Man of action

DC Comics’ newest TV series ‘Doom Patrol’ has Matt Bomer playing a queer superhero

Doom Patrol, Matt Bomer. gay, Larry Trainor, Negative Man, DC Comics
From left to right: Negative Man, Robotman, Crazy Jane, Elasti-Woman and Cyborg in Doom Patrol.

DC Comics new live-action superhero series, Doom Patrol, premieres today on their streaming service. In the series, Matt Bomer will play a soon-to-be superhero having a same-sex affair on his wife. As such, he’ll be one of the few openly queer superheroes ever to be played by an openly gay actor on TV.

Bomer will portray Larry Trainor, a military pilot who accidentally gets exposed to radiation and develops the powers of flight, the ability to pass through solid objects, and the power of making items explode by releasing negative energy charges through his body. He’s known as “Negative Man,” but he looks more the “The Invisible Man” because of special bandages he wears to prevent his radioactivity from affecting others.

Negative Man is just one of the Doom Patrol’s team of misfit superheroes. There’s also Robotman, Elasti-Woman and Crazy Jane, a woman who has 64 different personalities, each with its own super power. The team will also be joined by Cyborg, one of DC Comics first high-profile black superheroes who was recently portrayed in DC’s 2017 Justice League film.

Related: DC Comics Announces First-Ever Transgender Character In A Mainstream Comic

The Doom Patrol initially appeared in the fourth episode of the 2018 DC Comics live-action drama series Titans, after Raven and Beast Boy hid out in the Patrol’s mansion headquarters to escape deadly bounty hunters.

DC Comics has increasingly embraced its LGBTQ fans in its modern age. Its live-active CW series Legends of Tomorrow includes at a same-sex female romance and a bisexual male character, Constantine. Its upcoming Batwoman TV pilot will be the first-ever to be led by an an openly gender-fluid and lesbian actress (Ruby Rose) playing an openly lesbian superhero.

In 2015, DC Comics explored the gay dating life of its confident and single superhero Midnighter. And its recent depiction of the pink mountain lion Snagglepuss re-imagined him as a gay playwright.

Here’s the Doom Patrol trailer.

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