List of Who Framed Roger Rabbit Characters - Eddie Valiant

Edward "Eddie" Valiant is a Californian private investigator and the protagonist of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

In the original novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, Eddie Valiant is a fictional modern day Californian private detective hired by comic book star Roger Rabbit to investigate the workings of Roger's corrupt employers, the DeGreasey Brothers. When Roger is found dead, and his final words having been censored out, Valiant is soon sent on the case of tracking Rogers' murderers. This original incarnation of Eddie is a heavy smoker and has a beard.

The 1988 film gave more insight into the character of Eddie Valiant, who was played by Bob Hoskins. Eddie Valiant and his brother Theodore "Teddy" Valiant were sons of a circus clown (shown by the pictures on their desk), who joined the police force and eventually started their own private investigation service, Valiant and Valiant, in 1934, working largely on Toon cases, such as the kidnapping of Donald Duck's nephews in 1937 or clearing Goofy of accusations of espionage in 1940, both seen as newspaper clippings in Valiant's office. However, when Teddy was killed by the then-unknown toon form of Judge Doom in 1942, Eddie turned to the bottle, disappeared from the public eye, and refuses to take any more Toon cases (although he is slow to find work as a regular private eye). He also doesn't smoke, but is an alcoholic.

In 1947, R.K. Maroon of Maroon Cartoons paid Valiant to photograph Jessica Rabbit, Roger's wife, quite literally "playing pattycake" with Marvin Acme, owner of Toontown and founder of the Acme Corporation. When Acme is murdered and Roger becomes the prime suspect of the case, Valiant teams up with Roger to find the killer, and soon finds not only Acme's murderer, but the murderer of R.K. Maroon, and his own brother. After defeating Doom at Acme Warehouse, Eddie finally avenged his brother's death and abandoned his prejudice against toons.

In the graphic novel of the film published in 1989 by Marvel Comics, Valiant is the narrator of the story, telling the film through his eyes and in the style of a detective story.

According to Roger Rabbit: The Resurrection of Doom, Valiant tends to consume jellybeans quite a bit, as he gave up drinking.

In the novel, Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?, Valiant has once again vowed to no longer take any toon cases, but is forced to do so when Baby Herman, Roger Rabbit's co-star, is found dead.