Negative Man
Encyclopedia
Negative Man is a fictional superhero
from DC Comics
. He first appeared in My Greatest Adventure
#80.
, along with Elasti-Girl
, Robotman
, and The Chief
. Like the rest of the Doom Patrol, Trainor sees himself as a victim as much as a hero, and his superpower as an infection rather than a blessing.
Trainor's career as a superhero begins when he is accidentally exposed to a radioactive
field in the atmosphere
while piloting a test plane. This experience leaves him radioactive himself, but also gives him a strange superpower: the ability to release a negatively-charged energy being from his body; the being, also referred to as Negative Man, or, later, as the Negative Spirit, can fly at high speed, cause solid objects to explode, and pass through solid materials. It resembles a shadowy silhouette
of a human being, surrounded by a bright glow. The being is under Trainor's control and appears at first to have no mind of its own. Unfortunately, Trainor is weak and defenseless while the being is separated from his body; he can only risk sending it forth for 60 seconds at a time without risking death. After his accident, Trainor resembles the Invisible Man
; he is forced to wear specially-treated bandages over his entire body to protect bystanders from his radioactivity.
How Larry Trainor survived the explosion that supposedly killed all four of the Doom Patrol's core members remains unexplained. He turned up alive, permanently separated from the radio energy being, but still radioactive, bandaged, and weak in its absence. The Negative Spirit possesses a Russian cosmonaut, Colonel Valentina Vostok
, who becomes Negative Woman. Initially, Vostok could transform herself into a radio-energy form, possessing the same capabilities as Trainor's "partner." Later, as with Trainor, it would emerge from her, leaving her physically weak but in control of it, and requiring her to wear special bandages, just as Trainor had.
Trainor has been reunited with the energy being and is an active member of the current incarnation of the Doom Patrol.
Recently, Larry has exhibited the ability to cover himself in the negative energy that's inside him instead of releasing it, thus gaining the same powers that the negative spirit as shown. Larry's inner monologue says that it's making him feel a "burning sensation". (Doom Patrol v5 #09)
, who, again, must wear special bandages. Rebis has all of the memories of all three beings, and is as such a compound being, frequently using "we" when speaking of itself. Rebis has a larger range of powers than those of either Trainor or Vostok; Rebis can fly, is psychic, is extraordinarily intelligent, and, most significantly, is immortal
. Rebis' unique life cycle is based on an event called the Aenigma Regis, in which it throws off its old body and gives birth to a new version of itself; in describing its paradoxical existence, Rebis often likens itself to Russian dolls
, and to an ouroboros
.
Rebis temporarily leaves the Doom Patrol to mate with itself and complete the Aenigma Regis; part of this process involves working through the significant trauma and inner turmoil caused by the death of Trainor and Poole's separate identities. At some point during this absence, Rebis also has intercourse with Coagula
, giving her superpowers. Rebis's old body is killed by the Candlemaker, but Rebis' new, presumably harmonized body soon returns to see the Candlemaker defeated.
storyline and new Doom Patrol series, both written and illustrated by John Byrne. In this version of the Doom Patrol, which ignored previous continuity, Trainor is once again Negative Man (although his negative-energy form now has the appearance of a black skeleton instead of a shadowy humanoid shape). After this series was canceled, the miniseries Infinite Crisis
explained that this alteration
had been caused by Superboy-Prime's attempts to escape from the extradimensional "heaven" he shared with Alexander Luthor
and the Superman
and Lois Lane
of Earth-Two. When the Doom Patrol joins other heroes in fighting Superboy-Prime, Negative Man and the other Doom Patrol members (including former member Beast Boy
) begin recalling their previous lives; all previous incarnations of the Doom Patrol are now in continuity, although the exact details of what this means are not yet clear.
Its revealed that Larry’s original body was destroyed in the Codsville explosion and that the “Negative” is in fact Larry (Mind, Consciences and Soul) and when he found himself without a physical body Larry took solace in Valentina Vostok but only temporary until The Chief cloned him a new body. When one of the body’s expires Larry takes residents in an genetically altered brain dead donor body. Though in the transaction Larry obtains the memories and experiences of every host and the experience can be maddening to him so Larry constantly reminds him self that he is Larry Trainor.
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
from DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. He first appeared in My Greatest Adventure
My Greatest Adventure
My Greatest Adventure was a DC Comics comic book that began in 1955 and is best known as the original title for the superhero team, the Doom Patrol.-Publication history:...
#80.
Larry Trainor
The original Negative Man, Larry Trainor, is a founding member of the Doom PatrolDoom Patrol
The Doom Patrol is a superhero team appearing in publications from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
, along with Elasti-Girl
Elasti-Girl
Elasti-Girl is a fictional character, a superhero of the DC Comics universe and a member of the Doom Patrol.-Fictional character biography:...
, Robotman
Robotman (Cliff Steele)
Robotman is a fictional character, a cyborg superhero in the . Robotman first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80 and was created by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani.-Fictional character biography:...
, and The Chief
Chief (comics)
The Chief is a fictional character from DC Comics and the leader of the Doom Patrol. He first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
. Like the rest of the Doom Patrol, Trainor sees himself as a victim as much as a hero, and his superpower as an infection rather than a blessing.
Trainor's career as a superhero begins when he is accidentally exposed to a radioactive
Radioactive decay
Radioactive decay is the process by which an atomic nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing particles . The emission is spontaneous, in that the atom decays without any physical interaction with another particle from outside the atom...
field in the atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
while piloting a test plane. This experience leaves him radioactive himself, but also gives him a strange superpower: the ability to release a negatively-charged energy being from his body; the being, also referred to as Negative Man, or, later, as the Negative Spirit, can fly at high speed, cause solid objects to explode, and pass through solid materials. It resembles a shadowy silhouette
Silhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...
of a human being, surrounded by a bright glow. The being is under Trainor's control and appears at first to have no mind of its own. Unfortunately, Trainor is weak and defenseless while the being is separated from his body; he can only risk sending it forth for 60 seconds at a time without risking death. After his accident, Trainor resembles the Invisible Man
The Invisible Man
The Invisible Man is a science fiction novella by H.G. Wells published in 1897. Wells' novel was originally serialised in Pearson's Weekly in 1897, and published as a novel the same year...
; he is forced to wear specially-treated bandages over his entire body to protect bystanders from his radioactivity.
How Larry Trainor survived the explosion that supposedly killed all four of the Doom Patrol's core members remains unexplained. He turned up alive, permanently separated from the radio energy being, but still radioactive, bandaged, and weak in its absence. The Negative Spirit possesses a Russian cosmonaut, Colonel Valentina Vostok
Valentina Vostok
Valentina Vostok is a fictional character by DC Comics. She first appeared in Showcase #94, , and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Jim Aparo.-Fictional character biography:...
, who becomes Negative Woman. Initially, Vostok could transform herself into a radio-energy form, possessing the same capabilities as Trainor's "partner." Later, as with Trainor, it would emerge from her, leaving her physically weak but in control of it, and requiring her to wear special bandages, just as Trainor had.
Trainor has been reunited with the energy being and is an active member of the current incarnation of the Doom Patrol.
Recently, Larry has exhibited the ability to cover himself in the negative energy that's inside him instead of releasing it, thus gaining the same powers that the negative spirit as shown. Larry's inner monologue says that it's making him feel a "burning sensation". (Doom Patrol v5 #09)
Rebis
The Negative Spirit later leaves Vostok and returns to Trainor, where it reveals itself to be amoral, intelligent, and capable of speech. Trainor pleads with it to leave him alone, but it forcefully merges itself with both Trainor, a white man, and his physician, Dr. Eleanor Poole, a black woman. Together the three entities form Rebis, a divine hermaphroditeHermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
, who, again, must wear special bandages. Rebis has all of the memories of all three beings, and is as such a compound being, frequently using "we" when speaking of itself. Rebis has a larger range of powers than those of either Trainor or Vostok; Rebis can fly, is psychic, is extraordinarily intelligent, and, most significantly, is immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
. Rebis' unique life cycle is based on an event called the Aenigma Regis, in which it throws off its old body and gives birth to a new version of itself; in describing its paradoxical existence, Rebis often likens itself to Russian dolls
Matryoshka doll
A matryoshka doll is a Russian nesting doll which is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo...
, and to an ouroboros
Ouroboros
The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The name originates from within Greek language; οὐρά meaning "tail" and βόρος meaning "eating", thus "he who eats the tail"....
.
Rebis temporarily leaves the Doom Patrol to mate with itself and complete the Aenigma Regis; part of this process involves working through the significant trauma and inner turmoil caused by the death of Trainor and Poole's separate identities. At some point during this absence, Rebis also has intercourse with Coagula
Coagula
This article is about the fictional comic book character. For the art magazine, see Coagula Art Journal Coagula is a fictional character and former member of DC Comic's Doom Patrol. Kate is a male-to-female transsexual, one of the first transsexual characters in comics, and remains one of the...
, giving her superpowers. Rebis's old body is killed by the Candlemaker, but Rebis' new, presumably harmonized body soon returns to see the Candlemaker defeated.
Byrne Incarnation
In 2004, the Doom Patrol was rebooted in a JLAJustice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
storyline and new Doom Patrol series, both written and illustrated by John Byrne. In this version of the Doom Patrol, which ignored previous continuity, Trainor is once again Negative Man (although his negative-energy form now has the appearance of a black skeleton instead of a shadowy humanoid shape). After this series was canceled, the miniseries Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
explained that this alteration
Continuity changes during Infinite Crisis
In the course of the fictional story presented in the DC Comics event Infinite Crisis , several events in the fictional DC Universe's past were retroactively altered by either Superboy-Prime or the separation and re-merging of alternate Earths...
had been caused by Superboy-Prime's attempts to escape from the extradimensional "heaven" he shared with Alexander Luthor
Alexander Luthor, Jr.
Alexander Luthor Jr. is a DC Comics character who turned from a hero to a villain. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, Alexander has a prominent role in the DC Universe storylines Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis....
and the Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
and Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
of Earth-Two. When the Doom Patrol joins other heroes in fighting Superboy-Prime, Negative Man and the other Doom Patrol members (including former member Beast Boy
Beast Boy
Garfield Mark "Gar" Logan, known as Beast Boy or Changeling, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics...
) begin recalling their previous lives; all previous incarnations of the Doom Patrol are now in continuity, although the exact details of what this means are not yet clear.
Keith Giffen
Larry Trainor is once again a member of Doom Patrol. The negative energy being can now exist apart from Trainor's body for much longer than 60 seconds. During the Blackest Night, he fights against Black Lantern Valentina Vostok, pitting his Negative Spirit against the corrupt Black Lantern version and starts convulsing in pain after absorbing both entities. Managing to take control of them, he sends them into Valentina, overloading her and destroying her ring. However, when he recovers, he cannot repeat the same attack against Black Lantern Cliff Steele before Black Lanterns Celsius and Tempest attack. Robotman comments that the combined form of both entities is partially similar to Rebis.Its revealed that Larry’s original body was destroyed in the Codsville explosion and that the “Negative” is in fact Larry (Mind, Consciences and Soul) and when he found himself without a physical body Larry took solace in Valentina Vostok but only temporary until The Chief cloned him a new body. When one of the body’s expires Larry takes residents in an genetically altered brain dead donor body. Though in the transaction Larry obtains the memories and experiences of every host and the experience can be maddening to him so Larry constantly reminds him self that he is Larry Trainor.
Television
- Negative Man appeared in the two-part Teen TitansTeen Titans (TV series)Teen Titans is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics characters of the same name. The show was created by Glen Murakami, developed by David Slack, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003, and the final episode "Things Change"...
episode "Homecoming" voiced by Judge ReinholdJudge ReinholdJudge Reinhold is an American actor, perhaps best known for co-starring in movies such as Beverly Hills Cop, Ruthless People, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and The Santa Clause trilogy.-Early life:...
. Negative Man appeared along with the other Doom Patrol members. He has a sarcastic matter-of-fact attitude similar to Raven'sRaven (comics)Raven is a fictional superheroine who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in a special insert in DC Comics Presents #26 , and was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez...
. His 60 second "soul separation" time limit is absent in the series. He did state that he shouldn't spend too much time separated from his body, but didn't give a specific time limit. However, it is implied that his soul has spent time, caged, outside his body for five months while his body was nearly frozen. Also, while the Doom Patrol was helping the Titans fight the Brotherhood of Evil, Negative Man spent "too much" time apart from his body and while trying to fly back to his body the negative spirit sank into the ground apparently against its will, reaching for its body, leading Beast Boy to assume he was dead, or at least would never wake up from his catatonic state without the Negative Spirit. Though it was not specifically stated how long the Negative Spirit could remain separated from his body in this appearance, Negative Man's comment upon being released, "You could have at least thawed me out first", implies that his physical body may have been frozen, or in some sort of suspended animation. This may explain how he was able to stay separated for so long without ill effect, especially since this method was occasionally employed during other incarnations of the Doom Patrol when, for whatever reason, the Negative Spirit was unable to return to Larry Trainor's body.
- Negative Man (alongside Doom Patrol members ChiefChief (comics)The Chief is a fictional character from DC Comics and the leader of the Doom Patrol. He first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
, RobotmanRobotman (Cliff Steele)Robotman is a fictional character, a cyborg superhero in the . Robotman first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80 and was created by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani.-Fictional character biography:...
, and Elasti-GirlElasti-GirlElasti-Girl is a fictional character, a superhero of the DC Comics universe and a member of the Doom Patrol.-Fictional character biography:...
) appears in the Batman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics series The Brave and the Bold which features two or more super heroes coming together to solve a crime or foil a super villain...
episode "The Last Patrol!" voiced by David K. Hill. Ever since the team's break-up following an accident in France, Negative Man got a job as a carnival entertainer and was ridiculed by the people and the carnival barker until Animal-Vegetable-Mineral ManAnimal-Vegetable-Mineral ManAnimal-Vegetable-Mineral Man is a fictional supervillain from the DC Universe and a foe of the original Doom Patrol. He first appeared in Doom Patrol #89 . The story was written by Arnold Drake, with art by Bruno Premiani....
attacks. The carnival barker asked about Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man to Negative Man and wonders who the agent of Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man is. When Batman, Chief, and Elasti-Girl arrived, Batman does an aggressive pep talk to Negative Man enough to rejoin the Doom Patrol and help fend off Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man. He and the other Doom Patrol members sacrificed their lives to stop the detonator on General ZahlGeneral ZahlGeneral Zahl is a DC Comics villain. He first appeared in Doom Patrol vol. 1 #121.-Biography:General Zahl is a former Nazi U-boat captain who tangled from time to time with the Doom Patrol, originally as "Captain Zahl."...
's ship.
- In the J. J. AbramsJ. J. AbramsJeffrey Jacob "J. J." Abrams is an American film and television producer, screenwriter, director, actor, and composer. He wrote and produced feature films before co-creating the television series Felicity...
TV Series FringeFringe (TV series)Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
they use several DC comics-inspired plotlines including Negative Man with an episode with a Russian cosmonaut with the origin near identical to Negative Man.
- The Doom Patrol will be featured in animated shorts for Cartoon Network's DC NationDC Nation ShortsDC Nation Shorts is a upcoming number of shorts that will air on Cartoon Network in 2012. The shorts will be part of the DC Nation block, and will consist of Plastic Man, Super Best Friends Forever, Doom Patrol, Batman, Lego Batman, Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, Teen Titans, Blue Beetle and...
block of programming in 2012.
Film
- In Justice League: The New Frontier, a pilot in the climactic aerial fight scene has the name tag "Trainor". This is a cameo of Larry Trainor according to the commentary track.