‘Walking Dead’: A Tribute to Negan’s First Victim

[Warning: This story contains spoilers through the Walking Dead season seven premiere.]

As a wise man once said: “Son of a d—k!”

Sadly, that wise man no longer has a head with which to spout out such colorful pearls of wisdom. In its first episode of its seventh season, AMC’s The Walking Dead made the tragic decision to throw the Bisquick out with the pancakes: Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz), the hardened warrior who became a staple on the show since debuting midway into season four, is no more, his brains smashed in by a maniac with a baseball bat named Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

Abraham was one of the odds-on favorites to lose his life at Negan’s hands, second in our estimation only to Glenn — and, well, we know how that one worked out, too. But in the spirit of giving the two losses their respective room to breathe, let’s focus for now on Abraham, giving at least “two short and curlies” about a man who squeezed a lot of juice out of his two and a half seasons on AMC’s The Walking Dead. 

Here’s a walk down memory lane, remembering Abraham’s best moments on the show. (Click here to see how Abe died in the comics.)

The Splashy Entrance

There have been a lot of moments on the Walking Dead show that perfectly captured the essence of the comic book source material, but few things rival Abraham’s introduction. From the bright orange handlebar mustache to his pitch-perfect partners Eugene (Josh McDermitt) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) stepping up beside him, Abraham’s first appearance on The Walking Dead was like a Charlie Adlard splash page springing to life.

Man at Work

The Rick Grimes Gang can more than hold its own in most walker situations, but no one handled zombies with quite as much relish as Abraham. The man seemed genuinely at home whenever he got his hands on the undead — just another day at the office for a guy who loved his job. Something about that enthusiasm, disturbing as it is on so many levels, shined light through some otherwise bleak material.

Once Upon a Time

Before he became the most eager zombie killer on the planet, Abraham was at the end of his rope. During season five’s “Self Help,” we learn that his violent survival instincts drove his family away, and straight into the mouths of hungry zombies. He almost ended it there, if not for the arrival of a certain man with a plan to end the apocalypse once and for all.

Punch Eu in the Genes

Naturally, when Eugene reveals the truth about his “plan” — namely, that he doesn’t really have one — Abraham responds by punching his mullet-wearing companion squarely in the face, knocking him out in a single punch. Here’s that very moment, on a loop for a solid minute: 

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