InThe Walking Dead’s comic continuity, the ruthless villain known as Negan was a constant thorn in Rick’s side, with Negan and his weapon of choice, a barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat affectionately dubbed “Lucille,” being just another problem for Rick to contend with daily. But what originally inspiredThe Walking Dead’s creator to nameNegan’s bat “Lucille”? According to Robert Kirkman,Lucille’s name was inspired by a classic movie manyWalking Deadfans may not have seen before.
Introduced inThe Walking Dead #100alongside her foul-mouthed master, Lucille made a name for herself by issue’s end, with Negan using her to murder longtimeWalking Deadcharacter Glenn in a gory display of brain matter and blood.
Lucille was on my mind because of the scene in COOL HAND LUKE. I didn’t even really think about the BB King thing… if it had occurred to me, I would have picked a different name.
Asked by a fan in the “Letter Hacks” section ofThe Walking Dead Deluxe #104whether Lucille got her name from a fan-favorite episode ofThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Airor possibly from the way B.B. King names his guitars “Lucille,” Robert Kirkman reveals that neither is true,citing the 1967 award-winning classicCool Hand Lukeas Lucille’s inspirationinstead!
Negan’s Iconic Bat Lucille Was Inspired by the Classic Film Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke- 1967 (Directed by Stuart Rosenberg and Written by Donn Pearce and Frank R. Pierson)
Featuring an Oscar-nominated performance by Paul Newman,Cool Hand Lukefollows World War II veteran Lucas “Luke” Jackson after being sentenced to hard labor on a chain gang in 1950s Florida. One scene, often referred to as “the car wash scene,” sawNewman’s Luke and his fellow prison pals ogling over a young woman they dub “Lucille” as she washes her car in a manner theyhighlyenjoy. Admitting that “Lucille was on my mind because of the scene inCool Hand Luke,” Robert Kirkman solidifies this classic film as an integral part of what would eventually become Negan’s Lucille.
The Walking Dead Creator Blames Stan Lee For One of Negan’s Most Memorable Mistakes
In his annotations to “Walking Dead Deluxe #103,” Robert Kirkman called out his “Stan Lee” moment, which came during a memorably Negan scene.
Constantly talkingaboutLucille while wielding her and sometimes eventoher as if she were a real woman — a nod to the wayCool Hand Luke’s characters talkattheir Lucille, no doubt — Negan often projects his sadistic thoughts and feelings through Lucille, with her becoming just as important a “character” as the man who swings her. Furthermore,the chain gang in the film assigns a name to Lucille because, according to them, “anything so innocent and built like that just gotta be named Lucille,”a line that sounds like it could have easily come fromNegan’s troubled mind.
Though Kirkman may have gleaned “Lucille” fromCool Hand Luke’s iconic car wash scene,the canon reason behind Negan using it in comics comes from his cancer-stricken wife,also named Lucille— a moniker that makes sense for Negan’s signature weapon after knowing the entire story behind his relationship with his late partner.Cool Hand Lukemay not be a film readers are familiar with, considering it’s swiftly approaching its 60th anniversary, but it’s still a movie worth watching, especially now that it’s been revealed it was the sole inspiration behind Negan’sLucilleinThe Walking Dead’s zombie-infested comic book universe.
The Walking Dead Deluxe #104is available from Image Comics.
The Walking Dead
The Walking Deadis a massive multimedia franchise that began with a comic book series created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The franchise gained widespread popularity with the launch of the television seriesThe Walking Deadin 2010 on AMC, which chronicles the lives of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, referred to as “walkers.” The success of the original show has led to numerous spin-offs, web series, video games, novels, and other media. The franchise explores themes of survival, human nature, and the breakdown of society in the face of an existential threat, making it one of the most successful and influential horror series of the 21st century.
