Who were the Best Human Antagonists?
InGen_Nate_Kenny
Moderator
So I was thinking about basically all the antagonists we've gotten in the Walking Dead. From the likes of the Governor, Carver, Negan, to the St. John's and the Hunters, I ask a question: Who were the best?
I am not going to be including characters like Ben, Larry, Lilly, Roman, Kenny, Jane, etc, because while they fulfill the definition of antagonist, I don't think they are fully so. I'm looking for more villain-esque kinds. Nate came close, but if I counted him I'd had to include some more people. Crawford won't be on either I'm afraid.
I'm very tired, I might add the comics and TV show later.
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season 1: st johns
season 2: carver
comic: negan
tv: governor (until negan comes in amc better not fuck him up)
best overall villain
i mean how can't you love him he is just so serious but not serious at the same time xD
I love that in the next scene he's apologizing for making Carl cry.
Season 1: The Stranger
Yeah cannibals were pretty good, but they're not my kind of villain. The Stranger was technically watching you the whole time. The girl that you would die for told him everything about you, and he's just a really complex villain. The St Johns were kind of insane, and they acted normal before they would eat people. The Save Lots Bandits were kind of the same, and Vernon and Cancer Patients I don't consider villains, just survivors that thought what they did was right(Except Boyd).
The Stranger was just... Like he said a dad, who coached little league. He seemed so normal, until you find about his family. His sad back story where he lost his son. His car full of supplies is stolen(the supplies not the car) and his wife and daughter left him and got killed. Clementine was his way of coping, and redeeming himself. If you tell him you were bit he seems to show sympathy towards you. The head in the bag was a bit creepy, but the apocalypse messes people up.
Season 2: Arvo and the Russians
This option and Carver's was close. The scavengers were pretty much like the bandits, and Michelle was hardly an antagonist in my opinion. She just killed a good person. Lilly shot Carley, that doesn't make her an antagonist. I chose Arvo over Carver because Arvo like The Stranger seems the most human. His sister, and his whole group gets shot down, he's been taken hostage and taking the killers to his supply place. He's getting a lot of shit from Kenny...
Once Carver went off on Kenny. It kind of ruined his character. In Episode 2 he was depicted as this intelligent, pragmatic leader. But when he beat Kenny, and tossed Reggie off the roof, it just felt like his potential was gone. Arvo was a conflicted teenager who wanted his revenge. He get's a lot of hate for shooting Clementine, but I don't blame him. It wasn't the right thing to do, but it was what he did.
Yeah, I couldn't think of anymore antagonists, so I was like, screw this, Michelle it is.
Not a good enough panel of him
TWD Game S1 - The Stranger
TWD Game S2 - Carver
Comic - Negan...and it ain't even close. He is one of the most colorful comic antagonists ever and steals the show whenever he shows up. Best TWD character in general because he is so damn entertaining in my opinion:
Negan is my favorite antagonist of the franchise overall, with Carver coming second
St Johns were my favorite antagonists from Season 1, and my favorite portrayal of cannibalism as a concept so far (against the hunters from the comics and Terminus in the show). They just had that human edge to them that made them all the more sympathetic in comparison to the others. I felt like they had a great presence, despite their short stay in the story.
Carver was my favorite from S2. I'm in the boat of people that felt he was executed well (in more ways than one, if you know what i mean). And he has the plus of being voiced by Michael Madsen, and that alone puts him pretty high on my list. He had a great introduction to the story (the cat-and-mouse you have with him in the cabin is one of my favorite scenes), and a powerful presence. Also, he had that great theme/motif that followed him and added all the more intimidation factor to him (like during the beating scene, that simple haunting tune set the mood for it perfectly).
The Russians...
...nah, I'm just kidding. Carver really had a great presence and the season suffered without his menace and sociopathic cruelty - Kenny was a poor successor to him, considering that half the fanbase doesn't even consider the hatted one a villain.
I wish there was an opportunity for [Edgy] Clem to say something like that to Kenny. :P
The best is the Governor. The St Johns weren't real villains IMO because they just have learned "not to waste anything" after all...
Updated to include Volume 1-11 of the comics.
Season 1: The Stranger
Season 2: Carver and Howe's
Volumes 1-11: Governor
All of the comics: Negan
Show: Governor
So cannibalism, murder, conspiring with rapists and threatening children aren't villainous actions. Good to know.
In a zombie infsted world this is just a way like another to survive.
Just like murdering children (Winston), acting like an overgrown bully (Troy & Carver) are "ways to survive."
Don't act like you're some amoral robot, being a fucking cannibal gets you ostracized for many reasons.
S1: I have to go with the St. Johns, though I really enjoyed the Stranger too.
S2: Carver.
Show: Tie between The Governor and Gareth I loved them both a lot they were good villains. Gareth didn't last long enough. I'm still bitter. 3:<
I don't read the comics, so I can't pick one there.
Updated with the rest of the comics.