Glenn (full name in the television series: Glenn Rhee) is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead. He was portrayed by Steven Yeun in the television series of the same name and voiced by Nick Herman in the video game of the same name.
In both forms of media, Glenn is a young pizza delivery boy from Atlanta who is separated from his family after the zombie outbreak and joins a group of survivors led by Rick Grimes. Glenn is known for being quick thinking and resourceful, which makes him the group's primary supply runner. As the group begins to move around the region looking for sanctuary, Glenn meets Maggie Greene and they fall in love. Their relationship is tested in numerous ways throughout the course of the series as their humanity is challenged in the face of numerous threats, including hostile survivors the group comes into contact with. They eventually marry and have a child, although Glenn is killed by Negan before the child is born.
The character of Glenn was acclaimed and a fan-favorite. Yeun's performance was praised, and many fans have expressed that Glenn's death was a turning point in the quality of the show.
Appearances Comic book series Resourceful and clever, Glenn makes it out of Atlanta and comes up on the group of survivors on the outer limits of the city. Due to his knack for scavenging, he is often nominated to sneak into the city and find supplies. On one of these runs, he finds Rick Grimes and brings him back to the group, reuniting them with his family. His use of MacGyver-like tactics to outsmart and kill walkers enabled him to successfully recover guns for Jim, another of the group's members. Glenn develops a nascent crush on Maggie, but his shyness initially prevents him from acting on his feelings. Maggie eventually realizes this and confronts Glenn about his feelings and they start a relationship. After Maggie's father Hershel catches him in bed with Maggie, Glenn and Hershel have a brief argument. Despite the rocky start, Hershel understands that he cannot stop his daughter from wanting to be with Glenn. While Hershel kicks the majority of the survivors out, he accepts Glenn's decision to stay with Maggie.
Glenn tests a new idea of how to clear walkers on the fence: by attaching knives to plywood so it's easier to retrieve them after stabbing. When the group tries to make a permanent home at the prison, he moves into the same cell as Maggie. Later on, Hershel gives Maggie permission to be in a relationship with Glenn, and helps him settle into a prison-turned-refuge with Maggie and helps the group find fuel and supplies. Glenn is later imprisoned by the Governor, an encounter that leaves him with physical and mental scars; Glenn is beaten and forced to hear the Governor brutally rape Michonne in a neighboring cell. After his escape and return to the prison, Glenn grows to love Maggie and proposed to her with a ring stolen from a zombie's finger; Hershel marries the couple shortly after. Soon after their marriage, Glenn and Maggie volunteer to join the group that traveled to the Army Center to prevent enemies from Woodbury from using its fuel for their vehicles. The group is attacked by Bruce and his friends. Glenn, distracted, allows Andrea to snipe Bruce, and Michonne to kill the rest of the attackers. He fiercely defends the prison from a front gate sniper tower. With the group divided on what to do next, Glenn decides to leave with Dale and Andrea in the R.V. at the last minute, saving Sophia and Maggie's lives (at this point, Sophia saw him as a surrogate father). He, Maggie, and Sophia stay at Hershel's farm with Dale and Andrea.
When the group encounters survivors at the farm, Glenn immediately mistrusts Abraham Ford, Rosita Espinosa, and Eugene Porter. However, he agrees to accompany them to Washington for Eugene's mission rather than stay at the farm any longer. On the road, Maggie attempts to hang herself and Glenn fought with Abraham, who intended to shoot her. Glenn cuts Maggie down and performs CPR, saving her life.The Walking Dead #56 (December 2008) Glenn's focus shifts from scavenging to caring for his new family and supporting Maggie after the death of her entire family. With the rest of the group, he travels to the Alexandria Safe-Zone. Glenn is suspicious of the Safe-Zone's community but adapts more rapidly than Rick. Glenn's skills and agility make him a suitable applicant to once again be a scavenger and a replacement for the wounded Scott. While the survivors stay in Father Gabriel Stokes' church, Glenn is caught in the center of conflict again when one of the Hunters, Albert, shoots him in the leg while he carries a mutilated Dale to safety. Gabriel and Eugene patch up Glenn's leg using a few tea-leaves and hot candle wax. Like the rest of the group, Glenn is pinned down in the church and remains behind while Abraham and the other leaders take care of them. He is unharmed during and in the aftermath, and his leg wound heals a few days afterwards.
Rick asks Glenn, due to his loyalty, to steal back their guns and weapons, which were taken by Douglas Monroe, when they first came to the Safety-zone. Glenn creates a distraction for the Community's survivors while he looks for the weapons. Rick and Glenn find the armory, and Glenn sneaks in. Rick distributes the weapons amongst the members of their group.
After the issues with Douglas are solved, Glenn and Maggie live in Alexandria for some time and decide that Alexandria would be the best place to raise a child, something they had wanted to do for some time. After a few attempts, Maggie gets pregnant.
However their celebration is short-lived; a group called the Saviors attempt to break into the community numerous times. During one such invasion, Glenn helps Eugene escape. Glenn and others go out and take on walkers coming towards the Alexandria gates. After Abraham is killed by Dwight, one of the Saviors, Glenn convinces Maggie to leave the community with him and Sophia, and head toward the Hilltop Colony, which he believes to be a much safer place. As they are camped on the road resting for the night after driving halfway to the Hilltop, Rick says goodbye to Glenn, and states that he is happy for him. They are ambushed by the Saviors soon afterward. The leader of the Saviors, Negan, selects Glenn to die as "punishment" for the Saviors Rick's group killed; he then bludgeons Glenn to death with a baseball bat. Glenn dies while helplessly crying Maggie's name. Rick and everyone else are left with Glenn's mangled corpse as the Saviors drive away, with Rick swearing to avenge Glenn's death.
His death initially leaves the group shattered, with Maggie quickly descending into an emotional mess and Rick on the verge of yielding to Negan's power. Glenn's body is later driven by the group to the Hilltop, where it is buried in a matter of days. To honor Glenn's final wishes, Maggie chooses to remain at the Hilltop with Sophia and start a new life while awaiting their baby.
Television series Glenn's parents were originally from Korea. Glenn grew up in Michigan with several sisters and moved to Atlanta. He worked as a pizza delivery boy, giving him in depth knowledge of Atlanta's layout. When the outbreak occurred, Glenn encountered another survivor named T-Dog (Theodore Douglas) and the two escaped Atlanta together and took refuge in a camp outside of the city led by Shane Walsh.
Season 1
In the series premiere episode "Days Gone Bye", Glenn's voice is first heard using a radio to talk to Rick when Rick is hiding in a tank in the city of Atlanta. In the episode "Guts", Glenn uses the radio to rescue Rick from the horde of walkers surrounding the tank, and guides Rick to the location of his group, which consists of Andrea, T-Dog, Merle Dixon, Jacqui, and Morales, hiding in a department store. The noise made by Rick as he and Glenn flee the horde draws the walkers to the store and the group finds themselves trapped inside. As the walkers try to break through the plate glass doors of the store, Rick decides to try to reach a box truck at a nearby construction site. To reach the truck, he and Glenn cover themselves in the blood and viscera of a dispatched walker, allowing them to successfully pass among the walkers, until a brief rainstorm washes off enough of the blood scent that they begin to draw attention. They make a break for the construction site, and Rick is able to reach the box truck. Glenn drives a Dodge Challenger, its alarm blaring, to draw the attention of the walkers away from the store, while Rick drives the box truck to one of the store's cargo doors. The entire group (other than Merle, who is trapped on the roof of the store) is able to escape the city in the box truck, apart from Glenn, who drives away in the Challenger. Glenn races down the highway in his new Challenger and heads back to his group with Rick and his new group following behind in the box truck. In the episode "Tell It to the Frogs", they meet up with the rest of the survivors at the Atlanta campsite, where Glenn helps distribute supplies and assist others when needed. He later goes with Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog to find Merle in the city and help Rick regain the guns previously dropped near the tank. In the episode "Vatos", Glenn ends up getting kidnapped by a nursing home crew posing as gang bangers, who try to exchange him for weaponry. Glenn is released, but his group then finds out that the truck which they used to drive to the city is missing, leaving them with no choice but to return to the campsite on foot. Glenn and the rest of his teammates return to the camp just in time to witness a herd of walkers invade and kill many of the survivors. In the episode "Wildfire", in the wake of the massacre, he assists in dealing with the corpses and insists that the group bury their people instead of burning them as they did the walkers they previously killed. Ultimately, he and the rest of the group leave the campsite and head to the CDC. Along the way Jim, a survivor who was bitten during the attack and has been battling the fever, finally gives in and requests to be left to die by the trees nearby which Glenn tries to argue but the group ultimately goes with Jim's choice. In the episode "TS-19", for a brief time, they enjoy the luxuries the CDC offers. They are on the road again, however, following the self-destruction of the CDC building.
Season 2