Potential spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead TV show and comics.
The Walking Dead fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of the apocalyptic drama since back in April, and it's finally upon us. In just one week we'll be transported back into the world of zombies, Saviors, and the occasional cannibal. Season 7 promises to be a game changer for the series, as Rick and the Alexandrians are completely powerless to Negan and his forces. And while fans of Robert Kirkman's comic book are eagerly anticipating the introduction of communities like The Kingdom, a new image from the AMC drama may be teasing yet another major comic book plot line: The Whisperers.
The Whisperers are a huge threat in The Walking Dead comic book series. You can see the image that is setting comic fans into a frenzy below, courtesy of the show's official Instagram.
Pretty creepy, right? While this image is enough to build anticipation for Season 7 of The Walking Dead, fans of the comics are finding an entirely different meaning altogether. The Whisperers may be coming.
The Whisperers are an especially terrifying threat in the Walking Dead comic book series. They're a murderous cult who disguise themselves by wearing the skin of walkers so they might blend in with the massive amounts of infected roaming the apocalyptic world. They don't believe in killing the undead- living peacefully among them through their disguises. Instead, they reserve their violence for the living, and are known to be a threat both physically and emotionally. Much like The Wolves from Season 6, The Whisperers completely abandoned their lives from the pre-apocalypse, and live a violent cult-focused life led by an unnamed Alpha leader. And the group only speaks in whispers- chilling AF if you ask me.
The above image is extremely close to an iconic Walking Dead comic book moment. When The Whispers decide that Alexandrians are getting to close to their land, they kidnap and murder a group of survivors and put their heads on spikes. This marks a border of sorts for The Whisperers, and the moment is noted for killing off a few major characters that are present in both the comics and AMC TV series.
The idea that The Whisperers could be introduced in Season 7 is baffling for fans of the comics. Season 7 will finally delve into the threat of The Saviors, which we'd been eagerly anticipating since Season 6's midseason finale. Season 7 must also introduce The Kingdom, and further flesh out The Hilltop community. With all of this material to cover properly, it seems bananas that they'd even hint at another threat. Chronologically, The Whisperers should be introduced after the Savior plot line ends, which can't be anytime soon.
We'll just have to wait and see if and when The Whisperers are introduced in The Walking Dead. The series will return to AMC Sunday, October 23rd.
