WhileThe Walking Deadfranchise has introduced some iconic characters to viewers, the show has also created some legendary weapons. The original show’s relatively simple premise concerned a world suddenly dealing with a zombie apocalypse, without ever using the word “zombie.“The best characters inThe Walking Deadhave adapted to the new world, creating lives and communities against this dangerous backdrop, which brings out the best and the worst in humanity.The Walking Deadwas so successful and there was so much potential in the concept that there are now severalWalking Deadspin-offs, with more on the way.
The manyWalking Deadspin-offs each introduce new characters and their ways of dealing with walkers. However, more importantly, they show time passing, which affects how the characters survive and how the core communities each work differently. In the earlierWalking Deadseasons, the walkers were a new threat, and people turned to weapons like guns, which were easily available. Resourceful characters, like Daryl Dixon, understood the importance of quiet weapons from the start ofThe Walking Dead. Still, other characters have learned quickly, with many ofthe longest-survivingWalking Deadcharacterscreating new, unexpected, and iconic weaponry.
10Rick’s Colt Python
Rick’s Gun Was A Perfect Weapon For Him
Whilemany ofThe Walking Dead’s original characters, like Andrea, needed to be taught how to shoot, Rick was at an advantage. As a sheriff, Rick was already able to handle a gun, and one of the first things he did after waking from his coma was to go to his office and retrieve his gun. Rick’s Colt Python became his signature weapon, and it was even recreated when a fan made adetailed Rick Grimes LEGO project.
Rick’s Colt Python may not have been the best choice of weapon in the hands of a different character, but Rick was very effective with it, easily using it to put down walkers.The Colt Python stayed with Rick for the majority of his time inThe Walking Dead, and it still played a symbolic role after he left the show. AfterThe Walking Dead’s time jump, the gun is seen once more, this time in the hands of Judith, becoming one of several connections to her father.
9Morgan’s Staff
Morgan’s Weapon Is A Symbol Of His Character’s Journey
Morgan has had one of the most complex and harrowing journeys of all theWalking Deadcharacters, losing his wife, and then his son, and being forced to put both of them down. His experiences in the early days of the apocalypse led him to struggle with mental illness and violent rages. However, Morgan’s encounter with the pacifist Eastman changed his journey for the remainder of his time inThe Walking Dead, and gave him his staff, which became his signature weapon.
10 Obscure The Walking Dead Characters Killed Off Way Too Soon
The Walking Dead regularly killed main characters, but many obscure characters had potential before The Walking Dead took them out prematurely.
Eastman taught Morgan how to fight with a staff, and after his death, Morgan refused to use other weapons. Though he may have vowed never to kill another person,Morgan is the bestWalking Deadcharacter at killing walkers. He has even used his staff to fight living characters and is just as formidable as characters with deadlier-looking weapons.The staff has become a visual reminder of Morgan’sWalking Deadjourneyand is one of the most effective (if underestimated) weapons in the show.
8Daryl’s Flail
Daryl Now Has Two Main Weapons
Daryl Dixon’s weapons tend to be difficult to master, and the flail is no exception. While Daryl spent most ofThe Walking Deadseries inseparable from his hunting crossbow, he picked up a new weapon for his fight with the Whisperers. The protagonists needed weapons that they did not need to pause and reload, and Daryl was able to use the flail to take down several walkers and Whisperers at once. It is not an easy weapon to use, and Norman Reedus hit himself a few times during filming.
After 13 years of being associated with the crossbow,Daryl’s flail has become his new signatureWalking Deadweapon. Daryl was reunited with Carol inDaryl Dixonseason 2, and it appears thatDaryl Dixonseason 3 will also reunite Daryl with his crossbow. Still, if anyone can have two signature weapons, it is Daryl, and as one of theWalking Deadfranchise’s most resourceful characters, he would likely see the wisdom in having both a close-range and a long-range weapon.
7Michonne’s Katana
When Michonne made her legendary entrance into theWalking Deadfranchise, Danai Gurira had not yet been cast, so the entire scene was filmed without showing Michonne’s face. Still, this entrance instantly showed a lot about Michonne. Her understanding that walkers do not harm each other allowed her to use her walker “pets” as a shield, while her sword made her instantly formidable. Not allWalking Deadcharacters have signature weapons, but Michonne’s katana is a key part of who she is.
While Michonne’s katana stays with her throughout most of her time in theWalking Deadfranchise, the TV show changed the source material, giving the weapon a different backstory.In theWalking Deadcomics, Michonne found the katana in her neighbor’s housewhile looking for supplies, and she taught herself to use it by practicing on the walkers she found. However, Michonne already owned the katana in the TV show, which showed it hanging on her wall in a flashback scene.
6Alicia’s Barrel Shroud
The Improvised Weapon Saves At Least Two Lives
In the firstWalking Deadspin-off,Fear the Walking Dead, Alicia Clark uses a sharpened barrel shroud as a weapon. At this point in the walker apocalypse, regular weapons are harder to come by, and the characters have become more creative when searching for things to use for self-protection.Alicia finds the barrel shroud on an abandoned machine gunat a derelict water park and adapts it. Alicia adds a strap to the weapon and uses it in place of the balisong she had carried.
Alicia’s barrel shroud saves her from walkers and surviving people, but she passes it on to Sherry when she gets a new and improved weapon. The barrel shroud then becomes more than just a walker-killing tool, as Sherry uses it to dig her and Dwight out when the drainage pipe collapses. Still, the barrel shroud and its former owner have something in common, as both their fates are a mystery.Alicia’s fate inFear the Walking Deadis currently unknown, and Sherry no longer seems to have the barrel shroud.
5Alicia’s Bone Blade Arm
Alicia Used One Signature Weapon To Create Another In Fear The Walking Dead
Alicia’s sharpened barrel shroud saved her from walkers on many occasions, but it had a key role in one of theWalking Deadfranchise’s most shocking scenes, saving her life once again. When Alicia is bitten by a walker, she uses the barrel shroud to amputate her own arm. Alicia survives, having a new prosthetic arm made from the bones of her old arm, and attaching blades to the end of it. This weapon is a testament to Alicia’s strength and looks incredible (if disturbing.)
TheWalking Deaduniverse rules allow a character to be saved from infection by a walker if they can amputate the affected limb quickly. That said,The Walking Deadappears to have retconned its walker bite amputation rules, with Alicia potentially suffering from the long-term effects of an amputation that wasn’t done quickly enough. She may have become ill, butAlicia’s prosthetic arm became one of the greatest weapons seen in theWalking Deadfranchise, for its incredible backstory alone.
4Nat’s Missile Launcher
Nat is one of the most interesting new characters in theWalking Deadfranchise, and, if he had not been killed, viewers could have seen him become an asset in a similar way to Eugene. Nat’s way of dealing with his rough upbringing resulted in him becoming an expert at inventing tools, and this became his most valuable skill in the walker apocalypse. Nat built some of the most effective weapons inThe Ones Who Live, including the missile launcher known as a screamstick.
The 8 Walking Dead Moments That Defined The Show
From Rick killing an undead child to Negan making his controversial debut, there are a ton of shocking moments that defined The Walking Dead.
Nat’s screamstick is one oftheWalking Deadfranchise’s most impressive weapons yet, and Michonne used it to blow up a horde of walkers that were blocking the way.Nat proved that the powerful invention was even capable of taking down aircraftwhen he shot the CRM helicopter down, unaware that Rick was on it. While many of theWalking Deadcharacters have an epic moment or two, Nat single-handedly taking down a helicopter can rival most of them.
3Daryl’s Crossbow
Daryl Dixon’s Original Weapon Showed He Was A Survivor
Of all the originalWalking Deadcharacters, the fan-favorite Daryl Dixon appeared to be most capable of survivingthe apocalypse. His former world skills set him up for success as a tracker and hunter, and he had a signature weapon while most of the other characters were still learning how to use one. Daryl’s crossbow was an effective hunting tool as well as a walker-killing weapon, and he quickly learns to use the bolts as close-range weapons, when he cannot get far enough away to shoot the crossbow.
Daryl has evolved as a character throughout theWalking Deadfranchise, which has shown him taking on a flail as his new weapon in bothThe Walking DeadandDaryl Dixon. Still, viewers may be pleased to know thatDaryl’s iconicWalking Deadcrossbow will return inDaryl Dixonseason 3. Now that Carol has retrieved it and brought it back to him, promotional shots forDaryl Dixonseason 3 have shown him carrying both weapons. This makes him even more dangerous if that was even possible.
2Aaron’s Arm Mace
As the characters discovered that amputating a bitten limb could save their lives,theWalking Deadfranchise had ever-increasing numbers of characters with amputations. That said, Aaron was not injured by a bite, but in a gruesome construction accident, during which his arm was crushed by falling logs. In the six years after the accident, Aaron wears several alternative prosthetics, beginning with a wooden hand, and progressing to cooler weapons.
Aaron reveals his mace attachment in season 10, which even impresses Negan. Aaron builds up his strength throughoutThe Walking Dead, and by the time the reveal scene happens, he is capable of shattering a walker’s head using the mace.Aaron began hisWalking Deadstory as a mild-mannered and gentle man, but eventually told Michonne that he was “sick of being nice.” Over time, Aaron became formidable with the help of his built-in weapons, eventually becoming one ofThe Walking Dead’s unexpected survivors.
1Negan’s Bat
Negan’s introduction was arguably the most iconic in the entireWalking Deadfranchise,and his obsession with his barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat, Lucille, was one of the character’s disturbing quirks.Negan killed some majorWalking Deadcharacters, but it may come as a surprise to learn that only two were killed using Lucille. The initial scene in which Negan beats both Glenn and Abraham to death has gone down inWalking Deadhistory, but these are the only two main characters to die via Lucille.
The Walking Dead: 10 Great Things You Missed If You Quit The Show Early
The Walking Dead’s final seasons may not have been as well-received as the beginning but they had some great moments you may have missed if you quit.
Negan may be having a redemption arc in theWalking Deadfranchise, even teaming up with Maggie inDead City, but Lucille is back by his side for season 2. With Maggie possibly still looking for revenge, it is certain that she will not react well to seeing the weapon that killed her husband in one of the most impactfulThe Walking Deadepisodes of all time.
The Walking Dead
The Walking Deadis a massive multimedia franchise that began with a comic book series created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The franchise gained widespread popularity with the launch of the television seriesThe Walking Deadin 2010 on AMC, which chronicles the lives of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, referred to as “walkers.” The success of the original show has led to numerous spin-offs, web series, video games, novels, and other media. The franchise explores themes of survival, human nature, and the breakdown of society in the face of an existential threat, making it one of the most successful and influential horror series of the 21st century.
