You’ve already heard the murmurs and rumblings that Valiant Comics and Bat in the Sun has had something in the works for some time but aside from speculation, fans had to play the waiting game. But it wasn’t until recently we were shown Michael Rowe in full costume as Ninjak and soon after came the image of Jason David Frank as the nanite fueled Bloodshot. But it wasn’t until this weekend at NYCC the curtain was pulled back to reveal the live action Ninjak vs The Valiant Universe trailer! Not only do we get to see Ninjak in action but as the title implies we’re going to get to see him go head to head with many of Valiant’s finest.
The panel itself was wall to wall packed as there was standing room only and fans were giddy with anticipation at getting to see the stars of the upcoming digital series along with the trailer. But before its debut, Hunter Gorinson announced that “an entirely new division” is coming in Valiant Digital. Soon after, Aaron Schoenke and Sean Schoenke from Bat in the Sun were introduced and expressed why they wanted to work with Valiant. Which boiled down to the company being “true to their characters”.
Valiant CEO, Dinesh Shamdasani sets up the plot and tells us that after being forced to steal something from MI6 that they are forced to release something called “Unity” to get it back from Ninjak. And soon after some playful banter it was time to see what Valiant and Bat in the Sun was bringing to the fans!
Once the trailer was over it was time to bring out the cast so Michael Rowe, Jason David Frank, Chantelle Barry, Derek Theler, Kevin Porter, and Ciera Foster came out to thunderous applause from the fans. It was stated that one cast member, John Morrison, who plays the Eternal Warrior was unable to attend.
Moderator, Hunter Gorinson soon started asking the questions and first up was Michael Rowe who was asked about the Ninjak costume. He joked about the first time putting on the first layer which had a disco look but happy with the final look. The guys from Bat in the Sun stated that it also took five people to create the costume. Jason David Frank spoke about the make up process and becoming Bloodshot. Now, Chantelle Barry is playing the villain, Roku who made her first appearance in the Ninjak comic series. Barry said it was nice to be “mean” and feel no guilt about it. Derek Theler got a very loud round of applause after saying his X-O Manowar suit will look “just like the comic”. Kevin Porter has history with Bat in the Sun after playing Batman and spoke about having to put on a few more pounds to play the huge immortal, Armstrong. Ciera Foster said of her role as Livewire that she was very proud to play a strong female character and went “hard in the paint” when it came to putting on eight pounds of muscle for the role.
Hunter mentioned Bat in the Sun being known for their intense fight scenes and Aaron spoke about the various fighting styles for each character. He also spoke about the preparation that went into them and how excited he was about the 40 beat combo done in one take between Ninjak and Bloodshot.
Questions were opened to the floor and ComicAttack’s own Eric Snell asked why Ninjak was chosen to be the headliner of this digital series when X-O Manowar is Valiant’s flagship character. Josh Johns said that Ninjak has connections to the various characters which make him “uniquely qualified” to headline.
There was a cast signing announced soon after and many rushed to be first in line for this. However it was those people that missed out on some very cool footage of Jason David Frank as Bloodshot being shot and stabbed while beating some guards into the ground. The footage showed off Bloodshot’s regeneration ability and that Bat in the Sun and Valiant are not holding back!
Be sure to check back soon for our interviews with Kevin Porter and Ciera Foster as they let us know more about their characters and how cool Ninjak vs The Valiant Universe will be!
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