It didn’t make a difference that The Walking Dead introduced Negan as a villain. As soon as he made his notorious introduction on screen, he was an instant hit with the fans, who have thoroughly enjoyed watching episodes centering around him. As a result, fans have watched Negan upgrade to an anti-hero role, which has also prompted fans to look for facts about his characterization.
This has ranged from curiosity over how the character was conceptualized, to the reception he’s received at large, and essential facts about the comic book version. With The Walking Dead entering its final storylines, it’s worth finding out as much about Negan as one can in order to prepare for Negan’s last arc in the TV series.
He Doesn't Go Few Sentences Without Cursing In The Comics
Fans generally like to see what their favorite characters say about them as regards to their mannerisms, and if one has a potty mouth then they are usually comparable to Negan. His most notorious trait in the comics is his tendency to curse after every two sentences, which he’s well aware of.
The TV series has avoided this due to restrictions by the network, but if Negan was adapted directly, he would have likely set records for the most cursing on television. The comic book Negan never outgrew this behavior either as he continued to use swear words to communicate with others.
His Original Name Was Nagus
Many have pointed out how unusual a name Negan is, which is hardly common to find among people. The original name for the character wasn’t exactly mainstream either, with creator Robert Kirkman intending to name him Nagus.
However, he changed his mind once he found out that it was also the name of a character from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, switching over to Negan. With the name only being attributed to this character now, the decision to go this route certainly has worked.
The Person He Was Modelled After Auditioned For His Role But Didn't Get It
Although Jeffrey Dean Morgan has owned the role and is synonymous with Negan, he’s not the one that the comic book version was modeled after. It was actor Henry Rollins who served as the basis for Negan’s appearance and attitude (which didn’t do Rollins any favors, however).
The actor revealed that he had auditioned to be Negan for The Walking Dead TV series but lost to Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It turns out that the creators of the show were looking for something a little different in performance and not just the appearance.
He Lived All The Way To The Series End In The Comics
The TV show has diverged so heavily from the comics by this point that there’s absolutely no way for the source material’s ending to be adapted anymore. In the comics, Negan returned from his exile and was still in contact with the adult Carl 20 years later, who brought him food parcels.
He never got over the sad demise of his wife, with the final shot of Negan showing him bringing flowers to Lucille’s makeshift grave and continuing to mourn her. Considering major protagonists in Rick, Andrea, Dwight, among others, all died by this point, Negan’s survival is a thing to marvel at.
He's A Playable Character In The Tekken Series
The popularity of Negan is such that he’s also been adapted into the video game universe. Negan is part of the roster in Tekken 7, where he’s even given a backstory. In the Tekken series, the zombie aspect has been removed and Negan is shown as the leader of the Saviors.
His purpose in fighting in the King of Iron Fist Tournament is to ensure nobody stands in the way of the Saviors’ growing dominance by taking down all of the strongest fighters in the world. Negan’s finisher in the video game is his trademark bashing of Lucille on his opponent’s head.
He Is The Most Acclaimed Character In The Series
The Walking Dead has been an enormous success where ratings are concerned, but the show hasn’t received major acting nominations among critics. Negan’s arrival finally changed this, as Jeffrey Dean Morgan won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series for his portrayal.
Negan’s acclaim has likewise proven popular among fans as well, with Morgan also winning the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain, and Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television. This has made him the only character in the series to win both critical and fan acclaim.
He Had An Unhealthy Obsession With Lucille The Bat In The Comics
While most consider Negan’s killing of Glenn as one of the most uncomfortable scenes to rewatch, there was a defining moment in that scene that fans particularly noticed. He had a deep attachment to the bat.
By his own admission, he had an unhealthy obsession with Lucille the bat. In the comics, Negan wasn't ashamed to admit that he would be sexually intimate with the bat if it were possible. He was also beside himself with grief when Lucille was destroyed by Beta. This, of course, stemmed from him relating the bat to his wife.
Negan Loved His Wife But Was Still Having An Affair
Negan wasn’t noted for his tragic past in the comics until Here’s Negan! arrived to give him a backstory. This comic depicted his time right when the apocalypse began and gave information over how his life had been before it.
Negan had been a gym teacher and used car salesman at the time when he was married to a woman named Lucille. Although Negan acknowledged that he genuinely loved his wife, he still had numerous affairs and was having another one with a woman who didn’t know he was married when Lucille fell sick of cancer and the zombie apocalypse came around.
Negan Stole Control Of Dwight's Group That Later Became The Saviors
Before the Saviors became one of the strongest communities in the series, they were a small group that was led by Dwight, not Negan. The latter came across Dwight and was asked to join, which then slowly morphed into Negan’s group when he was willing to make the hard choices to survive.
Negan stole the group from Dwight completely after fighting another group (that had initially been allies) because their leader wanted to sexually assault several women. After killing the man for disrespecting women, Negan solidified his role as the leader and took in the dead man’s group as well, eventually expanding into becoming the Saviors and with Dwight as his reluctant lieutenant.
Glenn's Death Had Been Postponed For Negan's Arrival
Fans generally like to speculate if Glenn did have to die or not, but the truth is that his death was penciled in to happen no matter what. Glenn’s death was originally planned for Issue 75, at a time when Negan still had two years to debut.
Eventually, Negan’s arrival was used to kill Glenn off, as it established him as a true force to be reckoned with by killing the character with the most appearances (alongside Rick by that point). He did have Glenn’s blood on his hands, but Negan was used to complete the death that Glenn was always going to get.