Energon Universe - ongoing Transformers and G.I. Joe comics from Skybound

ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
Void Rivals #27 is out!

This is mostly a action issue. It's decent enough action. Not the most stand out action art I've ever seen. But, it gets the job done. It's going pretty much by the book, so far.

Although, I will mention, there is a bit of a last-page reveal, in this issue. Your mileage may vary on how much you end up caring. But, there is a attempt being made at some drama. This may be too little, too late for some. But, it's a interesting reveal, and I'm curious where they'll go with it.

So, this is a solid issue. It didn't blow my socks off, but it did it's job. I don't think this issue would change anyone's mind on the series, but it's a fun enough time.

Darak and Solila's Handroids sure are getting friendly. Well, even if Darak and Solila themselves don't end up together, maybe we can still ship their hands! Talk to the hand...please.

Darak gets teleported through the planet for the first time, using Solila's power. It "only hurts a bit"...not very subtle, guys. Don't blame me, I'm not the one writing it.

Finally, Agorrians and Zertonians are united...by their hatred of getting eaten by giant, robot sharks. Yeah, that'd do it, I guess.

Judge Makmun gives a update on the war. Everything's peaches and cream on the Quintesson side. They won't even NEED their backup forces. They got this in the bag! I mean, it'd take some strange, unforeseen "third party" of some kind, to tip the scales against them. The TRIBUNAL should be able to arrive no problem. What could possibly go wrong?

What's this? A third party! Pythona and her Cobra-La troops seem to be getting ready to make some sort of move. And she's able to hold her own against the Quintesson Prosecutor she's up against. Cobra-La-ians are just made of sterner stuff, I guess.

Darak meets with his father, and he learns the obvious, that the war isn't going well for them. So, Darak gets a idea. Why not use the Energon? And that basically is enough to turn the tide. Turning all their soldiers into energy-armored Sharticon killing machines. Poor Sharkticons. All they wanted was to chew on them a little. Was that so wrong?

Everyone gets a Super mode! And the Judges decide they need that backup after all. But, that's really no use against Super Saiyan...*ahem*...I mean Zertonian Proximus. He was already punching these things dead with his bare hands BEFORE he got his upgrade.

Oh, and the Energon also restores his fractured memory. So, Proximus remembers that...Solila is his SISTER! *Dun-dun-DUUUUNNN*! Well...SHE didn't seem to remember that. But, maybe he assumed he was dead this whole time? We still don't know a lot about these people, I guess. I'm sure we'll have a heartfelt family reunion....right after we're done cleaning up dead Sharkticon bodies out of the gutter.

In the letters page...it sounds like a lot of people are actually really invested in Skuxxoid's side of the story. Who would have thought we'd ever live to see the day?
 

Cyoti

Member
Citizen
This shouldn't even be spoilered. This "twist" was telegraphed 20 issues ago. It's just Kirkman took his jolly time stating it directly to the reader.
 
Anonymous X

Anonymous X

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OK, I picked up the four TPB volumes of the Skybound series, and... I don't like it. At all. Feels like it came from a parallel universe where the only English language TF fiction in existence was the G1 cartoon, first 12 issues of the Marvel US comic and the Pat Lee G1 comic series. It's just so out-of-kilter with what I expect from Transformers comic fiction really, which would not be a bad thing if it didn't have a horrible juvenile edgelord tone to the whole thing: Every non-named human character is inevitably mushed into a cloud of red mist, known characters are wiped out without a dialogue to say "oh, we can kill named characters now" (as if that wasn't already an established trope in Transformers comics going back four decades), and it doesn't feel like it has any 'warmth' at all really. I mean, I get it, it's trying to be G1 but with actual stakes, but at this point we've already had decades worth of TF fiction that shows the Cybertronian conflict isn't much fun and main characters die. So what new it brings to the table isn't really all that new of novel or new.
 

ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
Yeah, I can kind of understand that. I've even had similar thoughts myself on the subject. We had a little debate about the violence in the comic last year. (Spoilers for later parts of the run, depending on how far you've read. Spoilers for around issue #16.)
www.allspark.com

Energon Universe - ongoing Transformers and G.I. Joe comics from Skybound

Amazon continues to eff up digital subscriptions. Transformers #15 and 16 weren't made part of the "series" on Amazon, and so I didn't get them. I did buy 15 later, but I'll probably wait until 16 drops in price at this point.
www.allspark.com www.allspark.com

But, we've never really gotten a full ongoing comic series that was mostly based around the cartoon. So, I can't really blame them too much for that. Technically, it is kind of doing something the comics haven't really done before.

But, I'll admit, this is kind of like if Marvel Comics rebooted their universe, and what they made afterwards was totally based on the MCU movies. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that. You can still tell good stories in a MCU-inspired universe. But, it's not the style I've come to know and love from the comics side of Marvel. Personally, I'd probably miss the "Marvel Comics" feel, if all they did was stories based on the MCU. It's similar, but not the same tone. I feel like something similar is happening here. We're getting solid Transformers stories. But, they're "cartoon"-style stories, not "comics"-style stories, if that makes any sense. And I also feel myself missing the "Transformers comics"-style feeling, even though what we're getting is still pretty solid.

But, I think the Energon Universe, as a whole, has improved recently. If only because they are starting to build up their own world and mythology a little bit, across the line. And we're seeing more crossover between books. But, it does still largely have the same "tone". So, if it's the tone that's bothering you, I don't think that part will change by continuing.

So, I'm a little split, myself, on how I actually feel about Skybound as a whole. I like parts of it. But, there are parts that I wish they did better.



I think, on some level, we have to accept that this comic series wasn't really made for "us". This was made to appeal to the more casual fans. And, it seems to have worked! The Energon Universe gets talked about among general comic fans in the same breath as the Absolute and Ultimate lines, as some of the best comics on the shelves, right now. From everything I've heard, it's selling pretty well.

I think part of the reason this is clicking with people is because 90s nostalgia is actually finally kicking in? The violence and action might remind people of their childhood favorite comics from the past. Plus, with everything going on in the real world right now, there might be some schadenfreude involved in watching characters be able to be as violent as they want. There's a few other violent comics that seem to be popular right now. Something's in the water.



I'm just curious, how far have you actually gotten? Have you read all 4 trades you bought, or are you still on the first one? Because I do think there's some emotional depth to these characters. DWJ's run has some juvenile moments, sure. But, it's not a completely shallow book. It does tackle some serious themes. And DWJ does action well. If you're willing to accept what the book is, I think it is a enjoyable time. Despite it's flaws, I have to say that it does have a lot of energy and passion put into it. If you haven't, try to read through all 4 books. If only because you already bought them. It might end up growing on you.

But, if you have already read all four? Yeah...this probably just isn't for you. And there's nothing wrong with that. Not every story is going to click with every reader. It's good that you gave it a shot. But, I certainly agree that there are parts of this book that can be off-putting for certain people. I think the good outweighs the bad. But, opinions will vary on that, from person to person. I could see this all being too much in some ways, and too little in others.
 
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Shadewing

Shadewing

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Citizen
Personally, I really like them; they feel like a modern take on the feel and tone of the old Marvel Comics but using the Sunbow Cartoon as a basis. Do I like this better then IDW? Not really, but that's like saying I don't like Cybertron as much as I like Beast Wars, and I still really like Cybertron. To me this is something that both fresh and familar at the same time. We've not really explored the Sunbow stuff much outside of the Sunbow show and some convention comics. I'm fine with how they handle death, it tapers off somewhat as the series goes but it helps establish character's views. Different Decepticons have differing levels of acceptance, and sometimes it seems to turn a few of them off. Then we get the Deer scene with Optimus that helps establish his character, and tbh EU Optimus is the most Optimus Optimus we've had since the 80's imo. They even revisit that scene with Megatron to really show their ideological differences. The death and trauma we see, has resonance even if its not dwelled on for issues on end; similar with other popular contemporary comics like Zaku says.
 
unluckiness

unluckiness

Somehow still sane
Citizen
I think the story itself is pretty good but there's too many pages dedicated to all out brawling that really don't add much to the story and kind of mess up the pace. It's a minor annoyance for the trade paperbacks but I can imagine myself getting annoyed if I had to read issues monthly.
 

ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
Transformers #30 is out!

This is mostly a fight issue. With a bit of a twist. There's no doubt this one is important. I'm...not totally sure how I feel about it, yet. It's interesting, and different, I'll give it that. I don't want to spoil too much outside of the spoiler tags.

So, definitely pick this one up. There's a change in direction that you probably won't want to miss.

Optimus and Elita are fighting, again. Oh, just kiss already, and get it over with! Seriously...it actually feels like that's where they're going for a second, there. This could have been a VERY different issue, if things had turned out slightly differently.

So, Elita starts a fight and starts kicking Optimus's fender. I mean, Elita just straight-up knees Optimus in the lugnuts, here. And then tries to force his chest open to reveal the Matrix. I don't know about this. Is the "domestic violence" here slightly icky? Especially with Optimus trying his best not to fight back?

So, Optimus decides Elita might have a point. And they let the Matrix decide who it wants to be with. They put it down on the floor and each starts calling it, and whoever it comes to is the one it loves, obviously! Okay, not really. But, almost.

And so, we get...Elita Prime! Who's basically just regular Elita with a jetpack. I guess they're making it REALLY easy for Hasbro to make toys out of these new designs, since they're basically all just slight modifications on their normal designs. Yeah, I guess I didn't see Elita becoming the new Prime. I...feel like her angry outburst this issue kind of makes it feel like she doesn't actually deserve it? This feels like a weird lesson to reward. "Yes, attack your boss, and assert your dominance, and you shall be rewarded for it." For violence not being "the Autobot way", it sure seemed to work out for Elita.

So, that means, Optimus is now just...well, "Optimus" now. Basically, his smaller "Orion Pax" form, but they're still calling him Optimus.

So, Elita Prime orders all the Autobots to return to Cybertron with her. And anyone who stays with Optimus on Earth will no longer be considered Autobots.

Sidenote, but Elita mentions Primus. Who has been mentioned before by Elita WAAY back in issue #8. Not sure if it's important that Elita is usually the one who mentions Primus, but I'll mention it, just to draw some attention to it.

So, Optimus now has a MUCH smaller team to fight off Megatron on Earth, now. Thundercracker, Cliffjumper, Beachcomber, Wheeljack, the remaining Aerialbots, Arcee Magnus, and interestingly Shredhead all stay behind on Earth. Given how battle-ready Shredhead is, I'm a little surprised he stayed behind on Earth. I guess it's because his buddy Cliffjumper, and Carly are here, since he is her van. The new, "rogue" Autobot symbol is half-erased with a "X" through it, which looks pretty cool. Kind of like a old, faded decal that's rubbed off over time. So...Optimus is left with two strong fighters, and a bunch of "weaker" ones. That definitely puts the "Auto-nots" on the back foot again. I'm guessing Kirkman did this, just so they'd be the underdogs, again.

This is also going to be Dan Mora's last issue for a while. He's got a dozen other books to draw! Something had to give. We will miss you! He wasn't on the book long, but he did good work.
 
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Shadewing

Shadewing

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Personally, I feel Elita is in the wrong here; the whole "Megatron is on THIS planet" should be enough for her. Everyone on Cybertron is basically small fish compared to him. Yeah Shockwave is waiting back on Cybertron, and he's also a big fish... But if you're wanting to stop a war, you want to take out its leaders and the most dangerous on isn't on the Home Planet. When Megatron was MIA, it made sense maybe to focus on Cybertron. The fact that at no point does she seem to even care about Megatron makes me feel she's a bad choice for leader. Sure take back Cybertron, but Megatron's just gonna come in and steam roll your victory.
 
Swerve

Swerve

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Citizen
So....they are taking Bumblebee and Ratchet to Cybertron to see if they can save them.
 
LBD "Nytetrayn"

LBD "Nytetrayn"

Broke the Matrix
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
From what I've read about the last issue or two (haven't read them, but there's been buzz, so...), this feels kinda... weird?

Like, not against it, but... maybe a bit much all at once? I'd say maybe too soon, but I guess if you've only been given so much time to shoot your shot...

Still, I wonder who's next. Does Airachnid become the new Shockwave? Slipstream the new Starscream? Firestar the new Star Saber?

Someone also pointed out how it's weird that Jazz of all bots went back to Cybertron.

I kinda hope one thing happens, though, with regards to the half-erased Autobot symbols:

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ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
Shadewing said:
Personally, I feel Elita is in the wrong here; the whole "Megatron is on THIS planet" should be enough for her. Everyone on Cybertron is basically small fish compared to him. Yeah Shockwave is waiting back on Cybertron, and he's also a big fish... But if you're wanting to stop a war, you want to take out its leaders and the most dangerous on isn't on the Home Planet. When Megatron was MIA, it made sense maybe to focus on Cybertron. The fact that at no point does she seem to even care about Megatron makes me feel she's a bad choice for leader. Sure take back Cybertron, but Megatron's just gonna come in and steam roll your victory.
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You know, there actually is a valid military tactic to what Elita is doing here. Securing a solid "home base", while your main enemy is "distracted" somewhere else. Making sure you shore up and fix your own home, before you try freeing anyone else's. Supposedly, regaining all of Cybertron would make it easier to take out Megatron, later. That's basically sacrificing Earth. But, Elita doesn't care about Earth, and she's really been given no reason to. I'm not even sure she's aware of how much Energon is on Earth. Because I'm not sure how many characters actually do know that. So, strategically, it only makes sense to make sure you take care of your own home, before fighting the main enemy force. We, the audience, know that's the wrong decision. But, we know more than Elita does. From Elita's point of view, I think it makes sense to focus on Cybertron. And they can deal with Megatron later, after they've gathered their strength and built up their defenses.

The problem I have with it, is how she goes about it, here. She basically tries to use her old relationship with Optimus to emotionally manipulate him into doing what she wants. And the minute that doesn't work, she chooses violence. And then the Matrix rewards her for that.

I think what I would have preferred, instead, was if Elita DID still challenge Optimus for leadership of the Autobots. But, instead of that leading to a direct fight, it lead to them both undergoing some sort of "trial" in Matrix Space. Getting pulled into the Matrix World, to be tested by some of the past Primes, to see which of them is the best fit for the moment. That way we could still have some action in this issue, but we'd also get a little more world-building. Elita could still be the new Prime, but it'd be a less direct confrontation, that didn't make it feel like it rewarded brutality.

Then again...maybe we're all calling this wrong. Maybe the Matrix choosing the "violent" or outright "wrong" option is actually a plot point. We saw back in issue #23 that something is WRONG with the Matrix. There's those purple tentacles everywhere. And that never actually got addressed. This might have something to do with Megatron's Quintesson Matrix "infecting" the Matrix Realm, or something? So, maybe Elita IS just the "wrong" choice. Elita might be the Quintesson's choice for Autobot leader? Or whatever it is that's infesting the Matrix.

I'll admit, I kind of forgot about that plot point, until right now. But, in my defense, Kirkman hasn't focused on that at all, yet, during his run. But, Kirkman might be planting seeds for something coming later, here.

That'd feel a little weird, too. But, I guess it would explain a few things. Elita might just be a "False Prime" chosen not by the spirits of the past Autobot leaders. But, chosen by whatever's infesting the Matrix. Mind you, if that was the case...they really should have given Elita a more extreme "goth" makeover for her new Prime form, or something. Something to give us a visual indication that something is "wrong" with Elita's new Prime form. But, maybe we'll still get something along those lines, later.

LBD "Nytetrayn" said:
Like, not against it, but... maybe a bit much all at once? I'd say maybe too soon, but I guess if you've only been given so much time to shoot your shot...
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Well, Kirkman's the one writing this book. And he's also the owner of the Skybound sub-brand of Image. So, unless he really wants to do another project, he's got as much time on the book as he wants to give himself. And the Energon Universe seems to be selling pretty well. So, I don't think Hasbro is going to threaten to pull the license from him, anytime soon.

I do think he's excited to get where he wants to go. So, he might be fast-tracking a path to that story he's trying to set up. Which might not be the most satisfying journey to get there. But, hopefully, the destination is worth it.

LBD "Nytetrayn" said:
I kinda hope one thing happens, though, with regards to the half-erased Autobot symbols:

1773389233827.png
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Yeah, okay, that'd make a lot of sense. Since this is effectively Optimus's faction now. His face as the new symbol works.

Although, he doesn't have the faceplate, anymore. So, the symbol wouldn't make total sense, right now.

But, Kirkman did hint in the letters page this issue that he had a plan for that. Kirkman seems to like the faceplate. So, we could see Optimus get another new redesign at some point. And there's no reason it couldn't be G2-inspired, in some way.
 
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LBD "Nytetrayn"

LBD "Nytetrayn"

Broke the Matrix
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Council of Elders
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ZakuConvoy said:
Well, Kirkman's the one writing this book. And he's also the owner of the Skybound sub-brand of Image. So, unless he really wants to do another project, he's got as much time on the book as he wants to give himself. And the Energon Universe seems to be selling pretty well. So, I don't think Hasbro is going to threaten to pull the license from him, anytime soon.
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Oh, I wasn't expecting the license to be pulled or anything, I just figured if it's like with the last guy, it's like "Okay, doing a XY-issue run, then I'll hand it off to the next person" kind of thing. I didn't realize he was doing it indefinitely.
 

Fullstrength Motleypuss

Well-known member
Citizen
In addition to some of the issues already discussed by others, another issue I have with the big development of this issue is it feels repetitive, since we just had Arcee upgraded in issue 28.
 

Cyoti

Member
Citizen
Robert Kirkman hasn’t exactly proven himself when it comes to handling characters inside big corporate owned franchise universes with multiple creators. His stint on Ultimate X-Men usually brought up as the example where he made a hash of everything.
 
LBD "Nytetrayn"

LBD "Nytetrayn"

Broke the Matrix
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Fullstrength Motleypuss said:
In addition to some of the issues already discussed by others, another issue I have with the big development of this issue is it feels repetitive, since we just had Arcee upgraded in issue 28.
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Yeah, that's kinda what I was saying. Feels like it's all happening kinda suddenly and at once under the new writer.

Which I'd understand if it's like "You're in for an arc, then you're out, unless we like you (read: you made us bank)," but since it's apparently the owner of the company...
 

ZakuConvoy

Well-known member
Citizen
Yeah, I'll admit, it does feel a bit abrupt. But, I think it serves a couple purposes.

One is "team balance". He gave two characters upgrades, but they're both on opposite sides of the Autobots now. Right now, both teams of Autobots each have a "Prime" and a "Magnus". It makes the teams more balanced, so we can see how the different philosophies of the leaders work. Even though, I'm pretty sure Elita's team has a lot more players to pull from. Elita's team does feel like it has a edge on Optimus's, right now. But, that might be on purpose, because if I had to bet on one or the other team getting wiped out...I'd bet Elita's team is the one that ends up getting the worst of it.

The second is just timing. The beginning of Kirkman's run has been a relatively "quiet" period on the book. The Autobots on the whole seem to be on a upswing. Things are going their way. It kind of makes sense for Kirkman to stack the deck in the Autobot's favor during this period. Giving upgrades to characters to make them more powerful. But...that's probably only so when the guillotine finally falls it's all the more devastating. I feel like the upgrades serve to build up our heroes, just so that they have further to fall, later on during Kirkman's run. The upgrades serve the purpose of showing that even with their new strength, they're no match against what's coming. Making the heroes a little bit cocky, before they get humbled again. Story structure stuff.

It does feel a bit repetitive to have both these similar stories happen around the same time. But, I can't say there hasn't been buildup to it. Elita's been unhappy with Optimus for a while now. And Arcee has been bonding with Ultra Magnus for a while, too. Both of these stories probably just needed to happen now, if they were going to ever happen, because Kirkman was planning to split the team. Ultra Magnus couldn't mentor Arcee if he was going to be on Cybertron. And Elita needed a upgrade, if she was going to poach half of Optimus's crew.

Kirkman probably had the idea for the team splitting up since he started his run. So, it was kind of now or never for these plotlines to happen. It is a little "convenient" just so that the plot can happen. But, sometimes that's how it goes. And I think having A and B plots on Earth and Cybertron will make for a interesting time. So, I'm interested enough in where he's going with it.
 

LiamA

Active member
Citizen
Don't know if this has been posted yet. Skybound has released compendiums of the original Marvel Transformers and G.I. Joe series. I've found them on the website Hoopla.
 
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