I’ve enjoyed checking out the various iterations of one of Valiant’s strongest and most recognisable characters, but I was left a little cold by the initial issue of the 2012 version of Bloodshot.

It does feel as if this is the one which the 2020 Vin Diesel movie took most inspiration from; given that, in my opinion, it’s the weakest of them all so far, that was certainly a choice.

They do nail the great sense of the audience being lied to as much as the character is though. That’s definitely one of the few things the movie, the lead actor of which seemed incredibly disinterested in the material, gets right.

There’s a high level of gore in this opening issue too, and the art gives you a front row seat for all of it. Much of it is carried out on or experienced by Bloodshot himself, in numerous gruesome ways.

It’s hardly a failure, and it’s definitely far from the disappointingly transphobic Valiant Beyond’s Bloodshot, but in comparison to the brilliantly dark, mature, and noir-style road movie of Bloodshot Reborn, it’s a much less satisfying prospect.

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