When it comes to AMC’s The Walking Dead, two of the most infamous villains to ever terrorize Rick Grimes and company are David Morrissey’s the Governor and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan. Both men left behind trails of destruction, heartbreak, and, let’s be honest, a lot of dead bodies, but in the comics, The Governor was actually far more sinister than Negan. Sure, Negan cracked a few skulls (literally), but the Governor was operating on an entirely different level of depravity.

Fans of The Walking Dead show might think Negan takes the cake, but the comics tell a different story. The TV series took every opportunity to make Negan look like an unhinged psychopath—dragging out Glenn’s execution, his cackling, his theatrics, and making his evil feel personal. But in the comics, Negan had rules and a twisted but functioning moral code. Negan was so bad in the show that many believe his redemption wasn’t justified, but his arc in the comics was less extreme and, therefore, more believable. The Governor, on the other hand, was a straight-up monster. The things he did in Robert Kirkman’s original The Walking Dead comics make his TV counterpart look like a playground bully. Let’s lay out why the Governor was undeniably worse than Negan.

The Governor Was a Psychopath, Negan Was a Tyrant

Going off the comics, there’s a difference between being a brutal warlord and being a sadistic madman. Negan ran the Saviors with an iron fist, but his methods were, in his own twisted way, practical. The Governor thrived on cruelty.

The Governor’s Greatest (Most Horrifying) Hits:

Tortured Michonne: In the comics, the Governor’s treatment of Michonne was one of the most horrifying moments in The Walking Dead’s entire run. He held her captive, assaulted her, and brutally beat her. She stabs his right eye in revenge. This was significantly toned down for the show.
Cut off Rick’s hand: A violent mutilation that was thankfully scrubbed for the show.
Kept zombie heads in fish tanks: He saw them as entertainment, like his own twisted version of television. Some of the heads belonged to people he had personally killed.
Used his undead niece as a pet: Penny, his zombified niece (not daughter as in the TV show), was kept chained up, and he would attempt to feed her human flesh. Negan, for all his brutality, had a firm stance against harming children.
Tortured Andrea (and likely others): The Governor restrained Andrea in his torture chamber, subjecting her to extreme physical abuse.
Assaulted Maggie: In the comics, he forced himself on Maggie in a cruel display of power. Thankfully, the TV show writers chose not to be so explicit.
Slaughtered dozens of innocent people: During his final assault on the prison, the Governor ordered his people to kill every man, woman, and child inside. He even personally beheaded Tyreese (who played a much bigger role in the comics than in the show). In the TV adaptation, this moment was given to Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson) instead.
Executed his own soldiers: When some of his people hesitated to follow his extreme orders, he killed them himself to make an example.

Meanwhile, the show went out of its way to make Negan look worse than he was in the comics. His barbed-wire bat execution of Glenn was excruciatingly prolonged, and his psychological torment of Rick was stretched to cinematic extremes. In the comics, Negan’s brutality is shocking, but it is also methodical. The show made it feel sadistic.

Negan’s Completely Messed-Up Code of Ethics

Negan’s notorious introduction in issue #100 of the comics was horrifying, but it came with twisted logic. His philosophy was simple: break people, control them, but don’t destroy them unless absolutely necessary. He even (supposedly) refused to harm women and children in most cases, particularly in the comics, and he despised sexual violence.

The Governor, on the other hand, had no such moral restrictions. He tortured, killed, and assaulted all kinds of people purely for his amusement and power. His rule in Woodbury wasn’t about control through fear—it was about satisfying his own bloodlust. Unlike Negan, who often gave people the choice to submit, the Governor simply took what he wanted without negotiation.

Negan may have played some psychological games, but in the comics, he wasn’t quite so sadistic. The Governor was the one who enjoyed causing pain, but he had his worst moments toned down for television. Perhaps the changes were made in an attempt to ramp up the stakes and have the show progress to more chaotic villains over time.

Their Behaviors Towards Women Is, Um, Not Great

The TV show toned things down, but in the comics, the Governor was much more horrific to women. Case in point: the assaults of Maggie and Michonne. Negan, for all his violence, had rules against such acts and despised anyone who crossed that line, allegedly.

However, Negan’s ethical boundaries were also largely flexible, as he did have multiple “wives” in the comics, and their situation was highly coercive. While he technically gave them a choice—either become one of his wives and live in relative comfort or work manual labor—the power imbalance made that choice anything but free. His system was built on fear and control, and his actions were in no way acceptable. Compared to the Governor, though, who outright took what he wanted through force, Negan supposedly offered a choice.

Both characters are evil, and the Governor being worse is no justification for Negan’s actions. His treatment of women was still rooted in manipulation and oppression. The only reason this comparison is being made is to highlight the sheer monstrosity of the Governor, not to absolve Negan of his own terrible acts.

The Governor’s War Was Pure Bloodlust

In the comics, when the Governor led his people against Rick’s group in the prison, it was an act of sheer vengeance for his daughter’s death. He wasn’t just trying to establish dominance, he wanted them dead for personal reasons. In issue #48, the attack led to the deaths of countless people, including Lori (who, in the show, died during childbirth) and baby Judith (who survived in the series).

While the Governor did not personally kill Lori and Judith, their lives were taken under his command and were some of the most terrible deaths in the comics. As Lori fell after being shot, she landed on top of baby Judith, crushing her. The show, meanwhile, doubled down on making Negan’s war with Rick last for entire seasons, showing him as a relentless oppressor, while the Governor’s chaotic destruction felt more fleeting.

Final Verdict: The Governor Wins (Or Loses?)

In the battle of brutality, the Governor takes the gold medal for pure villainy. Negan was a ruthless dictator, but the Governor was a horror show in human form. The comics show just how much worse he was—ruthless, sadistic, and driven by nothing but his own twisted desires. Negan eventually found redemption, but the Governor was evil to the bitter end. The Walking Dead original series wanted audiences to see Negan as the ultimate boogeyman, dragging out his reign of terror and amplifying his worst moments. But in reality, the Governor was the true nightmare.