This past week’s episode of The Walking Dead television show introduced a new character from the comics. So who is Aaron from the Walking Dead?
The Walking Dead television show remains quite faithful to the comic book, at times recreating scenes panel by panel. So if Aaron is new on the television show, what can that tell us about potential upcoming storylines?
Potential spoilers ahead.
Seriously, I’m bringing this character profile at you like a slow, shambling walker, as I want to give you ample time to put a bowie knife into its brain stem if you don’t want to spoil potential upcoming storylines. Stop reading if you don’t want Aaron’s storylines in the comics to spoil potential upcoming storylines on the television show.
[divider]Who is Aaron in The Walking Dead comics?[/divider]In the television show Aaron introduces himself as “Friendly,” and this is certainly true in the comics. In short, Aaron genuinely is a good guy and doesn’t mean Rick and the gang any harm. This should be obvious because Aaron is clean, and would a bad man bother to freshen up in the zombie apocalypse?
Aaron’s role is that of a recruiter for the Alexandria Safe Zone. The leadership of the ASZ recognizes that people will not survive alone, and indeed, it takes a community of people, each with a job to do and each caring for one other. In other words, there is strength (and civilization) in numbers.
So recruiters like Aaron are sent out to locate survivors. But they don’t just bring them back to the safe zone, they watch them for a while. I suspect this was how Aaron knew Rick’s name, and as he was watching them, he was making a judgement on if they would be a safe match for the ASZ.
Clearly, Rick and the gang passed the test, so at this point, a recruiter like Aaron would approach the survivors and invite them to join the community at Alexandria.
[divider]What is the Alexandria Safe Zone?[/divider]The Alexandria Safe zone is just a few miles from Washington, DC, and is comprised of several cleared streets surrounded by walls. Think of Woodbury, GA, but bigger and not ruled by a madman like The Governor. The ASZ has several homes and space for crops, and could serve as the pig farm that Rick has dreamed of since The Prison.
Aaron and the ASZ was introduced in the comics in the late 60’s (67, I think.) and served as the longest place the survivors stayed in one place.
[divider]More about Aaron[/divider]
In addition to Aaron, there seem to be a few dozen people living in the ASZ. They were led by Douglas Monroe and had supply runners, a construction crew, and medical, areas where Rick and our current gang of survivors could fit right into.
Aaron is gay in the comics, and has a long time partner in Eric. Eric is protective of Aaron and would sometimes accompany him on recruiting missions just in case things went badly.
If you watched Lost, you may be thinking about the Others right now, wondering if Rick and his crew is being recruited by the Dharma Initiative.
I’ve spoiled enough, but simply being introduced to Aaron doesn’t give hints into the multitudes of storylines, character arcs, and major interactions that occur while the survivors are in the ASZ. For that, you’ll have to read the comics or simply wait and see how faithful the show remains to the comics.
I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens next!
Tabletop Takeaways: Tips for Dungeon Masters with a Narrative Spin