The Walking Dead prequel, Fear the Walking Dead, featured countless great villains throughout its eight-season run on AMC, including Victor Strand.
Fear the Walking Dead takes place in a zombie apocalypse, and that universe proved to be a hotbed for villains throughout its eight-season run. Many Fear the Walking Dead characters are villains, but not all of them are believable, thanks to a lack of realistic motivations and few stakes. The good news is that the show is about survival, so villains often come with surprising moves.
For every weaker antagonist, there is a Teddy, who throws out all the villain rule books to subvert expectations. Victor Strand also managed to shock audiences with his late-stage heel turn to go against the people who kept him safe for so long. However, some Fear the Walking Dead villains have been more successful than others.
Rick’s Spinoff Has An Unexpected Connection To Both TWD Season 1 & Fear The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live contains a surprise connection to both TWD season 1 and Fear The Walking Dead, linking the franchise together.11Sam “Shrike” Krennick
Played by Maya Eshet
Shrike is an antagonist to Morgan, Madison, Dwight, and the rest of the survivors in Fear the Walking Dead season 8. A resourceful young woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders, Shrike struggles to make decisions that could have kept P.A.D.R.E. in operation for much longer. Her undoing is allowing parents such as Morgan, Grace, Dwight, and Sherry to live while she keeps their children captive for what she deems to be a greater purpose.
Despite having a strong army, Shrike’s lack of a mean streak makes her one of the most polarizing villains. With her involvement in Fear the WalkingDead‘s final season, the stakes should have been higher, but in the end, the only thing she does of substance is cut off June’s trigger finger and force the characters to traverse some of the ugliest The Walking Dead settlements to date. Shrike is ultimately killed after being bitten by her late father because of her unwillingness to put him down.
10Ben “Crane” Krennick
Played by Daniel Rashid
Also appearing in season 8, Ben is a potentially interesting character because he’s revealed to be P.A.D.R.E. However, due to a lack of characterization, he is almost forgotten about until he ambushes Madison and Troy in Fear the Walking Dead‘s penultimate episode. Like Shrike, Ben holds on to the past to keep his father’s work alive, even if it means taking children away from their parents to usher in a new world order. He’s also driven by his quest for vengeance following his sister’s death.
Unfortunately for Ben, this desire for revenge comes back to bite him when trying to take down Madison and everyone else he deems responsible in the Fear the Walking Dead series finale. Instead of getting his version of justice, he is devoured by Walkers after running out of bullets. He is only back for a short period of time near the show’s conclusion, but as one of the last villains, Ben stands out a bit more than Shrike.
9Martha
Played by Tonya Pinkins
Martha is one of the first villains as part of the show’s reboot of sorts in season 4. Martha’s life changes forever when she loses her husband, Hank, at the beginning of the apocalypse. Instead of turning her grief into empathy for others, she goes about her days killing survivors who try to help people because she sees it as a sign of weakness. There are shades of a good villain in there, and although the show attempts to establish her as one, nothing she does has many lasting consequences on the story or its characters.
Martha is stubborn and refuses treatment after being shot by Wendell, which triggers a massive infection. She then purposefully gets herself bitten by a Walker to prevent Morgan from helping her. Ultimately, Morgan puts her down and brings her meandering journey on the show to a conclusion.
8Dakota
Played by Zoe Colletti
When Dakota first appears in Fear the Walking Dead season 6, she is a young girl trying to escape her ruthless sister’s reign of terror. As the season progresses, she learns her sister is actually her mother and holds on to much hate because of her existence. This gives her a more interesting backstory than some of the show’s other villains.
Dakota has murderous tendencies, having killed John Dorie and Cameron. Despite showing remorse for her actions, Morgan and the group struggle to trust her, pushing her to join forces with Teddy, who promises to allow her to be her authentic self for however long the world has left. Despite attempts from John Dorie Sr. to keep her alive, she stays outside as the nuclear warheads explode over Texas. This gives Dakota one of Fear the Walking Dead‘s most impactful deaths and solidifies her as a memorable villain.
9 Main Cast Members Who Left Fear The Walking Dead (& Why)
Over Fear The Walking Dead’s eight seasons, cast members have left, some more shocking than others. But there are an array of reasons for these exits.7Reed and Connor
Played by Jesse McCartney and Mark Kelly
When Fear the Walking Dead season 2 takes the franchise to the high seas, Reed and Connor are introduced as pirate brothers. Despite an initial soft exterior, Reed makes his presence felt by telling Madison, Chris, Alicia, and everyone else on the boat how he will kill them. Connor is more open to letting the survivors leave with their lives after stealing the ship.
However, Reed riles up Chris too much with his comments, and Chris guns him down in one of the series’ most shocking moments. Connor is bitten after his brother is handed back to him as a zombie. Reed and Connor subvert expectations because they are different from the people they say they are initially. Though they appear in fewer episodes than many of Fear the Walking Dead‘s main villains, they still manage to stand out.
6Proctor John
Played by Ray McKinnon
Proctor John appears in the second part of Fear the Walking Dead season 3. He’s shown to be ruthless, even before the apocalypse, which gives him an edge over some of the show’s other villains who were motivated by the outbreak. Proctor John also goes after the Clark family directly, which is ultimately his undoing. During a monumental scene in the season 3 finale, he’s bested by Nick and is presumed dead as a result.
In addition to his extreme cruelty that helps him stand out, Proctor John is notable for ushering in the Fear the Walking Dead reboot in season 4. He serves as one of the final villains in the show’s original era, playing a key part in its history. Additionally, the ambiguous nature of Proctor John’s “death” helps keep him in viewers’ minds long after his last appearance.
5Troy Otto
Played by Daniel Sharman
Troy first appears in Fear the Walking Dead season 3 and has a strong bond with Nick. However, his storyline comes to an apparent close when Madison kills him. In a bizarre twist, Troy returns alive in Fear the Walking Dead season 8 and plans to take down Madison. However, the pair are forced to work together when his daughter goes missing. Despite later agreeing to a ceasefire with Madison, she kills him in front of his daughter.
Troy’s role as one of Madison’s biggest adversaries helps him stand out among some of the show’s weaker villains. Considering he appears in two different seasons years apart, he has a more meaningful impact on the show’s overall arc than some of the other antagonists. Troy’s also involved in multiple big moments. Madison killing him in season 3 is particularly shocking, as it happens just as he is blossoming into a villain.
4Melvin
Played by Kevin Zegers
Melvin is the leader of the Vultures and a man who masks his insecurities with charisma. When he initially arrives on the show in season 4, he aims to take the stadium from Madison, Alicia, and the other survivors. As his arc intensifies, viewers see different sides of Melvin that hint he may not be as bad as he first implies.
This ambiguity helps Melvin stand out and stops him from becoming a run-of-the-mill antagonist. While other Fear the Walking Dead villains are overtly sinister with fairly obvious intentions, Melvin has a surprising charm that makes his motivations harder to figure out. He interacts with a lot of the show’s characters, extending his reach and impact on the story. However, it’s ultimately Alicia who brings about his demise, impaling him in the head in a brutal moment.
3Victor Strand
Played by Colman Domingo
Strand is introduced in a small role at the end of Fear the Walking Dead season 1 and proves to be resourceful. He helps Nick and his family escape to a lavish mansion and later on to the Abigail, a beautiful boat, as Los Angeles is decimated by the military. Strand becomes one of the main characters and a confidante for Alicia and the rest of the Clarks.
Tired of losing in the apocalypse, Strand takes a tower in nuclear-ravaged Texas and kills those who oppose his world order. His motivations may be sketchy, but Colman Domingo’s performance elevates Strand to not only one of Fear the Walking Dead‘s best villains, but one of its best characters. He’s the rare “villain” who proved popular enough to stick around, appearing in every single season of the show.
Fear The Walking Dead’s Explanation For 3 Missing Characters Makes Their Absence Even Worse
Fear The Walking Dead’s showrunners confirmed what they envisioned for three characters missing from season 8, and it makes their absences even worse.2Virginia “Ginny”
Played by Colby Minifie
Virginia is introduced in Fear the Walking Dead season 5 and continues into the sixth season, making her one of the show’s longer-lasting villains. She is revealed to be Dakota’s mother and has done some despicable things during her life, including murdering her parents. Her connection with Dakota is weak, and she desperately tries to strengthen it, even if she makes all the wrong decisions in the process.
Despite her strong power and influence, she’s shown to buckle under pressure, mercilessly killing people who oppose her rule. This ferocity makes Virginia stand out, as does the surprising care she has for certain people in her life, particularly Dakota. There’s a duality to Virginia that makes it hard to predict what she’ll do next, and she’s all the more dangerous to the show’s characters because of it.
1Theodore “Teddy” Maddox
Played by John Glover
Teddy appears in the second half of Fear the Walking Dead season 6. Many years before the apocalypse, Teddy ran a doomsday cult. He was also a serial killer hunted by John Dorie Sr. after killing 23 women. Teddy spends the 20 years before the apocalypse behind bars and, after escaping prison, is shown to be good at manipulating people. This includes Dakota, as he makes her believe that ending the world with nuclear warheads is the best way to begin again.
As a villain, Teddy checks all the boxes. His behavior prior to the apocalypse makes him a terrifying figure on its own, but his actions in the present are horrific as well, offering a one-two punch to viewers. Additionally, Teddy’s villainous plans are grander in scope than most of Fear the Walking Dead‘s villains, posing a massive threat to the broader The Walking Dead franchise. This helps him stand head and shoulders above the other antagonists.
