BLOODSHOT: UNLEASHED #2, from Valiant Entertainment on October 26th, 2022, takes a trip to Howl, Michigan, where a former super soldier’s armored body has long since destroyed the brain that drives it.
The Details
- Written by: Deniz Camp
- Art by: Jon Davis-Hunt
- Colors by: Jordie Bellaire
- Letters by: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
- Cover art by: Jon Davis-Hunt
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: October 26, 2022
Is It Good?
Trippy. BLOODSHOT: UNLEASHED #2 is a trippy story that messes with Bloodshot’s head as he faces off against the next defective super soldier unleashed on the world. This time the super soldier is nothing more than a brain encased in a uber-tough mech, and Deniz Camp delivers a story that offsets the over-the-top action with healthy helpings of heartache and delusion.
The most surprising aspect of Camp’s script is the inclusion of a holographic “son” that only Bloodshot can see, courtesy of implanted memories projected by the nanites inside Bloodshot’s body. The memories are meant to act as a form of psychological manipulation, but even though Bloodshot knows the projection isn’t real, the “boy’s” pleadings and fears are not less poignant.
Bloodshot acknowledges the “boy’s” presence only long enough to explain his presence to the reader, but you can’t help empathizing with the emotional struggle the “boy’s” presence imposes on Bloodshot. What should be loud, crazy, action scenes, reminiscent of RoboCop 2 (1990), take on a deeper emotional meaning when Bloodshot’s psyche is at odds with his actions, begging him to stop and run away.
The minor down point in this issue is related to the art.
On the whole, Jon Davis-Hunt’s art is phenomenal, especially in the hyper-violent and gory moments. The character renderings are deceptively detailed, and the action (once it gets going) is big and loud. However, there are a few action panels where Bloodshot looks stiff and posed rather than in motion. It doesn’t happen often, but when it happens, the stiffness sticks out like a sore thumb.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our BLOODSHOT: UNLEASHED #1 review to find out how the titular character started this adventure.
We begin with Bloodshot heading for the town of Howl, Michigan, where his nanites have concluded an unexplained outbreak of radiation poisoning is connected to one of the defective super soldiers Bloodshot is tasked with hunting down. The nanites are correct.
Captain Bill Hager was a military fighter pilot shot down in battle. As part of the military’s super soldier program, Hager’s brain was salvaged and placed in the body of an advanced mech, heavily armored and loaded with weapons. Unfortunately, a flaw in the mech’s design led to catastrophic brain deterioration, leaving Hader unstable and extremely dangerous. Freed from his prison, Hader returns home and takes up residence in Howl’s abandoned auto manufacturing plant.
Meanwhile, Bloodshot’s nanites start projecting an image of Bloodshot’s “son” during the trip to Howl. It’s never explained why, but the image of an innocent boy creates an instant air of sympathy when the “boy” expresses fear and sadness as a child Bloodshot is powerless to protect during the fight.
We conclude the issue with extreme steps to regenerate, an engineering lesson, and a piece of cherry pie.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
(Click this link 👇 to order this comic)
BLOODSHOT: UNLEASHED #2 is another winning entry in the series with a surprisingly heartbreaking story that forces Bloodshot to battle an unstoppable robot while he tries to ignore the pleading, fearful visage of his “son.” The action is big, loud, and gruesome, and Camp’s “scavenger hunt” plot works well enough, but the heartache in this issue is the selling point.
Related Information
Is Bloodshot movie worth watching?
If you like cinema with sub-par CGI and written in the spirit of 90s action films, yes, Bloodshot (2020) is worth watching.
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com
As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.