Robert Kirkman Reveals He Nearly Replaced Rick Grimes With Carl as the Lead in a Twisted Original Plot for The Walking Dead
Rick Grimes Was Almost Killed Off in The Walking Dead Issue #6—Here’s the Dark Alternate Ending That Almost Happened(Photo Credit –Facebook)

Rick Grimes, the character widely seen as the face of The Walking Dead franchise, was nearly written out within the comic’s early chapters. Series creator Robert Kirkman disclosed that he had initially thought about ending Rick’s journey in issue #6, long before the series found its stride.

The decision, he said, depended on how the comic was performing at the time. Kirkman outlined this original concept in The Walking Dead Deluxe #6, explaining that Shane was originally intended to survive and Rick was not. The direction could have led to a drastically altered storyline focused more heavily on Carl and internal conflict.

Rick Grimes was Nearly Killed Off Early in Comics

Back when The Walking Dead had only just launched, Robert Kirkman faced uncertainty about how long the story would run. To ensure a full arc could exist if the series ended early, he structured the first six chapters to wrap up neatly. As part of that contingency plan, he considered ending Rick Grimes’ life during the confrontation with Shane.

In the printed version of issue #6 (via H/T ComicBook.com), Shane turns a weapon on Rick but is stopped when Carl intervenes and shoots him. However, Kirkman recently stated in The Walking Dead Deluxe #6 that a different version had been seriously considered.

“Rather than Carl killing Shane, I considered having Carl find them in the woods just as Shane was killing Rick,” Kirkman wrote.

In this version, Carl would have witnessed Shane murder his father but stayed quiet, scared Shane might harm his mother, Lori. The plot would have shifted from survival horror to a more psychological narrative, focusing on Carl’s internal fear and the tension between him and Shane. Kirkman imagined Shane becoming the group’s earliest antagonist, living among them while hiding what he had done.

“Shane wouldn’t have known Carl had seen him. So there would have been a lot of tense exchanges between the two of them. Shane would have been the first real big villain in the book, and he would have been with the group, on the same side as them, the enemy sleeping the next tent over,” the creator said.

According to Kirkman, this change was a realistic possibility early on, especially if reader interest had been weak. But when the comic started gaining momentum, he saw a future past issue #6 and decided to continue Rick’s arc instead.

Kirkman also confirmed he has no plans to revisit this alternate version of events. Still, his early outline highlights how The Walking Dead could have evolved into a much different series shaped by betrayal, secrets, and Carl’s struggle in the absence of his father.

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