The Valiant Universe is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles that are published by Valiant Comics take place.
The majority of the characters within said universe were created by Jim Shooter, and Bob Layton, the founders of the publisher. Valiant superheroes such as Bloodshot, Shadowman, Rai, X-O Manowar, Archer & Armstrong, Gilad the Eternal Warrior, Doctor Mirage, and Ninjak are from this universe, and it also contains well-known supervillains such as the Spider Aliens, Toyo Harada, Mothergod, and Roku.
Concepts
Jim Shooter's original vision for the Valiant Universe was likely similar to the New Universe vision he had during his tenure at Marvel Comics: a more realistic setting, involving fewer mythological concepts.
A further distinction from most fictional universes in comics, particularly both the Marvel Universe and DC Universe, the actions and appearances of one Valiant character in one specific title may have visible and possibly lasting effects on another character from another title. This is evident within the original launch of the universe, given the revelation that Rai's traditional "white skin with red dots" image was created by Grandmother to honor the heroism of Angelo Mortalli, the original Bloodshoot. It is also revealed that Takao Konishi (the 44th Rai) even has Mortalli's nanite powered "Blood of Heroes" in his veins, granting him some of Bloodshot's memories and all of his powers. The blood and memories were also passed down to Konishi's son, the 45th Rai. However, this connection between Rai and Bloodshot does not exist in the Acclaim Entertainment Universe, or in the 2012 Valiant Universe.
Another unusual distinction in the Valiant Universe is that there is little comic book death, and Valiant characters tend to remain deceased. The prime example of this would the superhero Rai, an entity that continues over many generations. Whenever the current Rai dies, another person is chosen to take on the mantle. Another prime example would be Doctor Solar's girlfriend, who has remained deceased even though the universal reboots and relaunches. In contrast to this, several heroes in the Valiant Universe such as Doctor Solar, and the Eternal Warrior are virtually immortal. Other notable characters, such as Doctor Solar, and the Geomancers possess long lifespans.
Superheroes/supervillains
Although it is a long-standing tradition for comic book writers and publishers to create costumed superheroes, Valiant could be regarded as an antithesis to that in a certain way. Reason being is that the majority of the characters existing in the Valiant Universe are simply metahumans, well-known human beings with extranormal powers and abilities. Despite that the Valiant Universe primarily eschews costumes and secret identities, several exceptions to this are Ninjak, Doctor Tomorrow, Doctor Solar, and even X-O Manowar to some extent.
Time
The notable distinction regarding time within the Valiant Universe, is that a considerable amount of the stories often take place spanning several generations and even centuries. As a result, there is little to no use of the "floating timeline" plot device, which can be considered as a tradition in fictional universes. The lack of a floating timeline was likely decided due to the original vision of establishing a fictional universe that could be viewed like the "real world" itself.
There are ironically several parallels to the floating timeline plot device. The Lost Lands is a hostile place where time barely moves forward, while millions of years pass outside of it. This is due to a cosmic anomaly, truly making the Lost Lands "a place where time has no meaning." Gilad The Eternal Warrior and his foe, the Immortal Enemy are both ageless, virtually immortal, and having lived many lifetimes.
However as with most fictional stories and universes, there is the extensive usage of time travel among certain characters. Time travel in this universe is done by several means, including moving faster than the speed of light. Time dilation also takes place during X-O Manowar's enslavement on the Spider Alien's ship. While only a few years passed relative to Aric, sixteen centuries passed on Earth.