George was a former Runner who was mentioned by Thomas in The Maze Runner. He was the first to die in the Glade given that his tomb looked the oldest, completely overgrown with weeds. He could've been named after George Washington, though Washington wasn't an inventor. George could have been named after any inventor, including George Smits.
Biography[]
The Fever Code[]
George first appeared in The Fever Code, greeting Zart when he came out of the Box. The very next day, however, he was stung by a Griever while running the Maze with his friend Nick. He went crazy and violent, and as this was the first case of a Griever sting, no one knew what to do with him. To prevent a general panic, Newt and Alby hid George away in the Homestead for about a day, but soon George was extremely violent. The two took him out of the Homestead where Alby started punching him in the face, forcing Newt to stop Alby.
Newt, Alby, Nick, and another Glader moved George out into the middle of the Glade. A crowd formed. Frypan mentioned that he had found a mysterious syringe of liquid, labelled "serum," in a box of supplied a few days before. Alby told him to go get it. Nick injected George with it, and George immediately went even crazier, jumping on a random Glader and clawing at the kid's eyes. Alby ran to get a sharpened stick, and then, to save the Glader's life, stabbed George through the neck. George died almost instantly.
Nick then knelt next to his friend's body and found the sting on his torso.
Thomas, Teresa, and Chuck observed this scene in the WICKED headquarters. They were shocked to discover that the kids in the Maze could get stung by the Grievers, and that George actually died. George was the first one to die during the Maze Trials.
The Maze Runner[]
In The Maze Runner, George's life isn't described, and his name was quoted for the first time when Thomas goes to the Deadheads before being attacked by Ben. His grave, located near Stephen's and covered by leafy weeds, showed that he died 2 years ago, perhaps just after the first Gladers' arrival. Therefore, it was safe to assume that he was the first to die.Film[]
The Maze Runner[]
George's name as engraved on the wall
In the The Maze Runner, George's grave was visible when Thomas fetched fertilizer for Newt in the Deadheads, before being attacked by Ben. What appeared to be his bones were visible in front of the graves marker.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials[]
In the The Scorch Trials, Brenda carried a silver trinket box around with a boy's photo in the lid. She eventually told Thomas that the boy was George, which could mean the same George that was sent to and died in the Maze.
She recalled that when they were younger, WCKD took both of them, ran tests on them, and finally concluded that George was valuable to them but not her.
The Scorch Trials Official Graphic Novel Prelude[]
My Friend George[]
In the exclusive short comic from San Diego Comic Con, written by Wes Ball, T.S. Nowlin, Collin Kelly, and Jackson Lanzing; Alby was seen talking to a crazed George, tied up to a tree stump. It was explained that George went outside the Walls and got stung by a Griever. Not knowing what to do, Alby asked him to show a sign that he's still in there. George did nothing but screamed with froth coming from his mouth. Alby was then left with no choice but to stab him with a spear, promising to do better with the next one.
Trivia[]
Fans theorize that Brenda's brother could be the same George that once lived in the Group A's Glade, only to be killed by Alby in the comic "My Friend George". Nothing has been confirmed by the author or the writers of the film at this time. This is only portrayed in the film-universe.