When Valiant announced a couple years ago that they were going to be producing a limited live action series based on their comic book properties, I was immediately on board. Their partnership with Bat in the Sun, a popular YouTube channel featuring superhero battles, was icing on the cake. The premise of Ninjak fighting the likes of Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Livewire, and more was the whipped cream. Casting Jason David Frank as Bloodshot was the sprinkles. And the cherry on top? It was released online for FREE.
Yes, I’m admittedly a recent fan of Valiant, having only started reading within the last year or two, but the fact they have had next to no representation in multimedia up until now is a real shame. Not only do they have a ton of great characters, but the writing is excellent and the brand is only getting better. So, when Ninjak Versus The Valiant Universe was announced, I was like “Yes! Finally!” Hype built as casting was announced and footage was released and promotional material found its way into the comics and conventions. I even attended a panel at last year’s C2E2 with Jason David Frank, resulting in one of the COOLEST interviews I’ve ever had.
And then… I waited…
I thought it was going to be released by the end of 2017, but it ended up not coming out until this past April. I’d honestly kind of forgotten about it, what with all the big screen blockbusters coming out, but still, they delivered.
The six-episode mini-series was released one episode at a time on a non-Crusader comic book website, which had the advantage of getting site traffic, but the disadvantage of not reaching as wide an audience as a platform like YouTube, where Bat in the Sun has plenty of exposure. I watched the first episode there, but the rest in a compiled format thanks to Comic Crusaders. This made it much easier, as the total runtime is over an hour long. Not quite enough for a feature film, but sure long enough to make clicking through videos time-consuming.
So, in the story Colin King (Michael Rowe), a.k.a. Ninjak, is an British operative for the government, trained in martial arts and outfitted with the best gadgets money can buy because he is wealthy enough to afford it. His archnemesis Roku (Chantelle Barry) forces Ninjak to infiltrate his own compound and steal the Book of the Geomancer by holding the family of his friend/boss Neville Alcott (Craig Young) hostage. This leads to all hands on deck to stop Colin from delivering this dangerous artifact to his foe, but whatever means necessary. He must fight the ex-military nanite-infused Bloodshot (Jason D Frank), Iron Man knock-off XO Manowar (Derek Theler), the technopathic Livewire (Ciera Foster), the never-aging Gilad the Eternal Warrior (John Hennigan), his drunken brother Armstrong (Kevin Porter), and his prodigious sidekick Archer (Alex Meglei) in order to deliver that which he would rather not. The plot is full of twists and turns, action and humor, and some near misses that leave you on a cliffhanger, literally. There is even an appearance by the otherworldly voodoo master Shadowman (Damien Portier) to tie in the spiritual side of Valiant, but no sign of any of the Harbinger characters who could carry a film all on their own.
I would classify this series as “internet good”. I’d be disappointed in a theater setting by the quality of dialogue, action, special effects, and the like, but at home on the couch? Great fun. I finally got to see these characters brought to life and I was pleased. Sure, these are relatively unknown actors, but heck, I enjoyed it. Everyone hit their marks, but the writing was a bit cheesy. Most of the effects were solid, but again not Hollywood standard. Plenty of action was balanced by moments that stayed true to every character, from the principled Gilad to the cocky XO to the innocence of Archer. One thing I hated about this though was how every so often it would pull you out of the scene to observe Roku observing Ninjak through his eyes (via sensory cameras). It was excessive, added nothing to the plot, and overall broke rhythm of the action sequences.
Aaron Schoenke spearheaded this series with a team of impressive internet filmographers to make Ninjak vs The Valiant Universe a reality and I thank him for it. It took a lot of time (almost too much) and effort and it does not go unappreciated. One of the things that Valiant did that rubbed me the wrong way was publishing the adapted comic series BEFORE the production premiered online, thus spoiling the plot of the show. Not cool, but if Bat in the Sun was the delay… then there is more blame to go around than just Valiant Comics. Nevertheless, I was thoroughly entertained, particularly by the performances of Ninjak, Bloodshot, and Armstrong. Also, it’s worth mentioning that this series did Roku’s hair effects better that Medusa was on ABC’s The Inhumans, which is says a lot about how disappointing that show was.
So, where from here? Well, I don’t see Valiant doing Harbinger online any time soon (even though it is their smartest property to release right now) but you never know. Hollywood is however moving forward with a Bloodshot movie starring Vin Diesel, so Valiant is moving up in the world I guess but honestly? Vin Diesel is the obvious choice, but Jason David Frank is better casting in my opinion.
I recommend checking out Ninjak vs The Valiant Universe in it’s entirety by clicking HERE and Bat in the Sun’s YouTube channel by clicking HERE for some awesome superhero match-ups. Good times to be had all around, so long as you aren’t a snob.
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Stars: Derek Theler, Katelyn Statton, André Gordon & more…. See full cast & crew
Author Profile
- Robert joined Comic Crusaders in 2016 as contributor, but has been an active online voice through social media for almost ten years. His hobbies include reading and collecting comics, attending theme parks, making music, and driving his wife insane. Deadpool and Nightcrawler are his two favorite superheroes, and while his preference is Marvel, he dabbles in every major and indie label in the comics community. He graduated from UTPB in 2013 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and is currently seeking employment in that field. A southern boy at heart, he currently resides in the Midwest.
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