Bloodshot is a superhero created in 1992 by Kevin VanHook, Don Perlin, and Bob Layton, appearing in comic books published by the American publisher Valiant Comics. The Bloodshot character has had different origins and incarnations, but he is consistently a character empowered by experimental nanites (microscopic machines) injected into his bloodstream, a procedure that leaves a red circular scar on his chest, hence the name. This gives Bloodshot enhanced physical traits, the ability to repair damage to his body, an internal database of weapons and hand-to-hand combat training, and a mental connection to computers (technopathy). A side effect of the use of his powers is that his skin becomes chalk-white and his eyes become red. Other powers vary with each incarnation.
The original Valiant Comics character was a mafia hitman named Angelo Mortalli who is experimented on by Project Rising Spirit. After Acclaim Entertainment bought Valiant Comics, writer Len Kaminski with artist Sal Velluto rebooted the character in 1997, now depicting him as a covert operative named Raymond Garrison who uses the cover identity of Angelo Mortalli while infiltrating the mafia. Garrison dies and is then resurrected and empowered by nanites, though this leaves him with amnesia. After Valiant Entertainment bought the character rights in 2004, Bloodshot was rebooted again in 2012 under the direction of Duane Swierczynski, Arturo Lozzi and Manuel Garcia. This version of the character remains in publication. The current Bloodshot (nicknamed Every Man) is a man who dies in battle and is then resurrected by nanites, making him the latest in a long line of resurrected super-soldiers the Project Rising Spirit (PRS) has been creating since World War II. Believing himself to be military officer named Raymond "Ray" Garrison, Bloodshot regularly goes on covert missions and is specially trained to fight people born with superhuman powers (known as "psiots" or "harbingers" in the Valiant Universe). He learns his superiors have regularly manipulated him by altering his memories, some of which are the recovered memories of dead soldiers, including two named Raymond Garrison and Angelo Mortalli. No longer sure if he was ever Ray Garrison and not wishing to be a living weapon, Bloodshot goes rogue, hoping to find his own life outside of PRS and the military.
