walkingdead
“
Well, there's roamers and lurkers. I mean, we've all seen some that come back to the places that they remember. I've heard stories about walkers like this that can climb walls and open doors. I was never sure if they were just stories. Maybe there's other kinds, too.
”
Zombiegirl
Summer, a variant zombie, holding her stuffed animal from when she was alive.

Variants are subtypes of zombies in AMC's Television Universe that exhibit notable differences in behavior, physiology, and abilities compared to their original counterparts. Either infected with mutated strains of Wildfire, or affected by their surroundings, these differences include increased speed, agility, strength, aggression, intelligence, altered behavior, natural defenses, and reduced resurrection times. Aside from the French variant, it is unknown what causes the physiological differences in those infected by the variant strains.

Variant zombies are incredibly rare and considered to be a regional phenomenon. The majority of zombies have baseline abilities and attributes that survivors can be accustomed to. Thus, encountering a variant zombie can catch even veteran survivors off-guard, making them incredibly dangerous to interact with. Many survivors have encountered lesser variants, such as roamers or lurkers, but few have encountered zombies that have increased strength and intelligence, such as climbers. Survivors will often dismiss these accounts as hoaxes and rumors, leading to them being ignorant and ill-prepared against the variants.

Quick Answers

What distinguishes the Variants from the original zombies in The Walking Dead? toggle section
In The Walking Dead, Variants are zombies infected with mutated Wildfire strains, resulting in distinct behaviors and abilities. They exhibit enhanced speed, strength, agility, aggression, problem-solving skills, biological defenses, and quicker resurrection times. The specific cause of these physiological changes, except in the case of the French variant, remains unknown.
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What are the unique abilities of the Variants in AMC's The Walking Dead? toggle section
In AMC's The Walking Dead, Variants are zombies infected with mutated Wildfire strains. They exhibit enhanced speed, agility, strength, and aggression. These Variants also show problem-solving intelligence, biological defenses, and quicker resurrection times. The cause of these physiological differences is mostly unknown, barring the French variant.
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What is the cause of the physiological differences in Variant zombies? toggle section
Mutated strains of the Wildfire virus cause physiological differences in Variant zombies, also known as 'zombie variants'. These mutations grant increased speed, agility, strength, and aggression, along with enhanced problem-solving intelligence. Some variants, dubbed 'climbers', can climb walls, open doors, and manipulate objects. 'Roamers' display recognition of their past life, while 'lurkers' enter a dormant state. The precise cause of these differences is still unknown.
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What are the characteristics of a Burner zombie in The Walking Dead? toggle section
Distinct from traditional zombies in The Walking Dead, Burner zombies, a variant strain, retain vestigial memory and personality traits. They display actions such as holding onto possessions, trying to open doors, and using large rocks to breach barriers. These variants also exhibit enhanced strength and speed, capable of running and scaling fences. Their lethal weapon remains their bite, leading to a slow death unless the bitten area is swiftly excised and the wound treated to avert further infection.
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Overview

The Wildfire virus originated from la Biomédicine / DDMI in France and was discovered by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in April 2010. The virus spread via airborne transmission, which resulted in people becoming asymptomatic carriers as the virus had a latency period until after the host died from any method, except for traumatic brain injury. The CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) declared Wildfire a pandemic on 25 August 2010, and society collapsed on 27 August due to the high number of zombies and civil unrest from the living in reaction to the virus.

Wildfire spreads via airborne transmission, but its effect do not occur until after the host dies with their brainstem intact, as that is the core component of a zombie as the hindbrain reactivates after death. The resurrection time varies wildly and depends on factors such as the emotional and physiological state of the host when they died (a person who died with increased adrenaline and violent thoughts tend to reanimate quicker), and physical characteristics (age, sex, race, weight and height). Ultimately, the virus reanimated a deceased person anywhere from three minutes to eight hours after death.

When a person becomes a zombie, they will maintain their senses but will ultimately rely on sound and smell to differentiate between living and dead organisms to feed on. Sight is also used, but decays overtime and thus they rely on light and movement to detect prey. Otherwise, zombies have reduced intelligence. They are not able to adequately problem-solve or evade threats. When more than a dozen are together, they form a herd and develop a group mentality. If one zombie does something that indicates prey, the herd will follow. Zombies are relatively slow and continue to decay, albeit at a markedly reduced rate as the virus preserves its bodily functions. The bodily fluids of a zombie, namely blood and saliva, contain an active agent of Wildfire. When introduced into the bloodstream of a living, healthy person it introduces a secondary infection called necrosepsis. It spreads through the circulatory system and invades the brain, causing a fatal cytokine storm that kills its host within 48 hours of exposure. Their death then results in reanimation.

Like most viruses, Wildfire underwent random changes (mutations) that occurred as a virus replicated itself among the population. These mutations led to changes in the organism's genetic code, resulting in a new variant that had different characteristics, such as being more contagious, more aggressive, or resistant to defenses compared to the original version. The Wildfire variants were regional, and more likely to occur in larger populations where the virus replicated at a higher pace. Although still rare compared to the ordinary zombie population, the main variants were lurkers and roamers, with climbers as a subset of roamers, and lurkers being the most common overall.

Lurkers had a unique hunting strategy. Caused by a period of prolonged isolation and lack of stimuli, or by sustaining injuries that would be fatal to the living, lurkers enter a sort of death-like dormancy. This is unusual as zombies do not need to sleep, or any function necessary to survive. When alerted to an external presence, the lurkers will awake and attack the source of the stimuli. This many times results in the infection and/or death of unsuspecting prey.

Roamers had increased intelligence to use objects as a means of breaking down barriers and killing threats, as well as able to open doors. Climbers fall into this category as well, being the rarest type of naturally occurring variant. They were so named for their added ability to climb fences and walls, something Roamers alone do not have. This was seen as most dangerous as one of the most effective means of survival was establishing tall barriers to keep zombies out of encampments.

During the initial outbreak, the Primrose team attended a conference in Toledo, Ohio to prepare the United States of America for the outbreak. The remaining scientists at DDMI worked to stop the outbreak from continuing further. Working closely with Doctors Edwin and Candace Jenner of the CDC, the DDMI scientists theorized that restarting the circulatory system in the dead could circumvent resurrection or otherwise neutralize the zombies. The scientists, including Violet team, developed a solution that involved adrenaline and anabolic steroids. Using cardiac plaques as a host-medium for the steroidal therapies, they made some progress in jump-starting the circulatory system to cause short-circuiting in the brain or even regain brain function to cause nerve confusion. At some point, the solution failed and had an adverse effect. Instead of preventing resurrection or disabling the zombies, it enhanced them. Their circulatory systems restarting caused them to receive more activity in their brains. It enhanced their speed and agility, strength, aggression and problem-solving intelligence.

Following the outbreak, survivors of Paris, especially those of the working class, formed a nationalist, paramilitary group called Pouvoir Du Vivant (Power of the Living). They were able to claim most of Paris and a considerable portion of France, being one of the few countries to maintain a federal force. At some point, the Pouvoir discovered that la Biomédicine / DDMI. For punishment of their perceived crimes, the Pouvoir imprisoned the remaining scientists of the lab. The Pouvoir's leader, Marion Genet, believed the virus and its variants were made to eliminate the poor. Despite this belief, she also saw potential in the DDMI's variants. She pardoned Doctor Henri LaFleur where he was ordered to continue his experiments in variants to be used as weapons against the Pouvoir's enemies. He eventually developed the Amper Serum, which when injected into the major arteries of a zombie will cause them to transform into an Amper. Recently deceased people would also turn in seconds as opposed to minutes or hours.

As the Trials occurred and civilization ended, human survivors noted the differences among certain zombies. Stories were shared of zombies who could climb walls, open doors, and interact with objects. However, their rarity made these stories appear as rumors as opposed to fact. Variants are believed to be of particular importance due to their potential for increased virulence or reduced effectiveness of defenses against them as compared to their original counterparts. Variants seem to appear mostly in concentrated areas, such as cities and urban centers, where the virus was able to spread easily. Also, time allowed for additional zombie variants to be created by their environment. These zombies experience physiological changes in their bodies due to their surroundings and developed certain defenses, gained certain abilities, or became chemical and biological hazards.

In 2010, a high volume of variants were found in Georgia, namely in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Rick Grimes encountered numerous variants, namely Atlanta and King County. While with Morgan Jones, he and his son, Duane, were staying in the Drake Family Home when his wife, Jenny, died. After she turned, she became a roamer and repeatedly returned to the house and attempted to open the door. When encountered, she appeared to remember Morgan and Duane before attacking. Rick later encounters Summer, a child zombie who remembered her stuffed animal and picked it up. While in Atlanta, Rick encountered lurkers and climbers. While taking shelter in a Bradbury's, the climbers broke down the glass doors with rubble concrete. Rick and Glenn Rhee also saw numerous zombies climb the ladder to the roof and a chain-link fence.

During the 2022 Commonwealth uprising, there were an unusually high number of variants seen in Ohio. A party led by Aaron encountered one at the Ye Old Renaissance Faire. A climber managed to follow his group to the faire, climb its walls, and opened the gates to allow the rest of the herd inside. Lydia attempted to kill it with her Bo staff, but it grabbed her staff and pulled itself closer to her. The group retreated inside a building, where the climber followed them and opened the door. The group fled to the roof of the building, but the climber climbed the side of the building and reached the rooftop. It grabbed a rock and was about to bludgeon Jerry with it until Aaron killed it. The following morning, Aaron and Jerry discussed the subject of variants.

A large number of climbers were among a herd that was summoned to the Commonwealth by Governor Pamela Milton to initiate lockdown in order to stop the protests of wealth inequality and corruption in the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Army used trucks to guide the herds, but climbers boarded the trucks and killed the occupants. The herd continued to the perimeter wall where multiple climbers scaled the walls, attacked the soldiers, and opened the main gates that allowed the rest of the herd to enter. Governor Milton ordered the army to divert the swarm to the Lower Ward where the working class resided and away from The Estates where the wealthy resided, resulting in hundreds of deaths. Climbers scaled barriers and entered buildings by opening doors and using objects to destroy glass doors and windows, such as the Commonwealth Hospital. Survivors such as Rosita Espinosa tried to find safety on raised objects, but the climbers were able to reach them. The swarm was led to The Estates. With the variants to dangerous to take on and unable to lead away, the Commonwealth and Coalition worked together by holding the herd and variants off while the others took the Commonwealth's oil and explosives. Filling the sewers with gasoline and ringing oil drums and the houses in The Estates with explosives, the swarm was brought into The Estates where the entire district was detonated. The herd, and its variants, were killed in the explosion and subsequent fire.

In 2023, Daryl Dixon was contracted by Doctor LaFleur in Maine to find viable zombies for his experiments. His specifications were for no elderly, children, or anyone shorter than five foot four inches - and he preferred fresher zombies. He also seeks as many freshly turned walkers as he can find. Because of a physical altercation, Daryl was captured and brought on board to the Power of the Living Ship where the zombies were being experimented on and transported to France. Daryl, among other prisoners, were to be used as food for the "feed" group of zombies. Daryl managed to stage a mutiny, but he encountered an Amper and jumped ship before the Amper caught him and the ship exploded. Daryl washed onto the shores of France and encountered "Burners", which significantly burned his arm. Sister Isabelle Carrière of the Abbey of Saint Bernadette explained that variants were far more common in France, noting that burners were "just one kind" of zombie present in the country. Upon witnessing LeFleur execute French civilians and resurrecting them with the Amper Serum, Rèmy told Carol Peletier that according to rumor, the Burners were another experiment by the Power of the Living, a failed experiment that got loose and spread rather than a natural variant of the virus.

Meanwhile, LeFleur's experiments were fatal to his test subject after 18 seconds, causing their heads to explode. Daryl encountered Ampers again when the Power of the Living attempted to kill him and Quinn by placing them in an arena with Ampers during De Gaulle Day. Quinn was bitten on the back, but the two survived the encounter. Genet explained to Carol that they were creating a new type of zombie into directable warriors that would help bring peace back to the world. Genet subsequently uses dozens of selectees that she turns into Ampers as her first wave during the assault on The Nest. Following this, LeFleur was killed, and Genet was injected with the serum by Carol, resulting in her death as the serum is fatal to living beings. The subsequent deaths of Genet and Dr. LaFleur, as well as the collapse of the Power of the Living, presumably brought an end to the use of Ampers. However, the Amper serum possibly mutated the Wildfire virus itself, as one of the scientists from Violet team in DDMI was killed by a man, possibly a Guerrier, and resurrected in thirty seconds into a Runner or Cohort without needing to be injected with the serum. This indicates that Runners are a subclass of Ampers.

Types

Variant Image Variant Name Information
11x01 Army Walkers Lurkers Lurkers are zombies that enter a state of death-like dormancy until alerted by an external presence in which they attack, entrapping their prey. Lurkers enter this state after a prolonged period of isolation or sustaining an injury that would otherwise be fatal to a living person, mainly to the torso, face, or head. Lurkers are the only type of zombie that appear to have a sleep cycle, as zombies don't require sleep. They are the most common variant form encountered.
Climbers1 Roamers Roamers, or Climbers, are zombies that have the ability to climb walls and various obstacles, and also can open doors and interact with objects. Due their intelligence, they are capable of problem-solving and self-defense. They are able to use objects as weapons against people, or to destroy obstacles such as glass doors and windows with a blunt instrument. Their strength and problem-solving intelligence makes them among the most dangerous variants. It's possible that climbers are a subcategory of roamers, as they share similar traits and abilities.
Daryl Dixon 1x01 Burning Walker Burners Burners, or "Brûlants", are modified zombies that have corrosive acid in their blood. Victims that are bitten, touched, or come into contact with their blood are burned significantly. They are relatively common variants encountered exclusively in France due to their origins as experiments by Doctor Henri LaFleur for the Power of the Living. Cauterization is the best way to treat wounds from them, as it otherwise spreads, and victims can potentially lose limbs as a result.
Amper Variant Ampers Ampers, or "Ubers", are modified zombies that have increased agility, speed, strength, aggression, durability, intelligence, and occasionally acidic blood. Also experiments by Dr. LaFleur and encountered exclusively in France, they are created by injecting the Amper Serum. It restarts the heart and circulatory system of a zombie. Originally, many ampers did not last more than thirty seconds, as their heads would explode from pressure, but this was later resolved. Ampers are one of the most dangerous variants to encounter.
Shesarunner Runners Runners, or "Cohorts", are a subcategory of ampers and have many of the same abilities. However, it is a naturally occurring variant. The initial Wildfire virus was mutated by the experiments with the Amper Serum, infecting living people with a new strain that causes them to turn into ampers after death rather than ordinary zombies. They are noted for their resurrection time of thirty seconds after death. Being naturally occurring ampers, runners are the most dangerous variants to encounter.

Occurrences

  • Jenny Jones displayed intelligence by continually returning to the house where she died and her husband and son were still residing in, being able to turn the knob on the front door, and looking into the peephole. It's later confirmed in "King County" that she would come to the house every night and try to enter it. (Days Gone Bye)
  • The first walker killed by Rick was a lurker. (Days Gone Bye)
  • Summer displayed intelligence by picking up her bear, and agility by running after Rick Grimes. (Days Gone Bye)
  • Several lurkers are seen in Atlanta. Two are seated in a burnt out bus, displaying intelligence from their former lives of riding in buses. Another lurker is found in a tank. (Days Gone Bye)
  • Several walkers displayed intelligence, strength, and agility by being able to climb ladders, breaking the glass doors of Bradbury's with rocks, analyzing a camouflaged Rick Grimes and Glenn Rhee as the blood washed off, and climbing the chain-link fence at the Atlanta construction site to reach Rick and Glenn. (Guts)
  • The zombie that ate Daryl Dixon's deer was a lurker as after it was decapitated by Dale Horvath, it initially went into a state of unconsciousness before returning to an alert state after Daryl started talking. (Tell It to the Frogs)
  • Some of the walkers from the horde displayed agility when chasing after the survivors, most notably those that chased after Sophia Peletier and Theodore Douglas. (What Lies Ahead)
  • The RV walker displayed intelligence as he carefully looks through the RV for food before leaving, and is shown to analyze the door before he ferociously attacks it. (What Lies Ahead)
  • The walkers from a church are lurkers as they were sitting motionless, and ignoring the outside noise, before the group came into the church. One zombified man showed emotional intelligence as he smiled at the sight of Rick's group. Furthermore, the female walker seems to look back and forth between Daryl and the other two walkers that are killed before being killed herself. They also displayed intelligence as they resided in the church where they once attended when alive. (What Lies Ahead)
  • The walkers seen at Cranwall High School displayed agility when they were chasing after Shane Walsh and Otis. (Bloodletting, Save the Last One)
  • Some of the barn walkers display agility as they start coming out the barn. Sophia displayed unusual behavior given that she seemed to be reacting to the sunlight as she was coming out the barn. (Pretty Much Dead Already)
  • Annette Greene is considered a lurker as she pretended to be dead before attacking Beth. (Nebraska)
  • The walker that bit Hershel Greene is a lurker, having stayed completely still until Hershel steps over him and bit him. (Seed)
  • Rick encounters a walker that somehow managed to eat all of Lori's remains, including her bone. Furthermore, when Rick approached the walker, it was too lethargic to move and barely reacted to Rick's presence past some light reaching towards him. (Say the Word)
  • One of the walkers that infiltrated Woodbury, Georgia displayed intelligence when it observed the opening left in the Woodbury wall made by the escaping survivors. (The Suicide King)
  • Several lurkers are shown at the King County Café. Furthermore, one of the walkers seems to notice Carl and Michonne when they enter the café, but he decides to ignore them and focuses on the caged rats instead. (Clear)
  • The wheelchair walker at the Retirement Home was a lurker. (Live Bait)
  • Enid kills a lurker and takes its jacket afterwards. (JSS)
  • The survivors of the Bombing of Alexandria cross a treacherous swamp in order to reach the Hilltop. The waters are full of a number of lurkers that only rise when survivors come close or prod them with sticks. Aware of this danger, Daryl, Rosita, Siddiq and Scott cross the swamp first, clearing out the lurkers so that everyone else can safely pass. (Dead or Alive Or)
  • Several lurkers are seen outside and in the Smithsonian Museum. (A New Beginning)
  • Multiple lurkers appear near the frozen river when the survivors attempt to cross it. (The Storm)
  • A few walkers managed to climb on to the rock ledges that the survivors were standing on before being killed. (Squeeze)
  • A walker displayed intelligence as he is seen to sniff out Alpha before he goes on to attack Daryl Dixon. (Stalker)
  • Gabriel and Aaron discover a horde of lurkers, none of them moving until the clock timer that they throw goes off and the walkers move towards it. (One More)
  • The group discovers a horde of lurkers inside Fort Connors. One of the walkers "wakes up" when some of Daryl's blood drips onto him. This walker "waking up" motivates the rest of the horde to get up and attack the group. Furthermore, two of the lurkers killed by Magna and Kelly at Fort Connors displayed unusual behavior as they reacted to being stabbed in the head. (Acheron: Part I)
  • A mass grave discovered in the subway tunnel is full of lurkers who don't react until Daryl examines one of the bodies. When Daryl puts down the lurker, all of the rest of the lurkers begin reacting and moving around. Maggie's team puts down all of the lurkers while they're restrained by the plastic that they're wrapped in, but a large bloated lurker nearly kills Gage before Negan saves him. (Acheron: Part I)
  • Walkers somehow manage to overturn a moving vehicle, suggesting that there were one or more climbers in the horde. (Lockdown)
  • A walker manages to track down Aaron's group and lead the herd to their camp. The walker climbs the wall and opens the gates from the inside to let the herd in. When Lydia impales the walker with her staff, it pulls itself onto it to get closer to Lydia. When retreating inside a building, the walker then opens the door. After Aaron and the others go upstairs, the walker climbs onto the roof and grabs a rock to kill Jerry. After killing the walker and clearing the herd, Aaron and Jerry discuss the variants. Aaron reveals that he has heard of walkers who could open doors and climb walls, but dismissed them as rumors. (Variant)
  • A walker displayed intelligence by dropping to the ground and picking up the knife that was dropped by Lydia and wielding it. (Faith)
  • A number of zombies in the horde that attacks the Commonwealth are climber variants, although not all of them. A climber manages to climb on the back of the Commonwealth's jeeps before attacking the occupants of the car while three climbers climb over the Commonwealth's walls and attack Livits, removing his helmet to better get at him and causing Livits to accidentally open the gates. Other climbers in the horde display intelligence and strength by opening doors, using rocks to break windows, and climbing walls and vehicles. Ultimately, these walkers were deemed to be too dangerous to risk leading away and, as such, the entire herd was lured into the Estates which was then blown up, completely destroying the herd. (Family-Rest in Peace)

  • A walker displayed intelligence when trying to sniff out a camouflaged Nicholas Clark. (Ouroboros)
  • Several walkers were shown to climb over the counter to try to attack both Madison and Strand. Furthermore, despite being locked inside the bar, several of the walkers managed to find a way out and chased them outside. (Pablo & Jessica)
  • Walkers seen are shown to have enough strength to hold on to a helicopter that is taking off. (Eye of the Beholder)
  • The little girl walker is a lurker as she was motionlessly hiding in the ball pit before attacking Alicia. (El Matadero)
  • A walker displayed intelligence when he purposely smacked the gun out of John Dorie Sr.'s hand. (Sonny Boy)
  • The walker that bites Grace is a lurker, hiding in the ruins of the Drake Family Home before suddenly popping out and biting Grace and attempting to bite Mo. (King County)
  • Several climbers are in the herd that attacks Madison and Victor Strand in the Wymberley Jones De Renne Georgia Library as some of the zombies can be seen physically crawling on top of and over bookshelves that were being used as a barricade to get at the two, displaying greater intelligence than the regular walkers that are trying to reach through the shelves or get around them. However, the herd is all shot down by one of Troy's Group with a machine gun. (Anton)

  • A walker that Elton Ortiz tags with spray paint showed signs of possible intelligence as it proceeds to stalk the group over a long distance up to the Treehouse where it's trapped in a swimming pool by Hope Bennett. Despite this, the walker somehow escapes from the trap, displaying further intelligence, and stalks the Endlings again to the Blaze of Gory where it is finally put down by Felix Carlucci. (The Blaze of Gory)
  • When Iris Bennett becomes trapped inside of a dumpster, she is attacked by two lurkers who were hidden amongst the garbage. After Felix finally gets the dumpster open, he grabs one lurker off of Iris and stabs it in the head while the other lurker is dispatched by Percy who had unexpectedly returned to help. (Shadow Puppets)
  • A French scientist reanimates thirty seconds after being shot in the back by a vigilante, displays intelligence by remembering where the man came from, and agility and strength by running after him and beating the metal doors down. (The Last Light)

  • Several lurkers are seen in the New York City Subway System. (Everybody Wins a Prize)
  • The walker that Maggie and Negan find in Penn Station is a lurker as it doesn't move until Negan touches it. (Everybody Wins a Prize)
  • Several lurkers are seen in the New York City Sewer System. A small herd of them attacks Maggie, Ginny, Amaia and Tommaso, killing the latter two before Maggie manages to take them all out. (Stories We Tell Ourselves)
  • Multiple walkers form together in the New York City Sewer System to form a superorganism dubbed the "Walker King", similar to a rat king. The main walker of this superorganism displays strength and agility by being able to host numerous walkers in its body and crawl at the speed it displayed. The Walker King was also a lurker because he became active when Maggie and Ginny started making noise. Maggie was only able to dispatch it by stabbing the Walker King in each of its four heads. (Stories We Tell Ourselves)
  • Bruegel's gladiator match champion is a walker that Negan refers to as a Frankenstein, winning nearly 30 matches undefeated with a massive size and took quick reflexes. After seeing the champion in action, the Croat deduces that he was artificially enhanced by Bruegel, likely with methylphenidates or dextroamphetamines. However, Negan later discovers that the "walker" is actually Tony, Bruegel's former bodyguard, who has only been pretending to be undead in order to help him cheat. (Feisty Friendly)
  • The Child Walker is a lurker, remaining dormant in his room until Negan enters. Negan manages to escape, using a cart to block the door to the room and leaving the walker trapped. (Novi Dan, Novi Početak)
  • Bellevue Hospital has a room full of lurkers similar to the ones seen at Fort Connors. However, these ones are "asleep" standing up and don't react to Negan's presence when he passes through them carefully. When Negan runs through chasing a hallucination of Lucille, the lurkers become active and attack him, but Negan manages to escape from them. (Novi Dan, Novi Početak)

  • In the Midi-Pyrénées Market, Daryl Dixon fights a small herd of 14 burners, a variant that he has never encountered before. Also the burners were lurkers as they didn't move until Daryl made a noise. Using one of his knives and a boat hook, Daryl manages to put all of burners down, but he gets grabbed on the arm and burned by one. Afterwards, Daryl is shocked by their acidic blood. His wound is later cauterized by Isabelle and the nuns with Isabelle telling Daryl that he's lucky to have kept the arm and that cauterization is the best way to prevent the spread of the wound. (L'âme Perdue)
  • Isabelle reveals to Daryl that variants are common in France, noting that burners are "just one kind" of zombie in France. (L'âme Perdue)
  • Dr. LaFleur's test subject is one of the Power of the Living's Amper variants, ripping its chains free of the concrete walls that they are anchored to in an inhuman display of strength and rushing the glass before the Amper Serum it was injected with causes blood to explode out of its head and chest, putting it down. (Paris Sera Toujours Paris)
  • One of the zombified residents of the Parisian Apartment Building is a burner. After dropping from the window of its apartment, the burner attacks Isabelle before being impaled in the back with a makeshift spear by Daryl. Daryl then uses the burner to get through a door, pressing it up against the vines covering the door, causing them to burn away. Once the door opens, Daryl stabs the burner in the back of the head with his makeshift spear. (Paris Sera Toujours Paris)
  • Daryl kills two burners while he's inside a pool of water. (La Dame de Fer)
  • A burner is amongst the zombies to attack Daryl's group's camp and is dispatched by Azlan. (Deux Amours)
  • On the Power of the Living Ship, one of the Doctor's test subjects displays characteristics of the climber and cohort variants, including increased speed, aggression and the ability to climb stairs. The variant viciously tears apart Juno and quickly recovers from a blow to the head by Daryl that would dispatch a normal walker, forcing Daryl to flee overboard. He also demonstrates intelligence by not jumping after Daryl, realizing that he might crash. (Deux Amours)
  • After being shot with a dart containing the Amper Serum, one of the Power of the Living's walkers visibly mutates, gaining black eyes, the distended veins and acidic blood of a burner and the increased speed, strength and aggression of a cohort. During a fight with Daryl, this Amper charges him several times, gets back up from blows that would down a normal walker and burns him with its acidic blood when Daryl stabs it through the chest with an axe. Despite its increased durability, Daryl is able to dispatch the Amper by using a flagpole as a makeshift spear to flip it to the ground and then literally planting the flagpole in its head. (Deux Amours-Coming Home)
  • After Daryl's victory, Genet has him shackled by the wrist to Quinn and then four more walkers shot with darts. One's head explodes rather than mutating and a second is aggressively torn apart by another Amper. By working together, Daryl and Quinn are able to fight off the remaining two, although they struggle against one as its metal headband protects it from attacks aimed at finishing it off. By wrapping the chain connecting them around the Amper's throat and pulling together, Daryl and Quinn are able to decapitate it and Daryl throws the head at Genet's feet. (Coming Home)
  • Having suffered a wound to his back from one of the Ampers, Quinn dies and reanimates, becoming a cohort variant. Quinn quickly moves to attack and is able to withstands a heavy blow to the head with a pipe from Isabelle and charges at her. However, on Daryl's urging, Laurent puts Quinn down by axing him in the head. (Coming Home)
  • Daryl encounters a large herd of lurkers on Omaha Beach who only emerge from the grasses where they had been laying when Daryl draws their attention by signaling a boat offshore. Daryl manages to fight his way through the herd onto the beach itself, but discovers that Laurent had secretly followed him. As Daryl is caught between the chance to go home and Laurent, the herd closes in on the boy (Coming Home) and Daryl ultimately chooses to save Laurent and return to the Nest with him for the time being. (La Gentillesse Des Étrangers)
  • In Greenland, two lurkers attack Carol. In addition, one of the lurkers shows intelligence by grabbing Carol's hand and stopping her from using her knife to stab the other lurker, effectively restraining Carol for the first lurker's attack. Ash saves Carol and they take out the lurkers while Hanna saves them from the last of the walkers. (Moulin Rouge)
  • Hanna later mentions that the field that Ash's Plane had landed in is full of the undead, suggesting that most of them are lurkers as there aren't anymore walkers seen aside from one later wandering the field at nighttime. (Moulin Rouge)
  • Emile tells Daryl and Isabelle that while he was Genet's prisoner, he was forced to witness her experiments into creating Ampers. (Moulin Rouge)
  • Carol and Rèmy watch Dr. LaFleur's experiments on perfecting Ampers. Rèmy explains that according to rumor, Genet is trying to create a stronger breed of zombie as a weapon and the burners were another experiment, a mistake that got out rather than being a natural variant. (L'Invisible)
  • During the Battle of the Nest, Genet has dozens of selectees gunned down and then injected with the Amper Serum, turning them all into Ampers. Chasing after Carol and Stéphane Codron through the blown open gate to the Nest, the Ampers attack the Union soldiers and Nest residents as the Guerriers follow behind them, resulting in many deaths. Although the Ampers are eventually eliminated, the Guerriers are able to take control of the Nest. (Le Paradis Pour Toi)
  • Genet attempts to have Theo and Didi turned into Ampers in order to find Daryl and Carol, but Carol's attack thwarts this. (Le Paradis Pour Toi)
  • Cornered by a herd in an SUV at Maison Mère, Daryl shoots two zombified Guerriers with the Amper Serum, causing them to mutate into Ampers. The two Ampers then tear apart hundreds of walkers to get at Daryl, Carol and Ash, breaking through the windows of the vehicle. However, they are quickly dispatched by Carol and Daryl, allowing the group to escape. (Vouloir, C'est Pouvoir)
  • Part of the parking garage beneath the Hippodrome is overrun by a herd of burners. Anna Valery leads Jacinta and her forces into the burners, resulting in three of Jacinta's men getting devoured while Jacinta herself in bitten. Furious, Jacinta locks Anna in to be devoured by the burners. Jacinta's bite and her subsequent loss of Laurent causes her to commit suicide. (Au Revoir Les Enfants)
  • A number of bioluminescent lurkers are in the Chunnel near the British Military checkpoint on the French side when Daryl's group passes through it. When the effects of the bat guano on the group causes them to make noise, the lurkers become active and attack alongside several nearby walkers. However, they are all dispatched by Daryl, Carol, Stéphane, Angus and Fiona. (Au Revoir Les Enfants)
  • Daryl and Carol encounter a street full of lurkers in London, England. The human population of England has, for the most part, been wiped out for "many years," causing some of the zombies to go dormant and become covered in vegetation, only becoming active when Daryl and Carol pass by. They form a massive herd of thousands that traps Daryl and Carol in a London Apartment Building for three days until Julian Chamberlain lures the herd away using Big Ben. (Costa Da Morte)
  • Two of the walkers in the apartment building are lurkers, passing unnoticed until the walker of a woman who hanged herself falls and then attacking Daryl and Carol. Daryl and Carol are quickly able to dispatch all three. (Costa Da Morte)
  • At the Galicia Boatyard, several lurkers emerge from under vines after hearing Daryl and Roberto make a racket while removing a rudder from a wrecked boat. However, Daryl dispatches them all with a rifle and a boat anchor. (El Sacrificio)
  • A number of climbers are amongst the herd pulling the Buzzards' train. When Daryl releases the herd, the climbers climb aboard the train from both sides. Briefly putting aside their differences, Daryl and Chofo fight back to back to dispatch all of the climbers. (Limbo)
  • King Torres seems to be unusually resilient after reanimation, continuing to growl for several seconds after being stabbed through the jaw and into the brain with a sword by Daryl. Only after Daryl yanks the sword out does the zombified king meet his end. This resilience is similar to that seen in Ampers and runners who could withstand usually fatal blows for regular walkers. While the king didn't show any obvious other signs of being a runner, he was also stabbed mere moments after being encountered by Daryl. (Solaz del Mar)

  • The two non-kills from the herd dispatched by the consignees at the Harvest Point are lurkers, only revealing themselves when Cleo Clifton moves the bodies that are laying on top of them. The two are quickly dispatched by Michonne with a Kill Stick, one nearly getting Cleo from behind before Michonne saves her. Afterwards, the overseeing CRM soldiers check for any more non-kills amongst the piles of corpses. (Bye)

  • Judy displayed intelligence by returning to her husband's home and being able to open the closet door to get to her stepchildren, Billy and Jamie. She also displayed characteristics of a lurker after being shot in the stomach by her husband. Her body fell into a death-like dormancy and was wrapped in a rug, but later awoke when alerted to the sounds of Billy and Jamie arguing. (Step-Mother)
  • Harris showed unusual behavior as he was still holding on to the machete he had when he died. (Parting Shots)

  • Robb Spanner is noted to have been sitting still with the occasional moan, despite Gary Taylor being locked in the same cell as him; and he only decided to attack after Don opened up the cell. (First Blood)

Quotes

TV Series

Content
“
Well, there's roamers and lurkers. I mean, we've all seen some that come back to the places that they remember. I've heard stories about walkers like this that can climb walls and open doors. I was never sure if they were just stories. Maybe there's other kinds, too.
”
“
Why'd you run at it? It could've been a climber."
"Could tell it wasn't."
"But it could've been."
―Elijah and Lydia argue about being more careful.[src]
”
“
Hey, everybody needs to stay alert. We don't know if that was a one-time thing or not. Might be more of those things out here.
―Aaron is much more vigilant after recent events.[src]
”
“
What the fuck?
―Negan after witnessing a climber.[src]
”

World Beyond

Content
“
End this? You started this. All the teams. Then... you made it worse.
―A man to a woman about her and her fellow scientists before shooting her in the back. (Translated from French)[src]
”

Daryl Dixon

Content
“
You had a wound from the brûlant. Cauterization is the best way to prevent the spread."
"A brû-what?"
"A brûlant. A burner."
"Dead ones at the market?"
"Mm-hmm. Here we call them "les affamés," "the hungry ones." Burner is just one kind.
―Isabelle tells Daryl about the variants in France.[src]
”
“
There have been rumors of experiments. Some say that's where the burners came from. A mistake that got loose.
―Rèmy observes the Power of the Living's experiments with Carol.[src]
”

Characters

The following is a list of characters from The Walking Dead Television Universe that are believed to be variants upon reanimating.

Trivia

v • d • e
Themes and Topics
Abstract Themes Betrayal • Cliffhangers • Denial • Depression • Discrimination • Distrust • Dream • Envy • Fear • Foreshadowing • Forgiveness • Hallucination • Heroism • Hope • Humanity • Humor • Leadership • Pride • Regret • Religion • Revenge • Sacrifice • Sanity • Secrecy • Symbolism
Realistic Topics Amputations • Bad Weather • Camouflage • Cannibalism • Decapitations • Framing • Illness • Mercy Killing • Murder • Nicknames • Pregnancy • Punishment • Substance Use • Suicide • Teamwork • Unexpected Survival
Miscellaneous A's and B's • Antagonists • Continuity • Cultural References • Deuteragonist • Episode Title Meanings • Groups • Herd • Protagonists • Tritagonist • TV/Comic Death Comparisons • Variants • Wildfire Virus • Zombies