‘Walking Dead’ Season 5 Theories: Who Are ‘The Whisperers’? New Rumors About Comic Villains

Fans of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” have been speculating non-stop about a new villain since the fall of the cannibals at Terminus, but it might not be comic book bad guy Negan. Despite the rumors that Negan, the leader of the Saviors, would become the new antagonist for Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and the rest of the survivors, new theories are pointing towards “The Whisperers” as the next big bad.

So, who are “the Whisperers”? Fans of Robert Kirkman’s “Walking Dead” comic book series will definitely recognize the name of the frightening group of humans. The Whisperers were first introduced in the fourth part of Volume 22: “A New Beginning,” Issue 130, which was released on Aug. 13. In the issue, a survivor named Marco was rescued from the woods. The man was disturbed, suffering greatly while trying to escape from walkers with his injured friend, Ken. But despite his traumatic experience, Marco insisted on one thing – the zombies were talking.

As “Walking Dead” fans know, zombies can’t talk. So how did Marco hear the walkers whispering? Marco wasn’t hearing things and the zombies did not evolve. The survivor had stumbled across a group of humans who wear the skin of walkers on their face in order to blend in.

Viewers of the AMC series haven’t witnessed anything like that yet, but fans have seen similar tactics from other survivors. In Season 1, Rick and Glenn (Steven Yeun) covered themselves in walker blood and guts in order to safely make their way across a zombie-ridden street to get access to a vehicle. In Season 2, Michonne (Danai Gurira) arrived with two jawless and armless walkers – her way to travel unnoticed by the undead.

In the comics, the Whisperers are not a group simply trying to survive from the undead – they track and brutally kill innocent humans. According to one of the members, a 16-year-old girl named Lydia, the Whisperers don’t harm the walkers … they “live among them.”

Issue 130 of the comic series is further ahead of the AMC show, but that doesn’t mean that the plot can’t be introduced earlier. The TV series pulls from the pages of Kirkman’s graphic novels, but doesn’t follow it directly. For example, in the comics, baby Judith dies with Lori when the Governor’s army attacks the prison. Meanwhile on the TV show, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) died during childbirth, and baby Judith is currently alive. But what sparked the theories about the early introduction? According to some diehard fans, all signs point to the reintroduction of Morgan (Lennie James).

Morgan and his son, Duane, were the first survivors that Rick met during the series premiere of “The Walking Dead.” They parted ways when Rick went to search for his family, however Rick found Morgan again in Season 3 while searching for weapons at his old hometown. In episode 12, titled “Clear,” Morgan appeared crazy and disheveled. He had lost his son to his walker wife, and hadn’t been around other humans in ages. In the chaos, Morgan had been knocked unconscious. When he woke, Rick tried to reason with Morgan – but Morgan was sputtering some crazy stuff that made no sense.

“Do you know who I am? Do you see who I am?” Rick asked his old friend.

“People wearing dead people’s faces,” Morgan responded. “No I don’t know you.”

A post on Imgur notes that Morgan’s odd Season 3 statement, “people wearing dead people’s faces,” could have been a clue dropped in for fans of Kirkman’s comics. Although it happened a couple seasons ago, Morgan’s crazed rant could play a key role in Season 5 thanks to his reappearance. The character briefly showed up in the Season 5 premiere outside of Terminus, and resurfaced in the Season 5 midseason finale at Father Gabriel’s (Seth Gilliam Jr.) church. Morgan’s timing is slightly behind Rick’s group, but Abraham’s (Michael Cudlitz) left-behind map let the lone man know that he’s on Rick’s trail.

Do you want to see The Whisperers appear in Season 5 of “The Walking Dead”? Tweet your thoughts to @AmandaTVScoop and take the poll below: