The Doom Patrol’s Negative Man single-handedly stopped World War III with a Superman-level feat. In the story “60 Sinister Seconds,” first appearing in The Doom Patrol #98, a secret cabal has threatened the world with nuclear annihilation, planting bombs across the world–all set to detonate in the space of a minute. Only one hero was able to fly over the world and disable them in time–the Negative Man, and his display of power would make the Man of Steel proud.
The Negative Man, one of the Doom Patrol’s founding members, is former test pilot Larry Trainor and first appeared with the rest of the team in 1963’s My Greatest Adventure #80. A test pilot, Larry was exposed to a mysterious cloud of radiation while on a test flight; the cloud disfigured Larry, forcing him to wear bandages over his body. Most importantly, however, the cloud gave him the power to expel a negatively-charged energy being from his body; the being, known as the “Negative Spirit,” can only be out of Larry’s body for 60 seconds. The Negative Man has also made the jump to live-action, appearing in the Doom Patrol television show, voiced by Matt Bomer. He is perhaps the Doom Patrol’s most powerful member, and in one adventure in particular demonstrated just how powerful he really is.
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The story, written by Doom Patrol co-creator Arnold Drake and illustrated by Bob Brown, a mysterious cabal reveals they have planted four atomic bombs at various locations around the world, and they will detonate in a month–all within the space of a minute. The cabal seeks to usher in a nuclear war between America and Russia. A month later, the Doom Patrol gets wind of the plot, but it is too late as the bombs are set to detonate; someone would have to fly around the world and defuse the bombs within the allotted minute. Negative Man volunteers, dispatching the Negative Spirit to the various places where the bombs are located. He is able to destroy three of the bombs, but is too late to stop the fourth. Its detonation triggers automatic defense procedures in both Russia and America. The President tries to call Russia’s Premiere to get him to stop the missiles, but the telephone line has been cut. With only seconds left before nuclear annihilation, the Negative Man uses his energy powers to relay the message to Russia, averting war–and he did it all in the space of a minute!
The World Owes the Negative Man, Big Time.
The Negative Man’s feat in this story is nothing short of impressive, and it is on par with something Superman himself could do. Very few heroes in the DC Universe have the power, or the speed, to circle the globe several times over in the space of a minute–Superman and the Flash come to mind, but here the Negative Man shows them both up, single-handedly steering the world away from the brink of destruction. The Negative Man was also able to use his energy powers to ensure the telephone call to Russia got through–something Superman would not be able to do, making this feat all the more impressive.
The Negative Man, as well as the rest of the Doom Patrol, are not always seen as heroes by the rest of the DC Universe; they view themselves as outcasts and freaks. The Negative Man’s actions in this issue prove otherwise, showing this Doom Patrol member in an amazing light as he saves the world with a Superman-level feat.
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