Rai Vol 2 0

My name is Rokland Tate and I'm a Geomancer, a keeper of ancient lore and power -- a protector of the world. Let me tell you the story of the Blood of Heroes and how it changed the course of history. It's important that you know this because without the blood, there will be no future for us! It began in 1992 and with another Geomancer named Geoff...

-- Rokland Tate

The Blood of Heroes[]

Appearances[]

Featured Characters:

Bloodshot (Dies)
Rai lineage
- 1st Rai (Mentioned only)
- 2nd Rai / Sho Sugino (First appearance)
- 42nd Rai / Tohru Nakadai (Deceased) (Mentioned only)
- 43rd Rai / Takao Konishi (First appearance)

Supporting Characters:

Archer & Armstrong
- Armstrong (vanishes)
- Obadiah Archer (Dies)
Eternal Warrior
Gayle Nordheim (Dies)
Geomancer / Ana Kawainui
Geomancer / Geoff McHenry
Geomancer / Lucinda Mendez (First appearance)
Geomancer / Rokland Tate
Geomancer / Yuri Pierce (First appearance)
Grandmother
H.A.R.D. Corps
- Gunslinger
- Shakespeare
Harbinger Renegades
- Flamingo
- Kris Hathaway
- Screen
- Sting / Peter Stanchek (vanishes)
Harbinger Resistance (First appearance)
- John Stanchek (First appearance)
- Zephyr / Zepplin
Solar, Man of the Atom (split in two)
Thumper
Turok, Dinosaur Hunter
X-O Manowar (Dies)

Villains:

Anti-Grannies
Ax (vanishes)
Harbinger Foundation
- Toyo Harada (Dies)
Master Darque (Mentioned only)
Mothergod / Erica Pierce (Mentioned only)
Project Rising Spirit (First appearance)
Spider Aliens (Behind the scenes)

Other Characters:

Archies (Archer's cult following in 2020)
Aric of Dacia's future wife (Single appearance)
Dinosaurs (Mentioned only)
Ken Clarkson (on a poster for a Senate campaign)
Magnus, Robot Fighter (Mentioned only)
Mister Iwatsu (Mentioned only)
Orb Industries (Mentioned only)
Peter Stanchek's daughter-in-law (Single appearance)
Peter Stanchek's grandchildren (Single appearance)
Shadowman (Mentioned only)
Softcore (Mentioned only)
Unnamed P.R.S. scientist (Only appearance; dies)
Unnamed P.R.S. technician (Only appearance; dies)

Locations:

Timeline
- 1992-93
  - California
    - Project Rising Spirit Headquarters (top secret location)
      - Iwatsu Corporation (revealed in Rai Companion #1)
  - New York
    - Ulster County
      - Aric of Dacia's Estate
  - Osaka (Mentioned only)
- 1999
- 21st Century
  - 2020, 2028, 2056
- 30th Century
  - 2900
- 31st Century
  - 3050
- 33rd Century
  - 3216
- 41st Century
  - 4001-4002 (the "present" as the story is told by Rokland)
Harbinger Wars
Japan (2900-4002)
Unity (Mentioned only)
- Lost Land (Mentioned only)

Items:

Book of the Geomancer (Mentioned only)
Darque Power (Mentioned only)
Letter to Magnus (from Kris) (First appearance)
Freewill (Mentioned only)
Komodo Protocol
Nanites (aka "silicone-based life-blood") (First appearance)
- Blood of Heroes (First appearance)
X-O Manowar Armor
- Shanhara
- X-O Manowar Ring

Vehicles:

Credits[]

Writers: Bob Layton (plot, script), Jim Shooter (plot), David Lapham (plot), Jon Hartz (plot)
Pencilers: David Lapham
Inkers: Tom Ryder
Colorists: David Chlystek, Knob Row
Letterers: Jade Moede
Cover Artists: Jim Shooter, the silhouette is based on an image of the Punisher by Mike Zeck; see Notes
Editors: Barry Windsor-Smith
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Synopsis[]

Geoff, the Geomancer frees the hero known as Bloodshot from Project Rising Spirit. Years later, Shadowman dies to rid the world of the Darque Power! After that, the deaths of Archer, Aric and Bloodshot are all precursors to the great Harbinger wars against Toyo Harada. During this struggle, the Blood of Heroes remains hiden. Finally, in 4002, Geomancer Rokland Tate bestows it upon Takao Konishi—the Last Rai!^[1]

Notes[]

Two different cover versions exist, a "Regular Version" and a "Glossy Version", however, the latter was never meant to be a variant version but was the result of a problem during the printing process.^[2]
Rai #0: The Rejected Version ^[3]
Rai #0 cover silhouette a swipe? ^[4]
Unpublished Rai #0 panels ^[5]
A special expanded version of Rai #0 was planned (solicited) to be printed in the Rai (TPB) but in the end Valiant only reprinted the published story in the trade.

Quotes[]

My name is Rokland Tate and I'm a Geomancer, a keeper of ancient lore and power -- a protector of the world. Let me tell you the story of the Blood of Heroes and how it changed the course of history. It's important that you know this because without the blood, there will be no future for us! It began in 1992 and with another Geomancer named Geoff...

-- Rokland Tate

Bloodshot, as his creators dubbed him, was one bad mother!

-- Rokland Tate

And this whole story leads up to me, doesn't it?

-- Takao Konishi

That's right, Takao. The voices told me that you are the one.

-- Rokland Tate

Yesterday, you were merely Takao Konishi, but today, you are -- The Last Rai!

-- Rokland Tate