Bernard "Bernie" Blackman is a young African-American boy from New York City. Growing up in poor circumstances, he read comic books such as Tales of the Black Freighter as an escape, and dreamed of one day being a superhero, even reading The Veidt Method.
To his frustration, Bernie would discover he is a perfect IF negative, one of a handful of people on Earth immune to the excession effect. Bernie's negative status renders him immune to many non-physical superpowers, as well as being a "chrono-psychic null," incapable of being perceived by high-order beings unless they are physically looking at him. However, it was this status that eventually helped him become Dr Blackhattan.
He also wants to become a reporter.
- Note: Bernie has on several occasions sneezed when the Queen Squid is acting nearby. The reasons behind this has never been explained.
Fictional Character Biography[]
During the 11-2 event Bernie was standing approximately 15' from the epicenter of the Institute for Spatial Studies when the "squid" emerged. The newspaperman Bernard used his body to try and shield Bernie from the blast. Bernard was killed, and Bernie was rendered unconscious, trapped under the other man's body. Doctor Manhattan and Silk Spectre II briefly appeared near Bernie's location, but did not realize anyone had survived. Bernie was eventually discovered by cleanup crews on November 5th, though he remained in a coma until Christmas.
During The Comedian's battle with the dwarfish Madhattens, a group of Dr Manhattan clones, Bernie found himself caught in the crossfire and got hit by a Manhattan Bullet. Instead of killing him, the bullet combined with his IF negative blood and transformed him into a being similar to Dr Manhattan.
Dr Blackhattan, as he would come to be known, quickly lost all perceptions on reality, and transported himself into the world of Tales of the Black Freighter, in an attempt to change the outcome of the story Marooned. The resultant adventure was never shown but by the time Adrian Veidt apparently travelled to the same earth during the Bucket of Blood story, the world of the Black Freighter had been devastated and the Mariner was in control of the ship, indicating that Dr. Blackhattan had failed. Certain fans have come to the shaky conclusion that Veidt's journey and the crossing over of the Bucket of Blood character to the main WatchmeX universe was the result of a deus ex machina on the part of Blackhattan. The majority of fans however dismiss the entire Black Freighter story as a drug fueled dream on the part of Veidt.