Larry Trainor, aka Negative Man, has been a constant member of the Doom Patrol since its inception – both in the comics and the series. The character has become quite the fan-favorite since his debut in Titans season 1, only growing more and more interesting as the series progressed. Things may never be the same for Negative Man, as the beginning of Season 3 saw Larry split off from The Negative Spirit, also known as Keeg Bovo, and begin to sprout an odd bump that’s got him baffled and quite worried.
Something is different this time around, ever since Season 1, it has been known that once the spirit and Larry separate, it renders Trainor immobile until Keeg bonds with him again. It feels almost as if something could’ve rooted the Negative Spirit out of Larry, possibly even taking its place.
However, this bump may not be much of a worry for Negative Man and could change his life forever. Fans of Gerard Way‘s run on Doom Patrol may know just what is going on with Larry this season, and how after three seasons, Negative Man may be no more. In Weight of The Worlds, Larry became much more accepting of his state and more comfortable with his new team, much like Doom Patrol‘s Negative Man has adapted and overcome throughout the past three seasons. In the comic, Larry sprouts some similar bumps revealed to be excessive positive energy within Larry’s body that had begun to build up and once supercharged by Lotion the Cat, pushes Keeg out, and turns Larry Trainor into the Positive Man.
It seems as though in the series, Keeg became aware of Larry’s new outlook on life and realized his time was up, with the positive energy beginning to take up much of Larry. In the comic, it was Larry’s dog, Hank, that provided him with all that positive energy, but I think here it could be the healing of his past trauma, realizing it wasn’t at fault with what happened with his family, and more importantly finding a new family that accepts him for who he is, especially Rita Farr.
Larry is probably one of the characters in Doom Patrol that really needs that push lately, and to see some significant development. With the new situation at Doom Manor and Larry really closing the chapter on much of his past, this new, much more positive path, seems adequate for him as one of the show’s most beloved team members.
