| "Energon Universe" | |
|---|---|
 Official logo. | |
| Publisher | |
| Publication date | June 2023 – present |
| Genre | |
| Main characters |
|
| Creative team | |
| Writer | Various |
| Artist | Various |
| Letterer | Rus Wooton |
| Colorist | Various |
| Editors |
|
TheEnergon Universe (EU) is an ongoingAmericanmedia franchise andsharedfictional universe created byRobert Kirkman, and overseen bySkybound Entertainment, an imprint ofImage Comics, in collaboration withHasbro.[1]
The franchise is the successor of theHasbro Comic Book Universe (2005–2018) byIDW Publishing, and features concepts and characters from classicintellectual properties likeTransformers andG.I. Joe, alongside original comics likeVoid Rivals.[2]
BeforeIDW Publishing lost the licenses to produceTransformers andG.I. Joe comics at the end of 2022, in December 2021, it was reported thatSkybound Entertainment, an imprint ofImage Comics, was in talks withHasbro to acquire those licenses.[4][5] Skybound would officially announce it in June 2023.[3]
The Energon Universe debuted on June 14, 2023, with the original seriesVoid Rivals, written byRobert Kirkman, drawn by Lorenzo De Felici and Conor Hughes, and colored by Matheus Lopes and Patricio Delpeche.[1] Kirkman and De Felici had previously worked together in another comic titledOblivion Song.[6]
Kirkman said, "It's a tremendous honor to be able to reintroduce this world to a new audience under the Skybound banner. I’ve loved these characters for most of my life and to have the opportunity to add to the already rich tapestry Hasbro has built with the all-newVoid Rivals is an unbelievable opportunity. If you look at everything done withTransformers andG.I. Joe, you can see the inkling of a vast universe with tremendous potential for crossovers and interaction that will enhance the fan experience while staying true to the individual identities of both concepts. I look forward to exploring that potential for years to come."[7]
Michael Kelly, who was Vice President of Global Publishing on Hasbro until December 2023, added, “When we first discussed the plan for the surprise reveal inVoid Rivals #1, I never expected it would be a secret we could keep for over a year. Now that it is finally here, we are all excited to finally be able to talk about all the amazing stories to come from our great new partners at Skybound.”[7]
Void Rivals is followed by aTransformers ongoing series and fourG.I. Joe limited series featuringDuke,Cobra Commander,Scarlett, andDestro as main protagonists.[8] Kirkman also brought up the possibility of adding other action brands from Hasbro in the future,[9] and confirmed that they will not have more than four series running at once,[a] as well as not adding more titles (for now) to keep the line at a manageable, easy-to-follow size.[b]
In May 2024, Skybound announced four connecting variant covers to celebrate the EU's first anniversary for June 2024. The covers are drawn by Jason Howard and colored by Annalisa Leoni.[10] In June 2024, Skybound officially announced the newG.I. Joe ongoing series that follows its four previous prequels.[11] In November 2024, Skybound announced deluxe editions for the coming years.[12]
In May 2025, Skybound announced three connecting variant covers to celebrate the EU's second anniversary for June 2025.[13]
| Publisher | Country | Language | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ades Media | Sweden | Swedish | [citation needed] |
| Moztros Editorial | Spain | Spanish | [14][15] |
| Nagle Comics | Poland | Polish | [16] |
| OVNI Press | Latin America | Spanish | [17] |
| Panini Comics | Germany | German | [citation needed] |
| saldaPress | Italy | Italian | [18] |
| Szukits Kiadó | Hungary | Hungarian | [citation needed] |
| Tiandi Press | China | Chinese | [citation needed] |
| Urban Comics | France | French | [19] |
| N ° | Intellectual property | Debut year | Creator(s) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Void Rivals | 2023 | Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici | Original comic book series |
| 2 | Transformers | 1984 | Shōji Kawamori andKazutaka Miyatake | Co-owned byHasbro andTakara Tomy |
| 3 | G.I. Joe | 1964 | Stanley Weston andDonald Levine | — |
| 4 | M.A.S.K. | 1985 | Kenner Products | — |
The Energon Universe is set in thepresent (modern era); the franchise name makes reference to the substance that Transformers need to survive.[20]
In the Sacred Ring, there is a war between Agorrians and Zertonians. When two rivals named Darak and Solila crash on a mysterious planetoid, they must work together in order to survive. In the process, they learn a secret that will change everything they believed about their war.[21]
Meanwhile, the other war betweenAutobots andDecepticons on Cybertron expands toEarth, leading to the foundation ofG.I. Joe andCobra in response. A chain of events will cause all those factions to fight against each other, changing the fate of humanity (and the universe) forever.[22]
| Star system | Planet | Species/Race | Factions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hadean System | Cybertron | Cybertronian (Transformer) | Autobots Decepticons |
| Sacred Ring | Agorria | Agorrian | Keepers of the Light Unifiers |
| Zertonia | Zertonian | ||
| Solar System | Earth | Earthling (human) | Arashikage clan Cobra Cobra-La Dreadnoks G.I. Joe M.A.R.S. Industries Mugenonami group Night Force Shadow Force United States military |
| — | Junkion | Junkion (Transformer) | Junkions |
| — | Monacus | Monacolian | — |
| — | Nebulos | Nebulan | — |
| — | Prysmos | Prysmosian | — |
| — | Quintessa | Quintesson | Allicons Sharkticons |
| Title | Writer | Artist(s) | Colorist(s) | Debut date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Kirkman | Andrei Bressan Lorenzo De Felici Conor Hughes | Patricio Delpeche Matheus Lopes | June 14, 2023[1] | |
| Daniel Warren Johnson (1–24)[23] Robert Kirkman (25–)[24] | Jorge Corona Jason Howard Daniel Warren Johnson[23] Ludo Lullabi Dan Mora[24] | Adriano Lucas Mike Spicer Sarah Stern | October 4, 2023[8] | |
| Joshua Williamson | Marco Foderà Andrea Milana Tom Reilly | Jordie Bellaire Lee Loughridge | November 13, 2024[11] |
| Title | Issues | Writer | Artist(s) | Colorist | Debut date | Conclusion date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–5 | Joshua Williamson | Tom Reilly | Jordie Bellaire | December 27, 2023[8] | April 24, 2024[25] | |
| Andrea Milana | Annalisa Leoni | January 17, 2024[8] | May 15, 2024[26] | |||
| Kelly Thompson | Marco Ferrari | Lee Loughridge | June 5, 2024[27] | October 9, 2024 | ||
| Dan Watters | Andrei Bressan Andrea Milana | Adriano Lucas | June 19, 2024[27] | October 16, 2024 |
| Title | Side story | Writer | Artist | Colorist | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Void Rivals | Robert Kirkman | Lorenzo De Felici | Matheus Lopes | May 4, 2024 (Free Comic Book Day)[28] May 8, 2024 (variant covers)[29] |
| Transfomers | Daniel Warren Johnson | Ryan Ottley | Mike Spicer | ||
| G.I. Joe | Joshua Williamson | Jason Howard | Annalisa Leoni | ||
| Void Rivals | Robert Kirkman | Conor Hughes | Patricio Depelche | May 3, 2025 (Free Comic Book Day)[30] May 14, 2025 (variant covers) |
| Transfomers | Daniel Warren Johnson | Mike Spicer | |||
| G.I. Joe | Joshua Williamson | Andrea Milana | Lee Loughridge | ||
| Title | Writer | Artist | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Kirkman Joshua Williamson | Dan Mora Tom Reilly | July 27, 2024 (San Diego Comic-Con) |
The EU comics have been receiving general positive reviews for their narrative, tone and complex storylines, with critics praisingVoid Rivals for the surprising guest appearance of severalTransformers andG.I. Joe characters in each issue.[31]
| Series | Critic rating | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Ongoing series | ||
| Void Rivals | 8.4 | [32] |
| Transformers | 9.1 | [33] |
| G.I. Joe | 8.7 | [34] |
| Limited series | ||
| Duke | 8.7 | [35] |
| Cobra Commander | 8.5 | [36] |
| Scarlett | 8.3 | [37] |
| Destro | 8.4 | [38] |
| One-shot issues | ||
| Energon Universe 2024 Special | 9.3 | [39] |
| Energon Universe 2025 Special | — | — |
Until March 2024, the franchise sold over one million copies ofVoid Rivals,Transformers,Duke andCobra Commander in total.[40] Following their highly positive critics, reprints have been made.[41][42]
In June 2024,Transformers #10,Scarlett #2,Destro #2 andVoid Rivals #11 were part of Image's Top 10 Comics in Direct Market.[43]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Comic | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Eisner Awards | Best Continuing Series | Daniel Warren Johnson | Transformers | Won | [44] |
| Best Lettering | Rus Wooton | — | Nominated | [44] | ||
| Best Writer/Artist | Daniel Warren Johnson | Transformers | Won | [44] | ||
| ComicBook.com Golden Issue Awards | Best Artist | Jorge Corona | Transformers | Won | [45][46] | |
| Best Colorist | Jordie Bellaire | G.I. Joe | Nominated | [45] | ||
| 2025 | Eisner Awards | Best Coloring | Jordie Bellaire | Duke G.I. Joe | Won | [47] |
| Best Writer | Kelly Thompson | Scarlett | Nominated | [47] |
| # | Title | Material collected | Pages | Released | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Void Rivals | |||||
| 1 | More than Meets the Eye |
| 136 | 21 Feb 2024[48] | 978-1534398184[48] |
| 2 | Hunted Across the Wasteland |
| 128 | 4 Sep 2024[49] | 978-1534328372[49] |
| 3 | The Key to Vector Theta |
| 128 | 10 Jun 2025 | 978-1534326910 |
| 4 | First Chosen |
| 128 | 9 Dec 2025 | 978-1534329539 |
| 5 | Quintesson War |
| 128 | 21 Jul 2026 | 978-1534332515 |
| Transformers | |||||
| 1 | Robots in Disguise |
| 136 | 8 May 2024[50] | 978-1534398177[50] |
| 2 | Transport to Oblivion |
| 128 | 13 Nov 2024[51] | 978-1534345270[51] |
| 3 | Combiner Chaos |
| 136 | 27 May 2025 | 978-1534325593 |
| 4 | Conquer and Control |
| 144 | 25 Nov 2025 | 978-1534332584 |
| 5 | Generation One |
| 144 | 2 Jun 2026 | 978-1534333550 |
| Codename: G.I. Joe | |||||
| — | Duke: Knowing is Half the Battle |
| 112 | 5 Jun 2024[52] | 978-1534398160[52] |
| — | Cobra Commander: Determined to Rule the World |
| 112 | 10 Jul 2024[53] | 978-1534398153[53] |
| — | Scarlett: Special Mission |
| 120 | 6 Nov 2024[54] | 978-1534374140[54] |
| — | Destro: The Enemy |
| 120 | 20 Nov 2024[55] | 978-1534351066[55] |
| G.I. Joe | |||||
| 1 | The Cobra Strikes! |
| 160 | 17 Jun 2025 | 978-1534328075 |
| 2 | Bludd's Revenge |
| 128 | 18 Nov 2025 | 978-1534329904 |
| 3 | Dreadnok War |
| 128 | 13 Mar 2026 | 978-1534333451 |
| # | Title | Material collected | Pages | Released | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Void Rivals | |||||
| 1 | Void Rivals: Deluxe Edition, Book 1 |
| 272 | 3 Jun 2025 | Darak orange cover:978-1534328242 |
| Soila green DM cover:978-1534332508 | |||||
| 2 | Void Rivals: Deluxe Edition, Book 2 |
| 278 | 23 Jun 2026 | 978-1534335257 |
| Transformers | |||||
| 1 | Transformers: Deluxe Edition, Book 1 |
| 280 | 13 May 2025 | Autobot blue cover:978-1534328235 |
| Decepticon purple DM cover:978-1534329607 | |||||
| 2 | Transformers: Deluxe Edition, Book 2 |
| 288 | 26 May 2026 | 978-1534330481 |
| Codename: G.I. Joe | |||||
| 1 | Codename: G.I. Joe: Deluxe Edition, Book 1 |
| 256 | 24 Jun 2025 | Reilly olive cover:978-1534328228 |
| Milana red DM cover:978-1534333895 | |||||
| 2 | Codename: G.I. Joe: Deluxe Edition, Book 2 |
| 256 | 7 Oct 2025 | Ferrari orange cover:978-1534332546 |
| Bressan silver DM cover:978-1534330559 | |||||
| G.I. Joe | |||||
| 1 | G.I. Joe: Deluxe Edition, Book 1 |
| 288 | 30 Jun 2026 | 978-1534334526 |
In October 2025, it was announced that anadult animatedtelevision series based on the Energon Universe was in development, with Joe Henderson attached as writer andshowrunner of the adaptation.[58]
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Hasbro Entertainment productions | ||
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| See also | ||
