Abraham Ford
Sgt. Abraham Ford is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead and was portrayed by Michael Cudlitz in the American television series of the same name.
In both mediums Abraham travelled the country with his girlfriend Rosita Espinosa to escort Dr. Eugene Porter to Washington, D.C., where the supposed cure for the outbreak is located, eventually recruiting Rick Grimes' group to accompany them. Though a skilled shooter, Abraham displays aggressive outbursts and has volatile tendencies towards the other group members, but over time he gains a strong sense of respect for Rick and becomes one of his right-hand men. He is also displayed as being emotionally broken from the pain he endured, due to his family being killed by zombies. Eventually, Eugene is revealed to have lied and has no cure; Abraham lashes out at Eugene, and then becomes reclusive until the group find the Alexandria Safe-Zone, where Abraham becomes head of the construction crew. Over time, he and Eugene are able to make amends. Later, he and Rosita broke up, and he decided to pursue a relationship with Sasha, but the new romance did not last long, as Abraham was killed by Negan soon after. He was buried at Hilltop.
Cudlitz received acclaim for his portrayal of Abraham in the show and is noted for his numerous unique one-liners and catchphrases.
Appearances
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. They are at first held at gunpoint by Andrea until Abraham explains their story and they need to acquire supplies for their trip to Washington and invites them to come along. Though the group remains skeptical, and Abraham directly confronts Dale and yells at him which causes tensions between him and Andrea. Later a large pack of zombies finds the farm and Abraham takes them all out and informs the others they were part of a larger "herd" which will be coming their way and fires a gunshot to force their co-operation. Eventually Rick agrees and they pack up their supplies into their truck and leave the farm for good.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", 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 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. Their leader Dwight, right-hand man of Negan, puts an arrow through Abraham's head and takes 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. Dwight is resented by everyone for some time for killing Abraham, but he professes that he had no choice as to not kill him would mean his wife Sherry would be punished, which is ultimately proven right. Regardless of Rick's eventual alliance with Dwight, many members of the group still dislike him for killing Abraham.
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", Abraham ignores Glenn's insistence on finding his wife Maggie, as he says Eugene knows the cure to the virus and they must get to DC. The two get into a scuffle over it, but Glenn's determination to find Maggie outvotes Abraham. In the episode "Us", Abraham leaves Glenn and Tara into a tunnel and wishes them safe travels, but eventually come back to rescue them after meeting Maggie, Sasha, and Bob. 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 in 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 escapes Terminus with the group. In the episode "Strangers", Abraham talks to Rick and tries to convince him to go to DC, but he insists on staying in Father Gabriel Stokes 's 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 notes the danger it poses to their sanity. Rick agrees to go to DC. In the episode "Four Walls and a Roof", Abraham gets into a fight with Rick over leaving after Daryl, Carol and Bob go missing. A deal is made for Glenn and Maggie to leave after the night. Abraham then gives Rick a map, apologizing for his behavior and tells him to go to DC after he gets Daryl and Carol back. In the episode "Self Help", flashbacks show Abraham killing men to protect his family, but his wife and children are terrified by him and run off, only to be killed by walkers. Abraham almost commits suicide, but Eugene comes asking for help on a mission. In present day, Abraham goes increasingly frustrated with the setbacks on the way to DC, only for Eugene to reveal he is not a scientist. Abraham punches Eugene repeatedly, almost killing him. Rosita steps in his way to stop him, hand on her pistol. He walks off some distance and falls to his knees, crying. In the episode "Crossed", Abraham remains reclusive and on his knees in shock. Rosita is unable to get through to him. 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. 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. Eventually the group arrives at Aaron's community: The Alexandria Safe-Zone.In "Remember", the group enters Alexandria where they are interviewed by its 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 equally the danger of settling in which Michonne agrees on, after she humorously notes how drunk he is. 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 to kill the walkers attacking him while she uses his rifle to kill the walkers sneaking up on him. Afterward Abraham confronts Tobin over the matter, before Francine punches him, and as the others suggest heading back Abraham insists they continue and gives them directions to position guards and unload materials 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 revolver 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 for Jessie's safety, but Abraham asks their backup plan if they do not buy it. 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 them to Washington. Later Abraham attends Deanna's meeting with Carol, Eugene, Michonne, Maggie and defends Rick's actions just as Rick appears with a dead walker in his arms and stresses to 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 during an assassination attempt on Rick's life, Abraham angrily tackles the still-irate Pete and holds down his head as Rick executes him on Deanna's orders and witnesses the arrival of Morgan Jones, Aaron, and Daryl.