‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’: Who Is The Croat? Is He Immune?

TWD universe is never short of extremely sadistic villains, but Dead City’s The Croat is proving to be the most twisted of them all. Following in Negan’s footsteps, The Croat not only takes hostages to keep communities loyal, but he also kills people for fun. His face is also chewed up on one side, making his appearance even scarier, but most viewers wonder if his missing ear means he actually survived a walker attack and whether he could be immune to the virus.

Negan admitted in the spinoff’s first episode that The Croat had a reputation for being extremely evil, which means he could be the most dangerous villain in the franchise. The Croat and Negan share history, and he is believed to have been a Savior at some point, probably in charge of an outpost. However, they didn’t part on good terms. If he is immune to the virus, he is practically immortal, which is bad news for Negan and Maggie.

Some fan theories suggest that The Croat lost his ear to Negan’s baseball bat Lucile, which is unlikely because Lucile’s victims rarely survived. The scars also seem to be from burns or being bitten by walkers, making the theory of immunity much more credible. So, does Dead City have an immune psychopath for a villain? Let’s delve deeper into The Croat and what makes him so dangerous.

Who plays The Croat in Dead City?

The Croat is played by the veteran Slovenia American Actor Zeljko Ivanek, famous for his role as Ray Fiske in Damages.

Ivanek has played some of the best villains in TV history, including Calvin Horn in Revolution, Jim Racine in Banshee, and Russell Jackson in Madam Secretary.

He is famous for capturing the cold, sadistic face when playing a villain, putting the fear of god in his victims while making the villain appear invincible.

With over 100 appearances in TV roles, Ivanek is one of the most experienced actors in the world, making him a natural fit for the role of The Croat.

Despite the character having previous affiliations with Negan, Ivanek’s appearance in Dead City was his debut in TWD franchise.

His ability to capture the cold-hearted aspects of The Croat while keeping the villain funny gives The Croat the appearance of a twisted villain like The Joker, making him a darker version of Negan.

In the show, he tries to turn young Herschel against his mother by telling him that the man who killed his father was working with his mother.

He uses his strong manipulative techniques to coerce the boy to give him information about Maggie and Hilltop, as he does with all his victims.

The Croat’s twisted methods of torturing victims and seemingly enjoying it makes the prospect of a face-off between him and Negan a lot more interesting.

The Croat trying to kill Negan is a head-to-head fight between the two most twisted minds in the franchise.

Negan was also scared by the idea of facing The Croat, which proves just how dangerous he is.

“One of the things that I find that makes him so dangerous, so threatening is that he can, like, see through people’s facade. He can see through people’s vulnerabilities…” Gaius Charles, who plays Armstrong, explained why The Craot is so dangerous.

With Manhattan post-apocalyptic Manhattan existing at his mercy, it will take enormous meticulous planning and sacrifice for Maggie and Negan to defeat him.

Is The Croat immune to the virus?

The cause of The Croat’s injuries hasn’t been officially revealed in Dead City, so it is unclear whether he survived a Walker bite.

He has extensive scarring on the right side of his face, including a missing ear consistent with burns or a walker bite.

The most likely cause would be being burned by Negan after a fallout at The Sanctuary while he was a Savior.

Negan causing The Croat’s extreme scars would explain why the villain is so eager to kill him.

The scars could still have been caused by being chewed on by a group of Walkers, making him immune, just like Morgan in Fear Of The Walking Dead.

If Negan had something to do with why the Walkers attacked The Croat, then he would still have a reason to seek revenge.

Whatever happened between The Croat and Negan, it is obvious that Negan is afraid of him.

The Croat is, therefore, a common enemy for Maggie and Negan, and defeating him is the one goal that forces the two to put aside their differences.

Why did The Croat kidnap Maggie’s son?

The Croat operates his own version of The Sanctuary, where he forces communities to give him food and supplies through violence and intimidation.

He attacked Hilltop and kidnapped Maggie’s son, Herschel, because he was the most significant hostage that would force Maggie to stay compliant with his demands.

After kidnapping hostages, The Croat uses them as informants to know more about the communities they come from.

He doesn’t mind killing uncompliant hostages either, so being kidnapped by The Croat is pretty much a death sentence.

Maggie decided to move everyone from Hilltop to keep them safe from future attacks from The Croat’s raiders and go to save Herschel with Negan’s help instead.

Despite her anger at Negan for killing Glen, she had to work with him because he is the only person she could rely on because of his history with The Croat.

If Negan defeated The Croat before, then he can see through his tricks and possibly help Maggie save Herschel.