“Today’s” Comic> Energon Universe Free Comic Book Day 2024 Special

This is why nobody invites Megatron to parties.

Energon Universe 2024 Special (Free Comic Book Day)

Image Comics/Skybound Entertainment (May, 2024)

COVER ART: Ryan Ottley & Annalisa Leoni

LETTERER: Rus Wootan

DESIGNER: Andres Juarez

EDITORS: Sean Mackiewicz & Jonathan Manning

This comic features three previews for the titles currently part of Hasbro’s latest attempt to create a shared universe from their properties–Transformers, G.I. Joe, and the Skybound original series Void Rivals. We’ll take a brief look at each story.

Transformers:

WRITER: Daniel Warren Johnson | ARTIST: Ryan Ottley | COLORIST: Annalisa Leoni

Want to see Megatron just trash everybody like the shuttle scene from the first animated movie? Because that’s what half of the story is, Megatron killing G1 Autobots in a flashback before being betrayed by Starscream. He wakes up in Cobra-La, and even Golobulus is unable to stop him. Interestingly, Megatron does let one of them live for telling him where his arm is. Megatron keeps going on about the “true way”, and I’m wondering if Johnson mistook him for Bludgeon? Either way, it’s the violence level that continues to keep me from being interested in the Energon Universe take on Transformers.

Void Rivals:

WRITER: Robert Kirkman | ARTIST: Lorenzo De Felici (both co-creators) | COLORIST: Matheus Lopes

The second story has Hot Rod meeting with two aliens from the original cartoon, Slizzardo and Skuxxoid (which I think may still be a race rather than his name but it’s been awhile). He’s trying to find an ally who is searching for some key to ending the war, but the Quintessons already took a sample alloy from the Skuxxoid. And there’s a fourth party watching. I’m not sure what happened to the aliens from the first preview that launched the Energon Universe years ago but it’s hard to get into this knowing what this continuity is like.

G.I. Joe:

WRITER: Joshua Williamson | ARTIST: Jason Howard | COLORIST: Mike Spicer

Duke wants to recruit the Baroness to G.I. Joe, Not sure what’s happened in the main comic, but it seems rather early in the run, and Baroness makes a great enemy. After arguing with Hawk about it, he ends up rescuing her from two attackers, which turn out to be Flint and Lady Jaye in disguise because Hawk has his own ideas about how to recruit–and he’s making a second team. Like I said, it’s too early for “reformed” Baroness, I don’t care about the internal politics, and the only G.I Joe series I ever really got into was the original cartoon, though I’ve tried most of the others over the years.

overall

Did this make me interested in the Energon Universe? Not really. It’s still not fun to me, way too violent, and too dark for what I want in properties based on kids stories and toys. I liked the originals the way they were and just can’t get into an “adult” version. These were properties made for kids from the 1980s. It was made in the 1980s–and earlier in the case of G.I. Joe–for kids. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t need an adult version of kids properties, and considering how many adults hate seeing adult properties altered for kids you’d think they’d understand that thought process. I guess not, given how many people on the internet hate kids in general.