The Walking Dead: Dead City has set the stage for Negan to replace Lucille with a new deadly weapon, which is a major reversal of the growth Negan has struggled with in the final seasons of The Walking Dead. Screen Rant has been attending San Diego Comic-Con. This includes the panel for The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2, which teased important elements for Negan in the upcoming batch of episodes is a return to form for the former villain. While Negan has struggled with the guilt of his past actions and has done his best to grow as a person, a brief teaser of the new season shows Negan returning to his old ways.

This includes getting a new version of Lucille, that iconic barb-covered baseball bat that he used to slaughter nameless Walkers and beloved heroes alike. It’s a big turn of events for the character, especially given the kind of growth Negan has gone through. While the ending of Dead City’s season 1 justified the kind of character turn that could turn Negan back into the monster he was introduced as, it’s a major retcon and reversal of the arc at the heart of the character’s role in the franchise.

Negan Has A Lucille Replacement In Dead City Season 2 (After Burning The Original)

Negan Has Got A New Version Of His Iconic Weapon

The teaser for The Walking Dead: Dead City teased that Negan has remade Luicille, which could cement Negan’s villainous story. Lucille is one of the most iconic elements of Negan. The barbwired baseball bat, named after his dead wife, was the character’s most prolific weapon. However, after being imprisoned for years and going through a great deal of character growth, Negan rediscovered Lucille and was forced to confront who he was with it. After breaking Lucille fighting Walkers, Negan decides to make a change once and for all by burning the remnants of the bat.

Since then, Negan has been wrestling with his previous actions. Across the final stretch of The Walking Dead and the subsequent spin-off The Walking Dead: Dead City, Negan has done his best to move on and grow as a person. However, Dead City has forced Negan to resort to his old tactics to survive. The Dama, the effective lord of the post-apocayptic New York City, wants to encourage this development so she can use a terrifying Negan to coral her enemies and help maintain control. It seems like season 2 will continue that plot thread by giving the villain a new version of the bat, even if it’s a huge emotional retcon of his previous arc.

Negan Remaking Lucille Retcons His Story From The Walking Dead Season 10

Negan’s Emotional Arc Is Taking A Big Step Back

Negan’s emotional arc has been one of the most compelling elements of the latter The Walking Dead seasons. While Negan acknowledges the horrible things he did were to unify people through fear and intimidation, he also recognizes why people like Maggie may never forgive him for his actions. His arc in the final stretch of The Walking Dead saw the character come to terms with what he’d done, leading him to burn that part of his life away. It was the character’s big emotional turn, and it seems Dead City is poised to undo it.

However, his apparent decision to resume his old ways in feels like an emotional retcon. Notably, the teaser shows Negan fully embracing his old identity gleefully hitting Walkers with his bat, showcasing a deadly swagger with the new Lucille. This feels like a hard reversal of even the Negan seen in season 1 of Dead City, who was seemingly heartbroken at having to use his old tactics to intimidate others. The fact that the teaser shows him embracing his old ways feels like a big emotional step-back for the character.

Why Negan Returns To His Villainous Persona In Dead City Season 2

The first season of The Walking Dead: Dead City was largely focused on Negan and Maggie’s efforts to save the latter’s son, Herschel. The pair were forced to confront the lingering resentment that Maggie has for Negan over his actions in The Walking Dead, notably the murder of Glenn. Throughout the season, Negan does his best to avoid the darker temptations that he would have once embrace. An emotional confrontation with Maggie underscores the growth the character has gone through, which makes the apparent emotional retcon for the character all the more harrowing.

Negan’s arc is one of the most compelling developments in the latter part of The Walking Dead. Seeing him revert to his old ways are an inherently tragic turn for a character who has evolved far beyond the charming villain he once was. While it’s not necessarily a frustrating story development, it is an emotional retcon that should fuel a strong storyline for Negan and Msggie in The Walking Dead;: Dead City season 2.