Robert Kirkman Charlie Adlard Cliff Rathburn Popular Books

Robert Kirkman Charlie Adlard Cliff Rathburn Biography & Facts

The Governor (real name in the novel and comic book: Brian Blake, alias Philip Blake; in the TV series: Philip Blake, alias Brian Heriot) is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists from The Walking Dead comic book and television series. On television, he was portrayed by David Morrissey. Created by Robert Kirkman and artists Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn, the character made his comics debut in The Walking Dead #27 in April 2006 and his television debut in season 3. In both series, the Governor is the ruthless, charismatic leader of the town of Woodbury, Georgia, who comes into conflict with protagonist Rick Grimes and is responsible for the deaths of several primary characters. The Governor's origins are explored in the novel The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor, written by Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga. In the television series, the Governor's disturbing motives are reflected in his authoritarian ways in dealing with threats to his community, primarily by executing most large groups and only accepting lone survivors into his community. His dark nature escalates when he comes into conflict with Rick Grimes' group, who are occupying the nearby prison. The Governor vows to eliminate the prison group, and in that pursuit, he leaves several key characters dead both in Rick's group and his own. The Governor has a romantic relationship with Andrea, who unsuccessfully seeks to broker a truce between the two groups. In season 4, the Governor attempts to redeem himself upon meeting a new family, to whom he introduces himself as Brian Heriot. However, he commits several brutal acts to ensure the family's survival. This leads to more characters' deaths and forces Rick and his group to abandon the prison. In 2009, the Governor was ranked as IGN's 86th-greatest comic book villain of all time and was ranked #28 on TV Guide's list of 'The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time'. For his performance as the Governor, Morrissey was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 39th Saturn Awards. Appearances Comic book series Aside from simply "the Governor," the character's name appeared to be Philip Blake; however, with the release of the novel The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor, it was revealed that his actual name was Brian Blake, and Philip was revealed to be his deceased brother. When the dead began to rise, Brian and Philip gathered a small group, which included Brian's niece Penny, and the group were constantly on the run when unsecured locations were breached; the planned community called the Wiltshire Estates, where Rick's group coincidentally stayed, was one of these. Eventually, Brian's group came upon Woodbury, Georgia, a ravaged town being led by a group of National Guardsmen under Major Gene Gavin, who used fear to assert his authority. After becoming the last of his group, Brian rallied the townspeople against Gavin and the Guardsmen and afterward declared himself "Governor" of the four blocks making up the settlement. Initially appearing to be a fair and strong leader, he became increasingly more ruthless and power-hungry. He kept the zombified Penny tied up in his apartment, feeding her severed body parts of those who displeased him. Following Woodbury's capture and the murder of stranded refugees from Atlanta, the Governor is met by Rick Grimes, when Grimes' band of survivors explores the town. After initially acting hospitable, the Governor turns on the group. Attempting to find the location of Rick's prison refuge in order to collect supplies for Woodbury, the Governor proceeds to cut off Rick's hand, torture Glenn, and rape and torture Michonne. To learn the location of the prison, the Governor allows the survivors to escape the premises with the help of one of his guards, Caesar Martinez. However, Michonne stays behind and finds her way to the Governor's apartment, where she brutally tortures him, severing his right arm, fingernails, penis, and left eye. When Michonne rejoins the group and they ask her if the Governor is still alive, Michonne is uncertain. The Governor survives with the help of Bob Stookey, a citizen who had medical experience, and is eventually able to find the prison. The Governor uses Rick's murder of Martinez to rally Woodbury's townspeople against the prison's inhabitants. Things do not go according to plan, however, as Rick's group puts up a tenacious defense that forces Woodbury's humiliating retreat. After a failed attempt to gain his way into the prison, by using Tyreese as a hostage and subsequently decapitating him with Michonne's katana, the Governor crushes the fences with a tank. A bloody massacre ensues, leading to a high death toll and ultimately making the prison less secure and less habitable. Tensions steadily rise within the Governor's group, as their remaining ammunition is limited, and a handful of Woodbury residents' moral consciences come into play, especially regarding the killing of defenseless or young members of the prison group. Both factors lead to the remnants of the Governor's army turning on him, and to Lilly's killing him, throwing his corpse to the zombies, and making a last-ditch attempt to fortify the prison. Television series Before the outbreak, Philip and Brian Blake were raised by an abusive father. As an adult, Philip worked an office job with a boss he didn't get along with, was married, and had a daughter named Penny. Eighteen months before the outbreak, Philip lost his wife in a car accident. During the early days of the outbreak, Philip and Penny survived and found a community in Woodbury. Penny was bitten, however, and turned into a walker. Unable to accept her death, Philip locked her up in a private room in his office. When the community was leaderless, they picked Philip to lead and began calling him "the Governor", a nickname which stuck. Determined not to lose the community, he executed any outsider groups he saw as a threat. He allowed some smaller groups to move into Woodbury if he deemed them to be an asset and not a threat to his leadership, but still took precautions and had them monitored by his lieutenants until he deemed them trustworthy. At some point during the first or second season, the Governor encounters a dying Merle Dixon, whom the Governor enlists, along with Caesar Martinez and Milton Mamet, as his lieutenant and advisers. He also tasks Milton, a scientist, with researching a means to reverse the virus in the hopes of saving Penny. The Governor was also known to have had affairs with many of the Woodbury women. Personality The Governor is charming and charismatic, but also murderous, violent, sociopathic, power-hungry, completely sadistic, and horrifically ruthless. He sees himself as the community's only hope for survival, and is thus willing to imprison, abuse and/or kill anyone he sees as a threat to his authority; for him, torture and mass murder are a means to an end. One example of this is when he and his men massacre a group of National Guardsmen and ta.... Discover the Robert Kirkman Charlie Adlard Cliff Rathburn popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Robert Kirkman Charlie Adlard Cliff Rathburn books.