Bernard Wiseman

Bernard Wiseman (バーナード・ワイズマン), nicknamed Bernie (バーニィ) or Bunny, was a young Principality of Zeon mobile suit pilot who served as a member of the elite Cyclops Team during Operation Rubicon in December UC 0079. Despite his brief military career and rookie status, Bernie became one of the few “grunt” pilots to critically damage a Gundam, specifically the RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1, during the final days of the One Year War.

Biography

Early life

Bernie was born in Side 3 in UC 0060, making him 19 years old at the time of his death. He lived as an ordinary college student until the desperate final months of the One Year War, when the Principality of Zeon began conscripting all able-bodied young men to bolster their severely depleted military forces.

Military service

Bernie was drafted into the Zeon military with a call-up warrant upon graduation from high school in September UC 0079. Despite the impending collapse of Zeon’s war effort, Bernie’s qualifications were recognised, and he was enrolled as an aviation student in the mobile suit department of an aviation school that trained MS pilots. The training period was drastically shortened due to the war’s urgency, and after completing his basic training, he was assigned to a mobile suit unit under the 7th Division of the Assault Mobile Force based at Granada base.

First mission and crash landing

On his first combat mission, Bernie was assigned to a force of Zeon troops tasked with invading the neutral colony of Libot in Side 6. During the initial skirmish with Earth Federation Forces, Bernie’s MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai was shot down before he could claim a single victory. His mobile suit crash-landed inside the colony, leaving him stranded in what was supposed to be neutral territory.

After his crash, Bernie befriended a young boy named Alfred Izuruha, who was excited to meet a real mobile suit pilot regardless of his allegiance. To impress the boy and maintain his cover, Bernie fabricated stories about being an ace pilot, claiming he was just one kill away from ace status. In exchange for Al’s video footage of suspicious Federation activity within the colony, Bernie traded his Zeon rank badge, unknowingly providing intelligence that would prove crucial to future operations.

Assignment to Cyclops Team

Upon returning to base with the intelligence gathered from Al’s footage, Bernie’s contribution earned him a transfer to the elite special forces unit known as the Cyclops Team, led by Steiner Hardy. However, the veteran members of the team viewed Bernie as a liability and treated him with disdain. He had been assigned to replace the late Andy Strauss, and team leader Steiner had specifically requested someone with more experience than a rookie like Bernie.

Operation Rubicon

The Cyclops Team was tasked with Operation Rubicon, a mission to either capture or destroy the Federation’s new prototype mobile suit, the RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1, hidden within the Libot colony. Bernie’s first assignment was to escort cargo containing parts for the MS-18E Kämpfer to a factory within the colony, where he again encountered Al.

When Al discovered the team’s factory and reported their suspicious behaviour to local police, Bernie was forced to maintain his cover. Al, realising the danger, quickly claimed that Bernie was his stepbrother, allowing both to escape scrutiny. This incident led team leader Steiner to assign Bernie the task of monitoring Al to ensure their secrets remained safe, though this was primarily a way to keep the inexperienced rookie away from more dangerous operations.

Bernie and Al later infiltrated the Federation base to gather intelligence on the Gundam Alex. Their reconnaissance mission was successful, with Al managing to photograph the mobile suit still under construction. However, Bernie’s accomplishment was met with harsh criticism from his teammates, particularly Gabriel Ramirez Garcia, who physically reprimanded him for taking unnecessary risks that could have compromised their mission.

The failed infiltration

When the Cyclops Team finally launched their assault on the Federation base housing the Gundam NT-1, Bernie participated in the infiltration mission disguised as a Federation soldier. However, his inexperience proved costly when he blew their cover by attempting to pose as an Australian soldier while incorrectly describing the seasons, mixing up summer and winter. This mistake triggered a fierce firefight that resulted in the mission’s failure and the deaths of most team members.

During the chaotic battle, team leader Steiner was severely wounded, and Garcia was killed while attempting to destroy the Gundam with explosives. Mikhail Kaminsky and his Kämpfer were also destroyed by the Gundam’s test pilot. Bernie managed to escape with the wounded Steiner, but the captain died from his injuries shortly afterwards, leaving Bernie as the sole survivor of the once-elite Cyclops Team.

Operation Christmas

With Operation Rubicon’s failure, Colonel Killing ordered the nuclear destruction of Side 6 to ensure the Gundam’s destruction. Learning of this plan through the spy Charlie, Bernie initially planned to flee the colony to save himself. However, while waiting at the spaceport to depart for the luxury colony Franzesca, he spotted a red-haired woman whom he mistook for Christina Mackenzie, a local woman with whom he had developed romantic feelings.

This encounter caused Bernie to reconsider his decision to abandon the colony and the people he had come to care about, including Al and Chris. Choosing to stay, he decided to make one final attempt to destroy the Gundam and prevent the nuclear attack on Side 6.

Final battle

With Al’s help, Bernie repaired his damaged Zaku II Kai and set up various traps in preparation for his battle against the Gundam NT-1. Before departing for what he knew would likely be his final mission, Bernie recorded a message for Al, to be played only if he was killed in action.

On Christmas Day, UC 0079, Bernie engaged the RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 in single combat within the forest section of the Libot colony. Unbeknownst to both combatants, the Gundam was piloted by Christina Mackenzie, the woman Bernie had fallen in love with during his time in the colony.

Despite piloting an outdated mobile suit against a cutting-edge Gundam, Bernie’s battlefield experience and tactical preparation allowed him to initially gain the upper hand. Using his pre-positioned traps and the superior manoeuvrability afforded by the forest environment, he was able to inflict significant damage on the Gundam, including destroying its head unit with his heat hawk.

However, as the battle reached its climax, Christina managed to pierce Bernie’s cockpit with the Gundam’s beam saber, striking the mobile suit’s reactor and causing a massive explosion that instantly killed the young pilot. His remains were so thoroughly destroyed that Federation soldiers later described them as looking like “nothing but hamburger” or “worse than minced meat.”

Tragically, Al arrived at the battle site just as Bernie was killed, witnessing the destruction of both mobile suits and the death of someone who had become like an older brother to him. Christina, pulled from the heavily damaged Gundam, never learned that she had killed the young man she had grown fond of during his stay in the colony.

Personality and traits

Bernie was characterised by his youth, inexperience, and fundamental decency despite serving in the Zeon military. Unlike many veteran soldiers hardened by months of warfare, he retained much of his civilian sensibilities and genuine care for others. His fabricated stories about being an ace pilot revealed his desire to impress others and gain acceptance, particularly from Al, whom he saw as a younger brother figure.

Despite his rookie status and the disdain of his teammates, Bernie demonstrated courage when it mattered most. His decision to stay and fight the Gundam, knowing full well the likely outcome, showed his willingness to sacrifice himself for the innocent civilians of Side 6, including those he had come to care about personally.

Bernie’s naivety about the realities of war was evident in his initial enthusiasm and boastful claims about his piloting abilities. However, his experiences with the Cyclops Team and the loss of his comrades forced him to confront the grim reality of warfare, leading to his final moment of genuine heroism.

Skills and abilities

As a mobile suit pilot, Bernie was competent but inexperienced, lacking the refined skills of veteran aces. His training was rushed due to the war’s urgency, and his first combat mission ended in immediate defeat. However, he demonstrated quick learning and adaptability, managing to survive situations that killed more experienced teammates.

Bernie’s greatest strength lay in his resourcefulness and determination. During his final battle with the Gundam NT-1, he showed tactical thinking by using prepared traps and environmental advantages to compensate for his mobile suit’s technological inferiority. His ability to damage a state-of-the-art Gundam with an outdated Zaku II Kai testified to his growth as a pilot and his desperate determination to protect the colony.

In video game appearances, Bernie’s statistics typically reflect his status as a rookie pilot, with melee combat skills often rated higher than his shooting abilities—a reference to his successful close-quarters attacks against the Gundam NT-1 using his heat hawk.

Relationships

Alfred Izuruha

Bernie’s relationship with Alfred Izuruha was perhaps the most significant of his brief military career. The eleven-year-old boy’s enthusiasm for mobile suits and warfare provided Bernie with both a cover for his activities and a surrogate younger brother figure. Their bond grew from mutual benefit—Al’s intelligence gathering and Bernie’s war stories—into genuine affection and care.

Bernie’s protective instincts toward Al ultimately influenced his final decision to fight the Gundam rather than flee the colony. In his final recorded message, Bernie specifically mentioned his concern for Al’s safety and asked him to relay a farewell to Chris, demonstrating the depth of their relationship.

Christina Mackenzie

Bernie’s developing romantic relationship with Christina Mackenzie represented the tragic irony at the heart of his story. Their initial meeting was comedic—Chris knocked him unconscious with a baseball bat after mistaking him for a prowler—but they quickly developed mutual attraction.

Neither knew the other’s true role in the conflict. Bernie was unaware that Chris was the test pilot of the very Gundam he was assigned to destroy, while Chris remained ignorant of Bernie’s identity as a Zeon pilot. Their relationship represented the possibility of connection and understanding across the lines of war, making Bernie’s death at Chris’s unknowing hands particularly tragic.

Cyclops Team members

Bernie’s relationships with his Cyclops Team teammates were characterised by their dismissive treatment of his inexperience. Gabriel Ramirez Garcia was particularly harsh, physically punishing Bernie for his mistakes and expressing frustration with having to work with a rookie. However, Garcia also showed some protective concern, warning Bernie to stay alive and confessing that he had grown accustomed to having someone to order around.

Steiner Hardy, the team leader, maintained professional distance but ultimately trusted Bernie enough to carry him to safety after being wounded. Bernie’s attempt to comfort the dying Steiner by lying about the mission’s success showed his compassionate nature, even as Steiner saw through the deception.

Mobile suits

MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai

Bernie piloted the MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai, one of the final production variants of Zeon’s venerable Zaku series. This mobile suit represented the pinnacle of Zaku development, incorporating lessons learned throughout the One Year War and featuring improved performance compared to earlier models.

During his first combat sortie, Bernie’s Zaku II Kai was shot down without achieving any victories, crash-landing in the Libot colony. The mobile suit remained in the forest where it fell until Bernie returned as part of the Cyclops Team. With Al’s assistance, he later repaired the damaged machine using scavenged parts from destroyed Federation mobile suits, taking advantage of the unified industrial standards implemented under Zeon’s United Maintenance Plan.

For his final battle against the Gundam NT-1, Bernie equipped his Zaku II Kai with various weapons including the standard 90 mm machine gun, heat hawk, hand grenades, and improvised explosive devices. Despite the technological gap between his machine and the cutting-edge Gundam, Bernie’s tactical use of the environment and pre-positioned traps allowed him to inflict significant damage on his opponent.

The Zaku II Kai’s destruction in Bernie’s final battle marked the end of both pilot and machine, with the upper body of the mobile suit completely obliterated by the reactor explosion triggered by the Gundam’s beam saber.

Behind the scenes

Bernard Wiseman was created for Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, the first original video animation in the Gundam franchise. The character was designed to serve as a tragic figure representing the human cost of war, particularly as experienced by young soldiers caught up in conflicts beyond their understanding.

Voice actors

Bernie was voiced by Kōji Tsujitani in the original Japanese version. Tsujitani, who later became known for roles such as Miroku in Inuyasha and Seabook Arno in Mobile Suit Gundam F91, brought a youthful earnestness to the character that emphasised Bernie’s fundamental decency despite his military allegiance.

In the English dub, Bernie was voiced by David Hayter, who later became famous as the voice of Solid Snake in the Metal Gear video game series. Adam Henderson also provided Bernie’s voice in Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space.

Cultural impact

While not among the most famous or skilled characters in the Gundam franchise, Bernie has become well-known for his tragic fate and is often cited as an example of the series’ anti-war themes. His death serves as a powerful reminder of war’s senseless destruction of young lives and the tragedy of enemies who might have been friends under different circumstances.

Bernie’s achievement in damaging a Gundam with an outdated mobile suit has earned him recognition among fans, leading to his inclusion in numerous video games and the unofficial title of “the man who stole the head of the Gundam.” This moment has become one of the most memorable scenes in Gundam 0080 and is frequently referenced in other media.

Video game appearances

Bernie appears in many Gundam video games, often with his fate able to be averted through player actions. In strategy games, his statistics typically reflect his rookie status with relatively low initial ratings that can improve significantly with experience. His melee combat abilities are usually rated higher than his shooting skills, referencing his successful close-quarters attacks against the Gundam NT-1.

In the Extreme Vs. series, Bernie’s Zaku II Kai is featured as a playable unit with various attacks including machine gun fire, heat hawk melee attacks, hand grenades, and explosive balloon traps. Due to the reputation of War in the Pocket’s units being weaker than other main character mobile suits, Bernie’s Zaku is typically assigned the lowest cost rating in these games.

Novel differences

In the novelisation of War in the Pocket, Bernie survives the destruction of his Zaku II Kai, with a newspaper mentioning that “the pilot miraculously survived.” This alternate ending provides a more hopeful conclusion while maintaining the story’s themes about the cost of war.

Appearances

• Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs series
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Lost War Chronicles
• Mobile Suit Gundam Climax U.C.
• Various Super Robot Wars titles