When most fans take a moment to analyze the characters of The Walking Dead, most attention is turned toward the character development of Daryl Dixon. However, Negan is a highly engaging character himself, one who has transitioned from villain to hero. This wasn’t so clear cut in the comics, though, which hasn’t seen aspects of Negan being fully adapted into the series.
The TV series has chosen to leave out or alter things about Negan for several reasons, opting for a different take of the same character. Before the next season returns, it’s worth taking a look at all the things about Negan that were left out.
10 Negan uses some funny words but cursing, in general, hasn’t been featured in the TV series
There are many times where The Walking Dead tried to be scary but turned out funny instead. With Negan, this has never been by mistake, with his liking to use swear words his most recurring habit. The comics rarely showed him going two sentences without using expletives in his vocabulary.
The TV series attempted to bring this forward at first with a deleted scene featuring Negan using foul language, but this has been dropped pretty much altogether by now.
9 Negan was actually a used-car salesman in the comics
For some reason, the TV series didn’t adapt Negan’s background as a used-car salesman, instead settling on establishing him as a gym teacher by profession. This was the background of the character before the zombie apocalypse took place.
The TV series left out Negan’s use of his talking skills to get his prospective customers to purchase his cars, with the gym teacher history not really factoring into anything. His part-time work as a used-car salesman was meant to show how Negan wanted some level of control in his own affairs.
8 In the comics, Negan had an Attraction To The Lucille Bat
Negan has shown affection for the Lucille bat in the TV series, with very few scenes featuring him without his weapon when he was the leader of the Saviors. However, the comic book version was pretty much obsessed with the bat, to the point where he was even attracted to it.
The TV series probably wanted to avoid painting Negan as too much of a weirdo, as the comics’ version was very vocal in his uncomfortable obsession with the bat and how he described the ways he wanted to love it.
7 Negan's preference for violence even after he had turned into one of the good guys was dropped for the TV series
After his defeat, Negan has displayed a genuine turn toward being better in the Daryl Dixon era of the show. What the TV series hasn’t adapted is the character’s preference for violence even after he had turned into one of the good guys.
He displayed this when he took out Brandon, having killed the boy purely because he wanted to despite Brandon’s idolization of him. Meanwhile, the TV version killed Brandon due to the latter’s villainy as he had originally wanted Brandon to leave him alone.
6 Rick used to approach him frequently for advice over how to control his people
Negan’s potential leadership skills over the good guys are a reason fans want to see the series go past the eleventh season. Regardless, he had a direct influence on Rick’s leadership in the comics, at a time when Negan was in prison as Rick approached him frequently for advice over how to control his people when they got out of hand.
The TV series most likely left this out due to the fact that Rick exited the series around the time of Negan’s imprisonment, with only a small glimpse of this aspect at the beginning of Season 9.
5 His Signature Clean-Shaven Appearance
This was referenced in Season 7 where Negan shaved his face midway through. However, the TV series Negan hasn’t sported this style in the entirety of his time on the show, while the comic book version always kept himself this way.
The clean-shaven Negan was his signature style, along with his hair being kept at a buzz cut. The TV series has left out this choice of appearance, and instead giving Negan regular makeovers to change things up.
4 Negan willingly exiled himself after seeing the failure of his ways
Where Negan will end up remains an unresolved question, but it’s clear he doesn’t want to be all on his own in the TV series. This was an exclusion of the source material, where Negan willingly exiled himself after seeing the failure of his ways.
His reasoning to do so was to pay for his sins, especially the fact that he’d made Maggie a widow. Comic book Negan remained so steadfast over wanting to be in exile that he continued to do so more than two decades later by the end of the comic series.
3 The TV series didn’t include the comics’ version where Lucille died just when the zombie apocalypse began
Taking his wife for granted was Negan’s worst decision, as it came to haunt him even if he tried to stem it down. The TV series had Negan confess to Father Gabriel about his wife, whom he claimed he’d survived the apocalypse with until her death from cancer.
The TV series didn’t include the comics’ version where Lucille died just when the zombie apocalypse began, with her reanimation taking Negan by surprise as he hadn’t seen walkers before. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself up to killing his wife and asked a boy named Jeremy to do so.
2 His Reluctance To Use Firearms was dropped by the TV series
This was something that was quite essential to the comic book Negan that the TV series chose not to adapt, as he wasn’t keen on using firearms. He only did so begrudgingly during the Whisperer war, while always favoring the use of Lucille.
The TV series decided to ignore this from the get-go, showing Negan with an automatic gun in his first full appearance that he used to mow down walkers. Negan also helped Judith train with guns, something the comic book version would never have done.
1 His God Complex, where People would follow his every command
The TV series made sure to leave this part of Negan’s characterization out, as it depicted him as an opportunist who used people as a resource and then disposing of them after they outlived their importance. The comic book version veered heavily toward him being worshipped, proving his God complex.
Since Negan’s violent tendencies were toned down in general, it’s more than likely that the TV series didn’t adapt this part of Negan to avoid making him an irredeemable villain. Still, it’s a pretty vital part of his personality from the comics that didn’t show up onscreen.