Energon Universe - ongoing Transformers and G.I. Joe comics from Skybound
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Void Rivals feels like Skybound doing the we-have-Micronauts-at-home-kids. I think Rom is probably the only other major Hasbro that could pop up though Skybound would probably have to do a complete makeover of him.And who's the head of Shadow Watch? Why none other than Miles Mayhem (of MASK/VENOM fame!). That's...not a good sign. I guess this is all tying back into the Free Comic Book Day issue. We might just get that Skybound Hasbroverse yet! At this point, we're just waiting on Rom and the Micronauts and the band will be back together. (Not literally, though, because Boom's getting the Jem license.)
Jem And The Holograms Jump From IDW To Boom Studios
Jem And The Holograms jump from IDW Publishing to Boom Studios for 2026bleedingcool.com
I wish I could ask for Inhumanoids but it was apparently established that's not possible in anyway for Hasbro for [ndisclosed] reason.
-ZacWilliam, finds it hard to imagine Boom's Jem book being better than IDWs
-ZacWilliam, finds it hard to imagine Boom's Jem book being better than IDWs
That's unfortunate. Seems like all the reasons that it didn't work before wouldn't apply here.
There's a decent amount of content/dialogue but I felt like, on the whole, not a lot really happened. At least, I can't really guess where things are going. Megatron is rallying the troops but there's no plan beyond still being Decepticons. Optimus gets introduced to
Oh, and I guess there's the Skywarp/TC/Cobra-La hook too... I think my brain automatically shuts off whenever they're mentioned... so maybe there is a bit more than I originally thought.
On the whole I was just sorta whelmed? I just didn't feel like there were many interesting hooks here, outside of the Shadow Watch stuff. I did sorta like the scene where Megatron calls out his troops individually, since I always wish more time was spent on distinguishing the grunts personality-wise (especially the combiners, of which almost everyone here is). I feel like this Megatron doesn't really inspire much though, he's kinda just a jerk. He even left Soundwave behind!
They also seem right on the tone of the Skybound Energon Universe.
I really wonder how Hasbro could possibly have lost the IP rights to them, not just the name of the brand which I get, but the actual characters/fictional rights.
-ZacWilliam, like how? Or did the writer on that Joe comic misunderstand what he was told and it was only IDW who didn't actually have the Inhumanoids rights?
GI Joe #12 is out!
This is mostly a character focus spotlight issue. We learn more about a new character and get to see them bust out of jail. I didn't know anything much about Shooter before, and now I kind of like her! She's not my favorite character ever or anything, but she makes a solid showing this issue. We also get a TINY bit of lead-in into Dreadnok War. The pieces are coming together before it starts next issue.
So, if you're only here for the Transformers connections...this is completely skippable. But, it's a fun issue, and I think most people will enjoy it just fine.
This is mostly a character focus spotlight issue. We learn more about a new character and get to see them bust out of jail. I didn't know anything much about Shooter before, and now I kind of like her! She's not my favorite character ever or anything, but she makes a solid showing this issue. We also get a TINY bit of lead-in into Dreadnok War. The pieces are coming together before it starts next issue.
So, if you're only here for the Transformers connections...this is completely skippable. But, it's a fun issue, and I think most people will enjoy it just fine.
Lord Darklon, ruler of...Darkonia, .Destro's...second cousin once removed or something, has Shooter imprisoned and wants her to kill someone for him. But, she won't do it! We never do find out who he wanted Shooter to kill. (It's probably Destro, as revenge for making him wear this mask in the first place. It's not a flattering mask. Destro keeps all the good masks for himself.)
Instead, she'll kill this random fly with a pebble. Because, that's how you know she's a expert sniper, I guess? All snipers train by killing houseflies with pebbles. That's just science! Shooter does seem to enjoy killing things, just not the things that megalomaniacal men in masks try to blackmail her into killing.
Ivana (who I...THINK is new?) then proceeds to beat Shooter up, trying to force her to agree to murder this unknown guy. But, the joke's on her! It only makes her go into a series of flashbacks that remind us AND her how cool she is!
Ivana has a plan to kill Shooter, so SHE'LL be Darklon's favorite and SHE'LL get to go on all the fun murder missions! But, Shooter escapes her cell before the plan can go into action. And even before Beach Head can show up to recruit her into Night Force! She don't need no man saving her! But, she WILL happily take his guns, thank you.
Before she leaves, Shooter makes a "impossible" sniper snot, killing Ivana from miles away. Again, Shooter DOES enjoy killing. It just has to be the right people. Kind of same about Ivana. She could have been a fun new character...maybe...if we got to know her more.
Meanwhile, Major Bludd gets a rad pair of robot eyes from Cobra! It's like he has TWO eyepatches now! And they kind of look like rad shades. Kind of a upgrade, really. Almost makes you want your own eyes to get stabbed out, just to justify getting a pair of your own. But, that'd be crazy...right?
Also, Destro learns the Joes have a pet giant robot. And Destro decides to set the Dreadnoks against Cobra Commander in order to get rid of him. So, while CC's going to be having a bad time, it looks like everything's going to be coming up Destro!
In the backmatter, they tease someone else is going to be joining Night Force. Some "extra muscle". I don't know GI Joe well enough to guess, honestly. Sargent Slaughter? That's my best guess.
AND we get a wordless preview of the next issue, the start of Dreadnok War! Let's see here...maps make everyone sad. Duke likes to take some time out to look at trees in the desert. And Duke gets really mad when he sees Cobra Commander digging a hole. It's ruining the natural scenery! Yeah, not much to gleam there, but it's drawn well.
Instead, she'll kill this random fly with a pebble. Because, that's how you know she's a expert sniper, I guess? All snipers train by killing houseflies with pebbles. That's just science! Shooter does seem to enjoy killing things, just not the things that megalomaniacal men in masks try to blackmail her into killing.
Ivana (who I...THINK is new?) then proceeds to beat Shooter up, trying to force her to agree to murder this unknown guy. But, the joke's on her! It only makes her go into a series of flashbacks that remind us AND her how cool she is!
Ivana has a plan to kill Shooter, so SHE'LL be Darklon's favorite and SHE'LL get to go on all the fun murder missions! But, Shooter escapes her cell before the plan can go into action. And even before Beach Head can show up to recruit her into Night Force! She don't need no man saving her! But, she WILL happily take his guns, thank you.
Before she leaves, Shooter makes a "impossible" sniper snot, killing Ivana from miles away. Again, Shooter DOES enjoy killing. It just has to be the right people. Kind of same about Ivana. She could have been a fun new character...maybe...if we got to know her more.
Meanwhile, Major Bludd gets a rad pair of robot eyes from Cobra! It's like he has TWO eyepatches now! And they kind of look like rad shades. Kind of a upgrade, really. Almost makes you want your own eyes to get stabbed out, just to justify getting a pair of your own. But, that'd be crazy...right?
Also, Destro learns the Joes have a pet giant robot. And Destro decides to set the Dreadnoks against Cobra Commander in order to get rid of him. So, while CC's going to be having a bad time, it looks like everything's going to be coming up Destro!
In the backmatter, they tease someone else is going to be joining Night Force. Some "extra muscle". I don't know GI Joe well enough to guess, honestly. Sargent Slaughter? That's my best guess.
AND we get a wordless preview of the next issue, the start of Dreadnok War! Let's see here...maps make everyone sad. Duke likes to take some time out to look at trees in the desert. And Duke gets really mad when he sees Cobra Commander digging a hole. It's ruining the natural scenery! Yeah, not much to gleam there, but it's drawn well.
From yonder fronteth page:
www.allspark.com
Movies and TV - Hasbro and Skybound Confirmed to Be Shopping Around Energon Universe Animated Series
All the way back in June, rumors were going around that Hasbro and the folks at Skybound Entertainment were looking to break the latter's recent smash-hit Energon Universe out of the funny books and into the wide-reaching realm of adult animation. Well today, as Deadline reports, those rumors...
www.allspark.com
I'm excited!From yonder fronteth page:
Movies and TV - Hasbro and Skybound Confirmed to Be Shopping Around Energon Universe Animated Series
All the way back in June, rumors were going around that Hasbro and the folks at Skybound Entertainment were looking to break the latter's recent smash-hit Energon Universe out of the funny books and into the wide-reaching realm of adult animation. Well today, as Deadline reports, those rumors...
Here's the thing... those were made by people who didn't have much of a track record. Kirkman already has a critically acclaimed cartoon out there based on a SkyBound comic, so I'm far more confident this will work out well.
January solicitations are out!
The solicits themselves:
And some discussion.
Image Comics January 2026 Full Solicits And Solicitations
Image Comics January 2026 Full Solicits and Solicitations... with Bug Wars, Malevolent, and the Radically Rearranged Ronin Dolls
bleedingcool.com
The solicits themselves:
And some discussion.
GI Joe will have a shocking last page twist that changes GI Joe forever! So...maybe Duke finds out about Hound? Or maybe about Night Force? Also, Roadblock is here! I'm looking forward to cooking and rhyming! Although, I guess he might not be joining Night Force? I don't know who else he'd join. Cobra seems unlikely, even in this different universe. Is there going to be a THIRD GI Joe team? That'd feel...excessive, but whatever, I guess.
In Transformers, Arcee makes a decision that will "SHOCK EVERY TRANSFORMERS FAN"! What could it be? And could it be spoiled on one of the alternate covers? Yeah...it probably involves Ultra Magnus and what's inside of him. Will it just be a White Optimus, or will it be another character we know? Maybe he's just empty inside and needs someone to fill his void? Don't we all?
And in Void Rivals, they're fighting Sharkticons. Not the most exciting enemy, but a huge load of expendable grunts could make for some fun action scenes.
In Transformers, Arcee makes a decision that will "SHOCK EVERY TRANSFORMERS FAN"! What could it be? And could it be spoiled on one of the alternate covers? Yeah...it probably involves Ultra Magnus and what's inside of him. Will it just be a White Optimus, or will it be another character we know? Maybe he's just empty inside and needs someone to fill his void? Don't we all?
And in Void Rivals, they're fighting Sharkticons. Not the most exciting enemy, but a huge load of expendable grunts could make for some fun action scenes.
I’m less than enthused that “adult” is already being bandied about.
Far more likely it’s going to be the buckets of blood and swear words “adult” that is beyond well represented in the Invincible cartoon.
To the point I will be beyond shocked if it winds up more mature than Earthspark was.
It's from the same people who made Invincible. So I'm expecting around that level.
Which, to be frank, is fine by me.
"TRANSFORMERS: BUCKETS OF BLOOD" is lame, but the idea that nothing can ever aspire to be a bit more mature just because previous attempts have done it badly doesn't sit right with me.
Any concept can be done properly. Past failures are not guarantees of future failures. It all just comes down to execution, and in this case there's something of a proven track record.
ES, for all the good it did, ultimately wasn't what I wanted out of this franchise. I'm not sure a more mature-oriented Transformers show done well has ever been made, but that doesn't mean I'm against attempts to make it work
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Hyper-violence (to me) indicates a very under developed maturity.
The same outcome can be expressed without seeing jaws ripped off, exposed bone, enough blood to drown a horse, etc
Now granted Transformers has had their share of that from the very beginning (The wall of heads in Marvel, Shockwave’s many labs with strewn up bodies, His Empurata in IDW, Animated Blurr being crushed into a cube, etc) but it always seems like overcompensating when they lead with “adult” where they expect the violence to paper over otherwise childish writing and outlook.
If you’re doing the G1 cartoon again in 2025 but this time you graphically show the Decepticons half atomizing the dock workers into screaming half-charred viscera, that’s far from “adult”.
The same outcome can be expressed without seeing jaws ripped off, exposed bone, enough blood to drown a horse, etc
Now granted Transformers has had their share of that from the very beginning (The wall of heads in Marvel, Shockwave’s many labs with strewn up bodies, His Empurata in IDW, Animated Blurr being crushed into a cube, etc) but it always seems like overcompensating when they lead with “adult” where they expect the violence to paper over otherwise childish writing and outlook.
If you’re doing the G1 cartoon again in 2025 but this time you graphically show the Decepticons half atomizing the dock workers into screaming half-charred viscera, that’s far from “adult”.
I must have missed where that happened in SkyBound's run that this is going to be based off of.
I mean... you just listed examples were something like could be done well. I'd argue that the Energon Universe by SkyBound (again, what this show will be based on) has done it well. So if it's a simple translation, I think it will work.
Sure, but I don't think these things are inherently bad either, it just comes down to execution. So much of the brutality in the SkyBound run works, I think, because they're robots. The same acts, with humans, would be gross and a huge turnoff.
But they're robots, it's not bone, it's not blood, it works.
I don't presume to dictate what is and isn't "mature."
I do think, however, that most things in a fictional sense can be done well. Maybe a certain idea hasn't always been done well, but that doesn't mean it can't work.
In this case, I'm digging the comics this show will be based on, and it's from a creator who's done an adult-oriented show that's been pretty universally praised.
The same kids toy tie-in that gave us...
Stand-ins for racism and classism?
Auschwitz?
Genocide?
State-sponsored punitive mutilation?
Religious crusades?
Brutal, gladiator combat with excessive violence and death on every panel?
Fascist oppression?
Communist oppression?
Military torture and summary execution?
War crimes?
And that's just IDW.
I get it, I really do. There's no shame in liking ES, or CyberVerse, CyberWorld, Rescue Bots, or anything else aimed at a younger audience. We're all fans of this stuff.
But at the same time, let's not pretend like this specific genie isn't out of the bottle, and hasn't been for years. SkyBound's run has been very popular, critically well received, and the guy adapting it as a show has done a good job with adapting other comics he's worked on into adult-oriented, well received animation.
So I have reason to be optimistic about this.
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