Rick Grimes has certainly come a long way from being greeted by the end of the world after waking up in a hospital bed. The former King County Sheriff’s Deputy, now turned King of the Apocalypse, has undergone dramatic character development throughout the first six seasons of "The Walking Dead." We have seen him go from fighting his best friend in order to protect someone’s life, to killing other survivors without hesitation. Despite the personal apocalyptic ideologies of Mr. Grimes, there is one undeniable truth about him; he is a straight-up badass.

7. “Sh*t Happens”

We have seen Rick commit much more brutal acts than this one, but because of that we forget how truly cold-blooded this was. After discovering three prisoners hiding out in the pantry, Rick truly gave this guy every chance he could, but he continued to try and kill him. Completely ignoring vital instructions, followed by throwing a walker at him and nearly cutting his head off with a sword, were the final straws for Rick. He stares him down, and puts a hacksaw right through his head.

6. “Ricktatorship”

This was a momentous moment in the series. Rick just killed Shane, a herd of walkers stormed Hershel’s farm, the group was forced to flee as their season two safe haven was engulfed by flames, and everyone is in full-fledged panic mode. Some are questioning Rick’s ability to lead while others are thinking about just getting up and running. Rick puts an absolute halt to all of the nonsense and reaffirms his leadership with an awesomely terrifying speech.

5. “I’m Not Your Governor”

It takes a person with a lot of character to successfully lead a group of people during a zombie apocalypse, but it takes a true leader to admit when they were wrong to everyone. This is what Rick does right here with this speech. After seeing The Governor and how he led Woodbury, Rick realized that a supreme leader making decisions for everyone was not the right way to lead. Here, he realizes that he should have informed everyone in the group of his plan to turn over Michonne to The Governor. Here, he becomes a true leader.

4. “What?”

In this season six moment, a member of The Hilltop community had just attempted to kill Gregory because Negan, the leader of the saviors, had captured his brother. Rick wastes no time stopping Gregory’s attacker and wrestles him to the ground. As the poor guy is on top of Rick, Michonne tells him to drop it. It’s then that Rick pulls a knife out of nowhere and stabs his neck as his blood gushes out everywhere. The members of the Hilltop community stare in horror as rick slowly pulls himself off the ground. Rick surveys all the confused looks and poses the simple question… “What?”

3/2. Rick Says He’ll Kill Gareth/Rick Actually Does Kill Gareth

Rick was in absolutely NO position to say any of this. Him, Bob, Glenn, and Daryl were bound at the hands and feet, gagged, and seconds away from getting their heads bashed in along with their throats about to be slit. Despite all of this, Rick still lists all of the weapons that are hidden in a bag outside of Terminus, and includes a red machete that he says he’s going to use to kill Gareth. Somehow, someway, Rick and his group find their way out of this mess and, somehow, someway, things fall in place in order for Rick to fulfill his bold promise.

1. Rick Kills Joe

Earlier in season four, Rick had killed a member of Joe’s group called “the Claimers." Ever since then, the group spent the entire season relentlessly chasing Rick until they eventually caught up with him. Sometimes, words simply cannot convey truly raw emotional moments, and this is an example. Watch and enjoy.