How The Walking Dead's Jesus Will Become More Like The Comic Version

Jesus in The Hilltop

There are few TV shows quite as possible as AMC's The Walking Dead. The apocalyptic drama is currently the network's bread and butter, and has expanded into a successful spinoff. But Robert Kirkman's comic series started it all, with new issues still hitting shelves today. As such, purists often look to the show to properly adapt the source material, and judge iconic moments make their way to the small screen. The predictions are still continuing into the show's future, with comic fans hoping that Tom Payne's character Jesus will end up rocking the body armor and man bun that they've come to expect. Payne was recently asked just that, saying:

I think at some point you will be seeing that, yeah. I think it calls for the horse and the sword and body armor and all that kind of stuff. I think the hair should come along at some point, yeah.

Well, this is as close to a confirmation as we can probably get. While the rest of Season 8 will likely remained focus on the war against Negan and The Saviors, Tom Payne doesn't seem to think we're very far away from the character's badass comic book appearance. Who knows? Maybe the moment will even happen before the season finale.

Tom Payne's comments to Comic Book will likely excite the many Walking Dead purists out there. Fans have been following Robert Kirkman's graphic novels since 2003. With well over a decade of issues for the OG fans, there are a ton of expectations that come with each storyline on the TV show. This can even go down to the look of the character, as is the case with Jesus' armored getup. I mean, just look at this guy.

Jesus in the comics

While Walking Dead purists can sometimes watch the TV show with microscopic detail, the show has been known to stray from Robert Kirkman's comics. For instance, characters like Daryl and Sasha don't even exist. And plenty of liberties are taken with comic characters-- just look at Michonne. Additionally, the fates of Andrea, Abraham, and now Carl have vastly differed from what happened in the comics, so the purists out there have had to take several seats throughout the course of TWD's run.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens to Tom Payne's Jesus, and if he ends up having all his iconic moments from the comics. There's one particular battle he has with Negan that I'm keeping my fingers crossed for. Because don't we deserve that epic action sequence?

The Walking Dead will return to AMC on February 25th. In the meantime, check out our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch. Plus our Amazon premiere and superhero premiere lists to make sure you don't miss a single episode.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Double majored in theater and literature during undergrad. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid.