First introduced as a sinister antagonist that gleefully murdered some of the show’s most beloved characters, Negan has taken in interesting turn over the past few seasons of The Walking Dead. Once the ultimate villain, he has slowly evolved from the character that fans love to hate, to one that they hate to love. Season 10 even suggested that the leather-clad villain may be well on his way to redemption.
Though the show has only touched on snippets of Negan’s past, the standalone comic “Here’s Negan” provides some much-needed context. Set to be adapted to an episode of the same title airing on April 4th, it will star Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s real-life wife, Hilarie Burton Morgan, as Lucille.
They Lived In Virginia
"Here's Negan" does not delve too deeply into Negan and Lucille's past or how they met. They are an established married couple living in Virginia at the start of the comic.
Unlike some of the other groups of survivors featured in the series, Negan didn't have to travel far before settling. The Saviors' home base, also known as The Sanctuary, is located in Virginia, as is the Alexandria Safe-Zone.
Negan Was a Middle School Gym Teacher
Fans that have no knowledge of the comics may be surprised to hear that Negan was a middle school gym teacher. The opening scene shows him playing a game of ping-pong with a group of kids, mercilessly insulting their paddle swing, and telling crude jokes about their mothers.
One of the boys leaves crying, and Lucille later scolds him, saying that the parents called the school and that he could be fired. Negan insists that he only talks like that so that they respect him, and so he can be "the cool teacher".
Negan Had An Affair (And Lucille Knew)
Though few details are given on who the woman is or how long the affair went on, it's implied that Negan screwed around behind Lucille's back for a while. That all changes when Lucille is diagnosed with cancer.
Negan is in bed with his girlfriend when he tells her that he can't do this anymore and leaves. Slipping back into bed with Lucille, he simply says, "I ended it", implying that he knew that she knew the real reason for all of his late nights.
Lucille Had Pancreatic Cancer
Negan first talks about the death of his wife in season 8, episode 5 "The Big Scary U". Surrounded by a horde of zombies, he confesses to Father Gabriel that he once had a "real wife", and that she had passed away from cancer.
In season 10, he mentions her again to Alpha, telling the story about how her pancreatic cancer caused his beautiful wife to waste away, and that part of him died with her.
Negan Genuinely Tried To Be A Better Husband
Negan is an adulterer that sometimes accidentally makes his students cry, but it can't be said that he doesn't try to change. After finding out about Lucille's cancer diagnosis, he redoubles his efforts to be the husband that she deserves.
He breaks off his affair, he makes sure that she makes all of her appointments and gets her meds, and he showers her with affection and hope. Unfortunately, it was a change made too late.
Lucille Wore Multi-Colored Wigs
Lucille goes through extensive chemotherapy, which makes her very sick and causes her to lose all of her hair. She takes to wearing wigs instead, showing off a bit of her fun personality with different, wild colored locks that she can change whenever she likes.
It appears that The Walking Dead series will keep this detail. Trailers and promotional photos of Hilarie Burton Morgan in purple and dark green wigs have already surfaced.
Negan Was Scared He’d Get Used To Killing Walkers
Negan wasn't the nicest man in the world, but he wasn't always a killer. AMC recently released a table read of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton Morgan rehearsing a short scene from "Here's Negan" that gives fans a peek into the man that he used to be.
After hearing suspicious noises outside, Lucille suggests that they might have to kill a Walker. Negan insists on just waiting for it to go away, but Lucille says that it shouldn't bother him. "It doesn’t bother me," he replies, "but I’m worried that I’ll get used to it.”
Lucille Died Of Natural Causes
Lucille is one of the rare characters in the franchise that has died completely of natural, health-related causes. Her death had nothing to do with Walkers or fighting other groups. She simply succumbed to her illness. Though Negan and the doctors did their best to take care of her, it wasn't meant to be.
In "Here's Negan", she passes in a hospital bed near the beginning of the outbreak, and reanimates right in front of him. The trailers and sneak peeks for the episode implies that the writers may have gone a different route, and may have Lucille survive at home a bit longer.
Negan Couldn’t Put Her Down Himself
Negan mourns his wife's death for years, but he is grateful that she wasn't around to see all of this. He tells Alpha that she would be weak in this world, and that would make him weak, but he still grieves the loss of the woman that he loved. In the comic, overwhelmed and terrified, Negan asks another survivor to put Lucille down after she turns. He eventually goes back to give her a proper burial.
The comic is clear, but the show hasn't outright stated that anybody put her down, so it is entirely possible that zombie!Lucille is still out there somewhere.
He Named His Signature Weapon After Her
Negan never stopped loving Lucille, too aware of the wrong that he had done during their marriage, and the slow, painful way that she died. Traumatized by the new world that they lived in and consumed by grief, Negan named his barbed-wire-covered bat after her.
It's his twisted way of feeling close to someone he can never be close with again. His Lucille always kept him safe, so this Lucille would keep him safe too. Though he is well aware that it is just a bat and not the real Lucille, he still has an extreme attachment to it.