Origin
Before the zombie outbreak, Shane served as a police officer in Cynthiana, Kentucky. As Rick Grimes‘s partner, they soon became very good friends.
Creation
Written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Tony Moore. Zombie Shane is drawn by Charlie Adlard.
Character Evolution
Even though only a briefly used character, Shane went from being a loyal partner to Rick Grimes to being so affected by the zombie apocalypse that he turns into a possessive creep willing to kill Rick for the right to Rick’s wife. Like all who die he does become a zombie.
Major Story Arcs
In Life
After being called out to apprehend an escaped prison inmate, Rick and Shane get caught in a shootout with the criminal. Shane tries to cover Rick but gets his pistol shot from his hand. This leaves Rick exposed and the convict blasts Rick in the chest. Shane watches his partner go down and later go into a coma.
Feeling guilty for what had happened, Shane does what he can to help Lori and Carl. About this time, the zombie outbreak picks up pace. Concerned for her son’s safety, Lori decides to take Carl to her parent’s in Atlanta and Shane decides to escort them. He figures that Rick would be safe since the hospital was to stay open. The trio doesn’t quite make it to Atlanta before the city is shut down. Racked with guilt for leaving Rick behind, Lori confides in Shane, allowing herself to be caught up with emotion and be comforted by Shane. The support Shane gives her is the first she receives since Rick’s falling into a coma and the zombie outbreak. Eventually she has an affair with him. With the outbreak worse within the bigger cities like Atlanta, Shane is forced to find safety on the outskirts of the city along with Lori, Carl, and a group of other survivors. Shane takes on a leader-kind of role within the group.
When Rick returns and find his family at the camp, Shane tries to resume his role as Rick’s friend. The two go hunting with the rifles Rick brings (the group only had Dale‘s rifle and Shane’s side arm) and the two stumble upon a zombie eating a deer. Shane wonders if the deer meat would still be good if they wrestled it away from the zombie. Rick shoots that idea down. After Rick kills the zombie with his hatchet the men hear a shot from camp. They run back to learn that another zombie had attacked and Allen had killed it. Rick walks away with Lori and Shane watches with a tinge of jealousy.
That night, Rick approaches Shane while on watch. Rick proposes that the group get away from the big city since so many zombies are close and could attack at any time. Shane is of the mind that moving would be stupid. He feels the government could come and save them any day and he doesn’t want to be in some backwoods place where it could take months longer to get saved. Despite Rick’s adamant thoughts and keeping the group safe Shane trumps him and the group stays. In order for Rick to feel comfortable staying, he and Glenn head to town to find more guns. Lori gets worried and Shane tries to cheer her up. Part of his tactic is holding her hand, which she immediately rejects. She tells him that whatever they had has to end and that the night they spent together was a mistake. Shane looks down in disappointment.
A bit later, Shane begins giving shooting lessons to people at camp. He’s impressed with Donna, but even more-so with Andrea who seems to have a knack for shooting.
As time goes by, he becomes more and more irritable towards Rick. He snaps when Rick mentions the cooler temperatures and reasserts his stance that the camp will not be moved. Despite his views, the camp is attacked while the group tells stories by the fire. Shane and Rick lead the camp in defense against the zombies. Shane can’t help but feel some responsibility when the group has to bury Amy the next day.
Later, Rick and Carl accompany Shane hunting and the two men get into it after Carl mentions that they won’t need as much since Amy died and Jim got bitten and won’t need to eat. Shane tries to shirk responsibility for the attack and Rick gets angry that Shane can be so thick headed. Carl runs away. Another day, Shane preps for another round of hunting. Rick gets ready to join him and mentions that they shouldn’t take Carl since the men need to talk. Shane blows up and socks Rick in the face. Lori slashes at Shane’s face. He looks around and sees everyone staring at him. He leaves the camp and Rick follows him. Upon catching up, Rick finds himself face-to-face with Shane’s gun. Shane claims that Rick has ruined everything; he was supposed to be with Lori and Rick was supposed to die. Just as the tension reaches a breaking point, Carl (who had followed his dad) shoots Shane in the neck and kills him.
Lori shows mostly anger and hatred for Shane during his burial and spits on his grave when the others leave her sight. She is later revealed to be pregnant with Judith, though it’s not sure if Shane was the father.
In Death
Upon learning that a zombie bite is not required to turn the dead into zombies, Rick leaves the prison and travels back to Shane’s burial site. He digs Shane up and sees that he did turn into a zombie. He shoots Shane in the head and leaves him unburied.
Other Media
Television
In the AMC television show “The Walking Dead,” Shane is played by Jon Bernthal. The character is the same in that Shane is the antithesis of Rick and the producers allow him to live all the way through Hershel’s farm. Shane constantly questions Rick, bullies some of the other characters (especially Dale), and knows of Lori’s pregnancy, which makes him even more possessive of her. Shane shows a slow devolution from Rick’s best friend and confidante to a man who is willing to kill other living people to get what he wants. Shane is finally killed by Rick; Carl shoots zombie Shane.