Some theorize that ours is an ever-expanding universe. Well, that's definitely the truth with Skybound Entertainment's Energon Universe. The multi-series comic book endeavor launched in 2023, intertwining the worlds of Transformers and G.I. Joe with a new property overseen by company founder Robert Kirkman called Void Rivals. As documented in Exploring the Energon Universe: Year One, the creators of these books continue to build a new shared narrative that integrates a myriad of references to the toys, comics, cartoons and movies that came before.
With this installment, I'm covering the next bunch of titles including ongoings Void Rivals and Transformers as well as a pair of miniseries' leading into the eventual G.I. Joe comic, Scarlett and Destro.
In addition to further revelations about how the Void Rivals characters tie into both existing franchises, we learn more about the war between Autobots and Decepticons on Cybertron and what the presence of Energon on Earth means for the likes of the nascent Cobra and the deeply entrenched Arashikage Clan!
Void Rivals vol. 2: "Hunted Across The Wasteland"
Includes Void Rivals (2023) #7-12
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artists: Lorenzo De Felici, Matheus Lopes
Cover Dates: Mar.-Aug. 2024
When last we saw Solila and Darak, they were entering the Wasteland, the area on the Sacred Ring between her home, Zertonia, and his, Agorria. Given its name and the fact that both races avoided its inhospitable nature, the pair were stunned to find not just a haven, but one built by Autobot Springer. Having crashed there a century prior, Springer built a complex lab for himself but could not manage a way off-planet.
Springer, a Cybertronian who debuted in 1986's Transformers: The Movie, revealed to the pair that the gems in their foreheads were actually Energon Ports. Springer even used some of the element to heal Solila, giving her a massive power boost.
The Autobot also blew their minds by revealing that their biology contained a synthetic element on a cellular level and that the Sacred Ring was built to create and harness Energon for an unknown purpose. All of this reinforced the idea that both the Zertonians and Agorrians were not nearly as different as their leaders had been telling them for generations.
Already compelled to learn more about her connection to Energon, Solila became all the more so when Springer told her about the Cybertronian Zerta Trion, who broke away from their people and forged her own path. Following suit, Solila decided to explore the depths of the Sacred Ring in hopes of finding out the connection between Zerta Trion and the Zertonians. While she did that, Darak and Springer went towards the latter's home of Agorria.
While Void Rivals has certainly been leaning Transformers lately, you can look forward to some unexpected G.I. Joe connections in the next volume!
Quick Hits:
- In the previous volume, the Quintesson referred to an unnamed rebel who blazed their own trail. That would be Zerta Trion. When the Quintesson fully examined the ship that Skuxxoid traded them in that same story, they traced it back to Zerta Trion.
- While our guy Skuxxoid chatted with his pal Slizardo (mentioned previously), another Transformers: The Movie star showed: Hot Rod. He was looking for Jetfire who was in the first volume of Void Rivals and will show up again shortly.
- Later, Skuxxoid found himself on Chaar, the planet the Decepticons fled to after the events of Transformers: The Movie. He met with Bosch about stealing something from Lord Gyconi's domain, the planet Monacus. That sure is a lot of proper nouns, but they all refer to the Transformers episode "The Gambler."
Transformers vol. 2: "Transport To Oblivion"
Includes Transformers (2023) #7-12
Writer: Daniel Warren Johnson
Artist: Jorge Corona
Cover Dates: Apr.-Sep. 2024
The second volume of Transformers wasted no time diving right into the action and it didn't let up until the last page. To start, a group of Autobots on Cybertron — including Elita, Huffer, Warpath, and Kup among others — fought their way into a stronghold that held their tortured comrade. This later turned out to be Ultra Magnus. Magnus was another Autobot introduced in Transformers: The Movie who served alongside Optimus Prime.
Back on Earth, Starscream's brutality and arrogance caught up with him when Soundwave beat the brakes off of him to take command of the Decepticons. It wasn't just because 'Scream hurt 'Wave's Ravage in the previous volume, but that certainly didn't help.
The villains found their own ship, Nemesis, at the bottom of an ocean, but still intact. They set up a process to grind up the surrounding sea life to make Energon, which they intended to send to Cybertron via a space bridge. The ship also held a new ally, Astrotrain, who had been imprisoned by Megatron before the Autobot ship Teletran-1 crashed to Earth. As you might expect, Astrotrain hates Megatron now.
Meanwhile, the Autobots resettled in their ship, Teletran-1, though they had to deal with a major roadblock: the fallen Decepticon Skywarp. When the Decepticons held the vessel in the previous story arc, Starscream took the injured 'Warp and integrated him into the computer system to jump start it.
Still loyal to the original cause, Skywarp did his best to keep the Autobots from fully reviving their comrades. As a result, the heroes were not able to fully repair Jetfire, who remained stuck in transport mode and had to be piloted by another. However, when the furious teen Carly shot a rocket at Skywarp as revenge for Starscream killing her dad, Arcee intercepted the rocket, saving Skywarp. The Decepticon stopped interfering after that. Arcee also offered to take Carly on as her Iron Apprentice, much like Ultra Magnus did for her when Arcee's clan was killed on Cybertron.
In other human news, Spike dealt with the fact that his dad Sparkplug went into the Matrix to save Optimus Prime, as seen in the previous volume. However, Sparkplug's memories now seem to be working their way into Optimus' consciousness, sometimes with explosive results.
With their ranks more rounded out, the heroes flew Jetfire to the location of the Nemesis. They arrived just as the Decepticons opened opening the portal to Cybertron and that world's overseer (and general psychopath) Shockwave. During the fight, Ratchet took a blast for Cliffjumper. On the other side of the portal, Elita made her way from Cybertron through to Earth with Ultra Magnus. Solely focused on saving her friend, Elita destroyed the gateway behind her, taking out a pair of Combaticons and leaving Cliff and Jazz behind on Cybertron.
As if that wasn't enough, Astrotrain was sent to kidnap Spike. Not wanting any more harm to come to the hospital, Spike went along willingly. The human was then saved by Beachcomber, an Autobot who had been knocked out of Teletran-1 immediately before the ship crashed on Earth, way, way, way back when. Beachcomber ended up stranded on the moon, where he was stuck until 1969 when he snuck a ride back to Earth via the Apollo 11 spaceflight. He even found the downed Teletran-1 back then, but he chose to let everyone rest because he did not want to continue the never-ending war. He explained all this to Spike after restraining Astrotrain with enormous chains.
Though Arcee was happy to see Ultra Magnus alive, tensions quickly rose between her and Elita, who accused Arcee and the others of abandoning the cause. The infighting did not last, though, as the Autobots rolled out to save their captured friends who were being tortured by the sadistic Shockwave. But that was just part of his evil plot, as he reopened the the portal with the intent to physically bring Cybertron closer to Earth. Ultra Magnus initially offered his battle skills, but as soon as he saw Shockwave, he transformed and ran off. It took all of the Autobots working together, including Carly, to turn the tide in their favor.
During his battle with Shockwave, Optimus experienced more human memories. These caused him to kill the villain, something that Elita appreciated and praised. During the fracas, Elita and Optimus passed through the gate and landed on Cybertron. Elita attempted to keep Optimus on their home planet, intending to keep using the Nemesis to create Energon ... even if it destroyed the Earth.
Not willing to sacrifice one planet's well-being for another, Optimus destroyed the Energon that had been collected, resulting in a fiery explosion which sent him — and a huge chunk of Cybertron — crashing back to Earth. Luckily Beachcomber was able to break his fall with his surfboard! Radical. Expect all of that alien tech to draw the attention of our various players moving forward.
Quick Hits:
- When Optimus Prime died in Transformers: The Movie, he intended to pass the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus. Instead, the Matrix chose Hot Rod, setting up the events of the film as well as the third season of the cartoon.
- In the cartoon, Elita was in a relationship with a young Optimus before the war broke out. She later joined forces with other Autobots to keep fighting on Cybertron. The pair appear to have an as-yet-unrevealed history in this series as well.
- Astrotrain is what's known as a triple changer because he can transform from his 'bot mode into a train as well as a spaceship. He's often used to transport other Decepticons and debuted in the Season 2 episode "Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2."
- The Combaticons are elite Decepticon soldiers and consist of Onslaught, Blast Off, Vortex, Brawl and Swindle. They each have their own alternate forms, but can also combine into Bruticus.
- The Energon Universe version of Beachcomber leans into the character's usual portrayal as a peacenik surfer. He made his first appearance in "The Insecticon Syndrome."
Scarlett vol. 1: "Special Mission"
Includes Scarlett (2024) #1-5
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Marco Ferrari
Cover Dates: Jun.-Oct. 2024
On the surface, the Scarlett limited series might seem more standalone than the rest of the Joe lead-ins as it does not feature characters from the other books, but it actually established one of the most beloved groups in the franchise's history: the Arashikage Clan. Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow captured imaginations with their looks as toys and cartoon characters, but their story wasn't fully told until Larry Hama unspooled that yarn in the Marvel comics of the '80s. Hama made them both part of the secretive ninja clan called Arashikage, lead by the Hard Master.
Shana "Scarlett" O'Hara kicks off her series much like Duke did in his, as she scrapped a mission after spotting a familiar face: Jinx, one of her best friends. Jinx went undercover to infiltrate the Arashikage and hadn't been heard of since. Wanting to help her friend, Scarlett called on another old pal, Snow Job, who helped get her to the group's mountain stronghold. There, she offered herself as a potential trainee to Hard Master who accepted her into the fold on a trial basis.
To prove her worth, Scarlett had to help Jinx and Storm Shadow steal the Sword of Life from a group of Japanese mobsters. We quickly learn that the weapon was made out of Energon — and when Storm Shadow wielded it, he went a bit mad. Though Scarlett considered coming in out of the cold after the caper, she went back to the mountain to watch Jinx's back and see where the clan might stand in regard to world events moving forward. That proved an excellent decision as Hard Master handed the sword to Storm Shadow, who seemed to be leading the clan from then on. A highly trained fighting force with Energon and no known allegiances? Yeah, that sounds like it'll come into play before long.
Scarlett was a fun entry in the Energon Universe because, while it will likely tie into larger events, it also gave us a look at a different part of this world while also adding more power players to the mix. For some, it may have been frustrating seeing all of the Arashikage elements but not its most famous member, the silent ninja spy Snake Eyes! That just means his eventual introduction will be all the more awesome, right?
Destro vol. 1: "The Enemy"
Collects Destro (2024) #1-5
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Andrei Bressnan
Cover Dates: Jun.-Oct. 2024
For those wondering how Cobra became such a potent global terrorist threat in a relatively short period of time, Destro has the answers for you. Set after the Scottish weapon smith made his deal with Cobra Commander in that series, much of this tale deals with corporate conflagrations between Destro's MARS and Tomax and Xamot's Extensive Enterprises. Things heated up between the two manufacturers of mass destruction after Destro's nephew Artyom Darklon took over the nation of Darklonia. This is another concept originated by Hama in the Marvel comics. It sure seems handy to have an entire nation backing your plays if you're a weapons manufacturer associated with a terrorist organization!
When the country was attacked during an illegal weapons bazaar, Destro assumed the twins were behind it and war broke out between their operations. However, the true culprit turned out to be an advanced defense system artificial intelligence called Overkill that forced its maker's daughter, Astoria Cartlon-Ritz, to become the black ops agent Chameleon. After uncovering the misunderstanding, Destro convinced Tomax and Xamot to start working with him for Cobra Commander. This move not only lead to Destro, Xamot, Tomax and Chameleon becoming Cobra, but it also brought the highly trained Crimson Guard employed by Extensive Enterprises and all of Destro's wonderful toys under Cobra command.
Carlton-Ritz is actually the name of an obscure Transformers character who appeared in one episode: "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide." In that episode, Carlton-Ritz inherits the secrets of her father's company, Hybrid Technologies. It's interesting that she uses the codename Chameleon, which is a codename frequently used for characters who are the Baroness' half-sister — who is also a G.I. Joe agent. Expect more reveals where Chameleon is concerned. Also, it won't be a huge shocker if Destro faked the destruction of Overkill and has his own designs for it.
Quick Hits:
- We learn that the first Destro to wear a mask had it forced upon him. He had been caught selling arms to both sides of a conflict and the British melted musketballs from their own dead to fashion the faceplate. Gnarly.
- It's also revealed that Destro travels to a remote castle to speak to his ancestors who appear to respond.
- Oh, and the B.A.T.s are now Energon-powered, but can not differentiate between targets and friendlies. This makes them less-than-desirable war machines.
And that's a wrap on the second installment of Exploring the Energon Universe. This takes us through the issues with cover dates ranging from March through October 2024. In the eventual third installment, we'll tackle next chapters of the now-streamlined Energon Universe:
- Transformers vol. 3, "Combiner Chaos" (May 14, 2025)
- Void Rivals vol. 3, "The Key to Vector Theta" (May 28, 2025)
- G.I. Joe vol. 1, "The Cobra Strikes" (June 4, 2025)
To be continued this spring ... !
