner with the police, but Kirkman said he considered Shane killing Rick instead - with Carl finding them in the woods just as it was about to happen. Shane wouldn't have seen Carl and it would create some serious tension throughout the comic. He wrote that Shane would have been the first big villain of the book.

Rather than Carl killing Shane, I considered having Carl find them in the woods just as Shane was killing RICK. That's right I considered killing Rick Grimes as early as issue No. 6

Shane wouldn't have known Carl had seen him, so there would have been a lot of tense exchanges between the two of them," Kirkman explained. Shane would have been the first real big villain in the book, and he would have been with the group, on the same side as them, the enemy sleeping the next tent over.

The ripple effect of Shane killing off Rick just six issues intoThe Walking Deadwould have been huge. Would Shane become the de facto leader? Would Carl's ultimate mission be to avenge his father and would he succeed? Would he become the main character of the series? Would the series been as popular and had a television adaption if Rick was killed off? Killing Rick so soon after he awakensin the middle of a zombie apocalypse would be perfectly fitting for the dark series but it makes sense why Kirkman went with different plans.

Kirkman is never afraid to pull the rug from under readers feet with shocking decisions and deaths - especially in The Walking Dead. But in this case, he made the right choice and killed Shane off instead of Rick. It's impossible to imagine just how different the story and it's adaptations would be if he went through with the alternate plan. Thankfully,The Walking Deadstill lives on more than a decade-and-a-half after it first debuted.

Next:The Walking Dead: Carl's Daughter Has A Special Name

Source: ComicBook.com

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Liam McGuire is a comics editor for Screen Rant. He has worked for numerous publications including Cineplex Canada, MLB.com, Vice, CBR.com, and more. You can reach out to him directly at liam.m@screenrant.com

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The Walking Dead Almost Killed Off Rick Instead of Shane - Screen Rant