Drew Stanton

***"It's coming along, but it'll still be a while till it's done."***
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## Drew Stanton

* All Out War
* A Certain Doom

### Age

15 *('A New Day')*
 17 *('An Iron Fist')*
 19 *('Times Have Changed')*
 47 *('Of Pain and Suffering')*
 67 *('End All Wars')*

### Occupation

High School Student *(Pre-apocalypse)*
Former captain of the guard for Sanctuary *(Post-apocalypse)*
Former member of the Greencole Council *(Post-apocalypse)*
Former member of the New Graystone Military *(Post-apocalypse)*

### Family

Unnamed - mother *(zombified)*
 Connor Stanton – brother *(deceased)*
Becky Stanton – former wife *(deceased)*
 Sarah Stanton – daughter *(deceased)*
Ben Stanton – grandson *(deceased)*
(Unnamed) - unborn grandchild *(deceased)*
Alex Junior - son-in-law *(alive)*

### Series Lifespan

'An Iron Fist' -- 'End All Wars'

> *"If you acknowledge any gods, **start praying now**,"*
>
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> -- Drew to Rictor before he avenges Becky's murder
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**Drew Stanton** is a main character and the former deuteragonist (previously tritagonist) and a survivor of the outbreak in *The Walking Dead by EDStudios*. He also served as the protagonist of *'A New Day*'. A rough-and-tumble kid from Oklahoma, Drew moved to the City and quickly made friends, amongst them George Gareth, Harold Carter and his future girlfriend and wife, Becky Grace.

After the outbreak, Drew regrouped with a large group of his friends and helped settle a safe-zone outside the city. After that fell, Drew ended up in Hometown alongside his group in the company of a young girl and a one-year-old child. After a failed uprising, Drew became an ally of the mysterious Harry Edwards, a man Drew would stick by for many years. He became the co-founder of the New Graystone Republic and played a vital role in the defeat of the Frontiersmen. He decided to live out in the woods to try and find peace after the death of his wife Becky, before returning to help defeat the Fear and stayed behind to fight the Government.

After the suicide of his daughter, Drew left the Commonwealth behind him, setting off towards his home state of Oklahoma, starting a new journey and leaving his past behind. However, in the '*New Age*' Extension, he returned briefly to aid against the Republic of David, before setting off once more to locate his group and spend the rest of his life helping others at no benefit to himself.

## Overview

### Personality

Drew starts the series as a blunt, reckless, somewhat arrogant and impatient young man who disregards authority and criticism, embracing the identity of "that asshole kid at school who's into grunge", but slowly develops into a physically and mentally strong man who is often surly and very resourceful, with a compassion and loyalty towards the people he cares that is second-to-none; despite his hardened personality, he is not without a soft, emotional side. He is often volatile, but he is still significantly more level-headed than many of his group members, including his close friend Edwards.

Drew has also proven to be an incredibly honest individual and hardly ever lies, a characteristic he shares with his leader and close friend Edwards, thus making him a very respected and trusted right-hand man to Edwards. He is much more clever than he looks. Although he is not as tough as many of his fellow survivors, Drew is just as aggressive and agile and can hold his own against the dead and the living with his signature weapon, a fighting staff. The death of his wife, Becky at the hands of Rictor has significantly hardened him, even to the point he often takes no quarter.

Despite his common role as Edwards' right-hand man, Drew is a more than capable leader, being an expert and ruthless tactician who prizes his people's lives over anything else when entering into battle. His finest hour was his leadership of Greencole during Edwards' lowest moment.

It is strongly hinted at several points in the story that Drew has been suffering from PTSD since the death of his wife, attempting to keep his sanity in control instead of devolving into a revenge-fueled killer.

After the Battle of Archangel, Drew had a change of heart and left the safety of the walled settlements behind, instead deciding to live out in the wilderness of the State of New Graystone. After all the deaths he caused, Drew has spent time alone in order to develop a more pacifist side and find inner peace, often refusing to kill threats he comes across. He has developed an animosity towards the nation he helped build, claiming that the State of New Graystone is repeating the mistakes of the Old World by attacking nature and advancing industry.

As the conflict with the Fear intensifies, he moves to Thomaston and seeks to train the youth there. After killing Zion, Drew's bloodlust is reborn.

After his daughter is shot in the stomach - subsequently killing her unborn child - by Antony Eden, Drew reverts to his more violent self and goes on the warpath, determined to kill any and all members of the Government who would prevent him getting to Eden.

After his daughter's death, Drew reaches his mental limit. Claiming to be "too much of a coward" to end it all for himself, he decides to leave the Commonwealth and his friends behind for good, setting off to his home state of Oklahoma to seek mental healing and find inner peace.

## Pre-Apocalypse

There is not much information about Drew's life pre-apocalypse, other than he was born and grew up in the state of Oklahoma, still retaining the deep southern accent. It is likely that he has Native American heritage. At some unknown point in his youth, he and his parents moved to the City, where he made friends with most of the neighbouring kids as well as his classmates at school. Harold Carter quickly became his best friend, and he entered a relationship with Becky Grace.

## Post-Apocalypse

### Season 2

#### 'An Iron Fist'

As Edwards enters the prison cell searching for Holly and AJ, he is immediately held at gunpoint by a kid with an Oklahoma accent. It is quickly revealed his name is Drew, and after some convincing allows Edwards to visit Holly and AJ, the former having been convinced that Edwards was dead.

### Season 3

#### 'Fear In Our Hearts'

Sixteen months after the escape from Hometown, Drew has become the primary hunter for the community settled within Dadeson Hotel and Resort.

### Season 22

In the years following the Battle of Archangel, Drew decided to move from Adams Air Force Base and into the wilderness of the State of New Graystone, in the area where Becky's grave was located, living off the land and by his wits alone.

### The Walking Dead: Beyond the Grave

> *Main Article: Drew Stanton (Beyond the Grave)*
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### Season 4

#### 'End All Wars'

As Hope, Florence and Six prepare to leave Veteran Ranch, Drew emerges from the shadows and asks what they are doing. Hope answers honestly, telling them they're going to follow her grandfather's clues. Drew laments about the last time he saw Edwards, and decides to give the group the keys to his Mustang. The group thanks him and leave the ranch.

Later, Drew hears an intruder and engages in a fight with a hooded figure. After losing, he is surprised when the stranger spares his life and reveals his face. Drew quickly deduces that the figure is James Edwards, the child Edwards and Holly were forced to give up many years before.

## Killed Victims

This list shows the victims Drew has killed:

* 1 unnamed Squatter
* Louis *(caused)*
* Rapist *(alive)*
* Blake *(alive and zombified)*
* Joanne
* Rosita *(caused)*
* Ben Appleby *(indirectly caused)*
* Sally Neil
* Christopher Neil
* Luca *(zombified)*
* Leyton Jones
* Zion *(caused, alive)*
* Several unnamed Hometown guards
* Several unnamed members of Carter's Bandits
* Multiple unnamed members of the String Gang
* 8 unnamed members of the Lake Bandits
* Numerous unnamed members of the New World Warriors
* 64 unnamed members of the Church
* 19 unnamed Ravagers
* Numerous unnamed members of the Frontiersmen
* Numerous counts of zombies

## Relationships

### Connor Stanton

As brothers, it can be assumed that Drew and Connor had a stable, even good, relationship. Drew often reminisces about the many times his brother defended him when they first moved to the City, and that Connor was responsible for Drew making friends with Harold Carter.

When the apocalypse began, Drew was separated from his brother and did not see him until many years later.

### Harry Edwards

"*I love you. I do. You know that, right? [...] **I'd die for you**. For AJ. For Bethany. You know I would. What have I got to lose? But you are chasing something that **ain't** meant to be, man,*"
—Drew to Edwards during their argument over Nathan Carlson[src]
Drew and Edwards have had a generally close relationship, but their friendship has fluctuated at several points in their lives. Despite this, they always work through their differences and continue to see one another as brothers, even during the lowest points of their relationship.

However, initially the two weren’t friendly; Drew displayed a large amount of distrust in Edwards, no longer believing in the trustworthiness and honesty of strangers. However, when Edwards proved the kind of man he was, with powerful morals and a dedication to protecting those he cared about, Drew took a likening to Edwards and has accompanied him ever since the escape from Hometown.

Edwards and Stanton are nearly polar opposites:
Edwards is commanding, sometimes cruel, instinctive, and, in the early days,
nervy, yet commanding and just, devoted to those he cared about; Drew was typically more aggressive and devoted to family values, believing even in this New World a man had his duties. Despite these differences, the two complement each other perfectly and considered one another brothers.

However, during the final stages of All Out War, their relationship becomes extraordinarily strained due to their inability to decide on the fate of the Frontiersmen, with Edwards believing that all members of the cult should be given a second chance after the NGR's victory and Drew favouring that the cult is wiped out entirely. Although they maintain their brotherhood, their friendship is nearly tarnished. However, the two reconcile shortly before the Battle of Archangel.

At some point during the six-year time skip, Drew grew angry at Edwards due to his sparing of the Frontiersmen and the State of New Graystone's rapid expansion and the destruction of nature. This led to the two of them fighting in the Capital, with Drew stabbing Edwards in the shoulder before leaving to live out in the wilderness.

Edwards and Drew physically fight at Fairbanks over the incarcerated Nathan Carlson, each inflicting serious injuries on the other.

## Quotes

* *"...If you acknowledge any gods, start praying now, you son of a bitch,"*
* *"We don't fight for revenge. We fight for our future,"*

## Appearances

Season 2
* 'An Iron Fist'
* 'In Harm's Way'
* 'What We Deserve'

Season 3
* 'Fear In Our Hearts'
* 'No Time Left'
* 'Time For After'
* 'Blood and Tears'
* 'The Distance'

Season 4
* 'Times Have Changed'
* 'Blood and Bones'
* 'Dead Men Walking'
* 'One Way Out'
* 'Hopes and Fears'

Season 5
* 'A Dime A Dozen'
* 'Bite the Bullet'
* 'Nail on the Head'
* 'Louder Than Words: Part 1'
* 'Louder Than Words: Part 2'

Season 21
* 'Land of Light: Part 2'

Season 23
* 'Hardship'

## Trivia

* Drew is the only character who has filled the top three roles at some point in the series: protagonist, deuteragonist and tritagonist.
* Drew has been shown to survive some of the deadliest situations:
	+ In the Season 3 episode '*Blood and Tears*', whilst hunting deer for the group, he broke his ankle and fell into a lake. Despite a struggle and nearly drowning, including being grappled by a walker beneath the water surface, Drew made his way to the shoreline, set his ankle and had to limp back to his group.
	+ He was nearly beaten to death by fifteen members of the New World Warriors.
	+ He survived strangulation at the hands of Ajax, whose backhand had already knocked Edwards out.
	+ Drew survived a knife to the head thrown by Leyton Jones, although he was briefly rendered comatose.
	+ He was shot in the chest with an arrow, but luckily it missed all major organs.
	+ He lost his left eye during the Battle of Archangel, continuing to fight despite being moments from unconsciousness the whole time until he received medical treatment.
* Drew is one of the few originally planned characters to appear before the 'New Age' Extension.
	+ In addition, Drew was originally planned to be the protagonist of the series until Edwards and the Clarkson Survivors were proposed.
	+ Drew is currently the protagonist of '*Beyond the Grave*',
* Drew is responsible in some manner for three of the original Sanctuary Group member's deaths: George Gareth, Becky Stanton and Leyton Jones.
* Drew is completely absent in two seasons: *Season 1* and *Season 22*.
	+ Due to his absence from *Season 22*, Drew was removed from the "Starring" credits and was no longer the deuteragonist of the series.
	+ Upon his return in *Season 23*, he was added back to the credits, but as a main character instead of the deuteragonist as Alex Junior had taken the role.
* His signature weapons are his hunter's bow and his fighting staff, the latter of which is revealed to be a Sovian Fighting Staff in *The Dark Blooded*.
* Drew knows aikido and has limited knowledge of ninjitsu.
* Drew has the third-most appearances of any character, beaten only by AJ and Edwards.
* He is the last surviving member of his family in the '*New Age*' Extension, and as of "*Never Look Back*" is one of two known survivors from Sanctuary, the other being Tommy.
* Drew gained his iconic leather jacket during the Greencole Militia's assault on the oil refinery; he wore it until it was taken when the group first encountered the Frontiersmen, but he retrieved it during the rescue of John Terrance.
* His relationship with his wife, Becky, was the second-longest in the series.
	+ He and Becky are the second couple to marry after the outbreak, after David and Bethany.
* In the '*New Age*' Extension, as of Season 2 Episode 3, he is the last remaining survivor from Sanctuary.

## Behind the Scenes

* In March 2019, EDStudios revealed that Drew was never supposed to become such a major character in the series, with him originally written out of the series after his disappearance in *Season 4.*
	+ *"We had a lot of decisions when it came to Drew. We were originally going to make him the central character but demoted him to a lesser role when we re-wrote Season 1. We felt like there wasn't much else we could do with the character - he's a spear-wielding badass who hunts for the group (we didn't want him to have that sole character trait) - so we made him disappear for the first half of Season 4 and we had a decision: write him out or bring him back. One of our writers came up with a new storyline for Drew that would eventually make him one of the most important and central characters, so we took a risk and rolled with it. It paid off. We've kept Drew on - even given him his own story - mostly because we like the challenge of writing his character and fleshing him out,"*

1. ↑ Justinas' comment in "*In Harm's Way*"