This week, the 16th issue of Transformers from Image Comics imprint Skybound hits comic shops with a massive giant robot battle between warring Decepticon factions.

The Transformers series, as well as Void Rivals, were the opening series for Skybound’s new Energon Universe of books curated by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. Daniel Warren Johnson has steered this revival series from the first issue, introducing a new status quo that leans heavily on the fan-favorite generation one era of Transformers from the 1980s. The Autobots and Decepticons have found themselves awakened on Earth after crashing thousands of years ago while in the midst of battle. The Ark, their ship, has repaired both Autobots and Decepticons equally, and the Decepticons were only too happy to continue their conflict with the Autobots. Starscream takes command of the Decepticons, as their leader Megatron is nowhere to be found and presumed dead. Optimus Prime escapes with only a handful of Autobots to regroup. Starscream’s reign as leader of the Decepticons is short lived, and he is replaced by Soundwave. This leads into the first major story arc for the series that sees Soundwave successfully reopen communications with Cybertron and Shockwave, a Decepticon general. Shockwave’s plan to bring Cybertron to Earth is thwarted by Optimus Prime and the few remaining Autobots.

I’ve enjoyed many aspects of this revival series. Johnson writes an Optimus Prime that seems more conflicted and less confident than previous versions of the character. In fact, many Autobots on Cybertron feel as if their leader abandoned them, and the narrative leaves the reader often wondering if Optimus is the right leader for the Autobots. Doubting the judgment of Optimus Prime is an odd place for this old Transformers fan to find himself, and it has often led me to root even harder for the “real” Optimus to emerge. Growing up as a kid in the ’80s, I don’t think there was a more heroic character than Optimus Prime. Peter Cullen’s gravelly, but noble, voice in those earlier cartoons imbued Optimus with gravitas and heroism. He was the leader we would all gladly follow, and to see this conflicted Optimus is one of this new continuity’s greatest changes. Over the course of the past sixteen issues, it’s a change I’ve come to embrace as Optimus’ weariness and doubt represent the personal cost this war has inflicted on him. The deaths of his friends and the destruction of Cybertron have left Optimus heavily scarred and haunted.

In this new continuity, the Autobots are clearing losing the conflict with the Decepticons and their morale is low. Previous continuities have often placed the Autobots and Decepticons on relatively even footing, locked in eternal conflict. The Autobots have a lot more to overcome in this universe. This greater sense of peril is conveyed to the reader right in the first issue with the apparent death of longtime character Bumblebee. The death of Bumblee promises that though this universe and its characters may look familiar, the reader has no idea what’s coming next.

Issue sixteen sees Starscream attempt to enact revenge on Soundwave for his coup. This leads to the magnificently rendered and directed battle between Soundwave’s Constructicons and Starscream’s Bruticons. Jorge Corona’s art captures the gigantic size of the two titanic Transformers Devastator and Bruticus as their metallic fists pound into each other and destroy the area around them. Outside of this core conflict sit the Autobots under Optimus Prime’s command who are stuck in the middle of the seismic battle. In a previous issue, Optimus Prime had lost his arm in battle and replaced it with the severed arm of Megatron. Johnson fully reveals here that this may not have been one of Optimus’ better ideas with Optimus judgment once again falling under question and leading to potential disaster in future issues.

In a secondary plot, Cliffjumper is now stranded on Cybertron after the battle with Shockwave, and he joins Arcee’s resistance. Cliffjumper’s story allows us for the first time to truly see the devastation on Cybertron and the full effects of this millennia-long war. The issue ends on a cliffhanger that many fans have been waiting for since the series began and I won’t spoil it here.

Daniel Warren Johnson’s new Transformers series has been one of the biggest highlights in comics this past year and this continues with issue sixteen. Though by no means required reading, the Energon Universe is deeply interconnected and the cliffhanger in this episode would be clearer to a reader who has been following the Cobra Commander and G.I. Joe titles. Johnson hits all the right nostalgia notes while also presenting a more mature, more thoughtful world for our “Robots in Disguise.”

I can’t recommend this series enough for new and longtime fans. And remember to pick up the rest of the Energon Universe line to better see the larger picture of what Skybound has planned for our favorite childhood properties.

Creative Team: Daniel Warren Johnson (Writer), Jorge Corona (Artist), Sarah Stern (Colorist) and Russ Wooten (Letterer)
Publisher: Skybound/Image Comics
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