After first appearing in The Walking Dead #130, the Whisperers have finally made their way onto AMC’s ninth season of the survival-horror, heralding in a new ruthless villain. Alpha, played with menacing zeal by Samantha Morton, is our survivors’ biggest threat and latest addition to the show’s Big Bad Hall of Fame. She leads her army of followers through this post-apocalyptic world dressed in walker skins, living amongst the undead, and has a cold hatred for perceived weakness. Morton has stepped into the character’s boots to high acclaim from fans and critics alike, but how does TV-show Alpha compare to her comic counterpart?

Beware: spoilers follow!

10 10. Appearance

There’s nothing overly distinctive about Alpha’s appearance in the comics. Underneath her walker mask is a stern face which could blend into any crowd. In fact, she does. Her nondescript look allows her to slip into Alexandria Safe-Zone unnoticed and interact with community members without anyone blinking an eye. TV Alpha is far more distinctive. Her piercing blue eyes chillingly stare through the mask, and when it’s removed, the dirt covering her eyes, mouth, and scalp give her the appearance of decaying, looking as if she embodies a place between life and death herself. Whether she’ll be able to infiltrate the Kingdom’s fair remains to be seen.

9 9. Origins

Very little was revealed about Alpha’s origins on page, leaving her life pre-apocalypse up for reader speculation and debate. Our first introduction to Alpha on the show, however, is through a series of flashbacks as her daughter Lydia recalls life with her mother at the beginning of the outbreak. Trapped in a shelter with a handful of survivors, Alpha appears to rise to the occasion quickly, cleverly forming plans for survival. She also appears to embrace the chaos of the outbreak, using it as a chance to shave her head to spite her husband, eventually murdering him for being weak.

8 8. Leadership

In both the comics and the show, Alpha appears to be a very strong, natural leader who thrives in the role. Her group follows her every order without question, looking to her for guidance and instruction. We learn that Alpha fought her way to the top spot in the comics, challenging previous leaders for the position and winning.

In the show, however, it is suggested that Alpha created the group herself, leading them since the outbreak, eventually morphing into the Whisperers. Both fighting for and retaining leadership for years demonstrates how capable Alpha is, with her herd willing to follow her anywhere.

7 7. Motherhood

Alpha certainly won’t be winning Mother of the Year anytime soon. Both on page and on screen, she has been repeatedly abusive to her only daughter, Lydia. In the comics, she allows members of the group to rape Lydia, whilst in the show there’s evidence of mental and physical beatings. Alpha’s motherly ways are always accompanied with a form of violence, which Alpha argues is only to make Lydia stronger. On page, her care seemed to be genuine as she later asked Rick to take Lydia in. Whether Alpha truly cares for her daughter or is simply trying to get intel on a potential new enemy by using her is yet to be seen.

6 6. Intelligence

It undoubtedly takes intelligence to make it as far as the survivors have in the post-apocalyptic world, and Alpha appears to have plenty of brilliant ideas. In both versions of The Walking Dead, Alpha is a highly intelligent woman, making her a dangerous enemy. The idea of creating walker suits is a stroke of genius as a means of protection from both the living and the dead. Her intellect and ability are praised by her community in the comics as they note her achievements in background conversations. Her smarts are shown on screen as she devises traps to lure threats into her grasp.

5 5. Animals

The Whisperers have survived so long because they have reverted to primal instincts. Alpha fully embraces the animalistic nature of their group and discards the notion of civilization. They live outdoors with little shelter and leave their dead outside to return to the land instead of burying them. Both versions of Alpha have openly admitted to living like the animals she believes nature intended them to be.

Her confidence in natural selection is most chillingly portrayed on screen, as one hard stare from Alpha leads a mother to leave her crying baby on the ground for walkers to eat, thereby protecting the Whisperers.

4 4. The New World

By rejecting civilization, Alpha seeks to destroy everything that survivors outside of her group have built. On page, she talks bluntly with Rick, criticizing the communities he has created, declaring them to be a shrine to a dead world. In the show, Lydia tells Daryl and Henry that she doesn’t believe a place like theirs can exist. Her mother has taught her to believe that all walls fall eventually, and the view of their thriving crops and the sound of children shocks her. Having seen communities collapse frequently over the years, Alpha has chosen to adapt with the new world order, believing it belongs to the dead.

3 3. Observant

Not only is Alpha a highly intelligent and strong leader, she is observant which helps her plot her next move. In both the comics and the show, she is desperate to gather more intel on the groups they have encountered before acting. By infiltrating the Alexandria Safe-Zone trade fair on page, she is able to judge the scope of these new communities, what they have created, and how many enemies she might face. On screen, she carefully watches the Hilltop’s reaction as the crying baby is laid down as walker bait. Instead of blindly striking as previous villains have done, Alpha watches quietly and carefully, anticipating her next move.

2 2. Dominance

Despite her strong leadership and loyal following, Alpha’s capabilities have been questioned by some brave souls in her group. Living under nature’s rules, the strongest will triumph and become leader while the weakest is killed.

Unfortunately, all those within the Whisperers who have challenged Alpha have lost, with the ruthless leader cutting the throat of one Whisperer on page, and beheading another on screen, reaffirming her dominance over the group. Constantly coiled like a snake ready to strike, Alpha’s violence is swift, leaving only the brave or ill-advised to challenge her position.

1 1. Whisper

Alpha is given a lot of dialogue in the comics, but the benefit of a screen adaptation is the ability to bring those conversations to life. Although her southern drawl came as a shock to readers, she always speaks with firm, unflinching confidence. Even as she whispers, she doesn’t sound meek or soft-spoken, but affirmed and intimidating—a sing-song lilt of comfort and deception. It’s in the literal whisper of the Whisperer leader that the show finds the real menace in her character.

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Comic Alpha has given the show an excellent grounding to work with. Samantha Morton appears to be drawing from the established menace of the character and building upon it, making Alpha one of the most chilling and unpredictable villains in The Walking Dead history.