Abraham Ford

Abraham Ford
The Walking Dead character

Abraham Ford, as portrayed by Michael Cudlitz in the television series.
First appearance Issue #53 (comics)
"Inmates" (TV series)
Last appearance Issue #98 (Alive) (comics)
Issue #99 (Corpse) (comics)
Created by Robert Kirkman
Charlie Adlard
Portrayed by Michael Cudlitz
Information
Occupation Soldier
Sports coach (comics)
Family A.J. Ford (son; TV series)
Becca Ford (daughter; TV series)
Significant other(s) Beth Ford (comics)
Ellen Ford (TV series)
Rosita Espinosa

Sgt. Abraham Ford is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead and is portrayed by Michael Cudlitz in the American television series of the same name.[1] An emotionally broken man, Abraham has travelled around the country with his companions Rosita Espinosa and Dr. Eugene Porter, with hopes of getting to Washington, D.C., where a supposed cure for the disease is located, eventually becoming part of Rick Grimes's group.

Character background

In the comics Abraham is a former army sergeant, sports coach, and happily married father of two before the apocalypse. His impulsive rage eventually drove his family away from him during the initial stages of the undead nightmare. Later, he discovers their corpses.

Appearances

Comic book series

Abraham Ford, as depicted in the comic book series.

Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita were once part of a larger group based in Houston. Their camp was overrun a few weeks earlier, and Eugene has persuaded them to head to Washington, D.C., where he claims he was a scientist; Eugene says they're working on a cure there. The trio first appears at Hershel's farm shortly after the prison's destruction. Abraham tells the survivors they need to acquire supplies for their trip to Washington, and invites them to come along.

Initially, there is hostility between Abraham and the others, particularly Rick Grimes. When Maggie Greene attempts suicide, he comes close to placing a bullet in her head before she regains consciousness, even when Rick holds a gun to his head and orders him not to. Rick's arguing with him enrages Abraham, and Abraham almost kills him the next morning. A zombie interrupts his plan, and Abraham saves Rick instead.

During a detour back to Rick's hometown, they run into a group of bandits who attempt to rape Carl. Abraham assists in rescuing him and stops Carl from watching Rick disembowel one of them. The next morning, Rick and Abraham bond after they realize they have suffered similar losses.

After gathering some supplies from Rick and Carl's hometown, and recruiting Morgan Jones, the four make the trip back to the survivors. During this trip they stumble upon The Herd (the largest they've seen), and immediately try to break through. Instead, they total their car. On foot, Carl is nearly killed and Abraham rescues him.

They regroup with the rest of their team and head to DC. On the way, they stumble across two mysterious scavengers, and Abraham is wary of their true intentions. He insists to Rick that they follow anyway due to their limited options. They soon come across and integrate themselves into Alexandria, where Abraham (due to his physical strength) is made head of the construction crew, where he witnesses corruption with the other crew members sacrificing one of their own, a young woman named Holly. He stands up for her, which drives the two closer to one another, and eventually they hook up behind Rosita's back. Abraham initially feels guilt about cheating on Rosita, but rationalizes his action as normal because of the new world they're living in. He breaks off his relationship with Rosita and falls back into Holly's arms. At one point, Holly suggests he take over from Rick, though this never comes to light. Abraham continues to assist in daily zombie-slaying and muscle work as months go by.

He and Michonne later encounter Jesus and join Rick and a few others at the Hilltop community. They are ambushed on their way back by the Saviors, a ruthless gang that has been terrorizing the community. When they are back in Alexandria, he and Eugene go on a supply run, and are ambushed by Savior members. They put an arrow through Abraham's head and take Eugene hostage. Abraham's body is eventually discovered by Rick and Andrea and given a memorial service. His death devastates Holly and Rosita, who has forgiven him.

Television series

Season 4

In the episode "Inmates", Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene meet survivors Tara and an unconscious Glenn on the road as they escape the ruins of the destroyed prison. In the episode "Claimed", Glenn wakes up in the back of Abraham's truck Tara tells him they have been driving for hours; Glenn bashes the back window until Abraham angrily stops the truck and gets out. Glenn insists on resuming his search for his wife Maggie, but Abraham tells him Glenn is disrupting "The Mission". Abraham reveals that Eugene knows what caused the apocalypse, and since Eugene's communications with government officials have been cut, Eugene and his group are on their way to Washington, D.C. Glenn doggedly tries to leave again, but after Abraham insists that Maggie is most likely dead, Glenn punches him in the face, which starts a brawl. While Tara and Rosita try to stop the fight, Eugene spots walkers emerging from the withered fields surrounding the road and accidentally ruptures the truck's fuel tank while trying to shoot the walkers. The group eliminates the walker horde, after which Glenn walks back down the road they came from to find Maggie, followed by Tara and then Rosita. With the truck out of commission, Eugene tells Abraham that the road behind them is clear and hints that they'll find more survivors and a replacement vehicle if Glenn is correct, so they follow Glenn as well. In the episode "Us", as they walk down the railroad tracks, Glenn comes across a message about Terminus that Maggie had left for him; realizing Maggie is still alive, Glenn sprints forward down the tracks. They come across a tower where a walker is about to fall from the roof on top of Eugene, whom Abraham saves by shoving Eugene out of the way, but causes Tara to fall and injure her leg in the process. Abraham wants to rest, but Glenn wants to push forward. He offers to give Eugene his riot gear for protection if Abraham's group goes with him to Terminus. Abraham accepts and the group moves on. They approach a tunnel where Glenn sees another sign from Maggie. Abraham decides walking through the dark tunnel, which they can hear from the sounds inside is long and contains multiple walkers, is too dangerous. He leaves Glenn and Tara with two cans of food and a flashlight, and tells them to backtrack to the last road if they have trouble getting through. Abraham falls asleep in the car, so Rosita drives while Eugene navigates; he tricks Rosita into driving to the far side of the tunnel where they run into Maggie, Sasha, and Bob. They all enter the tunnel and save Glenn and Tara from being overwhelmed by walkers. Eugene manages to convince Abraham to go to Terminus with the others, as they might be able to obtain supplies and recruit others at Terminus to come to Washington. They all head to Terminus, where they are greeted by a woman named Mary. In the season finale "A", when Rick, his son Carl, and Michonne and Daryl are locked up a shipping container by the residents of Terminus, it is revealed that Abraham and the rest have all been captured and are being held there as well. Rick declares that the people holding them are "gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out [...] they're screwin' with the wrong people."

Season 5

In the season premiere "No Sanctuary", Abraham is trapped in Boxcar A and is first seen making a makeshift weapon out of a piece of wood attached to his glove, and explains that shortly after their arrival he told Gareth of their plan to go to Washington D.C., but realized something was off. Before they could act Gareth had them herded into the train car. After the attempt to escape fails he is left trapped in the boxcar while Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Bob are taken inside Terminus. When Rick releases them from the boxcar, Abraham fights his way out of Terminus with the others and covers them as they jump the fence and is the last to jump, narrowly avoiding a walker. After accompanying Rick's group after meeting Carol, Tyreese and Rick's baby daughter Judith, Abraham and Rosita discuss telling Rick about Eugene knowing how to stop the outbreak and their voyage to Washington D.C., but Abraham settles on telling Rick at a later time to give him time to settle back in with his family. In the following episode "Strangers", Abraham takes observation of the group's capabilities as they journey away from Terminus, waiting his patience to tell Rick but the group rescues Fr. Gabriel Stokes but are distrusting of him when he claims to have never killed any walkers or people but he takes them to his church. Abraham talks to Rick and tries to convince him but he insists on staying in the church for the night and the others state that they do what Rick says and Abraham decides to wait. Later that night Abraham holds a toast during dinner praising their skills as survivors but also noting the danger it posses to their sanity but if Eugene gets to Washington D.C., the walkers will finally be wiped out. After Eugene informs them of bunkers designed to be impenetrable Rick agrees to Abraham's proposal.

In the episode "Four Walls and a Roof", after Daryl, Carol and Bob go missing Sasha suspects Gabriel and directly confronts him, which Rosita tries to stop but Abraham holds her back, as he tearfully confesses his own crime to have let people die to save himself. After Bob is found on the lawn, missing his leg, and tells them that Gareth and 5 others followed them and ate his leg and are planning to killing all of them. But Bob also tells them that Daryl and Carol drove away. Rick meets with the group to discuss what to do next, his choice being to hunt down Gareth's group. Abraham, however, insists they leave, as it is too dangerous for them to keep Eugene in such a hostile zone. Rick and Abraham begin arguing heatedly, and (except for Glenn's intervention) nearly come to blows until Glenn finally gets Abraham to agree to stay for one more half of a day, in exchange for Glenn's guarantee that he, Maggie, and Tara will accompany them to Washington, D.C. Under the cover of night Abraham leaves the church with Rick, Michonne, Sasha, Glenn, Maggie, and Tara. As they disappear into the woods the Terminus survivors appear, arriving at the church from a different route, and break in. However this is a ruse and Rick kills Albert and Mike as he shoots Gareth's fingers and forces them to the ground, but Martin refuses until Abraham points a rifle at his head. As Gareth begs for mercy Rick pulls out a machete with a red handle from his belt and slashing Gareth with it killing him as Abraham, Michonne and Sasha beat and stab Greg, Theresa and Martin to death. Next morning Abraham gives Rick a map depicting the route they would be taking to Washington. The group has decided to split up, with Abraham's group, along with Glenn, Maggie and Tara leaving for Washington, and the rest of the group promising to follow after Daryl and Carol return. Rick then opens the map to find the message, "Sorry for being an asshole earlier. Come to Washington. The new world's gonna need RICK GRIMES".

In the episode "Self Help", Abraham's back-story is explored and revealed. Abraham and his group are driving down the road in the church short bus when it suddenly breaks down mid-travel and crashes. After it catches fire the group is forced to abandon it and take shelter in a nearby library. At night he has sex openly with Rosita who notices Eugene watching them - as usual - but Abraham doesn't mind, saying "he's harmless". The next day they find a fire truck across the street and Abraham manages to start it up and drive it briefly, but human remains stuck in the air intakes cause it to stall - evidence suggests the truck was used to kill walkers. He is unaware that the truck was also used to barricade a group of walkers inside the fire station, who begin to pour out from the unblocked doorway. Eugene uses the truck's powerful hose to destroy the walkers, impressing Abraham. The group manage to fix the truck and drive it for some time before it breaks down again. As Abraham tries to fix it a horrible stench is blown their way from over the horizon. The group walks out to locate the source, and see a vast countless herd of moaning walkers in the far distance. Abraham demands that they keep going, much to the protest of the others, and in frustration he drags Eugene back to the fire truck. The group begins yelling and fighting, which at this point Eugene decides to confess: he had lied about being a scientist the entire journey in order to survive, and that he had sabotaged the bus to stall the trip, fearing what would happen if everyone found out the truth. When the others in tears and stunned ask why Eugene tells them that he needed to get to Washington D.C. because he believed it held the best chance of survival but couldn't make it on his own, and needed help but regrets all those who have died. Abraham angrily punches Eugene in response, injuring him severely, and is surprised when Rosita steps in his way to stop him, hand on her pistol. He walks off some distance and falls to his knees, crying. Throughout the episode, there are several flashbacks that portray Abraham's back story during the early days of the outbreak. He is first seen covered in blood and cuts and killing off the last of a group of men with a soup can in the back of a supermarket, then going to see if his family is okay - it is suggested that the men he was killing were attacking them. His family - consisting of his wife Ellen, his son A.J. and daughter Becca - is cowering when he finds them, and they shrink back in fear upon seeing him approach, much to his dismay. The next morning, he wakes up to find them missing, and sees a written message left behind that reads "Don't try to find us". He rushes out of the supermarket and searches for them, only to later find their devoured remains lying in a ditch. Saddened and traumatized, he pulls out his handgun and prepares to commit suicide, but stops when he sees Eugene stumbling towards him and calling for help, trying to flee from some walkers. Abraham gets up and kills them easily out of vengeance, then walks back to his dead family to kill himself again. Eugene begs him to come back, saying he has "a very important mission". Abraham pauses and looks back at him.

In the episode "Crossed", Abraham remains reclusive and on his knees in shock. Rosita tries to get him to drink some water but he knocks it out of his hand and when she raises her voice Abraham stands up and stares at her and Maggie pulls out her gun and tells Abraham to kneel back down. Maggie then asks if he wants to die but as she walks away, he replies that he doesn't and rejoins the group when Eugene wakes up. In mid-season finale "Coda", Abraham and his group return to the church with the firetruck in time to save Carl, Michonne, Gabriel and Judith from walkers though Abraham is still noticeably mad at an unconscious Eugene. Abraham accompanies the others to Atlanta to join Rick in his mission to rescue Carol and Maggie's sister Beth only in time to see Daryl walking out of the hospital with her lifeless body.

In the mid-season premiere "What Happened and What's Going On", when Tyreese dies from a walker bite Abraham is present his funeral. In the episode "Them", the group decide to continue their journey to Washington D.C. but their van breaks down forcing them to walk but the group suffers from a drought. Abraham has taken to drinking heavily and tries to make short talk with Sasha and stops Eugene from trying bottles of water left on the road, as Rick fears it may be poisoned. When a pack of walkers arrives Rick devises a plan to eliminate them without exhausting themselves by letting them fall into a ditch, with Abraham, Sasha, Michonne, Glenn and Maggie, but Sasha's recklessness almost gets Abraham killed when she cuts him. Eventually the group takes refuge inside a barn and are forced to hold the doors closed to keep walkers from entering.

In the episode "The Distance", Maggie and Sasha bring in a stranger named Aaron and after Rick disbelieves his claim of a nearby community Abraham takes part in the barn's defense on Rick's orders. When Michonne, Glenn and Maggie are set on following Aaron's claim of there being cars nearby Rick orders Abraham and Rosita to accompany them, eventually finding an R.V. After clearing it out Abraham asks Rosita if she believed he was going to hurt her back at the fire truck but she says no, knowing him better. The group returns to the barn and Rick finally decides to travel to their community but are temporarily delayed by a herd and Abraham leads half the group to a shelter with Aaron's boyfriend Eric. After the group resumes their travels, Abraham driving the R.V., they see the White House and Abraham smiles happy they made it but is soon angered when the R.V. breaks down but Glenn quickly points out where the backup battery is, puzzling Abraham to how Glenn knew where to find it (as Dale Horvath had previously taught him). Eventually the group arrives at Aaron's community: The Alexandria Safe-Zone. In "Remember", the group enters Alexandria where they are interviewed by it's leader Deanna Monroe who gives them two houses among themselves but they decide to stay in one house the first night though Abraham and Sasha are more on guard than the others. In "Forget", Deanna holds a welcome party for the new group which Abraham attends with Rosita but they are troubled by the normalcy of it until they see beer and Abraham gets slightly drunk. Later he talks to Michonne about how their lives are finally looking better but also the difficulty of leaving behind the road and it's dangers which Michonne agrees on.

In the episode "Spend", after having sex with Rosita, Abraham washes his face and appears stressed and joins Tobin's construction crew as they move materials from outside to expand the wall. However Abraham briefly pauses appearing stressed again but is quickly occupied with a pack of walkers nearby and Francine is caught between them and though Tobin is willing to abandon her Abraham saves her, using a wrecking ball as she uses his rifle to fend off the walkers. Afterward Abraham confronts Tobin over the matter, after Francine punches him, and as they others suggest heading back Abraham insists they continue which they agree to. Tobin later tells Deanna of Abraham's actions and she decides to assign him as leader of the construction crew. In the season finale "Conquer", following Rick and Pete's confrontation in the streets and him waving a gun around Deanna considers kicking him out. Abraham, meets with Rick, Glenn, Carol and Michonne to discuss the matter and Carol tells him to make up a story of having a gun out of concern Abraham asks for a plan-B. Rick then tells them that if things go bad he, Carol and Michonne will hold Deanna, Reg and Spencer hostage as Abraham and Glenn cover them so they can raid the armory. Later Abraham visits an unconscious Tara but is surprised to see Eugene and tries to sit down without waking him but Rosita intentionally drops a dish to wake him up. Abraham and Eugene reconcile over their differences and Abraham admits to feeling guilty for almost killing him while Eugene also admits the guilt he feels for lying in the first place and thanks him for getting him to Washington. Later Abraham attends Deanna's meeting with Carol, Eugene, Michonne, Maggie and Jessie and defends his actions along with everyone else just as Rick appears with a dead walker in his arms and stresses the others that the living and dead will always try to get inside and they need to be ready. As a drunken Pete appears and kills Reg with Michonne's sword Abraham angrily tackles Pete and holds down his head as Rick executes him on Deanna's orders.

Casting

The Abraham, Eugene and Rosita characters were first announced in a casting call (coded "John Tyler") for Episode 10 in July 2013.[2] The character's real name and the actor playing the role (Cudlitz) were confirmed during the show's panel at New York Comic Con 2013. The casting was later announced in the Hollywood Reporter[3] and Talking Dead.

References

External links