Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown.
For the special occasion of the 150th issue of the award winning comic series that conceived a pop culture phenomenon, Robert Kirkman delivers one of the bigger turning points in his comic book series, by delving more in to why Rick Grimes is almost unstoppable at this point. If you’ve been keeping up, the Whisperers have an army of stealth warriors that don the skins of the walkers, and are posing a severe threat on Alexandria. The loss of many key residents doesn’t just have everyone in fear, but has also caused everyone to question what kind of leader Rick Grimes.
As the unquestioned ruler over Alexandria, Rick has tried to appeal to the common sense and humanity of the people in his village. But with the fear paralyzing some and turning others hysterical, the fears finally explodes on to issue 150. As Rick tries to appeal to Dwight’s idea of retaliating against the whisperers, Rick is finally pushed over the edge when two hooded men from the village attempt to assassinate Rick in the town’s square. The scene is written and unfolded as if this really is the final time we’ll be seeing Rick and it’s a tense sequences which pours in to one panel after another.
Now that Rick is essentially hobbled, he can do very little fighting back, but in the midst of the struggle, Rick savagely eliminates one of the assailants by latching on to his throat as he did issues ago. Rick’s a savage when he needs to be, and even in a frail state, he’s no one to be crossed. Finally Rick not only has a platform to speak to Alexandria and be heard, but he’s pushed to the point where perhaps creating an army out of the survivors of the trio of villages is the best idea. For a long time Rick has eliminated the idea of enforcers, but perhaps now it’s a good time to not only create a military, but sense of order and law within the communities.
In issue 150 we see the seeds sewn for the second major war in “The Walking Dead” universe, and Rick is leading his people now as a pure example of the violence wrought by fear, and how he refuses to die, even when matched against a superior foe. I think he’s also inspired Dwight to somewhat step up, man up, and take control of his own town. Because as the whisperers defense gets tighter, this promises to be a second major war that will see many casualties. It’s a huge development in a comic that’s no longer about survival but now about political strategies and all out war. You have to wonder in that final panel though if Negan is setting Rick up for a grand rise, and a hard violent fall in the vein of Caesar. If Rick becomes too powerful, will the people turn to Negan to be their savior?