Top 25 Walking Dead Villains of all time

1. The Governor

Introduction: Philip Blake was the Joker to Rick Grimes’ Batman, and lands the #1 spot on this list for genuinely despising Rick. Unlike Negan, a practical, sensible man most of the time, the Governor was never about comprising. Even after losing Woodbury and rebuilding his life with a whole other family, he never forgot vengeance, especially against Michonne, the person who took his eye and ended his hopes of one day curing his daughter Penny. Michonne attempted to turn Andrea against the Governor and was a constant thorn in his side, despite the fact that Woodbury was in reality the only functioning modern society we knew of at the time. Not even Alexandria or the Hilltop measured up to Woodbury’s captured oasis, twenty steps removed from the rest of the world.

The Governor was fully ahead of his time, even ahead of Negan and Shane, in the sense that the The Walking Dead universe is all about one’s own life. Others are willing to betray at the drop of a hat, which is why he had no choice but to preemptively dispose of Martinez at one point. His charisma leadership abilities are unparalleled. Unlike Negan, who kept others at bay from the throne with fear, the Governor’s natural charm gained him support. He even rebuilt an entire army after eliminating the first Woodbury one. He should have never been killed, but there’s Michonne again…

Biggest act of Villainy: Taking out Hershel in one of the greatest Walking Dead episodes of all time, “Too Far Gone” (season 4, episode 8) after calling Rick out as a “Liar” for saying they could all live together. To this day, however, it boggles the mind why a narrative that built up through two seasons of the Governor wanting to extract revenge on Michonne (even trying to make a deal with Rick to get to her) ended up in him choosing to kill Hershel, a person he’d met hours earlier and seemed to be on good terms with. Yes, Hershel was the more popular character, but it made no sense for the Governor not to choose Michonne, the person who ruined his new life at Woodbury.

Everybody Hurts Sometimes: Philip’s greatest hope in life was to bring his daughter Penny out of her walker state. When Michonne took her out, he lost what was holding him together. You could see the pain on Philip’s face at losing the one person he held most dear.

The Good Side: The Governor crafted the only modern, functioning society of the whole series in Woodbury. The Governor actually had medical tests conducted to see if there was any part of the person still left in the walker, including seeing how they’d respond to music and other kinds of stimuli.

First Appearance: “Walk With Me” (season 3, episode 3)

Last Appearance: Living – “Too Far Gone” (season 4, episode 8), cameo in “What Happened and What’s Going On” during Tyreese hallucination scene (season 5, episode 9)

Cause of Death: Stabbed through the chest by Michonne while fighting Rick at the prison, then shot in the head by girlfriend Lilly Chambler.

Memorable Quote: “Liar.” (To Rick)