Batter Up! Negan's Origin Story Might Appear In Season 8 Of 'The Walking Dead'

When Negan first came on the scene in The Walking Dead's source material, he quickly became one of the most loved-to-be-hated characters in nerd culture. With Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the man behind the bat, Negan then became a household name - leaving many fans wondering why he became such a vile monster. Fortunately, the last 16 issues of The Walking Dead unveiled the character's gripping backstory with four-page installments.

With the release of a compilation comic, 'Here's Negan', arriving in October to celebrate the comic's 14th anniversary, it's not surprising that Robert Kirkman has hinted that portions of the backstory will eventually make it into the series. Series showrunner Scott Gimple has also mentioned that Negan's brutal backstory will appear in AMC's The Walking Dead.

During an interview with Yahoo TV, Gimple had this to say about the inclusion of Negan's backstory:

"I do believe yes, it’s in the future. You know, I’m always careful about this, [because] things can absolutely change. There’s a loose plan in place I have.""I take that ‘Here’s Negan’ story as the backstory. There’s some aspects of it that will probably be cool [on the show]. It’s some fairly far-flung stuff… in the future, you will see some stuff from that."

So, for fans who haven't read the character's comic book origin story, here's what we might have to look forward to in the upcoming season(s) of The Walking Dead.

The heartbreaking origin of 'The Walking Dead's' sadistic overlord.

Before the zombie outbreak, Negan was a PE teacher who was bullish, brutish and just a little rough around the edges. He had a wife who feared that his actions could cause him to lose his job, so he tried to balance his actions in order to be respected as the 'cool teacher'.

His wife falls ill, so Negan rushes to the hospital - where he learns that she has cancer. While she's being treated, Negan meets with his secret lover to explain that his wife has fallen ill. She ends their affair, and Negan returns to his wife as she quickly deteriorates in her hospital bed.

The apocalypse arrives, much like it did for everyone else in The Walking Dead, as everything spirals out of control around him. He barricades himself in the hospital room with his wife, only to find that she has died and turned into a walker. He screams her name, "Lucille," and runs to a hallway where he finds a young boy fighting off two walkers.

After rescuing the boy (who he asks to 'take care' of his wife), the pair travel together for a short time before the boy is quickly killed by a walker. As Negan continues his journey, he meets a man called Paul, who leaves behind a baseball bat. Negan uses it to destroy an entire horde on his own before meeting Dwight and Sherry, making him the de facto leader of their group of survivors.

It's at this point that his leadership becomes violent, as he brutally destroys a new 'friend' who regularly offers the women in his group to anyone they come across. After the ordeal, Negan wraps his baseball bat in barbed wire and names it after his wife. He explains to his group that he can protect them, much like 'Lucille' has done this entire time. Although the group is reluctant to join, they eventually agree to follow him and the "Saviors" are born.

How could this all fit into season 8 of 'The Walking Dead'?

Gimple is excited to bring more depth to Negan's character, and even admits that Season 7 featured subtle nuances that eluded to Negan being more than just a sadist overlord.

Negan's words are menacing, but they're also meant to be sincere. He's never said anything that he doesn't mean, and he has strict rules for a reason. In fact, this is something that Negan said directly to Carl during the episode "Sing Me a Song".

"There are rules for a reason. Nothing matters if you're dead."

Introducing Negan as a series of flashbacks could be an interesting way to learn more about how he became a violent sociopath. Considering the violent, sadistic nature of his character, fans certainly deserve to see his backstory on the small screen.

Source | Uproxx