Character exits/deaths were commonplace in The Walking Dead comic series. Not a single volume went by without someone meeting their end. In some cases, those deaths were a way to thin the herd as the cast continually hit points where it was far too bloated. It's a necessity for any series with an ensemble so large.
Other deaths were far more impactful, helping shape the series as it continued to progress. While painful, the deaths of more than a few fan favorites helped make The Walking Dead a better comic overall.
10 Lucille's Death In Here's Negan Helped Shaped The Antagonist Everyone Loved
Rarely do off-screen deaths have quite the impact that Lucille did. Before Here's Negan, the only thing readers knew about her was the fact she died, and it ended up being the catalyst to creating Negan, leader of the Saviors.
The comic doesn't touch on her much, even in his spinoff series, but it does have a poignant moment where Negan is unable to put her down himself, forced to rely on Jeremy to do it for him. For such a minor character, she ended up influencing the series greatly.
9 Shane's Exit Helped Firmly Root Rick In A Spot Of Leadership
Shane was the first antagonist in the series and one that helped propel it forward. He forced Rick to assume a role of leadership that he'd hold onto until he died as well. The entire rift between Rick and Shane helped everyone involved develop, from Rick's leadership to Carl being forced to grow up quickly.
It was one of the first moments where The Walking Dead established that this was going to be a grim and dark world unlike even the grittiest of comics.
8 The Many Deaths Of The Greenes Helped Maggie & Hershel Develop
When Rick's group arrived on the farm, it was a given that the Greene family would get trimmed down some as there were far too many of them. However, no one could have expected nearly all of them would die.
This is especially true of Susie and Rachel, who were far too young to die the way they did. That said, all of their deaths help develop two of the remaining Greenes. It opened Hershel's eyes to how the world truly was now and made Maggie into a fan favorite.
7 Thomas Richards's Death Was The First Time Rick's Group Showed Any Sort Of Malice
Richards's death piggybacks some on the development Maggie received from Rachel and Susie's deaths. He was the psychopath who'd beheaded the girls, something that rightly didn't sit well with Maggie.
After he conned Patricia to free him, he tried to kill her, allowing Maggie to gun him down. It's one of the first instances where someone from Rick's group was openly malicious. Thanks to Hershel's suggestion, they even tossed his corpse out to be devoured by zombies.
6 Carol Ending Her Own Life Set Precedent In The Show & Showed How The World Affected Everyone
Carol's death in The Walking Dead is one of the most interesting in the entire series. It wasn't due to some psychotic antagonist nor a mercy killing by one of the protagonists. It wasn't even some misguided suicide pact like earlier in the series.
No, this was an instance where Carol had given up on life. The world and the silent judgments of the group had worn her down, showing that not everyone was able to trooper through the horrors they all faced now.
5 Tyreese Was The First Core Character To Die & It's One That Resonated Throughout The Series
While the death of core characters became the norm going forward, Tyreese was the first to meet his end. It served more than a few purposes going forward, the most immediate of which was firmly establishing The Governor as a bad guy people would want to see die brutally.
The way he decapitated Tyreese was brutal and over the top in ways that fit The Governor. The death also forced Rick to find new confidants after the war as Tyreese was always his number two.
4 Lori's Death Showed No One Was Safe From Getting Killed Off
The death of Lori is one of the most brutal in the entire series, and one that even fans have said is a little much. While it's hard to argue that seeing the small dead arm of Judith beneath Lori was more graphic than it needed to be, it firmly established nothing was off-limits, and neither were any of the characters.
Anyone could die at any moment, much like an episode of Game of Thrones. It helped give the entire comic an added tension and created actual stakes, something few other comics truly have.
3 Lilly Caul Getting To Kill The Governor Meant Significant Kills Wouldn't Be Saved Solely For The Main Cast
In most comics, the primary villain of an arc is meant to get taken down by the main character. In this case, it seemed like Michonne was primed to get the final blow.
The fact it went to fellow Woodbury resident Lilly Caul, was shocking and made it known that common conventions weren't going to get used in The Walking Dead. Anyone could die, and anyone could kill anyone else, giving a sense of tension that few series can maintain.
2 Carl Taking Care Of Ben When No One Else Would Showed How Much He'd Grown
As with Carol, the apocalypse affected Ben in a way that he couldn't recover from. He stabbed his twin brother Billy to death, thinking they'd come back since he left the brain intact. It shows how little grasp Ben had on how things worked.
Even worse, none of the adults were capable of doing anything about it. That's when Carl stepped up to the plate, executing Ben in the van he was being held in, completing his transformation into a jaded adult.
1 Glenn's Death Set The Stage For Arguably The Best Arc In The Whole Series
The death of Glenn was a hard one to take since he was such a fan favorite. Yet, for as hard as it was, there's no denying the good it did for the series. The tension of the scene was properly capitalized on, and it made Negan into the alpha villain he was supposed to be, dwarfing everyone that came before him.
It also helped progress so many characters, most notably Maggie, who became a leader that could rival Rick— something no one could have predicted before.