The fourth to carry the mantle of the Bowman, Fletcher Beaumont III (“Fletch” to his friends) comes from a long line of heroes. His grandfather and namesake was the original Bowman in the 1940s and a founder of the Liberty League. Fletch’s father served as the second Arrow under the original Bowman’s ward, Timothy Quinn, who was himself the first Arrow and the second Bowman. Fletcher II also became the third Bowman and trained Ethan Keller, the third Arrow, but his problems with alcoholism forced him to retire in disgrace. Keller adopted the identity of Archer and worked with the team FORCE Ops before eventually retiring.

Despite that ignominy, the Bowman’s name still means a lot to Freedom City and the Beaumont family, so Fletch has a lot to live up to. His father, grandfather, and “Uncle Tim” taught Fletch how to handle a bow from the time he was old enough to hold one. He’s grown up to be an accomplished athlete, a clever student, and perhaps one of the greatest archers who has ever lived. Unfortunately, Fletch didn’t have many chances to just be a kid.

After the split between Fletcher Beaumont II and Ethan Keller, the Bowman was absent from the superhero scene for quite some time. Keller adopted the code-name Archer and formed FORCE Ops. From the time he was a boy, Fletch wanted to restore the identity of the Bowman and prove himself worthy of the name. Although his father was initially reluctant, Fletch won out. His father still insisted Fletch attend the new Claremont Academy for training beyond what the three elder archers could teach him. He was the star student there and first unofficial “leader” of the Next-Gen. Following the Grue Invasion, Bowman graduated from Claremont and joined the Freedom League full-time, his next big achievement.

Bowman had an ongoing flirtation with fellow Claremont student Seven during their time in the Next-Gen together, and they briefly dated, but ended the relationship due to their working together in the Freedom League. He is concerned about Seven’s departure from Earth’s dimension and her future, but knows she is dealing with forces and decisions far beyond his experience.

In recent years, Fletch has also been groomed to take over his family’s business empire, including the Ledger publishing company, working with his father and grandfather and becoming a familiar face to the board of directors. This is one area where Fletch has not excelled: He has a sizable trustfund and inheritance and, having never had to worry about money, he tends to see the family business interests as purely secondary to his heroic career, lending support to the public notion that Fletcher Beaumont III is nothing more than “idle rich” (and in no way associated with the dynamic and heroic Bowman). Fletcher’s disdain for the day-to-day affairs of a businessman and majority stockholder may become a problem, given the challenges faced by the publishing business that makes up a significant part of his family’s assets and the various corporate sharks interested in acquiring some or all of the Beaumont holdings, if neglect by the current heir provides them with the opportunity to do so.

PERSONALITY

Bowman is cool, confident, and collected. He’s been training as a hero for as long as he can remember, so he really doesn’t know any other sort of life. He’s a natural leader with a take-charge attitude and a demeanor that commands respect. He bravely faces down powerful supervillains, with no real powers beyond his considerable skills and training. It took some adjustment going from star Claremont student and leader of the Next-Gen to junior member of the Freedom League, but he handled it, and has proven himself as a full-fledged hero in his own right.

Although he’s sometimes wistful about never having a “normal” life, the truth is that Bowman loves the action and excitement of his superheroic calling, and wouldn’t give it up for anything. He looks to balance his craving for adventure with a sober understanding of the importance of the legacy he carries, and what it symbolizes to people. Although Bowman can be both a romantic and a flirt, he’s cautious about relationships both because of the danger, and the fact that he puts his calling above other concerns in his life.

In spite of his daring, Bowman has become largely comfortable with operating in a support capacity within the Freedom League. He knows that he can best serve the team by setting up opponents, taunting or hindering them, and waiting for the opportunity for the right target to present itself.

POWERS & ABILITIES

Bowman has no super-human powers, but is a finely trained athlete with extraordinary agility, coordination, and skill with a bow. His family, teachers at Claremont Academy, and mentors in the Freedom League have ensure that Bowman can handle himself in a wide variety of situations, and he has taken on far more powerful opponents and won.

Bowman’s primary weapon is his namesake, a high-tech compound bow with a heavy pull, and a quiver of trick arrows, equipped with various gimmicks. The arrows listed in his bow and arrows array are just the most common ones Bowman uses in the field. He sometimes carries specialized arrows as well, spending hero points to add them as power stunts of the array. The Easily Removable flaw of the array reflects that Bowman sometimes simply runs out of arrows in addition to losing his bow or quiver due to damage or being disarmed in combat. Still, anyone who assumes Bowman is helpless without his bow is in for a surprise. The hero is also very athletic, a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, and and excellent infiltrator.