Walking Dead's Ending Makes Glenn's Death Even More Tragic

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Few deaths in the history of comic books were as tragic as Glenn Rhee's murder in The Walking Dead, but the fate of his son Hershel in the comic's last issue makes this loss all the more heart-breaking. The tragedy was not only born from its depiction in gut-wrenching detail but also in the fact that it killed off one of the most helpful, kind-hearted, and thoughtful characters in the comic. Years later, the tragedy of Glenn's death is felt even deeper by the fact that he wasn't available to help raise his son Hershel.

In Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's The Walking Dead #100 Glenn is killed by Negan, the leader of the Saviors, as retaliation for the killing of his men by Rick Grimes and his group of survivors. Glenn's pregnant wife Maggie is also part of the group that gets captured by Negan's men, and she is forced to witness her husband's brutal death. Some time afterward she gives birth to Hershel. Always bold and strong, Maggie goes on to become one of the toughest, most capable leaders of any survivor group in the zombie outbreak, eventually becoming the President of her own survivor community. Naturally, her focus on leading her community and eliminating zombies makes it difficult to give the fullest attention to the care and development of her and Glenn's child.

Related: Walking Dead: Carl's First & Last Words Show How He Failed to Grow

Intuitively, it is easy to think that the tough-as-nails Maggie would have made sure that her son could «kick some butt» when necessary. However, as a result of Glenn's untimely death and Maggie's increasing leadership responsibilities, Hershel grows up quite different from his parents. The Walking Dead #193, the final issue of the series, flashes forward years in the future