In BLOODSHOT #12, available from Valiant Entertainment on March 10th, 2021, Bloodshot goes tot-to-toe with Rampage/Harmony while the nanite cloud turns Washington DC into a city of docile drones. When the inventor of Bloodshot’s nanite interface becomes infected, it’s not long before our hero’s systems start going down.
The Details
- Written By: Tim Seeley
- Art By: Pedro Andreo
- Colors By: Andrew Dalhouse
- Letters By: Dave Sharpe
- Cover Art By: Adelso Corona, Andrew Dalhouse
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: March 10, 2021
Was It Good?
It was uneven. There’s a fine line between drama and satire, and this issue sometimes steps from one side of the line to the other, making for an inconsistent tone. Sometimes Bloodshot is fighting for his life against a madman who’s about to kill everyone, and then you switch to a bizarre caricature of the president and the PRS sycophants guiding him as they nonchalantly discuss how to rough up protestors. Tonally it’s a little… tone-deaf.
The art by Pedro Andreo is great for the entire issue series, especially when you consider the imagination it takes to figure out what nanites dying look like in a living human host. The art is believable, and that’s the best compliment you can give for a sci-fi action comic.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
X-O Manowar is wrapping up a battle against Knights of the Black Grove when his armor alerts him to the detected presence of a nanite cluster near Washington DC. X-O has been waiting for Bloodshot’s return and flies off to find him.
Meanwhile, the DC protestors have become docile drones under Rampage/Harmony’s nanite cloud infection. The President is disappointed with the plan’s success since the protestors didn’t get roughed up for insulting the country, and so he orders Rampage/Harmony to get the protestors to turn on each other.
The story is trying to raise the stakes by creating a repeat of the Day of Blood, but making the president a childlike despot completely pulls you out of the story. You could buy a religious zealot brainwashing the city to bend citizens to his way of thinking, but the president’s reaction was too over-the-top to be believed. The president’s order was likely meant to be a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, but the joke didn’t land and it was even a bit offensive in its tone deafness.
In the hidden PRS base under the Potomac (see our BLOODSHOT #11 review to see how we got her), KT, under Rampage/Harmony’s control, is fighting Bloodshot to a standstill. The also-infected Wigans uses his interface equipment to remotely disrupt Bloodshot’s connection to his internal nanites, shutting his systems down.
Suddenly, Bloodshot begins to recover as KT’s rebreather systems have filtered enough air for her to regain control of herself and knockout Wigans. Bloodshot knocks out KT, with her permission, to prevent her from being taken over again.
What remains of Zealot lifts itself up and begins pelting Bloodshot with gunfire. despite the assault, Zealot recognizes he’s almost done and doesn’t want to be used anymore, so he begs Bloodshot to put him down. Bloodshot grudgingly complies.
Now down to the main two, Rampage/Harmony and Bloodshot trade body blows to inflict the most amount of damage. Bloodshot announces he’s going to win because nanites will overwrite the system with the weakest will, and he believes Rampage/Harmony is too weak-willed to resist the nanites spilling into him from Bloodshot’s wounds.
This is a bit of wink-wink science here, especially when you consider robotic nanites would need to have a way to measure a person’s resolve and willpower. You could go along with it for the story’s sake but prepare for some eye-rolling.
Without giving away the ending, Bloodshot has a strong will, he’s faced with a huge temptation, and KT implies intentions that Wigans can’t decipher.
Towards the end X-O Manowar finds Bloodshot to ask why he didn’t seek help. It’s not at all clear why X-O is in this book when he did nothing but appear in a few panels. Possibly this is a rough hint at a future team-up. Time will tell.
Final Thoughts
BLOODSHOT #12, available from Valiant Entertainment on March 10th, 2021, concludes the arc with excellent art and a somewhat satisfying conclusion. Despite an out-of-place depiction of the president and a scientific explanation that’s anything but, this was a mostly enjoyable finale.
Score: 7.5/10
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