Valiant Comics is the third biggest superhero universe after Marvel and DC. Originally formed in the 90s, Valiant created a series of morally complex characters who felt more modern than the Golden and Silver Age heroes of the "Big Two" comic companies; and when Valiant returned in the 2010s, their characters still felt relevant.

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The Valiant characters have diverse powers representing their different backgrounds, beliefs, and abilities. Some, like the nanite-powered soldier Bloodshot, rely on tech. Others, such as the Louisiana-born Shadowman, use magic to get the job done.

10 Magic: Punk Mambo

Punk Mambo

Punk Mambo is pretty much the exact opposite of what one thinks of when they imagine a magic user. Any sense of austere wisdom or ritual is removed. She is a pink-mohawked irreverent old school punk who parties hard, drinks harder, and is willing to make ancient powers bow down and respect her.

When MI-6 needed to send an expert into the magical realm known as the Deadside, they hired Punk Mambo. She summoned a loa and began to ride it (as opposed to being ridden, as is usual in Diaspora Religious practices). When the Shadowman, Jack Boniface, needed help, he turned to her for council.

9 Tech: Bloodshot

Bloodshot

As the first hero of the Valiant Universe to receive his own live-action movie, Bloodshot is probably the most recognizable of all the major Valiant characters. He was turned into a living weapon by Project Rising Spirit, a group of unscrupulous weapons developers who put nanites into him.

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The nanites allow Bloodshot to heal from any wound by converting protein into tissue, give him incredible physical abilities, interface with computers and information signals, and even give him mild shapeshifting capabilities.

8 Magic: Doctor Mirage

doctor-mirage

Dr. Shan Fong is known to the world as Doctor Mirage. She is an expert on all things paranormal, can speak to ghosts, and is an expert in banishing evil spirits. After a brief career as a TV host, she made paranormal investigations her main career.

Interestingly, Fong's title is inherited from her late husband. Of course, just because he passed on does not mean he is no longer part of her life, and she speaks regularly with her late husband's ghost.

7 Tech: X-O Manowar

x-o manowar

The Visigoth Aric of Dacia was embattled with the Roman armies when he was abducted by aliens. While their prisoner, he broke free and stole a suit of armor, known as the Shanhara or X-O Manowar.

Aric returned to Earth, traveling at translight speeds and thus arriving in the present. His suit can interface with computer networks, translate languages, and form any weapon he can conceive of. He has since taken up the superhero name X-O Manowar, after the armor he wears.

6 Magic: Shadowman

Shadowman

The Shadowman is a title passed from one generation to the next, and it belongs to a person who bonds with the Shadow Loa, a powerful Ifa spirit whose real name is Bosou Koblamin. The current Shadowman, Jack Boniface, is a Louisiana native whose father helped protect the Bayou from supernatural threats that would cross over from the mystical realm of the Deadside.

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More than any other magical hero, Shadowman has seen true horror. His primary antagonist, Master Darque, is one of the most dangerous magical practitioners around, delighting in torture. Still, Jack Boniface has overcome it all and continues to fight to help others.

5 Tech: Livewire

Valiant Comics' Livewire holding an advanced gun in her arm

The psiot Livewire has the ability to control machines. She can read emails and texts by tapping into the wireless network all around her. She can manipulate electronics to serve as armor or weapons, powered by her thoughts. She has even hacked into the X-O Manowar armor.

It is difficult to say just what her most impressive feat has been to date, but she once disabled a nuclear weapon as it was en route to hit a target, then lifted a spaceship from beneath the Black Sea all in a matter of minutes.

4 Magic: Divinity

Divinity

Divinity is a Soviet cosmonaut with the powers of a god. Literally. He and his two fellow crew members got to the edge of space and brushed up against something – the Unknown – and it changed them.

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He returned to Earth with the ability to rewrite reality. There is no way to describe Divinity's powers other than to call them magic. While there is some scientific basis in some of what he does, he has also resurrected the dead, turned someone into a cloud of butterflies, and trapped people in grand illusions. What are these if not magic? Though even Divinity does not fully understand his abilities.

3 Tech: Rai

Rai

In the distant future of 4000 AD, humanity has lost its prominence on Earth's surface. Circling above the planet, the nation of New Japan is governed by an AI called Father, and his/its greatest protector is the android Rai.

It is hard to say Rai "uses" tech, since he is himself a piece of tech. However, he is certainly adept at interfacing with different bits of technology and when he was dragged into his own programming and attacked, he even was able to make a sword out of raw data. From computer networks to futuristic vehicles, there is very little tech Rai is not proficient in.

2 Magic: Ninjak

Ninjak header

The antihero and spy Ninjak hates magic. Despite this, he has proven incredibly adept at it. He trained in mystical aspects of martial arts under the Undead Monk and developed techniques to heal his body through meditation, literally using mind over matter.

Ninjak also has proven capable of meditating his way into others' consciousnesses to help train them in mental exercises, while he once entered the magical realm of the Deadside and managed to psychically send a mental cure back in time to his former self.

1 Tech: Ninjak

Ninjak feature

When it comes down to it, there is very little Ninjak is not good at. Mystical arts. Martial arts. Spycraft. Seduction. But when it comes down to it, he is basically a guy with cool gadgets and the skills to use them. He is independently wealthy, and the huge amounts he charges for his services have allowed him to develop impressive gear.

He has contact lenses that can trace electrical signals. His sword has dozens of miniaturized pellets contained within its grip that can fly into the air above city to detect specific audio and heat signatures. From personal stealth drones to anti-magic armor, it seems like Ninjak gets to play with all the coolest gadgets.

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