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What's The Big First Appearance in Kirkman & Mora's Transformers #25?

What's the big first appearance in Robert Kirkman and Dan Mora’s Transformers #25 from Iamge Comics/Skybound?

Published Tue, 26 Aug 2025 10:57:05 -0500

Last month at SDCC, Image & Skybound hosted their latest Energon Universe panel with Robert Kirkman, Joshua Williamson, Daniel Warren Johnson, and Sean Mackiewicz to reveal some of their plans for Transformers, G.I. Joe and Void Rivals.

The focus was largely on Transformers due to both Johnson's final issue (#24 in September) and the anticipation for Kirkman – who set sales records for 2025 with Invincible Universe: Battle beast – and Dan Mora to start what Skybound calls a "New Era" for Transformers in October's issue #25.

But Kirkman also teased a major First Appearance in Transformers #25, and the last time he promised that, we got the stealth birth of the Energon Universe in Void Rivals #1.

So, after talking to some trusted sources around the industry and mixing in some questionable guesses, I've come up with a list of who Kirkman may have been teasing – and I'm confident that at least one of these is correct:

Grimlock: one of the most popular Transformers who somehow still hasn't debuted in the Energon Universe, and a favourite of Kirkman's too. In fact, at SDCC, Kirkman was asked about Grimlock's debut and said there was some kind of hint in issue #25. But could there be more than simply a hint and this is a nuanced misdirect?
Galvatron: We don't know what happens at the end of Transformers #24, and I'm told that Skybound has shared PDFs with select retailers…but blacked out some pages. Could Megatron be defeated in a way that leads him to the events of the 1986 animated film? Kirkman has certainly pulled a lot of elements from it for Void Rivals…
Nemesis Prime: By the same token, Kirkman loves to dig deep into the lore, and Nemesis Prime is a favourite of many fans. An evil version of Optimus Prime certainly would make for some exciting visuals and signal a "New Era" for the series.
Someone from MASK: While this isn't a Transformer, Kirkman technically didn't specify which franchise would be tied to the big first appearance. With franchise protagonist Matt Trakker already introduced, could big bad Miles Mayhem debut and set the stage for a MASK spinoff the way Duke debuted in issue #2 to set up G.I. Joe?
Serpentor: This is the wildest guess, but this is Robert Kirkman, and he specialises in surprises. The Energon Universe set up Cobra La as a powerful force, and they've been mentioned in both G.I. Joe and Void Rivals…so is this when they come to Transformers? And perhaps introduce a human threat to rival the Autobots?

Even two years into its existence, the Energon Universe continues to sell out of every issue, and all three series – Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Void Rivals – continue to make history, including being the best-selling in Hasbro history. That means whichever character is making their first appearance in Transformers #25, expect the issue to be in high demand with collectors and speculators, especially if the current SDCC ashcan resale prices are any indication

With the FOC for Transformers #25 fast approaching on Monday, the 15th of September, I wouldn't be surprised to hear more buzz about the surprises in this issue and potentially for Skybound to share an advance PDF of the issue with retailers.

Does that mean I might spoil it ahead of time? Well, that remains to be seen but I do know that Transformers #25 is in stores on Wednesday, October 8 and we're going to be hearing a lot about it before then. Perhaps even from me…

TRANSFORMERS #25
(W) Robert Kirkman (A) Dan Mora, Jorge Corona, Mike Spicer (CA) David Nakayama
NEW ARC .ROBERT KIRKMAN AND DAN MORA START A NEW ERA WITH AN OVERSIZED ANNIVERSARY ISSUE!
The Energon Universe will never be the same as the Autobots and Decepticons kick off the most surprising new chapter in their war on Earth.
Optimus Prime and the remaining Autobots must join forces with unlikely allies in order to protect their adopted planet. But Prime's next challenge lies closer to home than he ever imagined.
And what is the fate of the Decepticons?
The creative dream team of Robert Kirkman (Invincible, The Walking Dead) and Dan Mora (Justice League Unlimited, Superman) kick off the new direction for TRANSFORMERS that will be More Than Meets The Eye! $4.99 10/8/2025