Do seasonal fashion trends still exist inside the Civic Republic, or is there another reason Fear The Walking Dead's soldiers look different compared to their counterparts in The Walking Dead: World Beyond? As the big bads of the entire Walking Dead universe, the CRM (Civic Republic Military) enjoys an overbearing presence across all 3 shows. Alexandria remains ignorant to the looming menace in the background, but both spinoffs are now tackling the CRM storyline directly. Walking Dead: World Beyond's Bennett family are unraveling a genocidal conspiracy, while Fear The Walking Dead's Morgan Jones is now fending off angry CRM soldiers after his friends "borrowed" a helicopter in season 6.
The CRM's brainwashed goons are easy to spot - especially in The Walking Dead's zombie apocalypse where the living are sparse. Clad entirely in black and with helmets covering their faces, these villainous soldiers wield firearms with distinctive twin-pronged spikes designed for dispatching the undead. Nevertheless, there's a noticeable visual difference between the CRM soldiers frequenting World Beyond and those troubling Morgan in Fear The Walking Dead season 7's "Reclamation."
Throughout both seasons of Walking Dead: World Beyond, CRM soldiers dress in black, ribbed tunics while carrying utility belts and those aforementioned stab-happy machine guns. Their most distinctive feature, however, is undoubtedly the headgear. The hard-wearing helmets are fronted by a complete facial visor covering the eyes and mouth, offering only tiny holes to look and breathe through. Not only does the protective mask reduce chances of infection from zombie bloodsplatter, but CRM soldiers also remain completely anonymous - even when getting right up in the enemy's face.
Fear The Walking Dead's CRM uniforms come in a different style and, once again, the helmet is the most obvious deviation. Dropping the prominent visors of World Beyond, Fear The Walking Dead has shown 2 other variations of the CRM helmet - the ridged version seen in past seasons, and the more recent gas mask with darkened eye visor from season 7's "Reclamation." CRM soldiers featured in Fear The Walking Dead have ribbed tunics, but their design is far more basic compared to Walking Dead: World Beyond. The zombie soldier Al finds among Teddy's victims, for example, still dons a uniform that's ridged all the way across, whereas the soldiers guarding Elizabeth Kublek in World Beyond have sleeker patterns and useful cutouts on the sleeve that allow for freer movement.
One possible explanation is the time difference between The Walking Dead's two spinoffs. Fear The Walking Dead still lags behind Walking Dead: World Beyond by some years, meaning the CRM had plenty of time to refine and improve their uniforms. Perhaps the soldiers in Fear The Walking Dead are clad in rudimentary prototype gear, which would explain why the World Beyond outfits are so much more streamlined, efficient and professional.
The Walking Dead's CRM have previously been compared to Stormtroopers (their aim certainly isn't much better) and, much like the Star Wars villains, CRM fighters might dress differently depending on their function. The Empire had regular Stormtroopers, Scout Troopers, Flame Troopers, etc. - all sporting unique costumes to perform their roles more effectively (and sell toys). The variable CRM uniforms seen throughout World Beyond and Fear The Walking Dead could denote a similar structure. Al refers to the troops chasing Morgan as a "reclamation" team, while the ridged helmet from Fear The Walking Dead season 6 could be for pilots like Isabelle. Walking Dead: World Beyond's uniforms, meanwhile, may be reserved solely for guarding VIPs or occupying strategic locations. When Major General Beale finally appears, perhaps he'll have a personal CRM guard armed with spears and draped head-to-toe in crimson red.