The Walking Dead's Weirdest Storyline Turned Rick Grimes Into A Superhero

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Even though "The Walking Dead" comic series ran for 16 years and 193 issues, it never answered the most fundamental question it posed: How did the zombie apocalypse start? A virus? A bio-weapon? Something supernatural? (As "Dawn of the Dead" suggested: "When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth.")

Series co-creator and writer Robert Kirkman included an origin for the outbreak in his pitch, but it wasn't something he ever intended to use. What origin was that? Aliens! To give "The Walking Dead" a more unique hook beyond just zombies, Kirkman pitched that the series would eventually reveal that aliens began raising the dead to soften Earth up for an invasion.

"The Walking Dead" ultimately didn't need more than zombies and some great writing to become a bestseller. So, in turn, Kirkman didn't have to use the alien invasion story, and aliens never showed up in "The Walking Dead" — or did they?

The non-canon story "Rick Grimes 2000" by Kirkman and artist Ryan Ottley "revealed" that aliens caused the apocalypse. When they make their presence known, Rick Grimes and co. switch from zombie killers to alien smashers. ("Rick Grimes 2000" was first published across five chapters in the anthology book "Skybound X" then collected in full as a hardcover.)

"Rick Grimes 2000" is a parody, written in jest, so it can't be taken as what Kirkman would have written in the main book if Image Comics forced him to write in aliens. Rather, the story is more meant to highlight just how ridiculous the idea of aliens starting the zombie apocalypse is. While the stakes are still the fate of the world, the tone is closer to "Star Wars" than "The Walking Dead" itself. Just look at Rick himself, who goes from a normal man to wielding a lightsaber like Luke Skywalker and wearing a masked costume, resembling a recolored version of Kirkman and Ottley's hero Invincible.

"Rick Grimes 2000" ran in "Skybound X" during 2021, after "The Walking Dead" itself had concluded. However, the story had begun much earlier, in 2010. Issue #75 of "The Walking Dead," set during the Alexandria arc, ends with Michonne hitting Rick over the head after the latter loses his cool.

The issue comes with an epilogue, picking up from there, where Rick vanishes in a flash of light. Cue a (now full color) page of Rick waking up in a hospital, meant to mirror the page of Rick waking up back in "The Walking Dead" issue #1. Rick goes outside, discovers several dead characters like Tyreese, Martinez, and Axel have returned as zombie-slaying cyborgs, and Michonne has a lightsaber instead of a katana. She explains to Rick what he's missed:

"It turns out that all of this, everything we've been living through, the fall of civilization, the dead coming back to life, all the lives lost... our lives ruined — it was all part of a diabolical plan! An unknown alien civilization came here for our water — it's like a currency for them. They brought about the downfall of our civilization by causing our dead to come back to life and attack us. Now they're rounding up what's left of us — turning us into a slave race to help them harvest the water."

But then, Michonne is attacked from behind and killed. The Governor has been rebuilt with robotic limbs, Darth Vader style, and is holding an also-resurrected Lori Grimes hostage, demanding Rick join him or suffer. 

Obviously this epilogue wasn't meant to be taken seriously. "Walking Dead" issue #76 ignores it and picks up from the real ending of issue #75. That the epilogue ended on a cliffhanger, and wasn't resolved, is part of the joke. I doubt the story was even meant to continue, since it took a decade for Kirkman to go back to it.

The issue #75 epilogue was drawn by regular "Walking Dead" artist Charlie Adlard. "Rick Grimes 2000" chapter 1 used recolored versions of those pages, then followed them up with new ones drawn by Ottley, carrying on from the original cliffhanger. Rick, who now has a robotic hand that can stretch like a grappling hook, picks up Michonne's lightsaber and duels the Governor. The villain gets the upper hand, but Andrea, having traded her sniper rifle for a BFG, arrives. She heals Rick with nanites stolen from the aliens, kills the Governor (possibly inspired by him sending Andrea to an early grave in the TV series) and takes Rick back to the humans' sanctuary.

Most of the other characters also get new designs that show off Kirkman and Ottley's love of Marvel Comics (Spider-Man especially). Carl has a cybernetic eye, Eugene has a Doctor Octopus-like harness, Maggie has a Cable-arm, Michonne returns as a four-armed cyborg with swords in all four hands, and Negan not only has two baseball bats (Lu and Cille) that merge into a red lightsaber, but also a glider like the Green Goblin.

Image Comics

"Rick Grimes 2000" chapter 3 speed runs through plot developments and character introductions from after issue #75, like introducing Paul "Jesus" Monroe or Rick and Andrea hooking up. That culminates when the Whisperers, who wear zombie skin, merge into a gestalt Kaiju, à la the Decepticon Devastator from "Transformers" or a "Power Rangers" Megazord.

Despite this formidable enemy, Rick still leads his allies to overcome (and Maggie gets to kill Negan this time). Once the aliens are defeated, the comic cuts to where "The Walking Dead" #193 closed out: an adult Carl, living on a farm, telling his daughter Andrea about her grandfather. Wait, was this whole thing just a story the real Carl wrote? Nope! In this world, Rick is still alive and kicking. He and Andrea are turning Earth into an intergalactic superpower so that it's better protected, should the aliens return.

The ending is just another reason why "Rick Grimes 2000" feels like "The Walking Dead" by way of "Invincible." "Invincible" is as violent as "The Walking Dead," but the simple fact it's in color shows how it's bombastic and thrill-seeking, not gloomy like "The Walking Dead" is. The same can be said for "Rick Grimes 2000."