HBO Max's Doom Patrol series has done an excellent job of bringing some of the best comic book moments to the small screen. Drawing heavily upon Grant Morrison and Richard Case's seminal run on the series, the TV writers have also delved into the comic's 57-year history to give fans some great moments. One of those moments is when the Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man pops up in the show.
Doom Patrol debuted in My Greatest Adventure #80 by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney, and Bruno Premiani. The members of the Doom Patrol often fought among themselves and suffered from personal problems that were common in Marvels Comics at this time, but was a new element in DC. They had a strange, oddball roster of supervillains that matched the tone of the series including the immortality-seeking General Immortus, the Brotherhood of Evil led by the Brain, a disembodied brain kept alive by technology, and an intelligent gorilla Monsieur Mallah but one of the more fan-favorite villains was the shape-shifting Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man.
Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man was created by Drake and Premiani and debuted in Doom Patrol #89. Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man is a Swedish Scientist, Dr. Sven Larsen, and a former student of Dr. Niles Caulder, the head of the Doom Patrol. The two scientists had a falling out after Larsen accused Caulder of stealing his idea for an anti-decay ray. Larsen gained his powers after falling in a vat of amino acids, and of course, uses his newfound powers to take revenge on Caulder and his Doom Patrol. From the vat of amino acids, Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man gained several powers including being able to change any part of his body into the form of any animal, vegetable, or mineral, including combining several at once. In most of his comic book appearances, his arms, legs and the left side of his face take on various forms, leaving his torso and the right side of his face normal.
Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man makes his debut in the first season, episode three of the HBO Max Doom Patrol series. The heart of the character stays the same, but there are essential differences between the comic book and TV series characters. In the show, the villain's name is changed to Steven Larson, played by actor Eric Mapa, a tourist who travels to Paraguay with the hopes of acquiring superpowers. In this episode, "Puppet Patrol," the Doom Patrol tracks down the Nazi doctor who gave their archnemesis, Mr. Nobody, his powers to Paraguay. For a fee, the Nazi doctor puts customers in his machine which gives them superpowers. Larson is hoping to gain "magnetic feet," but he is left in the machine too long and is transformed into the Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man.
The TV version of Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man has a human head next to a separate dinosaur head, (the two heads are combined in the comics). Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man doesn't really become a main villain in the TV show but is used more for comedy relief and becomes a running joke throughout the season.
There are several news updates during the course of season one that updates Larson's activities, including his disastrous attempt at robbing a convenience store, his arrest, and a failed assassination attempt on his life. In season two, there's an advertisement for Steven Larson's/Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man's autobiography, My Side, which is noted to be "America's new, bestselling autobiography."