King Ezekiel Comic Book Origin on ‘The Walking Dead’; What Is the Story Behind the Kingdom’s King?

Last Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead" season 7 introduced a new captivating character, King Ezekiel, played by Khary Payton, who left a huge impression. The actor even tweeted:

...blessed is he who in the name of charity & goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness... #blessed pic.twitter.com/kljToDR2hZ

— Khary Payton (@kharypayton) July 24, 2016

Carol and Morgan met the leader King Ezekiel and his ferocious pet tiger, Shiva, of the newly found community called the Kingdom in the second episode of the season 7. However, this new settlement is a bit more rose-tinted compared to Rick's Alexandria and Negan's Sanctuary. Carol insists that King Ezekiel is selling the people a fairy tale that would sooner or later be a nightmare as nothing stays pristine for a long time based on the past endeavors.

If you want to know more as to what may become of the show's latest addition, here's a sneak peak of “The Walking Dead” comic books.

From this week's episode, we know that King Ezekiel and the Kingdom are well acquainted with the Saviors. They are also participating in Negan's infamous "arrangement" to provide them supplies such as slaughtered pigs as their "payment" on a frequent basis.

According to the comics, King Ezekiel and Michonne are romantically involved. He also teams up with Rick and the members of the Hilltop community in an attempt to defeat Negan and the Saviors. Jointly, they plotted a massive attack against the Savior's compound which, unfortunately, was quickly overwhelmed by Negan's men. Afterward, King Ezekiel takes on another attempt to attack the Saviors but dreadfully loses Shiva to heaps of walkers.

Ezekiel spirals into despair and loses his footing as a leader. Luckily, he recovers in time to help everyone when the Saviors attack the Hilltop community and eventually takes Negan into custody. Subsequently, King Ezekiel returns to the Kingdom along with Michonne.

However, in “The Walking Dead” season 7, it looks like King Ezekiel is trying to establish something with Carol. He stopped by Carol's door along with Shiva and an apple on his hand.