The zombies, more commonly known as "the undead", are the series' primary antagonists. As of yet, no cause of "their" infection has been revealed. The infection appears to be fast-acting, which is why it has spread all over the world in such short time-span. The name walkers was given by Owen Mackenzie for the fact that "the undead" can no longer be considered human
The first undead[]
Andrea and Juan were the first to have seen the undead although neather of them knew they were zombies, it´s unknown how "the undead" appeared but there are multiple theories:
- Theory 1: the undead may have appeared by experimentations in normal corpses.
- Theory 2: the undead may have appeared by biological weapons created by both goberments, USA and Japan.
- Theory 3: the undead may have appeared by the rabies virus carried by some animals like dogs and monkeys.
- Theory 4: the undead may have appeared by the infection that appeared in indonesia in the early 2011.
- Theory 5: the undead may have appeared after the swineflu evolved in the Atlanta CDC by experimentation of scientist on it.
Characteristics[]
Physical[]
Zombies retain whatever "they" looked like before the people were infected. Additional facial appearances helped in identifying "the undead". This consists of completely blank, rolled up eyes and tight pupils, uncontrollable tongue movement, wide jaw distance and a pale grey coloration. Bodily, "they" have the same clothing prior to their infection with a missing part of their clothes or skin, a telltale sign of being bitten by other of "the undead". Although "they" are zombies, they still breathe or at least slouch enough to appear to be breathing.
Intellectual[]
Zombies have lost all form of intelligence, with the exception of basic actions such as walking, biting, moaning, crawling and, rarely, running. Although blood circulation has stopped, "they" can still make use of their sense of hearing to determine where "their" prey would be. "They" could also form groups, which can be dangerous to living survivors as "they" can overwhelm the survivors easily. "They" can determine whether anyone near them is infected or not, which can possibly be why "they" don't attack their own kind, either for three reasons that not only are "they" capable of hearing, but smell and considering that they moan. "they" have been proven to be blind and/or they have some recollection of intelligence left to not attack another infected or "they" only want fresh meat of humans.
Strengths[]
zombies have been desribed as having superior strength. It can be theorized that due to "their" lack of a sense of pain, their muscles are capable of passing the limits that living tissue can handle.
Weaknesses[]
Although zombies have enhanced strength and cannot be truly killed by whatever means through the torso and limbs, an attack at the head be it projectile, melee, or well placed hand to hand assaults will truly kill "the undead". While zombies ignore the pain of strenuous activities and have increased strength, "they" have lost speed and coordination, only able to slowly walk to their prey. If "they" fall down, "they" have a very hard time getting up. zombies are also incapable of going up or down slopes and hills, but can climb stairs (Some may find that this goes aga
Juan headshots a zombie
inst the "rules" of a zombie, for zombies can only stumble or crawl up stairs in original sources). While destroying "their" brain or spinal cord is the only true way to kill them, zombies appear to be more flammable than humans and die easily when set on fire. This has proven to be very effective in destroying a medium to large group of "the undead". However, in the explosion at the airport, "they" were seemingly unaffected even when burning, and the fire did not stop "their" movement.
It has been theorised that 'they' still like regular corpses, and as such are still subject to decomposition. However this theory has yet to be proven as fact.
Zombie Bites[]
When a zombie bites a victim, the victim contracts a deadly illness, ultimately resulting in the victim's death and reanimation. Zombie scratches can also infect a victim with a deadly illness. Zombie bites are not how the "infection" is spread. Instead, zombie bites and saliva cause infections that are 100% fatal.
Symptoms of infection:[]
- Fever
- Chills
- Hallucinations
- Vomiting
- Pale skin
- Dialated eyes
- Delirium
- Soreness
- Fluid discharge
The only way a victim can survive a zombie bite/scratch is to quickly amputate the part of the body that has been affected. The length of time that an amputation must be performed in to successfully save a victim from the illness taking hold is unknown, and seems to vary based on the circumstances of the situation.
Evolution[]
Zombie characteristics have evolved over the years through various cultures. In Western Culture, zombies were portrayed as being flesh-eating in the 1960's. Released in 1968, George Romero's Night of the Living Dead reinvented the zombie genre, making zombies more dangerous and fearsome than ever by bestowing zombies with the desire and ability to spread their undead affliction by biting victims, and even extensively devouring victims. Throughout the years, Romero produced more zombie movies, evolving the genre further by making zombies stronger, faster, and more intelligent.