Gilbert D. Stern

Gilbert D. Stern is a federal agent from the Mega Man comic series by Archie Comics. He and his partner Roslyn Krantz first appeared in issue #5 in the story arc "Time Keeps Slipping" to question Dr. Light. Stern then accuses Dr. Light of helping Dr. Wily escape from the police convoy. Since then, he and Roslyn have been the go-to contact for help with situations beyond Mega Man's control.

On the surface, Stern is a bit of a grump. He's a bit harsh on more idealistic concepts like trust and love and has a hard time letting others in. He also has an inherent distrust of machines of all types, particularly robots, which causes him to sympathize with the Emerald-Spears group to a degree, though not enough to condone their methods.

However, just past his grumpiness lies a good heart. He's a good cop and genuinely belives in the ideals of truth and justice. Once someone breaks through his harsh exterior, he's willing to show genuine concern for them in his own way. In a sense, it's this concern in his fellow man that contributes to his harshness towards robots, as his belief in the human spirit to stand on their own is a contributor to his robot bigotry, as he feels they make things too easy. While he doesn't fully change his opinion, working with Mega Man shows him that like people, robots can be either good or bad, depending on their choices.

Trivia

 * Like many fictional inspectors, such as Bob Copper, the Inspector, and Dick Gumshoe from Capcom and older characters like Jules Maigret and Dick Tracy, Gilbert D. Stern wears an overcoat.
 * His green overcoat, loose red tie, and asymmetrical hairstyle in particular seem to reference Dick Gumshoe.
 * Stern and his partner, Roslyn Krantz, are named after Guildenstern and Rosencrantz from William Shakespeare's work Hamlet. The characters also appeared in the title role in Tom Stoppard's absurdist stage play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
 * In issue #22, Gil says he likes to read and mentions Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet".
 * Gilbert D. Stern does not appear in the Worlds Collide arc's story, but he does appear in the off-panel for Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 249 where he is watching over Marine the Raccoon, of which the latter's chatterbox nature quickly got on Stern's nerves.