No matter what shape or form a zombie story takes, even one as popular as The Walking Dead, there's always one consistent thing that fans want to know: where did the zombies come from? Fans of The Walking Dead have been asking this question for years, and the new Deluxe edition of the comic just provided a hilarious explanation that no one would have expected.

Co-creator Robert Kirkman has been pretty dead set on not giving an official explanation for the origin of the zombie virus, as it doesn't really matter. The zombies are not an active threat to defeat, and humanity is never going to find a cure. They're just the backdrop for the story that Kirkman wanted to tell.

Still, despite the fact that the origin of the virus is unimportant, fans still demand to know where the zombies came from. It seems Kirkman has finally relented, and in the backup story "Small Bites" by Derek Hunter, the origin is revealed: it's aliens.

It's Official: A Story from The Walking Dead Confirms That the Zombie Virus Came From Aliens

"Small Bites" by Derek Hunter from The Walking Dead Deluxe #109 by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Dave McCaig, and Rus Wooton

In this story, Shiva, Ezekiel's beloved pet tiger, is actually an alien who came from outer space to try and prevent the destruction of Earth. Unfortunately, Shiva failed in her mission, and the Walking Death Virus was successfully unleashed on Earth, dooming humanity. While this is a ridiculous explanation, it is at least an explanation, and it actually expands on some things that die-hard fans already knew. For example, Shiva explains that this attack isn't solely about Earth, but that the alien faction who did this have wiped out the entire habitable planet in Shiva's solar system.

While this might seem completely absurd to most fans, it's not the first time that The Walking Dead universe has been tied to aliens. Aliens were even part of the first pitch that Kirkman made to Image Comics. Shiva's reveal that she is an alien just adds to that concept, as readers now know that there are benevolent aliens fighting against evil ones, and that the zombie virus isn't a threat contained to America, or even to Earth, but is instead a solar system-wide problem. This concept pretty much only adds to the fear factor of the whole scenario.

The Walking Dead's Shiva Was Secretly an Alien the Whole Time

Calling Her Relationship with Ezekiel into Question

The idea of aliens has long been a part of the Walking Dead universe, but they've always been just out of sight. Kirkman first used the idea of aliens to get the comic picked up by Image. He then continually snuck in cute little what-ifs and references, such as one April Fool's ending, which baffled many. This April Fool's ending saw the Governor, a previous villain in the story, returning with cybernetic enhancements that he used to slaughter most of Rick's allies. This is where the zombie virus was first revealed to be entirely due to an alien invasion.

While most writers would leave it at just a single April Fool's issue, that wasn't the case with Kirkman. Rick Grimes 2000, which continued on from the ending of the April Fool's issue. Rick Grimes 2000 took the story in a completely absurd direction, where aliens were responsible for unleashing the zombie virus to wipe out all humanity so that they could harvest water from the planet, which they used as currency. Kirkman clearly had fun with this idea, as he went all-in on this ridiculous premise, such as giving Rick a lightsaber and having him lead the rebellion against the aliens.

The Walking Dead's Virus Origin Is So Absurd, Fans Won't Believe It

But It's Still Part of the Lore

The Walking Dead Universe is remarkably fleshed out. Every character has a reason for behaving the way they do, and they have understandable goals given their situations. That's where the true magic of the series came from: the strength of its human characters and the quality of their writing. But the human mind always wants to know the reason why. A story can't just say there's a zombie infection; people want to know why, even if it's ultimately unimportant, and Kirkman (and Hunter) decided to play with that innate human desire in the most ridiculous way possible.

Nothing in The Walking Dead is ever so simple, and while many fans wanted to know the why, they might just regret finally having the answer.

Plenty of fans would have been perfectly satisfied if the answer had simply been that it was a science experiment gone wrong. They just need to know the "why." But nothing in The Walking Dead is ever so simple, and while many fans wanted to know how the virus came about, they might just regret finally having the answer. While some fans were looking for a simple lab experiment gone wrong, what they got was an interstellar war between alien races that resulted in the Earth of the Walking Dead universe being overrun with zombies.

The Walking Dead Deluxe #109 is available now from Skybound Entertainment!