Bump Weathers

Bump Weathers
Occupation(s)	Pit crew member
Family	Clara Steele (adoptive daugther)
Species	Human
Status	Deceased
First episode	"Pilot"
Latest episode	"Subconscious Patrol"
Portrayed by	Alan Heckner

"Don't waste a goddamn minute, 'cause you never know when your time is up."

—Bump's interpretation of the meaning of Carpe Diem

Bump Weathers was Cliff Steele's best friend and his crew-mechanic when he was a famous race car driver. He had an affair with Kate Steele, which led to a fall out between him and Cliff. After her parents' supposed deaths, he became the adoptive father of Clara Steele.

Biography

Bump began working as a member of Cliff Steele's pit crew around 1988. Bump’s life practically revolved around hedonism, as he would constantly partake in sex, alcohol, and drugs. He had no qualms with sleeping with married women, as he and his best friend’s wife, Kate started an affair. Kate mainly did this with him as a form of revenge for Cliff's own infidelity, that Bump was an enabler of.

During one race, Kate chose to hang all over him and grab his crotch to distract Cliff, which completely threw a racing Cliff off. However, Cliff eventually won, and assaulted Bump with his celebratory wine, knocking him out cold. After Cliff and Kate's death in an accident, Bump adopted Clara and raised her as his own daughter, so that she wouldn't feel the absence of her parents. The death of his best friend sparked a crisis of conscience within Bump, as well as a sense of guilt over the fallout of their friendship. He devoted his life to raising Clara by giving up his hedonistic lifestyle and become more selfless. Cliff and Kate’s deaths gave Bump a new outlook on life, believing that life was too short and one should make the most of it.

Nearly 20 years after the crash, Cliff is angry to learn that Bump is Clara's adoptive father but reflects that he probably would have been a better father than Cliff himself. Cliff later sees on the news that Bump was allegedly attacked and killed by an alligator named Frances, leaving Cliff's daughter Clara without a father, again. In a bar at Cypressville, Florida, Big D describes Bump as someone that would rush right into danger without thinking straight and Clara describes him as having an urgent way of looking at life. Clara gifted him a gold watch (that Cliff won in the Dallas Speedway in 1976 against Flip Jackson) inscribed with "To Dad, you're my hero." Cliff learns that Bump really was a great father and a good friend, who took in Clara under his wing without asking her for anything in return. Cliff later avenges Bump by killing Frances and retrieves the golden watch for Clara.

Appearances

Season 1

• "Pilot" (flashback)
• "Doom Patrol Patrol"
• "Therapy Patrol" (hallucination)
• "Frances Patrol" (mentioned)

Season 2

• "Dumb Patrol" (voice mail)
• "Wax Patrol" (voice mail)

Season 3

• "1917 Patrol" (mentioned)
• "Subconscious Patrol" (subconscious)