Gabriel Stokes (Comic Series)

"When it all started, I was here alone. It was late at night when I first heard of everything. I got scared--I locked up--just to be safe. The next morning, they started coming. Neighbors, friends... members of my congregation... Not many at first, then more as the days went on. They wanted a safe place to stay--a sanctuary. I turned them all away. I only had so much food--I needed to be sure I could survive long enough to be rescued. I couldn't have those people in--I'd staved. I chose my life over theirs. Most of them stayed outside the church--yelling--screaming for me to let them in. They never left--they didn't stop--until the dead came in. Woman...children...entire families. I heard their screams of agony as they were torn apart...some of them calling out my name--damning me to hell. I know what I did. I know what I deserve. Kill me! Please, I've suffered enough--I want you to do it! I forgive you, kill me and I forgive you! You are only carrying out God's will! They died--they all died because of me! You have to make this right! Please... Just do it."

- Gabriel revealing his regrets the group and asking Rick to kill him.

Father Gabriel Stokes is a character first encountered in Issue 61 of Image Comics' The Walking Dead and is a preacher who came across Rick and his group after leaving his church, where he had been hiding from the undead.

Location Unknown
Gabriel Stokes was the reverend of a regional community church. Not much of his personality or life before the outbreak has been revealed. The only detail given by the reverend was when he admitted to Rick and the rest of the group that during the initial zombie outbreak, he locked the doors to his church and allowed whole families of survivors to be killed by roamers.

Gabriel claimed he had been living in the church's safety since the beginning of the epidemic, but the validity of his story, especially considering that it had been a full year since the outbreak began when the group encountered him, is questionable.

On the Road
Forced from the church due to dwindling supplies, Gabriel set out into the surrounding countryside and eventually ran into Rick and his group while they were on the road.

The group encountered Gabriel on the road at a chaotic time, in the aftermath of losing The Prison to The Governor and during the heartbreaking dilemma involving the twins. Thus, the survivors were initially very suspicious of his presence and story, and did not trust him due to their weariness of other human survivors and in-fighting amongst themselves. Gabriel tried to comfort them with his obvious appearance as a religious man, but most of them visibly expressed open distrust or disbelief of his presence and mannerisms.

The moral dilemma involving Ben and Billy, and Dale's eventual fatal bite allowed Gabriel to blend into the group without too much difficulty as Rick and the other leaders were focused on the more pressing matters at hand. When it was discovered that Ben had killed Billy, Gabriel conducted prayers for the burial of both of the children.

Eventually, Gabriel led the survivors to his church for shelter while searching for the missing Dale, who had disappeared the night before. Rick eventually confronted Gabriel in the church, accusing him of being somehow involved in the disappearance of Dale and threatened him with violence. Gabriel then revealed his true story before meeting the group in tears. He expressed extreme remorse and guilt when he explained that he only survived several months alone in the church by turning away his followers and any other local civilians when the zombie attacks started. His main focus, he tried to emphasize to Rick, was to try and keep some spiritual faith for himself and the survivors, a sentiment which unfortunately was largely not shared.

It did not take long for the group to soon discover a group of human Hunters were stalking them. The conflict escalated when Glenn was shot in the leg from afar when he and the others tried to rescue Dale, who was discovered partially mutilated in the front of the church entrance.

Gabriel was soon forced by Rick, Andrea, Michonne, and Abraham to accompany them in finding the whereabouts of the Hunters, as he was the only member of their group who was familiar with the local area. When the group found the Hunters, Gabriel watched in horror as the group, led by Rick, brutally mutilated and murdered them in violent retaliation for their stalking and near fatal attacks on Dale and Glenn. Gabriel vocally expressed shock and outrage at their murder but Rick told him he was no better than them for turning people away from the church, silencing the reverend into submission.

Alexandria Safe-Zone
With no other choice, Gabriel followed Rick and the group on their journey to Washington D.C., despite admitting extreme disagreement with the group's violent actions against the Hunters.

He traveled successfully to the Alexandria Safe-Zone and was soon identified by Douglas Monroe during the introduction interview as the man to run the local Church, which had survived intact. When the walls expanded and the church became accessible, he began to run daily masses. He seemed to be doing well in adjusting to living within the Community, aside from the packed living conditions of living with the group in Rick's house for the first few nights.

Gabriel became convinced that God led him to the Community so he could eventually preach at the new church. He eventually believed and tried to get the rest of the survivors exiled from the Safe-Zone because of what they did to the Hunters, but Douglas Monroe did not agree with Gabriel's belief that the groups actions were evil and decided to ignore his request.

Alexandria Safe-Zone Chaos
In Issue 82, when the zombies breach the Safe-Zone, he's seen in his church, crying. He lets Eugene and Nicholas in before the zombies reach them.

In Issue 84, after watching Rick and Michonne fighting endlessly against the zombie horde, it may have inspired the men. Eugene and Nicholas get over their fears and go out to help Rick and Michonne. They also eventually convince Gabriel to stop hiding and help. While he's shown clearly afraid, he still joins the group and aids them during the fight. He, along with the others, survive and win the zombie attack. Although he's left stunned, most likely by his actions or that he survived the fight.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Gabriel has killed:
 * Numerous counts of zombies.
 * Many unnamed people (Indirectly Caused)

Appearances
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Volume 20: All Out War

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Trivia

 * Gabriel is one of the many religious characters within The Walking Dead.
 * Currently, Gabriel is the only priest encountered in The Walking Dead.
 * Gabriel is one of the only adults in Comic Series never to use abusive language.

Габриэль Стокс