The Walking Dead Characters: Rick Grimes

The Walking Dead Characters:

Rick Grimes

"The Walking Dead" will enter its seventh season on October 23, and after leaving on a massive cliffhanger, excitement and anticipation are at all time highs. 

For the next few days I will be posting articles about the main characters you will see in the upcoming season, from faces we've seen since the first season to ones we'll be introduced to once season seven begins.

**THERE WILL BE SHOW AND COMIC SPOILERS!**

You have been warned.  If you want to keep reading, do so in knowing that I will be divulging comic book and television show spoilers.  Information was derived from personal comic book readings, show watching, The Walking Dead wiki and imdb.com.

**SERIOUSLY, SPOILERS WILL ABOUND 

FROM HERE ON OUT**

Rick Grimes: The Comics

Rick grew up with his brother Jeffrey, and his father was a noble man who taught him about moral lessons of bravery and integrity.  He went to college for police administration, met Lori, got married and became a police officer, and was paired with his soon-to-be best friend Shane.  Not soon after, Lori gave birth to Carl, and then Rick was wounded in a shootout and ended up in a coma.

When he came to, the apocalypse had already begun, and he found Morgan and Duane, who told him what had happened.  He then went on a desperate search for Lori and Carl, finding them alive with an Atlanta survivor group led by Shane.  He soon became the leader of the group due to his natural leadership skills, and Shane became jealous.  He tried to kill Rick, but Carl sees this and kills Shane instead.  Not long after, Carl is accidentally shot by Otis, and he takes the group to Hershel's farm.  After Carl heals they leave the farm due to several dust-ups between Rick and Hershel and find their way to the prison.

After learning people reanimate even without being bitten, Rick returns to the spot where Shane died, dug him up and shot his zombified corpse.  Then they find a new community called Woodbury, led by the evil Governor, who cuts off Rick's right hand.  Lori then gives birth to Judith, and the Governor's army attacks the prison.  Lori is fatally shot in the back and falls on top of Judith, crushing her.  The prison is overrun, and Rick and Carl run off on their own.  There they run into a group of savages who want to rape Carl, but Rick bites the leader's neck and they kill the captors.

Rick, Carl and Abraham return to Rick's hometown to get more guns, where he runs into Morgan and convinces him to join his group.  They make their way to Alexandria where he encounters Peter, an abusive doctor who kills Douglas's wife Regina, leading to Rick killing him and becoming the leader of Alexandria.  He begins a relationship with Peter's widow Jessie, but it doesn't last long because as a horde attacks, Jessie and her son are bit and in order to save Carl, Rick cuts off Jessie's arm to save him.  Not long after, Carl is shot accidentally by Douglas, and Rick gets him to safety before assassinating the horde with the help of the town.

He begins trade relations with Hilltop and the Kingdom, and meets Negan, and an all-out war begins.  Rick's side comes out victorious, and in order to retain some sort of humanity, has Negan jailed instead of killed.  Two years later he's still leading Alexandria and working to rebuild it, and comes into contact with the Whisperers, who kill several of Rick's citizens.  Negan escapes and returns with the head of the Whisperer leader, and sides with Rick in the fight against the Whisperers.

Rick Grimes: The Television Series

Rick was a former police officer and the husband of Lori, and the father of Carl.  He's calm, smart, a good friend and father and often stubbornly clings to a strong personal moral code.  He has the ability to place responsibility on himself and set impossible goals, excels at combat and cares for everyone, leading them to look up to him.  He takes on a leadership role wherever he goes and is highly protective of his group.

After ending up in a coma after being shot, he comes to and finds the world has changed.  He meets Morgan and Duane, who inform him on what has happened, and goes on a search for Lori and Carl.  He finds them - along with his good friend and officer partner Shane - with a group of Atlanta survivors and quickly becomes their leader.  After Carl is accidentally shot by Otis, he takes Rick and the group to Hershel's farm, where he retains his leadership role.  Lori reveals she's pregnant, but the child could be either Rick's or Shane's.  Shane becomes jealous of this - and the fact that he was sleeping with Rick's wife Lori - and attempts to kill him, but Rick kills him instead, and Carl puts down Shane after he turns into a Walker.  After Hershel's farm gets overrun, they flee and spend months on the road before finding refuge in the prison.

While at the prison, Lori dies while giving birth to Judith, and Rick becomes very emotionally unstable, hearing his wife and the voices of other dead members of his group on the phone and seeing ghostly images of Lori everywhere.  He is forced back to reality after the Governor kills Andrea and attacks the prison.  Six months later, Rick is now at peace and has began farming in the prison, seemingly giving up his gun and his leadership role.  However, he returns to the leadership role when the Governor attacks again after assassinating Hershel in front of everyone.  Rick is almost killed himself by the Governor before Michonne drives her katana through him, and Rick and Carl search for Judith, but they only find a bloody baby car seat.  Fearing Judith dead and the prison overrun with Walkers, the two depart on their own.   Michonne finds them and the three run into a group of savages who want to rape Carl, but Rick bites the leader's neck and they kill their captors. 

Together they make it to Terminus, thinking it's a safe place, but find it's a home for cannibals.  After Carol helps them escape, they meet Gabriel and hole up in his church until they finally head to Washington DC, where they settle in Alexandria.  Deanna makes Rick a constable, but he's worried that the Alexandrians aren't prepared for the real world.  He gains a darker side as he kills people who he views as a threat, including Pete, the drunken, abusive doctor of the town.  After Pete kills Deanna's husband, Rick executes him and begins a relationship with his widow Jessie.  Rick gains control of Alexandria and devises a plan to take out a group of Walkers, but it doesn't end well as the horde eventually attacks the town.  He tries to lead Michonne, Carl, Judith, Gabriel, Jessie, Ron and Sam to safety, but Sam and Jessie get bit and Rick is forced to chop off her arm to save Carl.  This enrages Ron, who tries to shoot Rick but hits Carl instead before Michonne kills him.  As Carl is being treated Rick runs out and begins killing Walkers, soon joined by the entire town as they are able to defend it.

On a supply run, Rick and Daryl meet Jesus and they go to the Hilltop, where he agrees to kill Negan for some of Hilltop's supplies.  He leads a group to take out a Savior outpost, but then later on is captured by Negan and for the first time he is powerless as he witnesses Negan's brutality.

Why Rick Could Die

 Rick is the leader of the group and easily one of the most powerful, and Negan could see that as a threat to his survival.  Even though he clearly survives Negan's first kill, he could be a surprise second kill that would shock the television audience.

Why Rick Won't Die

The new preview shows Rick at Negan's command after he had just killed one of Rick's group, before taking Rick to the RV, possibly with the intent of chopping off Rick's hand.

Rick Grimes: The Actor

Andrew Lincoln was born September 14, 1973 in London, England.  He's appeared in movies such as "Love Actually" and the British series "Afterlife."  He's the winner of the IGN Summer Movie Awards in 2010 for Best TV Hero, the Satellite Award in 2012 for Best Cast, and the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Anti-Hero in 2014.