The Harry Potter universe isn’t the only fandom I love. Another one is The Walking Dead, which I’ve watched since the first season and I’ve read most of the comics. Imagine my surprise when I recently realized that Lord Voldemort and Negan (arguably the worst villain in the world of The Walking Dead) share similar traits. The more I thought about it, the more I knew that I had to write about it, so keep reading to find out the five ways that Lord Voldemort and Negan are similar.
I have read the first two The Walking Dead compendiums but I haven’t read the third yet so I am not yet met Negan in the comics. My comparisons are based on the television version of Negan.
#1: INSTRUMENTS OF POWER
I have to give credit where credit is due – my husband came up with this similarity. Lord Voldemort and Negan both wield instruments of power. Voldemort’s is a wand, while Negan’s is a baseball bat, but they are both similarly shaped. Negan’s is much bigger, of course, but I have a feeling that Voldemort would disagree with the popular sentiment that size matters. Regardless, both instruments are used to instill fear in others, kill, or torture.
#2: LOYAL FOLLOWERS
Both Voldemort and Negan have people to do a lot of their dirty work for them. Lord Voldemort has Death Eaters, people who have sworn their allegiance to him and are more than willing to do just about anything, including torture and murder.
Negan has followers called Saviors. I don’t think his Saviors have sworn allegiance to him, at least not the way Death Eaters have done with their magical tattoos, but they are (mostly) loyal nonetheless. I’m referring to the upper tier of Saviors, not the people forced into physical labor and who have no authority. Upper tier Saviors, like Death Eaters, are more than happy to torture and murder people.
They both allow a fair amount of freedom to their devoted followers as Death Eaters and Saviors run around completing errands they have been given without Lord Voldemort or Negan hovering over their shoulders.
#3: RIGHT HAND MAN (OR WOMAN)
Lord Voldemort’s most loyal follower was Bellatrix Lestrange. She worshipped Voldemort and practically begged for ways to assist her master. There was nothing that Bellatrix wasn’t willing to do if it meant Voldemort’s success, including sacrificing her nephew, Draco Malfoy.
Negan’s most loyal follower (on the TV series, since I have not gotten to Negan or the Saviors yet in the comic compendiums that I have) is Simon. Simon is as brutal and cunning as Negan and (so far) has been willing to comply to any order issued by Negan.
#4: LACK OF EMPATHY
Remember when a young Tom Riddle approached Professor Horace Slughorn and asked about Horcruxes? Tom wasn’t just interested in creating one, he wanted to know about making a total of seven Horcruxes, each requiring the murder of someone. Slughorn was horrified by the thought of even one murder, let alone seven, whereas Tom was nonplussed, having already murdered his father and grandparents. This is just one of many examples where Tom Riddle, and later Lord Voldemort, showed a lack of empathy for anyone other than himself. To put it a bit more clearly, he felt nothing about the people whose lives he ended other than the fact that they helped ensure his immortality.
Negan has also proved to have no empathy for the people he kills or tortures. Although not aiming for immortality as Voldemort did, Negan clearly loves being man in charge and feels nothing for those he kills with Lucille, his baseball bat wrapped with barbed wire. In fact, he seems to almost have a love affair going on with Lucille and talks as though she needs to be fed human blood, implying that he kills to keep her happy.
#5: THE POWER OF LOVE IS IGNORED
Last, but certainly not least, is love. We already know, especially those of us who have read the books, that Voldemort is incapable of loving and thinks that love is unimportant. We also know that love is what ultimately brought about his demise.
As of this writing it is too early to know if love is going to be what brings down Negan but I strongly suspect that it will. Negan mocks others who show love and concern, and he seems blind to the possibility that harming (or killing) those who love might eventually bring harm to himself. I’m specifically thinking of Dwight and Sherry. Dwight stayed with Negan in an attempt to protect his wife but when Sherry escaped he had no reason to continue being loyal to Negan. That’s when Dwight went to Rick and offered to help destroy Negan by working as an insider among the Saviors. I fully believe that Dwight’s double crossing will be pivotal to Negan’s death.
So there you have it, five traits that Lord Voldemort and Negan share. Who knew that the villains in a world of magic and a world of the dead had so much in common? What do you think? Did I miss something? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
|
Want to See More? |
