If you made it to your local comic shop this past Saturday, then you were fortunate to pick up Energon Universe Special #1 along with 47 other fantastic titles such as Star Wars, Spider-Man, DC’s Absolute Power, Snoopy, Gatchaman, Flash Gordon, Johnny Quest, and more!
If you missed out, don’t you worry! Image and Skybound took a new approach, making their title available later this week at retail cost ($3.99) and of course, in good ol’ fashion an insane number of variant covers ranging from $10 to $50 depending on retailer.
There are no differences whatsoever. Regardless if you got the FCBD or pick up the retail version, the stories are identical with no extras. So if you got the FCBD version and opt to buy the variant covers, then bear in mind this is all you are buying it for. Variants.
The offering is a fantastic read, with three stories featuring characters through the Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Void Rivals titles. The first tale features a spotlight on Megatron. Beginning with a familiar battle on the Ark prior to its crashing on Earth, where we see a different course of how Megatron is eliminated from the fight and winds up in custody on Cobra-La. It’s fascinating to see a completely different take on how these events unfold, which tie-in oh-so perfectly with the current story arc. We saw in an earlier issue of Cobra Commander and Transformers where Megatron exactly is now, additionally what exactly is burned into that cortex of his.
How Megatron lost his weaponized arm? Covered.
Despite being lost and isolated in an arctic climate, the Transformers tale is heating up.
The second story involves some characters originally from the Transformers universe and were incorporated into Void Rivals. Two aliens, the Skuxxoid and Slizardo confess their failures due to the involvement of the Quintessons. However their luck doesn’t get any better as Autobot Hot Rod makes a surprise appearance, questioning the two as to the whereabouts of a certain alloy and the location of another Cybertronian who is believed to have the skills and knowledge to change the tide of the ongoing war. While there are few references directly to Void Rivals, there is enough to implicate there will be some direct involvement by the Transformers in upcoming Void Rivals issues, as evidenced with Autobot Springer gracing the cover of Issue #9 to be released on May 22nd.
The final story takes off following the events of Duke #5, the final issue of the mini-series where The Baroness shares some of the spotlight. The premise involves how Hawk intends to move forward with Duke and the formation of G.I. Joe. That being said, it does seem some less than ethical tactics are employed in order to manipulate Duke for one of their special forces teams.
Wait. Did I say “one of their” teams? Yes. I did, but I will say no more. Pick up a FCBD edition on purchase from your local retailer this Wednesday.
I have to say, the crew at Image and Skybound are simply killing it with the Energon Universe. I get the same thrills when I used to read the Marvel comics as a kid, eagerly and impatiently waiting for what would come next. It feels so exciting to see what feels, to me at least, to be such a bona-fide fresh take on Transformers and the larger Hasbro universe.
To see such a modern update and perspective as to how the appearance of giant alien robots would impact our world, granted while fantasy, does have a sense of realism to it.
Transformers Issue #8 along with the retail version of Energon Universe Special hits retailers this Wednesday.
