Unity is the premiere superhero group of Valiant Comics. Although, the term superhero is used loosely, as the team is full of members who have dark pasts and have killed more than their fair share of people, although usually with good reason. Bloodshot makes these guys look like saints. We have the exclusive first look inside Unity #8 where Bloodshot will be making his team debut (although he doesn't officially join until #9), as well as an interview with Unity writer Matt Kindt.
Take a look at the pages, hear what Kindt has to say about bringing Bloodshot to Unity with artist Stephen Segovia, and then let us know what you make of this development in the comments! IGN Comics: You've done a great job establishing the team thus far, so what makes the Armor Hunters crossover event the ideal time to bring in Bloodshot?
Matt Kindt: It's hard to say too much without spoiling big plot points. But the thing I love about the crossover -- and good lord, I never thought I'd say I liked a crossover -- is that it's organic. [X-O Manowar writer Robert Venditti] had this great idea for a big story -- and then we were invited to join it if we thought it would be something interesting or if there was an idea we had that could make it better by crossing over with it. The way Unity is structured, we have a core group of three -- Livewire, Ninjak, and Eternal Warrior -- and then I think of it as having a kind of pinch-hitter -- or a character that can be free-floating so I can bring in whoever I want to tell the story that I think is most interesting. So Bloodshot was sort of a natural fit for this arc.
IGN: What does the Unity team not have now that Bloodshot will bring to it?
Kindt: Well, a cold-blooded killer. Ninjak is doing it on orders and Gilad does what he thinks is right while Livewire I don't think would kill anyone. She's trying to distance herself from her past and become a better person. So now you throw in Bloodshot who's just a straight-up killing machine. That's going to cause some tension. But also, the very nature of Bloodshot is going to make him essential to the story here. And I think Bloodshot having the nanites will make for an interesting interaction with Livewire since she can literally talk to the stuff he's made of.
IGN: That's great that you mentioned that connection between their powers. Livewire and Bloodshot have abilities that overlap. Could you explain the difference between their power sets and what it will be like for two people with similar powers to be on the same team?
Kindt: I think Livewire's ability to interact with technology is much more sophisticated than what Bloodshot can do. It's like the difference between a sledgehammer (Bloodshot) and a paintbrush (Livewire) -- they're both useful tools but you wouldn't use them to do the same job.
IGN: What will artist Stephen Segovia bring to the book? What are some conversations you two have had about how you want the comic to look and feel?
Kindt: I've gotten the benefit and pleasure of working with Stephen before -- we did an Adventures of Superman story together over the summer so that's always a benefit. We know each other and I can play to his strengths. He does a great job interpreting the scripts and making things bigger than I'm even imagining -- and for this arc especially -- it's pretty big -- pretty bombastic. And he's great at that. He does "epic" very well. And he gets the Ninjak gadgets just right!
IGN: Is the beginning of this storyline, issue #8, a good place for new readers to start reading Unity for the first time? And for a new reader, what's the main draw of Unity that makes it different from the rest of the Valiant books?
Kindt: For sure. I honestly think the beginning of any Unity arc will be a good jumping on point. We're starting with the familiar core group of characters but bringing in that fourth personality that will be new to everyone sort of puts readers on an equal footing. And I really love having that new personality to mix in to the team because it brings out the personalities in the rest of them -- and adds a facet or shade to them that if you're familiar with the characters will be a little funny and flesh them out -- and if you have no idea who anyone is, it'll serve as a great introduction.
The difference between this and other Valiant books is really just the scope -- we get a wider angle view of the Valiant Universe -- a bigger picture -- instead of focusing on corner of the universe. So in that way, I think it's a great intro to what Valiant's about. And I think what sets it apart from every other team book out there -- from any publisher -- is that the Valiant Universe is still relatively new -- at least to the new generation of readers that may be reading Valiant books for the first time. So it changes the vibe of the book. We're not making in-jokes about characters that have been around for 30 years that you may or may not get. There's not years of continuity that you have to know to get a deeper understanding of the book. These are just good solid stories that happen to have the premise of "team of heroes" -- you get to know them like you would any character in any novel. And the character and story carry the book rather than a reader's built-in nostalgia for something that happened years ago.
Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Game of Thrones, or Green Lantern are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter and IGN.
