Warning: contains spoilers forBlack, White and Bloodshot#1!
Bloodshotgets the R-rated makeover he has always deserved inValiant Comics’Black, White and Bloodshot.In recent years, Marvel and DC have experimented with “bichromatic” anthologies, allowing some of their most violent characters to cut loose in gory and brutal ways.Bloodshot, Valiant’s resident nanite-infused assassin, joins the club inBlack, White and Bloodshot, and it pushes his character into “mature readers' territory” to spectacular effect.
Black, White and Bloodshot#1 is written and drawn by some of today’s top creators, as detailed in the table below. The book, black and white with red throughout, follows Bloodshot in a variety of adventures, be it searching for a nuclear warhead or fighting a nanite-controlled animatronic rat. Each story shows Bloodshot doing what he seems to do best: killing people in brutal fashions. Yet these stories are even more violent and even more gory than normal–making them perfect for Bloodshot.
Far from being total gorefests, these stories are thought-provoking and, in some cases, darkly funny.
Valiant’sBlack, White and Bloodshot#1 Credits
“Enjoy the Movie”
Bloodshot’s Valiant Comics Origin, Explained
Bloodshot Has Some Deep Ties to the Valiant Universe
Since 1992, Bloodshot has left a trail of death and carnage across the Valiant Universe.
Since 1992, Bloodshot has left a trail of death and carnage across the Valiant Universe. Created by writer Kevin Van Hook and artist Don Perlin, Bloodshot became one of the publisher’s most popular characters, and this carried over into his 2012 reboot as well. Bloodshot is also one of the few Valiant characters to cross over into other media: a feature film, released in 2020 and starring Vin Diesel. While the film failed in its attempts to start the Valiant Cinematic Universe, it still helped introduce a wider audienceto the violent world of Bloodshot.
Valiant’s RESURGENCE is Here - And It Was Worth the Wait (Advance Review)
After months of buildup, Valiant’s Resurgence of the Valiant Universe is here, and it was worth the wait, setting the stage for a bold new era.
In the Valiant Universe, Bloodshot is a product of Project Rising Spirit, or PRS. In Valiant’s 2012 return, the PRS was an organization designed to oppose Toyo Harada’s Harbinger Foundation. Under the guise of a benevolent business person, Harada began assembling an army of those like himself, called “psiots.” Immensely powerful, these psiots posed a threat to Earth, and thus Project Rising Spirit was born. Bloodshot represented the apex of PRS’s work: a nanite-enhanced assassin who could be easily controlled and manipulated. Obviously, Bloodshot broke free of PRS, and has since been on a quest to reclaim his lost humanity.
Valiant Lets Bloodshot Cut Loose for the First Time
This is the most uncompromising view of Bloodshot yet.
This path has taken Bloodshot down some dark roads in the Valiant Universe. PreviousBloodshottitles did not shy away from showing this, but they were, for the most part, constrained. BeforeBlack, White and Bloodshot, his adventures reflected a more “general audience” sensibility.Black, White and Bloodshotdispense with all of this. The kills are even more brutal and the situations increasingly over the top. Bloodshot thwarts a theater shooting in the only way he knows how, and he snaps the neck of a researcher trying to harvest his body. This is the most uncompromising view of Bloodshot yet.
Faith Returns #1 Establishes a Daring New Status Quo for Valiant’s High-Flying Hero (Review)
Faith Returns #1, from Valiant Comics, introduces a bold new status quo for the character as she is now on the run from the authorities.
While the promise of an unfetteredBloodshottitle may sell the title to readers, it is in fact the excellent stories themselves that drive the book. In one story, previously announced,Bloodshot fights “Mickey Mouse”in a story stretching IP laws as far as they will go. Far from a total gore fest, the story shows a deeper layer to the character, as he comes face to face with someone like him. In recent months,Valiant Comicshas revitalized its line of superhero titles, andBlack, White andBloodshotbreak boundaries by giving him a well-deserved R-rated makeover.
Black, White and Bloodshot#1 is on sale now from Valiant Comics and Alien Books!
