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
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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.
Asphyxia 8
Covering up Matt’s beautiful face with bandages? Sacrilege!
MacAdvisor
First, Negative Man sound like Eeyore as a person. Second, “negative” energy is just energy with a negative charge, such as electrons, so it is just energy. Thus, why not Energy Man, which doesn’t sound like such a downer. Third, can’t some innovative tailor make him a suit that covers his face and the rest of his body so he doesn’t have to wrap and unwrap all those bandages? A good intergalactic battle would be over by the time he gets those all off. If he can do without a cape, he should see Edna Mode.
Bromancer7
The show is based on the comic, which has been around since 1963. He never unwraps the bandages. His negative energy form releases directly from his body.
Mainere
Can’t wait!
Bromancer7
Just for clarification, Matt is only the voice of Negative Man. Actor Matthew Zuk is the on-screen Larry.
It’s the same with Robotman. Brendan Fraser is the voice while Riley Shanahan is the body.
Tho we do see both Matt and Brendan in flashback scenes.