The Walking Dead Main Characters Who Have A Higher Kill Count Than Rick
It was always a foregone conclusion that a show named The Walking Dead would be extremely violent. Some would argue that the comics it's based on are even more violent, but few would deny the blood-soaked nature of both versions. Indeed, in an untamed, post-apocalyptic world riddled with walkers, survivors from all walks of life are sometimes forced to do ... unsavory things. Every waking day tests the limits of their humanity, how far they'll bend, and whether they'll finally break.
As a police officer in the Before Times, Rick Grimes' (Andrew Lincoln) struggle has an extra layer. It was his job to wield firearms in the name of the law, but what law is there in the new world but the law of survival of the fittest? No one gets used to it quickly, but Rick plows through and becomes an example to others, making use of his police training to defend those he loves. That position he willingly puts himself in means there's more blood on Rick's hands than most of those he travels with.
Shockingly enough, however, a few other major characters have a higher kill count than even Rick, who has 96 deaths on his hands. Accounting for both direct and indirect causes, these kills include walkers and people. Note that only the television TWD continuity is taken into account for the purposes of this comparison.
Spoilers for The Walking Dead ahead!
Carol is not a woman to be messed with
Few TWD characters have come a longer way than Carol (Melissa McBride). Her husband's death means she no longer has to suffer at his hand, but then she loses her precious daughter Sophia (Madison Lintz) to zombification, sobbing as Rick is forced to put the poor girl down.
Most people would crumple into nothing after that, but not Carol. Rising to the occasion, she uses her pain to keep moving forward and better herself. She trains with various weapons, picks up a few medical skills from Hershel (Scott Wilson), and becomes one of the most valuable members of the group on and off the battlefield. There's little doubt, however, that her fighting skills are what really make her stand out. Her kill count: 105.
Carol's killed her fair share of walkers and shot down plenty of the group's enemies, from the cannibals of Terminus to the vicious Wolves. Not all of her kills, however, are products of her self-improvement. In season 4, she and Tyreese (Chad Coleman) agree that Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino), a young girl who kills her sister Mika (Kyla Kennedy), needs to be executed before she endangers anyone else. The heartbreaking scene is a potent reminder of the woman Carol once was and the warrior the world has forced her to become.
Simon the Savior, Simon the killer
Every great leader needs a right-hand man to keep them in check. Rick thought Shane (Jon Bernthal) would be his, but turned to Daryl (Norman Reedus) when the former betrayed and tried to kill him. Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is a very different kind of leader than Rick, but a leader is a leader, and so he, too, employs a right-hand man: Simon (Steven Ogg).
As ruthless as his boss, Simon is not the guy even the most hardened post-apocalyptic survivors would want to cross, and that comes back to bite Negan. He sends his subordinate to speak with the Scavengers, but Simon decides to take things one step further and has the majority of them killed on the spot. Including the victims of that incident, his kill count soars to 172. It ends there, however, when Negan hears of the betrayal and brutally chokes Simon to death. Who knows how many more people the man would've killed had Negan been more merciful?
Eugene: The Walking Dead's most intelligent killer
Eugene (Josh McDermitt) wasn't, isn't, and will never be the kind of character to charge into a herd of walkers or human enemies guns a-blazin'. No, Eugene is a survivor of a different caliber, relying on his wits and resourcefulness to get by and make himself useful. He may have lied about being a scientist with the key to ending the worldwide pandemic, but he's smarter than the average bear nonetheless.
After being captured by Negan and the Saviors, Eugene decides to stay with them, comfortable under the wing of such a powerful group that treats him relatively respectfully. It takes Rosita (Christian Serratos) — who guides and protects Eugene in the early days of the apocalypse — to make Eugene realize what a fool he was to betray his friends and defect to the enemy. He gets to work on a plan that single-handedly brings his onscreen kill count from three up to 186.
Knowing Rick and Negan's forces are soon to come to a head, Eugene takes advantage of the latter's trust and sabotages the Saviors' weapons. So, when the two small armies finally come face to face, Negan's side is decimated when the guns all misfire. They don't all die on the spot, but because of Eugene, their ability to fight is greatly hindered, making Rick's job that much easier. Apocalypse or not, Eugene proves that "brains over brawn" still holds true.
Negan nabs the not-so-coveted top spot
No matter how many people Negan's killed on TWD, nothing comes close to the pure shock value of his first two victims: Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn (Steven Yeun). Rick and the crew are at Negan's mercy, and what does the man do? In retribution for the deaths of several of his men, he chooses which of Rick's group he's going to kill using his trusty, barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat Lucille. Abraham succumbs to Negan's brutal beatdown first, followed by Glenn after Negan is angered when Daryl lashes out.
As the story continues, Negan kills people on both sides in any number of ways: more Lucille action, knives, nail guns, flames, disembowelment by walkers — whatever he feels like, really. Ultimately, no one beats Negan in the killing game with his grand total of 209. Many of these are indirect, but he's obviously no stranger to getting his hands dirty. Even in a world of monsters like TWD's, Negan is a true fiend.
Come season 11 and the Rick Grimes film trilogy, the kill count rankings will continue to shift, but this is how things currently stand, with Negan on top.