The Walking Dead: Rick Grimes' Squad Turns from Heroes to Villains

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The Walking Dead Finally Turned Rick Grimes' Heroic Squad Into Villains

By Renaldo Matadeen

Published Oct 14, 2018

In The Walking Dead #184, Rick Grimes' team of heroes from Alexandria may have just become the very thing they fought so hard against.

WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for The Walking Dead #184 by Robert Kirkman, Charles Adlard, Stefano Gaudiano, Rus Wooton and Cliff Rathburn, on sale now.

In The Walking Dead comics, it has taken years for Rick Grimes to achieve peace with various other pockets of civilization. He was very patient creating a harmonious alliance with Alexandria, the Hilltop and the Kingdom, but it all paid off. That's perfectly understandable when you consider the threats posed to everyone by villains like Negan, the Governor and the Whisperers.

They perpetuated distrust in Robert Kirkman's zombie-infested world, where Rick's people are usually viewed as heroes and saviors to many. However, in The Walking Dead #184, we see a much different side of Team Rick, and it definitely suggests key members are ready to embrace a more villainous path.

In the last few issues, Rick and company have been exploring the paradise known as the Commonwealth. Its leader, Pamela Milton, has entered into partnership talks with Alexandria, with Rick seriously taking her offer into consideration after Michonne decided to go live there with her daughter, Elodie.

While he has been mostly impressed with the Commonwealth, its caste system is something Rick is openly concerned about. However, Dwight -- his right-hand man, similar to Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon on the TV series -- takes things a bit too far, hatching plans to overthrow the Commonwealth in order to free the poor folk.

Issue #184 focuses on Michonne defending the town's cops after they killed a man known as Anthony Keith, providing Dwight with all the motive he needs. When he leads a clean-up campaign following riots over the incident, he begins to slowly plant seeds of revolution in the minds of the downtrodden. When Pamela reluctantly joins the clean-up, and her son Sebastian makes fun of her for being an elite and participating in such menial work, it proves to be the final straw and overall catalyst for people to rally to Dwight's cause.

This feels like the Dwight who was a villain under Negan, ready to claim territories for his own. When he confronts Rick about his plan, it's clear he wants to rule the Commonwealth on his own to help it achieve its full potential, just like Alexandria did under Rick. Some people have already asked about transferring to Team Rick, which fuels Dwight's fire even more. Still, Rick is shocked by his dictatorial behavior and his demands to purge the town.

It's a side of Dwight he thought was gone, but just by mention of a coup Rick knows his general has already rustled up support. After all, Dwight knows military tactics well, which he used to help Rick defeat Negan after betraying his ex-boss. It's a powder keg of a situation because Dwight also got into it with Rick a while back over how his leadership has softened.

It seems he now wants power for himself, and with Pamela's son mouthing off to the poor, it's obvious who his first target will be. Sadly, if Rick doesn't regain control of Dwight and whoever else is planning a revolt from Alexandria, the entire alliance he worked so hard on could be broken, with these select individuals becoming the very tyrants he fought against in the first place.