Valentina Vostok (New Earth)

Da... lucky. Swaddled for the rest of my life within these chemically-treated bandages lest the negative energy again possesses my body and turn me into a berserker... Alive... but never again to be truly human. Da. ...Lucky...

— Valentina Vostok ^src

Valentina Vostok was originally the Negative Woman, housing the same negative energy as the original Negative Man. After being separated, she continued her career in the military and became Checkmate's White Queen.

History

Origin

Lt. Col. Valentina Vostok of the Soviet Air Force stole an experimental Soviet Fighter Plane in order to defect to the USA. The plane malfunctioned en route, and she crash-landed at the spot where the original Doom Patrol had previously been murdered by General Zahl. The remnant energy housed in Larry Trainor's body attached itself to a new host. Unlike Trainor, Val did not experience the negative side effects at first. She did not emit radiation, nor did the intangible being leave her physical boy, instead she transformed into the Negative Woman.^[1] Years later, it was revealed by Doom Patrol villain the Brain that the Chief, founder of the Doom Patrol, manipulated Valentina's transformation into a superhero in order to create a replacement for presumed dead Negative Man.^{[citation needed]}

Negative Woman

Assuming the name Negative Woman, Valentina defected to the United States and became a member of the second incarnation of Doom Patrol for several years. Teammate Tempest was instantly enamored with Val. Not long after the return of Robotman, the negative energy took its toll on Val's physical form and began to "bleed" through her skin, causing her immense pain until she lost control of the being. With the aid of Superman Val's rampage was stopped, but she was forced to envelope herself in radiation-retardant bandages like her predecessor.^[2] Val now had to release the the Negative Woman from her physical form, leaving her body vulnerable. Her confidence as a hero was not hindered, but her personal insecurities meant she shunned any romantic advances from Joshua despite her feelings for him.^[3]^[4]

With tensions in the new Doom Patrol reaching breaking point, the four members parted ways, and Val became a government agent for Washington, DC.^[3] In an attempt to keep tabs on the reluctantly reformed Patrollers, Val tailed them to Jamaica where they thwarted the nefarious plans of Kalki and discovered the original Negative Man alive.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Val rejoined the Doom Patrol at their new headquarters in Kansas City,^[8] although she was covertly acting as an informer, reporting to a top-secret member of the President's inner circle.^[9] Larry Trainor was alive, but frail, from being deprived of the negative energy. He became bitter and resentful of Val for taking what he viewed as rightfully his. Unable to persuade Val to return his powers, Trainor resorted to enlisting the aid of Reactron to steal the radiation back.^[10] The scheme worked briefly before the Negative Spirit was violently separated from Larry and returned to Val, removing all traces of the radiation from Larry, meaning he no longer needed to be wrapped in bandages.^[11]^[12]

Her government ties led the Doom Patrol on an asset extraction in Nicaragua which escalated into a uneasy cooperation with the Suicide Squad against the Rocket Red Brigade.^[13] Val had a hand at training the newest young recruits, Lodestone, Karma and Scott Fisher and fought adversaries old and new until the great alien invasion concluded in the activation of the gene bomb which restored her to her normal self.^[14]

White Queen

Vostok was later replaced Amanda Waller as the White Queen of Checkmate. It was in the service of Checkmate that she died.^[15]

Black Lantern

Valentina was resurrected as a Black Lantern where she attacked Negative Man. Their Negative Entities met, causing a new one to be created. Negative Man was able to absorb the combined Spirit and attacked Valentina with it. This caused her body to explode along with the ring.^{[citation needed]}

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Unique Physiology
- Radiation Production: The Negative Spirit formerly attached to Larry Trainor was composed of pure radiation that Val could release from her physical body and control at will, leaving her physical body unconscious.^[16]
- Flight: The Negative Woman could fly at incredible speeds.^[1]
- Phasing: Negative Woman was able to disrupt or immobilize most opponents she phased through, including Superman.^[2]

Abilities

Aviation: Val was a Soviet cosmonaut who was capable of piloting experimental aircraft.^[1]
Military Protocol: Val was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Soviet military before defecting to the USA.^[1]
Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): Val had military level combat skills.^[6]
Espionage: Val was a military and government personnel for several agencies.^[5]

Weaknesses

Restricted Mobility: While releasing the intangible Negative Woman, Val's physical body was inert and unconscious.^[16]
Power Limitation: Although the Negative Woman could be active for much longer than 60 seconds, it needed to "recharge" in its physical host.^[7]
Lead: Comprised of living radiation, the Negative Woman could not phase through lead.^[7]

Notes

Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
According to an unpublished fill-in issue of Doom Patrol Vol 2 by Paul Kupperberg featured in The Doom Patrol Bronze Age Omnibus, Val's parents were named Vladimir and Katherina. She also had an older brother named Alexis.

Trivia

After being obliged to cover herself in bandages, Val wore a blonde wig in an attempt to restore some normality to her appearance.^[10]

Doom Patrol member
This character was at some point primarily a member of the Doom Patrol. A long-running team of rag-tag misfit heroes who work together for the common good, fighting evil against all odds. This template will categorize any article that includes it into the Doom Patrol members category.

Checkmate Member

This character was a member of the top secret government organization Checkmate. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Checkmate members" and "Government Agents" categories.

Black Lantern Corps member
This character is or was a member of the Black Lantern Corps. Those who have died may wield the Black Power Ring, symbolizing their lack of both life and emotion.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Black Lantern Corps members category."

[SC94-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Showcase #94

[DCP52-2] 2.0 ^2.1 DC Comics Presents #52

[SOA1-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Secret Origins Annual (Volume 2) #1

[DP210-4] Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #10

[DP21-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #1

[DP22-6] 6.0 ^6.1 Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #2

[DP23-7] 7.0 ^7.1 ^7.2 Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #3

[DP24-8] Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #4

[DP215-9] Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #15

[DP211-10] 10.0 ^10.1 Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #11

[DP212-11] Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #12

[DP213-12] Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #13

[DPSS-13] Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special #1

[Invasion3-14] Invasion! #3

[JLGL8-15] Justice League: Generation Lost #8

[DP26-16] 16.0 ^16.1 Doom Patrol (Volume 2) #6

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