Posted in: Comics, Current News, Image, Walking Dead | Tagged: Energon Universe, gi joe, hasbro, image comics, lorenzo de felici, robert kirkman, transformers, Void rivals

How Transformers Works With Void Rivals #1 (Spoilers)

Void Rivals by Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici, published by Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment. And owned by Hasbro. 

Void Rivals is a brand new comic book by Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici, published by Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment, with the first issue out today in comic stores but available digitally on Kindle since yesterday. And it is owned by Hasbro. 

It's kicking off The Energon Universe storytelling sandpit which will include Transformers and GI Joe. With new series Transformers #1 written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson in September, Duke #1 by Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly in December and Cobra Commander #1 by Joshua Williamson and Andrea Milana in January.

But Void Rivals itself is something different. A brand new property which sees two survivors from an intergalactic war, the Agorrians and the Zertonians, on opposite sides of an intrinsic battle of the soul, stranded together on a desolate planet, forced to cooperate with each other for their very survival. And, despite themselves, finding respect for each other and a willingness to help.

This takes in everything from Romeo And Juliet to Star Trek: The Next Generation: Darmok to the trenches of World War I on Christmas Day. The true story of famed German pilot Horst Schopis shot down by a British plane which also crashed, and the crew of both planes having to survive in the same cottage in the middle of the winter of 1940. Or Enemy Mine, the eighties sci-fi movie, starring Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr as a human and alien soldier stranded together on an inhospitable planet and must overcome their mutual distrust to survive. Or this short film Pawns. It's a familiar theme.

And any fan of Twilight Zones or Future Shocks will see the big reveal coming pages away.

Of course, in Void Rivals, while looking for materials to help escape the planet, they find something else.

Something that makes a very familiar noise.

Jetfire, an Autobot who can transform into a plane or space shuttle, with conflicting histories, which makes him originally a Decepticon, hence the plane form. Known as Skyfire in the TV series, he's a very powerful soldier on the Autobot's cause, but was originally a scientist and explorer. He was trapped on a prehistoric Earth in the ice, with his then-friend Starscream having to abandon him, and only revived thousands of years later by Decepticons, before rebelling against them.

In the Marvel comics, Jetfire was created by the Decepticon Shockwave, was destroyed, but was saved by Optimus Prime, becoming an Autobot, and gaining their symbol. The Dreamwave comics run had him as Starscream's friend before the Great War started again, but who changed allegiances during the war.  The IDW run had him as a technician and computer expert, in the war, captured by Decepticons and freed by Optimus Prime.

And in the movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Jetfire is an ancient, valiant Autobot, originally a servant of The Fallen as a Decepticon but who defected, and ends up sacrificing himself to ensure Optimus Prime's survival. Here in Void Rivals, it seems, the scientist aspect of the character returns to the forefront.

Starfire was trapped in the eye for millions of years on Earth. Looks like he's gone and done it again. But it suggest that this event will be replacing that one in the Energon Universe continuity, And the word "universe" is being used a lot more literally than it usually is.

And the existence of a Transformer is enough to inspire these Void Rivals onwards. Autobots Vs Decepticons, GI Joe Vs Cobra and now Agorrians vs Zertonians, from A to Z. But just as it seems there is very little to divide these alien races in reality, is this intended to be a metaphor for how Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici will handle the differences between Transformers and between the forces of GI Joe too?

VOID RIVALS #1 CVR A DE FELICI
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(W) Robert Kirkman (A) Matheus Lopes (A/CA) Lorenzo De Felici
SERIES PREMIERE The blockbuster OBLIVION SONG team of ROBERT KIRKMAN & LORENZO DE FELICI debut the biggest new comic book series of 2023 with the launch of AN ALL-NEW SHARED UNIVERSE and a SURPRISE you won't see coming! War rages around the Sacred Ring, where the last remnants of two worlds have collapsed around a black hole in a never-ending war. However, when pilot Darak and his rival Solila both crash on a desolate planet, these two enemies must find a way to escape together. But are they alone on this strange planet? And what dark forces await that threaten the entire universe?  In Shops: Jun 14, 2023 SRP: $3.99

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(W) Robert Kirkman (A) Matheus Lopes (A/CA) Lorenzo De Felici
ROBERT KIRKMAN & LORENZO DE FELICI's new shared universe continues here! After the jaw-dropping reveal in the debut issue, everything Darak and Solila thought they knew about the Sacred Ring's never-ending war has changed. To deliver the truth back home, they must first get off this deadly planet-by any means necessary.In Shops: Jul 19, 2023 SRP: $3.99

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(W) Robert Kirkman (A) Matheus Lopes (A/CA) Lorenzo De Felici
ROBERT KIRKMAN & LORENZO DE FELICI's new shared universe debuts a monstrous new villain! Fighting for their lives to return to the Sacred Ring, Darak and Solila face a new threat-

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