Comics are known for featuring a menagerie of super-pets, such as Krypto the Superdog and Ace the Bathound. These characters, with the usual exception of Krypto, are typically seen as remnants of the Silver Age and would thus be the last concept to expect in the tonally more grounded Valiant Universe. First appearing in Book of Death #1, Bloodhound -- as the punny pooch's name would suggest -- is a dog with the same powers as Valiant anti-hero Bloodshot.
Bloodhound is the predecessor to Bloodshot and therefore Rai as well. He's one of the most adorably lethal forces within the Valiant Universe and at time of writing, the publisher is offering a free digital comic starring the pup. Here's what readers should know about Bloodhound.
The Weapon of World War I
Originally drawn as the fitting breed of a basset hound, Bloodhound was one of a group of five dogs who were genetically modified by Project Rising Spirit, the organization that would later turn Ray Garrison into Bloodshot. The character was a heavy reimagining of Bloodhound drones from the original Valiant Universe, who were robotic dogs who hunted organics in the future of Magnus, Robot Fighter.
Because he has the same nanites in his blood as Bloodshot, Bloodhound has powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal mutts. These include complete invulnerability to pain, the ability to breathe dangerous gas produced by World War I weapons as if it were oxygen and incredible intelligence.
Bloodhound is biologically still a young dog, despite being born in the 1910s. Though seemingly a success at first, Bloodhound's initial pack ended in tragedy. After a bevy of trench skirmishes during the war, the four other nanite-infused dogs and the scientist who created them were killed. This ended Bloodhound's adventures until he awakened years later.
Bloody Mutt
Bloodhound returned to the present day in Bloodshot Reborn #5, in a series that greatly expanded the Bloodshot family and mythology. It was revealed that, besides just dogs, Ray Garrison wasn't the only survivor of Project Rising Spirit's experiments. Many of these other human soldiers now lived on a PRS research facility dubbed "Bloodshot Island," which is where Bloodhound was eventually reawakened. There, the Bloodshot Squad -- made up of Bloodhound, Garrison and the other, theretofore unknown Bloodshots -- team up to face Deathmate, a corrupted Geomancer whose metatextual name references one of Valiant's most infamous '90s crossover events.
Ever since escaping the island with the Bloodshot Squad, Bloodhound has been living with Ray and his girlfriend Magic. Together with Ray and Magic's nanite-infused daughter, Jessie, they comprise Ray's comfortably suburban "Bloodshot family." Bloodhound is deeply loyal to all of them, especially Ray, with whom he feels a kinship due to their mutual experimentation at the hands of Project Rising Spirit.
Bloodhound and Bloodshot's most recent adventure had them traveling to the future in the 41st century. They were greeted by the loa spirit Nyaxia, who not only rode Bloodhound like a horse, but also empowered him to be able to speak intelligibly. He hasn't seen much adventure since, but with the current Bloodshot press surrounding the movie release, Bloodhound is sure to show up again soon. Those desperate to see the canine in action should check out his first adventure for free. in Bloodshot: Salvation #9.