Eugene is often thought of as a lesser Walking Dead character, but when compared to Rick it’s clear he has a story arc that ranks as the series’ best.

In the zombie-ravaged world of The Walking Dead, Rick Grimes is the main protagonist in a sprawling cast that includes his son Carl, the scavenger Glenn, the vile Negan, and, of course, the creepy yet integral character of Eugene. Despite evidence to the contrary, and when looked at from a series-wide perspective, Eugene has the franchise’s best character arc, putting to shame Rick and the rest of the survivors in a way that isn’t immediately obvious.

A character who debuted in The Walking Dead #53, by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard, Eugene Porter was introduced as a scientist who had presumably developed a cure for the zombie virus but would only give the information to the proper officials in Washington D.C.

Revealed to be full-on lying about all the above — Eugene is really just a simple science teacher — the character is then painted as a shameful coward and creep (as shown when he blatantly watches Abraham and Rosita sleep together), eventually righting his wrongs and becoming a well-respected member of society.

Eugene’s Character Arc Saw Him Evolve Far More Drastically Than Rick

The Walking Dead (Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard)

Eugene, throughout The Walking Dead’s 193 issues, made up for his lack of likability thanks to his eventual importance as a character after he figured out how to reliably produce bullets for Alexandria during their war against Negan. Starting as a waste of space with no backbone nor sense of purpose among the dead, Eugene eventually takes his initial success with helping the community defend itself, and, in the years-long time-skip seen in the final issue of The Walking Dead, Eugene is shown working on a railroad network that will connect humanity even further.

Conversely, and while undoubtedly the person who did the most for the members of his group as well as the direction of the new world birthed after his death, Rick doesn’t change all that drastically as a character, going from a police officer to a steadfast leader to an authority figure respected across multiple settlements, giving Rick an arc that’s more of a logical progression rather than something truly game-changing. Meanwhile, Eugene going from essentially bluffing his way into survival to helping lead an entire society’s progress is a trajectory no other character can claim.

Eugene Was A Much Better Character By The Time The Walking Dead Comic Ended

So while it might be a hot take that Eugene has the best character arc of the series, it can’t be denied that he came a long way from his introduction as a pushover with a head full of lies to the man who found a way to unite the east and west settlements of America post-zombie apocalypse — a personal journey that deserves far more credit than it’s often given. The Walking Dead’s Eugene won’t be winning any popularity contests anytime soon, but it’s about time fans put some respect on his name.

All issues of The Walking Dead are available from Image Comics.