Lawrence Trainor (New Earth)

Larry Trainor has glowing, translucent skin rendering his skeletal structure visible for all to see. His body eschews deadly radiation that he must contain with special plastic bandages.

Status

Citizenship

American

Marital Status

Single

Occupation

Former civilian test pilot; current professional adventurer

Origin

Gained powers when exposed to cosmic radiation

Place of Birth

Midway City

Creators

Arnold Drake, Bruno Premiani

First appearance

My Greatest Adventure #80

History

Larry Trainor was a civilian test pilot who had been hired to fly an experimental X-19 suborbital jet aircraft. Larry put the plane through its paces and successfully broke Earth's atmosphere. However, increased solar flare activity affected the jet's guidance systems sending Larry into a field of deadly radiation. Falling unconscious, Larry drifted through the stratospheric wave belts for several hours. Earth's gravity eventually pulled the X-19 back into the atmosphere where it began spiraling back down to Earth. Larry awakened in time to prevent the X-19 from crashing into the ground.

Upon landing the jet, Trainor noticed a nearby search plane coming into view. It attempted to land near the X-19, but suffered from a malfunctioning landing strut. An intense desire to aid the beleaguered craft passed through Larry's mind when suddenly, a bizarre radioactive energy being flew outward from his body. Obeying Larry's subconscious desires, the energy guided the search plane to safety.

Shortly after the strange incident, Larry checked into a hospital. The exposure to the deadly radiation left him hideously deformed, with glowing, translucent skin. Physicians placed him into quarantine inside of a lead-lined contamination cell. A specialist named Dr. Niles Caulder met with Larry and provided him special radiation-proof plastic bandages. In order to leave the quarantine and operate in human society again – Larry had to wear the bandages from head to tall at all times.

Trainor became bitter and despondent at the thought of living the remainder of his life as some grotesque mummy. Shunned by society, he kept to himself and took to living inside of a meager rooming house. During this time, he learned more about the strange energy creature that lived inside of him – a creature he referred to as the Negative Man.

Before long, a physician known only as Doctor Drew offered Larry a job as his assistant. Drew was actually an evil scientist known as Doctor Death. Trainor learned about Doctor Drew's true identity and his covert attempt to take control of the world. He rebelled against the maniacal genius and briefly thwarted his plans for global domination. Death escaped and swore revenge against the Negative Man.

Some time later, Larry accepted a commission to fly a plane towards a dangerous, volcanic island. Doctor Death learned of the charter and arranged to sabotage Trainor's plane, stranding him on the island. He manipulated Negative Man into becoming his pawn in an effort to destabilize the American government by driving several political figureheads irrevocably insane. Negative Man fought against Doctor Death's efforts, but Death captured him and secured Trainor inside of a lead-lined cell.

Meanwhile, Niles Caulder, now calling himself the Chief, discovered Trainor's predicament and helped to rescue him from Doctor Death's clutches. With Caulder’s aid, the Negative Man once again foiled Doctor Death's efforts to create widespread anarchy.

Caulder recognized that Trainor was not only a man of strong integrity, but a man of great power as well. He invited the Negative Man to become a member of a small collection of misfit heroes known as the Doom Patrol.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

The Negative: Negative Man has the ability to generate a black, electrical energy being composed of an as of yet unidentifiable radioactive substance from within his own body. The entity has no consciousness of its own and exists as merely an extension of Trainor's own senses. As such, Larry can perceive whatever sensations the energy being can see or hear. For a total of sixty seconds, Larry can command the Negative being to obey his instructions, and can summon it back inside of his body at will.

Flight: being can fly at speeds nearly equal to the speed of light

Phasing: can alter its density allowing it to pass through solid objects. Phasing itself through biological material causes immense pain to the affected target. The only substance that is proof against the Negative Man's abilities is lead.

Heat Waves: has also demonstrated the ability to generate waves of intense heat, and explosive, concussive blasts of energy. It can likewise absorb thermal energy and convert it into an electrical discharge.

Abilities

Larry Trainor is a skilled airplane pilot and hand-to-hand combatant.

Strength level

Larry Trainor posses the strength level of an older man of moderate size and weight who engages in intensive regular exorcise. The strength levels of the Negative being have never been fully tested, but have been shown to surpass superhuman levels.

Weaknesses

Larry's continued use of the Negative Man however, is hampered by a potentially fatal restriction. If Trainor is ever separate from the energy being for more than one minute, he would lapse into a coma and eventually die. Trainor is always careful to recall the entity back to his person before the sixty-second time limit expires.

Paraphernalia

Equipment: None known.
Transportation: None known.
Weapons: None known.

Notes

The character of Negative Man was created by Arnold Drake and Bob Haney.

The name Negative Man could refer to either Larry Trainor himself, or the radioactive energy being he produces.

The Negative being takes on the physical properties of its host body. When bonded to Larry Trainor, it assumes the gender attributes of an adult male. When it was bonded to Valentina Vostok, it took on the appearance of an adult female.

Trivia

In his test aviation days, Larry Trainor became a colleague of famed west coast test pilot, Hal Jordan.

Negative Man was secretly in love with fellow Doom Patrol member, Elasti-Girl.

According to the timeline provided in Zero Hour #0, the Doom Patrol were one of the earliest super-hero teams active during the Silver Age era of comics. JLA: Year One #6 shows the Doom Patrol as experienced heroes working alongside the neophyte Justice League of America.

In 2005, Negative Man and the rest of the Doom Patrol appeared in the two-part "Homecoming" episode of the Teen Titans animated television series. Actor Judge Reinhold provided the voice for Negative Man.

Links and References

Footnotes

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