Bloodshot is an ex-mafia enforcer who was submitted to an experimental process to become a killing machine, or is he? Bloodshot: Rising Spirit #1, from Valiant Entertainment, looks at the origin of your favorite nanite wielding warrior and opens the possibility that maybe what you knew is not all there is to know.

BLOODSHOT: RISING SPIRIT #1

Writer: Lonnie Nadler, Zac Thompson, Kevin Grevioux
Artist: Ken Lashley
Cover: Felipe Massafera
Publisher:  Valiant Entertainment LLC
Release Date: November 14th, 2018
Cover Price:  $3.99

Previously in BLOODSHOT: Created in 1992 for Valiant Comics by the team of Kevin VanHook, Bob Layton and Don Perlin, the character of Bloodshot has been one of the constants in the Valiant lineup no matter what company has been publishing them. The result of a super-soldier project, his powers of regeneration and the ability to control machines, combined with his willingness to take that final sanction, has made him popular with fans the world over.

YOU MISS 100% OF THE SHOTS YOU DON’T TAKE

Angelo Mortalli was a man on the edge. On the edge of losing the woman he loved, on the edge of being a failure, on the edge of being a “made man.” You see, Angelo was a flunkie for the mob, and he only had to complete one job to become a full member, gaining money, prestige, and respect. Sadly, some things don’t go as you plan, and he finds himself in jail looking at a life sentence with no chance of parole. He lost his girl, his standing, and his chance. That was when Cormac walked in, and offered him a chance at a new life. He just had to go through a few tests, but they are the most painful tests he will ever experience.

Weeks later, transformed by the Bloodshot process, he is training to become an operative in the employ of Uncle Sam. Not only does he look different, but he can take the punishment that would turn any other man into a fine red mist. Angelo Mortalli is not only a made man, he is a man re-made. But during a mission to take out a member of the Cartel everything changes. Is Bloodshot Angelo Mortalli transformed, or is there a darker secret his handlers are hiding from him, a secret origin waiting to be uncovered?

BIG SHOTS ARE JUST LITTLE SHOTS WHO KEEP SHOOTING

The origin of Bloodshot has been essentially the same since the character’s inception in the pages of Eternal Warrior #4. He started off as a mob enforcer, and the origin has been tweaked multiple times since that initial introduction. Now, it seems as if everything will be in question as it is made clear that the nanites which give him his awesome powers can also be used to re-write his memory, but to what ends? Is he a mafia good fella wannabe who was transformed by an experiment, or is there more to the origin, more to the man, than we have been told in the past? This title seems to be willing to pull back that veil a little and deliver the “true” origin of Bloodshot. But in a world where your memories can be re-written, is anything true, or is truth, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder?

In the effort to rework the origin of Bloodshot is the writing team of Lonnie Nadler (Cable, The Dregs), Zac Thompson (Her Infernal Descent, Relay) and Kevin Grevioux (New Warriors, ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction). Nadler and Thompson are an experienced writing team who have worked on many projects together, while Grevioux has been responsible for many big titles at both DC and Marvel. The story they present is well told, and at first seems like they are just giving slight tweaks to the accepted origin story, but things quickly go side-ways and by the end of the issue you are wondering if there is a chance that anything we knew before has been the truth. It is good writing and they handle the transition from what we know to what we don’t very well. I’m looking forward to seeing what their take on one fo the most dangerous men in comics will be.

On art duties for this issue is Ken Lashley (Excalibur, Suicide Squad), and his style is good fit of the title. There are some differences in the art, due mainly to the variety of finishers who worked on it, but Lashley’s pencils stand out through the entire book. From a powerful first page design to a series of kinetic action sequences, he proves that he has an eye for action. Good job! Also, the cover by Felipe Massafera (Harbinger Wars 2, Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams) is exquisite!  Eye-catching with a great sense of style, it would be worthy of becoming a major marketing image in the inevitable event of a Bloodshot movie.

BOTTOM LINE: A GOOD ORIGIN STORY THAT TAKES A MAJOR SWERVE

Bloodshot is one of those characters who quickly captured the imagination of readers in the early nineties, and became an example of the types of stories a company which was not one of the Big Two could provide to a reading public which was suffering from multiple event overload. It was a unique take on the anti-hero, and owed as much to action films as it did to the comic format. The character is still a major player and this new series has a chance to revitalize the fans and garner new ones, especially with the movie being filmed starring Vin Diesel and being directed by Dave Wilson. It’s a good story that takes your expectations and turns them back, making you wonder what you really knew about the character.

BLOODSHOT: RISING SPIRIT #1 is an action-packed issue that looks like it will be messing with reader’s assumptions regarding the character. A great creative team looks to be ready to deliver.