How Does Rick Grimes Lose His Hand In ‘The Walking Dead’ Comic Books?

“The Walking Dead” returns to AMC on Sunday, and fans are dying to find out who Negan kills with his barbed wire bat, Lucille. The scene also takes place in Robert Kirkman’s graphic novels, and viewers are speculating that the Season 7 premiere death won’t be the only nod to the comic books. Rumors are circulating that Rick Grimes will have his hand cut off by the Savior leader.

Theories surrounding Rick (Andrew Lincoln) sparked after a clip from episode 1 was released online. The sneak peek doesn’t reveal the identity of Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) victim, but it does show Rick threatening the villain after he commits the horrific act. Unfortunately for Rick, that appears to be the wrong move. The clip concludes with Negan asking Rick if the person he killed was his “right hand.” He then proceeds to drag Rick to the RV, away from the prying eyes of everyone else.

Negan could simply be pulling Rick away for a private discussion. However, the rumor is that Negan is going to chop off Rick’s right hand.

“Walking Dead” fans know that the AMC TV Show doesn’t exactly follow the graphic novels. Rick gets his right hand chopped off in the comics, but by The Governor, not Negan. The Governor cut off Rick’s hand at Woodbury because he was looking for answers about Rick’s group at the Prison. Rick refused to speak, which is why The Governor decided to mutilate him.

Kirkman previously told reporters at San Diego Comic-Con in 2011 that the show wouldn’t be cutting off Rick’s hand.

“One thing I’m adamant about is I don’t think that we should cut Rick’s hand off [on television],” Kirkman explained. “When I’m writing a comic book, I don’t think about what I’m doing. I go, ‘Oh, it’d be pretty cool if they cut his hand off right now. That’d be pretty shocking, right? Then I do it, and five issues later, I write ‘Rick opens a can of beans’ and then I look at the script and think ‘He can’t do that now.’ I didn’t even think that through.”

Despite Kirkman’s explanation, viewers thought that Rick was going to have the hand amputated last season after he cut it. Showrunner Scott Gimple reassured fans once again that they wouldn’t be following that comic book storyline.

“I’ll give you an absolute because I’ve been dealing with a lot of ambiguity in storytelling here in protecting the story: Rick’s hand is safe,” Gimple told the Hollywood Reporter. “You can proclaim it from the mountaintops: His hand is safe! He will be wrapping it. There will be some ointments involved.”

So, is Rick’s hand safe? Or will fans be shocked come Sunday? Tweet your thoughts to @AmandaTVScoop and catch “The Walking Dead” Season 7 premiere on AMC Sunday, Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. ET.