Bernard Dowd (Prime Earth)

Being with Bernard... it's different than anything I've ever felt before.
Everyone's noticed. Damian held a knife to my throat and demanded to know where the real Tim was.
But that's the thing. Bernard brings out the real me. Makes me feel like... there's so much more to me than I've settled for.

— Tim Drake ^src

Bernard Dowd is an old friend and former classmate of Tim Drake. He was obsessed with the heroics of Robin and subsequently followed in his footsteps with martial arts training, unaware that the Robin he was obsessed with is Tim himself. Recently, Bernard and Tim have reconnected and begun dating.^[1]

History

Childhood

Bernard was raised in a household where his parents had high expectations that he never seemed to meet, preferring fun and video games to schoolwork; for unknown reasons they also disapproved of his schoolmate Tim, who used to visit him.^[2] At some point, Bernard and Tim drifted apart and had not seen each other since before Tim's adoption by Bruce Wayne.^[3]

Children of Dionysus

After high school, an aimless Bernard fell victim to the "Children of Dionysus", a Gotham City cult that engaged in painful activities for "enlightenment" and abducted vulnerable teens attracted to their message. By the time he finally reconnected with Tim, the latter had become similarly restless and struggling with sense of self, breaking up with his ex-girlfriend and burying himself in his work while operating as Robin in the current one's absence. The two arranged to meet at a restaurant and catch up, but the reunion was interrupted by the "Chaos Monster", an operative of the cult, which incapacitated Tim and kidnapped Bernard.^[3]

After tracking down the cult undercover and going through its entrance trial, Tim was allowed to meet the Chaos Monster and his associates.^[2] Tim joined a meeting where the Chaos Monsters were about to sacrifice Bernard, interrupted the ceremony as Robin and freed him. Although Robin tried to make him leave for his own safety, Bernard proved himself to be a capable fighter and together they took down all cult members present, a partnership that Tim finds he enjoys. During the fight, Bernard told Robin to tell Tim Drake that he would have liked to "continue their date" in case he didn't make it out alive. He felt that it was Tim who helped him realise his "true self", which in turn caused Tim to finally confront the nature of his own feelings for Bernard.

After freeing the other kidnapped children, Tim had a conversation about his recent life choices with a detective who helped him realise that he didn't need to know everything he wanted out of life right now, encouraging him to "let go". Following this advice, he sought out Bernard a few days later and the two decided to go on another date, eager to figure things out together.^[1] Subsequently, the two began officially dating.^[4]

Dating Tim Drake

When Tim moved to live in a boathouse in Gotham Marina, Bernard became a frequent visitor to his home and they went on several dates, including to Highdive Fish and Chips. By this point, they had been dating for nearly half a year.^[5] Tim tried to keep Bernard out of the Marina because of an ongoing murder spree,^[6] but Bernard refused to run away as nowhere in Gotham was really safe.^[7]

After a fight with four clay creatures in the form of the other Robins, Tim (in costume) hid in an alley from a police manhunt. Bernard found him and took him to Tim's boat, calling it his "boyfriend's boat". He thanked Robin and credited him for being the reason he and Tim got together. He said that Robin not only saved him from the Chaos Monsters but from himself.^[8]

Soon after, Bernard was kidnapped and impersonated by alchemist Moriarty, Tim's would-be archnemesis who had been posing as his landlord using clay that belonged to Clayface.^[9] He was saved by Robin with only one second left on the bomb timer.^[10]

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

Martial Arts: Although the full extent of his skill is unknown, Bernard has proven himself to be a capable fighter, able to help take down Chaos Monsters with enhanced strength while also exhibiting a solid understanding of stance and technique.^[1]
Science: Bernard is majoring in Physics and Biology.^[11]
- Biology^[11]
- Physics^[11]
Cooking: Bernard plans to be a chef and have his own restaurant.^[11]

Notes

Bernard Dowd was created by Bill Willingham and Rick Mays, first appearing in Robin (Volume 2) #121. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Bernard Dowd first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Batman: Urban Legends #4 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Belén Ortega.

Bernard Dowd (Prime Earth)

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