Aaron is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead and television series of the same name. He is portrayed by Ross Marquand in the television series.
In both media, he acts as a recruiter for the Alexandria Safe-Zone located in Washington, D.C., for Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors on the road. Although initially mistrusted by Rick's group, he gradually gains their trust and becomes a respected and resourceful ally to the group. Aaron is the longest surviving Alexandria character and is notable for being the comic book's first openly gay character.
Appearances
Comic book series
Aaron is introduced as a recruiter for the Alexandria Safe-Zone, a community built from a quarantine zone for politicians during the outbreak. Aaron comes into contact with Rick's group shortly after they exterminated the Hunters and had been observing them with his fellow recruiter and boyfriend Eric to determine if they were suitable for the community. Although the survivors are initially suspicious of Aaron's motives, they go along with him to Washington, D.C., and eventually join Alexandria. The leader of Alexandria, Douglas Monroe, is hesitant about the prospect of the group staying, but Aaron defends them, believing they are genuinely good people. He remains fiercely loyal to Rick and company for the remainder of the series.
After the group's arrival, Eric is stabbed by a random woman they were trying to recruit. Eric is taken back to Alexandria by Aaron and is quickly healed by the town's surgeon, Denise Cloyd. In the wake of this event, the couple mutually decides to stop recruiting and focus on maintaining things within the safety of their walls. A zombie attack puts the community in disarray and culminates in Rick becoming leader in the wake of Douglas' death. Aaron and Eric are both assigned inventory together and keep track of the community's rations and supplies to ensure that it continues to run properly. The two also participate in training with Rick and the rest of the group in order to defend themselves better against the undead. Aaron and Eric begin to grow more comfortable venturing outside the walls again, assisting others in supply runs.
A recruiter named Paul "Jesus" Monroe finds Alexandria and offers an alliance with the nearby community of the Hilltop Colony. Aaron convinces Rick to trust Jesus and not make an enemy out of him, reminding Rick of how he didn't initially trust Aaron when he came to rescue the group. The alliance leads to joining Hilltop's conflict with an extortionist group called the Saviors, led by Negan. The conflict begins with the death of Abraham. Aaron and Eric are both shaken, with the two of them attending his memorial service. They later participate in the war against the Saviors and form the Militia, an army consisting of many members from Alexandria, Hilltop Colony, and another community called The Kingdom. Eric is killed in battle, leaving Aaron devastated. His grief quickly turns into fury and he vows to kill every remaining Savior in order to avenge Eric's death. The Militia wins the war and Negan is sentenced to life in prison.
Two years later, Aaron has moved on from Eric's death but struggles with the idea of finding new love. He continues to be a productive member of Alexandria by leading zombie herds away from the communities. Aaron considers starting a relationship with Jesus, but he is unsure due to his continued grief over Eric and Jesus' casual relationship with Hilltop nurse, Alex. Aaron is later attacked by the Whisperers, a cult of primitivists that wear the faces of the dead, and is stabbed by Beta. He is taken to Hilltop to recover. During his stay at Hilltop, he gets closer to Jesus and the two begin a relationship. As the Whisperers burn down Hilltop, Aaron manages to rescue Rick's son Carl, despite his injuries. Aaron and Jesus return to Alexandria and aid them against the Whisperer's undead army. Andrea is bitten in the attack and Aaron and Jesus give their condolences before she dies. When on the road returning to Hilltop, Aaron and Jesus are ambushed by Beta and his last few remaining Whisperer followers. In the ensuing fight, Aaron shoots Beta, killing him and officially ending the Whisperers.
The communities make contact with a civilization in Ohio called The Commonwealth. While they initially help in the rebuilding of the communities, they occupy the Coalition and enforce their capitalistic rule. A class war breaks out within The Commonwealth. Aaron and Jesus join the civilians against the Commonwealth Army. Rick manages to deescalate the riot and calls for peace, but is later shot and killed by the Governor's son, Sebastian Milton. Aaron and Jesus grieve Rick along with the others that knew him. Twenty-five years later, Aaron and Jesus continue to be in a relationship and live on a riverside farm where an adult Carl, his wife Sophia, and their daughter, Andrea, visit frequently.
Television series
Prior to the events of the series Aaron became a recruiter for the Alexandria Safe-Zone, along with his boyfriend Eric. At some point Aaron recruited a group of three led by Davidson, who Aaron believed would be a good addition to the community. However, Davidson's violent nature led to Deanna exiling him. Aaron, Aiden and Nicholas were forced to escort Davidson's group out, taking all their weapons and leaving them only a few days worth of supplies.
Season 5
In the episode "Them", Aaron (Ross Marquand) introduces himself, first, to Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) and Sasha Williams (Sonequa Martin-Green), stating his name and that he wishes to speak to the leader, which he already knows is Rick. Then he notes that he has good news for the group. In the next episode, "The Distance", Sasha and Maggie take him as a prisoner and bring him to Rick. Aaron tells them that he has been following them for quite some time and wants to invite them to live in a safe community nearby. Rick does not believe him and orders everyone to check if the things he said are true. They come to the conclusion that Aaron is telling the truth and decide to go along with him to the community. Rick, Glenn (Steven Yeun), Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Aaron are attacked by walkers, but they manage to reunite with the rest of the group and Aaron's partner, Eric (Jordan Woods-Robinson). Together they enter the community, which lies in Alexandria, Virginia. In the episode, "Remember", Aaron leads the group in Alexandria while carrying Eric inside. After letting Eric go off to the infirmary, he stays at the gate with Nicholas (Michael Traynor) as the group enters. Aaron asks that group comply with Nicholas' orders to turn over their weapons, and that they will need to speak to the leader, Deanna Monroe (Tovah Feldshuh). After she spoke with Rick, Aaron guided Rick and Carl to the two vacant houses in the Safe-Zone, and that he and Eric will be four houses down if Rick or anyone else needs anything.
In the episode "Forget", Aaron follows Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) out of the safe-zone, under the guise of hunting rabbits. Aaron then joins Daryl on the hunt, during which they find Buttons, a wild horse they have been trying to wrangle for months. When Daryl attempts to get Buttons, they are attacked by walkers and flee the area. The two bond over being seen as outsiders—Daryl because of his survivalist background, Aaron because he is gay. Soon after, Aaron is attacked and Daryl rescues him. They come to find Buttons being devoured by walkers, so both Aaron and Daryl kill the walkers, with Aaron shooting Buttons to put him out of his misery. Aaron goes back to the safe-zone but did not attend the party so that he could help mend Eric's broken ankle. When Daryl arrives to the Monroe house but declines to go inside, Aaron invites Daryl over for spaghetti. Aaron and Eric then surprise Daryl with a motorcycle they built themselves, and reveal that Eric is retiring as a recruiter and Daryl is to take his place. Daryl is grateful and forms a friendship with Aaron and Eric.
In the episode "Spend", Daryl and Aaron head out to find other recruits for Alexandria. In the episode "Try", Daryl spots a light some miles away, but when he and Aaron investigate, they find a group of mutilated walkers and their human victim; the latter has a "w" carved into her forehead.
In the season finale "Conquer", Daryl and Aaron find evidence of other people moving around the forest and begin to track them. Aaron tells Daryl about a group of survivors he recruited led by a man named Davidson who were ultimately exiled from Alexandria, and he personally had to escort them out without their weapons. They then see a lone survivor wearing a red poncho in the middle of a field and follow him. They lose track of the survivor and decide to scavenge supplies from some abandoned food trucks. However, they set off a trap that unleashes a horde of walkers on them and they are forced to take shelter inside a car. Daryl offers to risk his own life to help Aaron escape, but Aaron is adamant that they both escape together. At that moment, Morgan Jones (Lennie James) arrives and, with his help, Daryl and Aaron are able to escape. Aaron offers to bring Morgan to Alexandria, but Morgan politely refuses, saying that he needs to get to Washington, D.C., and shows them the map he picked up in the church, which Daryl recognizes. Daryl, Aaron, and Morgan arrive back at Alexandria in time to witness Rick executing Pete Anderson (Cory Brill), a traitorous community member who had murdered Deanna's husband Reg (Steve Coulter). Meanwhile, the Wolves find Aaron's backpack, containing evidence of Alexandria's existence.
Season 6
During the finale of season 6, "Last Day on Earth", Aaron and several others volunteer to help Rick get medical attention for Maggie, who is experiencing complications with her pregnancy. En route to Hilltop, the group discover all the roads are being blocked by a hostile group calling themselves the Saviors. The group realize they are being lured into a trap, and Aaron points out that one of the many walkers left by the Saviors as a diversion on a road had strands of Michonne's hair stuck to it. At one point, while the Saviors are taunting the group, a man they caught is being hung over a bridge with a chain tightly wrapped around his neck. Aaron wants to help him, but Rick tells him they need to save their bullets, and leave the man to die. Eventually, Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt) devises a plan to take the RV alone at night to lure the Saviors away from the others. However, while taking Maggie through the woods on a stretcher, the group are captured and disarmed by dozens of Saviors. They are then reunited with Daryl, Glenn, Michonne and Rosita Espinosa (Christian Serratos), who are already held captive. After the group is lined-up on their knees, the Saviors' leader, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), introduces himself, and after telling them his plans for the group, he selects one of them to be beaten to death with a baseball bat wrapped in barbwire he calls "Lucille" as a punishment for killing his people. Negan chooses who is to die by playing "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe", and the beating is shown from the point-of-view of whoever Negan says is "it".
Season 7