Valentina Vostok
Encyclopedia
Valentina Vostok is a fictional character
by DC Comics
. She first appeared in Showcase
#94, (August 1977), and was created by Paul Kupperberg
and Jim Aparo
.
Valentina Vostok of the Soviet Air Force
stole an experimental Russian fighter plane in order to defect to the USA. The plane malfunctioned en route and she crash-landed at the spot where the original Doom Patrol
had apparently perished and was fused with the negative energy being which formerly inhabited the body of the Patrol's Negative Man
. However, instead of being able to send it out from her body under her control, Vostok gained the ability to transform herself into such a being. Years later, it was revealed by Doom Patrol villain the Brain
that Niles Caulder
, founder of the Doom Patrol, manipulated Valentina's transformation into a superhero in order to create a replacement for presumed dead Negative Man.
Assuming the name Negative Woman, Valentina defected to the United States and became a member of the second incarnation of Doom Patrol for several years. Valentina became romantically involved with teammate Joshua Clay
, aka Tempest, but broke off the relationship due to the nature of her powers changing to match that of her predecessor: her body became permanently radioactive, requiring her to constantly wear radiation-blocking bandages over all of her body, and the radio-energy being would emerge from her under her mental command.
Ultimately, when Negative Man was found alive and rescued by the new Doom Patrol, the negative energy being abandoned Valentina and returned to Larry Trainor. Though she was initially furious at having lost her power and being replaced by Negative Man, his ultimate rejection of the power allowed for Valentina to leave the Doom Patrol on good terms, unaware of the fact that the negative energy being would ultimately return and claim Trainor again, turning him into Rebis.
Valentina would go on to work for the American secret services, being involved in a number of US government departments including serving for a time as head of the Agency and working for the original incarnation of Checkmate
.
.
#4 sent by Checkmate. Included are Count Vertigo and Atomic Knights. Vostok is seen under Darkseid
's control in Final Crisis: Resist.
during the Doom Patrol series' Blackest Night tie-in storyline. She attacks Larry Trainor, using a corrupted version of the Negative creature (whether this is a construct created by her black power ring, or a revival of her former powers, is not made clear). Trainor absorbs both Negative Creatures, taking control and sending both of them into Valentina. This causes her body to overload and explode, destroying the black ring.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
by 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...
. She first appeared in Showcase
Showcase (comics)
Showcase has been the title of several comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing...
#94, (August 1977), and was created by Paul Kupperberg
Paul Kupperberg
Paul Kupperberg is a former editor for DC Comics, and a prolific writer of comic books and newspaper strips.-Biography:Kupperberg entered the comics field from comics fandom, as had his brother, writer/artist Alan Kupperberg...
and Jim Aparo
Jim Aparo
James N. "Jim" Aparo was an American comic book artist best known for his 1960s and 1970s DC Comics work, including on the characters Batman, Aquaman and the Spectre....
.
Fictional character biography
Lt. Col.Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Valentina Vostok of the Soviet Air Force
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
stole an experimental Russian fighter plane in order to defect to the USA. The plane malfunctioned en route and she crash-landed at the spot where the original Doom Patrol
Doom 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...
had apparently perished and was fused with the negative energy being which formerly inhabited the body of the Patrol's Negative Man
Negative Man
Negative Man is a fictional superhero from DC Comics. He first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80.-Larry Trainor:The original Negative Man, Larry Trainor, is a founding member of the Doom Patrol, along with Elasti-Girl, Robotman, and The Chief...
. However, instead of being able to send it out from her body under her control, Vostok gained the ability to transform herself into such a being. Years later, it was revealed by Doom Patrol villain the Brain
Brain (comics)
The Brain is a fictional character, a supervillain in the and frequent enemy of the Doom Patrol. He is a French mastermind and criminal genius...
that Niles Caulder
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...
, founder of the Doom Patrol, manipulated Valentina's transformation into a superhero in order to create a replacement for presumed dead Negative Man.
Assuming the name Negative Woman, Valentina defected to the United States and became a member of the second incarnation of Doom Patrol for several years. Valentina became romantically involved with teammate Joshua Clay
Joshua Clay
Joshua Clay is a fictional character, a member of the superhero team Doom Patrol in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Kupperberg and Joe Staton, he first appears as the hero Tempest in Showcase #94 ....
, aka Tempest, but broke off the relationship due to the nature of her powers changing to match that of her predecessor: her body became permanently radioactive, requiring her to constantly wear radiation-blocking bandages over all of her body, and the radio-energy being would emerge from her under her mental command.
Ultimately, when Negative Man was found alive and rescued by the new Doom Patrol, the negative energy being abandoned Valentina and returned to Larry Trainor. Though she was initially furious at having lost her power and being replaced by Negative Man, his ultimate rejection of the power allowed for Valentina to leave the Doom Patrol on good terms, unaware of the fact that the negative energy being would ultimately return and claim Trainor again, turning him into Rebis.
Valentina would go on to work for the American secret services, being involved in a number of US government departments including serving for a time as head of the Agency and working for the original incarnation of Checkmate
Checkmate (comics)
Checkmate, a division of Task Force X, is a fictional covert operations agency within the DC Comics universe. It first appeared in Action Comics #598 and proceeded to have its own ongoing title in Checkmate!...
.
White Queen
Vostok was later named White Queen of the current incarnation of Checkmate, replacing Amanda WallerAmanda Waller
Dr. Amanda Blake Waller is a character published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986, and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne...
.
Final Crisis
A Negative Woman was among those in the Blüdhaven Strike Force in Final CrisisFinal Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
#4 sent by Checkmate. Included are Count Vertigo and Atomic Knights. Vostok is seen under Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
's control in Final Crisis: Resist.
Blackest Night
Valentina was apparently killed during the events of Final Crisis, as she is seen as a member of the undead Black Lantern CorpsBlack Lantern Corps
The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of revenants appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The group is composed of deceased fictional characters that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.-Publication history:...
during the Doom Patrol series' Blackest Night tie-in storyline. She attacks Larry Trainor, using a corrupted version of the Negative creature (whether this is a construct created by her black power ring, or a revival of her former powers, is not made clear). Trainor absorbs both Negative Creatures, taking control and sending both of them into Valentina. This causes her body to overload and explode, destroying the black ring.