Bloodshot can’t catch a break. Just when it seems like the Valiant Comics character might strike a mark in the win column, the Universe throws him another tragic curveball. Readers may like to think that, maybe, life will improve for lethal assassin, but Valiant Comics has now confirmed—it won’t. As part part of the publisher’s upcoming “Book of Death” event, Bloodshot’s future is laid bare in The Book of Death: The Fall of Bloodshot–and it isn’t pretty.
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But if it’s any consolation for the character, at least writer Jeff Lemire is courting him through this latest dark-spell. Or maybe it isn’t. Lemire, Bloodshot’s latest steward, has made a point of dragging the character through the mud. After robbing him of his nanite enhancements in The Valiant, Lemire will set Bloodshot on a dark and lonely path in next week’s Bloodshot: Reborn series.
As Lemire concurrently pens latest, and possibly closing, chapter on the tragedy of Bloodshot, he sat down with ComicBook.com to discuss his longterm plans for the character. Below, Lemire reveals how Bloodshot will factor into the larger “Book of Death” event, how Bloodshot Reborn might connect to Fall of Bloodshot, and why he loves writing the character so much—even if he casts a constant rain cloud above his head.
And in the gallery below, be sure to check out ComicBook.com’s exclusive looks at The Fall of Bloodshot’s variant covers.
You’re pushing Bloodshot into a lot of new territory these days, with The Valiant and the upcoming Bloodshot Reborn. But what new wrinkles will BOD: The Fall of Bloodshot reveal about the character? What new territory will this cover?
JL: The Fall of Bloodshot will allow us to see what happens to a man who can’t die in any conventional way. What happens to a man cursed to live on and on and on as everyone dies around him? A man who is only build to destroy, but who himself can’t be destroyed. We’ll see the many lives of Bloodshot, decade upon decade, filled with tragedy, adventure and mystery.
Suffice to say, the future doesn’t seem overly bright for Bloodshot. But, what can you tease about his future? How much time does your story cover? Might we see any other figures from across the Valiant Universe along the way?
JL: We will see other Valiant characters, a number of new characters, as well as a few old Valiant characters who we haven’t seen yet since the 2012 relaunch. The story is set against huge sprawling backdrop, but told in a series of small moments that add up to centuries.
How do your plans for Bloodshot factor into the grander “Book of Death” event? Does your story interact with the larger scope of “Book of Death?”
JL: Much like Bloodshot, my knowledge of involvement in “Book Of Death” beyond The Fall of Bloodshot has been wiped and replaced with false memories. I’m putting myself in danger even telling you as much as I have.
Does Book of Death: The Fall of Bloodshot tie into your current ongoing Bloodshot Reborn series? Could we see any clues for BOD coming up in Reborn, or vice versa?
JL: The Fall of Bloodshot will be a story that completely stands on its own, but also rewards readers of the ongoing series. It’s a story that ties directly into the regular Bloodshot series that I’m also writing. We will see many teasers for things to come in Bloodshot Reborn and see current themes and storylines projected forward and reflected throughout.
In The Valiant, Bloodshot risked everything, yet failed to save a Geomancer. With this past experience in mind, how does he feel about Kay’s successor, the new Geomancer, setting off a major cataclysm in Book of Death?
JL: When Book of Death starts, Bloodshot is totally unaware of the new Geomancer. He has removed himself from all interaction with the other Valiant characters and is set on his own dark path. Whether or not it stays that way remains to be seen.
What’s your favorite part about Bloodshot? What makes him a character worth revisiting?
JL: Bloodshot is a man whose memories have been ripped away. A man who is only good at war, yet wants nothing to do with it. A man constantly in search of who he really is. His story is ripe with mystery and tragedy.
