Caesar Martinez
Loyal enforcer turned reluctant leader in the zombie apocalypse.
Caesar Ramón Martínez is a recurring fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead, portrayed by Jose Pablo Cantillo in the television adaptation. He first appears as the loyal second-in-command to The Governor, responsible for bringing Rick Grimes, Michonne, and Glenn into Woodbury for questioning and torture. In the television series, Martínez is less subservient, eventually defecting after The Governor murders his army and becoming the leader of his own survivor camp.
Quick Facts
- Series
- The Walking Dead
- First
- Comic:
- "Issue #27" (2006)
- Television:
- "Walk with Me" (2012)
- Last
- Comic:
- "Issue #43" (2007)
- Television:
- "Dead Weight" (2013)
- Portrayed by
- Jose Pablo Cantillo
- Adapted by
- Glen Mazzara (The Walking Dead)
Facts from the source article.
Appearances
Caesar Martinez is a former gym teacher from Augusta, Georgia, whose backstory is told in the novels The Rise of the Governor and The Road to Woodbury. In the comics, he conducts Rick, Glenn, and Michonne's entry to Woodbury, later helps them escape, then betrays them by sneaking to tell The Governor the prison's location. Rick runs him down in an RV, and after Martinez claims he intended to bring good people back without The Governor, Rick strangles him and leaves him to reanimate.
His zombified head is discovered by a Woodbury scouting party and brought back to manipulate the townspeople; in The Fall of the Governor, Lilly Caul puts down the head after the failed prison assault. In the television series, Martinez is a sharpshooter and one of The Governor's enforcers. He appears at a helicopter crash wielding a baseball bat, ambushes a military detachment, and wears a baseball jersey with number 23. Merle calls him both "Brownie" and "Bro."
Martinez and Merle spar in gladiator tournaments. He helps interrogate Glenn and Maggie, fights Rick's group during the rescue, and puts a gun to Merle's back when the Governor brands Merle a traitor. After the attack, he helps keep order, assists in the prison assault by pinning Rick down, and is put in charge of recruiting townspeople for an army.
Development and reception
Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club described the fight match between Merle and Martinez in "Say the Word" as a way to "blow off steam," noting the night-fights offer a sense of victory over the dead. Keven Skinner, reviewing "Arrow on the Doorpost," enjoyed the scene where Daryl and Martinez one-up each other with brutal zombie kills, calling Martinez's baseball bat kills "some of the most brutal this season" and the special effects "fantastic." Skinner also noted that during filming, actor Norman Reedus missed his zombie target and hit the back of Cantillo's head twice with a rubber knife.
Handlen called this scene one of the "small, effective scenes" reminding viewers of the unreality and pointlessness of the conflict. Cantillo related the competitiveness to his childhood with two older brothers, saying it is a good way for people to relate as long as it is not taken too far. The episode "Dead Weight" marks Martinez's last appearance, killed by The Governor. David Morrissey explained that Martinez makes the mistake of admitting weakness by saying he is not sure he can keep the camp safe; had he asserted confidence, the Governor would have followed him.
Instead, the Governor kills him, screaming "I don't want it!"—meaning he does not want the responsibility forced on him by Martinez's weakness, believing no one else is worthy of wearing the crown.
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