An unused potential backstory for one the most infamous characters from Robert Kirkman’s genre-defining comic book series, The Walking Dead, would have turned the villain into Rick Grimes’ perfect, dark opposite. Negan was at one point considered to be “Davidson,” the exiled former leader of the Alexandria Safe Zone, a move that would have radically altered the character’s past, and the franchise’s future.

Davidson would have represented a dark mirror for Rick, a dark possible outcome for his own leadership role.

In the annotations to Walking Dead Deluxe #76, Robert Kirkman revealed that he at least toyed with the idea of making Negan the same as Davidson, an unseen character reference only briefly in the series.

As Douglas Monroe explained to Rick Grimes in the issue, Davidson was his predecessor as the Alexandria Safe Zone’s leader, who had been exiled following his abuse of power. Kirkman’s original plan for the character was to have him return on a quest for vengeance against his former home. This plan was scrapped, but the character remained on the writer’s mind, at least as late as Negan’s introduction.

Robert Kirkman “Had The Option” To Make Negan Davidson

In the notes to Walking Dead Deluxe #71, Robert Kirkman discussed how his original plans for Davidson changed during the writing process, explaining:

Part of the fun of writing stories like this is throwing plates in the air and keeping them spinning until you decide to nail the story down with specifics. The Davidson story is one of those instances. I could have gone anywhere with that story at this point; the options were wide open.

Kirkman opted not to bring Davidson back as the series’ next major villain; as a result of this creative decision, the path was instead cleared to begin laying the groundwork for Negan’s eventual introduction. While Negan has become synonymous with The Walking Dead, it is worth asking out the franchise would’ve been different, had he been Davidson. In the back-matter of Walking Dead Deluxe #76, Kirkman himself drew the connection directly, asking:

Would it have been better if Negan had been Davidson? Would it have made more sense to tie it all together?

“Bah! I say no,” Kirkman wrote, providing his own take on the answer, before adding: “But I definitely had that option.” This indicates that the author at least considered reviving his plan to introduce Davidson as a major threat to Rick Grimes and his people. The barbed-wire-bat wielding Negan eventually grew into a foil for Rick in the sense that he represented a totally different post-apocalyptic worldview than the former police officer. Davidson, meanwhile, would have represented a dark mirror for Rick, a dark possible outcome for his own leadership role.

Making Negan A Distinct Character Allowed For More Creative Freedom

While there are still some trace comparisons that could be made between the two character concepts – based on what little is known about Davidson – it is likely that their character trajectories would have been significantly different.

By not tying Negan to any previous story, and not making him Davidson, Robert Kirkman ultimately allowed the character to flourish. In the comic series, as well as AMC’s Walking Dead adaptation, Negan went on to become as foundational a character in the franchise’s overall mythos as Rick, Carl, Carol, or any of its central protagonists. While there are still some trace comparisons that could be made between the two character concepts – based on what little is known about Davidson – it is likely that their character trajectories would have been significantly different.

One of Walking Dead’s major narrative swerves was denying its characters, and its audience, the catharsis of Negan’s eventual demise. Instead, he became a core character in the second half of the series, even attempting, at least, to find some manner of redemption for the heinous crimes of his past. Whether this would have been the same for Davidson can only be speculated on. What is clear is that Robert Kirkman stands by his decision to cut the Davidson plot line and introduce Negan, a creative decision few fans of The Walking Dead franchise could reasonably argue with.