The Transformers roll out, renewed and rebooted for Image/Skybound’s Energon Universe in a story written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson, colored by Mike Spicer and lettered by Rus Wooton.
Tony Thornley: Austin, thanks for joining me. A few months ago here at CXF, I reviewed Void Rivals #1 and found it surprisingly fun and extremely engaging. Now, we’re in the centerpiece of the new Energon Universe line, and I’m excited to chat about it.
Austin Gorton: I have not been reading Void Rivals, but I’m an old school Transformers fan from way back (though my knowledge of their lore across all its different iterations is far from encyclopedic), and I’m intrigued by the promise of this new “Energon Universe” and all it entails. From the Transformers side of things, this first issue is a good first step toward living up to that promise.
Tony: See, and I’m a very casual fan. Kids from the ’80s seemed to be in two camps — Transformers or G.I. Joe. I was ALWAYS a G.I. Joe guy. A Tom Reilly-drawn Duke series is exactly my jam. But I’ve kept up with Transformers enough to really come to like them, dense mythology and everything.
Austin: I was that rare kid who was into both, so mayhaps we’ll have to reunite when the G.I. Joe side of the Energon Universe rolls out. What did you make of this overall?
Tony: So I’ll say this right off the bat: I think Daniel Warren Johnson was exactly the creator this refresh needed. He’s become known for amazing visuals, but he’s also absolutely amazing at using his visual storytelling chops to tell deep and complex stories about well-rounded individuals.
And in that regard, I didn’t expect Transformers to give us the beginning of a story about generational trauma, the complex way we all process grief, and the bond between fathers and sons … but I should have.
Also, Optimus Prime suplexes a Decepticon. Like, Johnson just gets that right out of the way in issue #1.
Tony: My favorite thing about this comic is that it’s about the people first. Spike and Sparky Witwicky are the perfect entry point characters, but also they are completely unlike any version of the Witwickys we’ve ever gotten before. Spike is a kid growing up in the shadow of his dead brother, and Sparky is still processing his grief over losing his son, badly. Carly, Spike’s girlfriend, is less complex — she’s an artist who’s trying to fulfill her dream — but still is more than just “Spike’s girlfriend.” Also, she’s totally going to airbrush Optimus Prime on her van by the end of the second arc.
Austin: There’s definitely a feeling among some Transformers fans (or at least me) that if not handled correctly, the humans in Transformers stories become an irritant distracting from the fun shenanigans of the giant transforming robots. Thankfully, that’s not the case here (at least not yet). Johnson does an effective job of quickly presenting brief sketches of the (human) characters to establish some reader buy-in before pulling in the Transformers themselves. As a result, Spike and Carly get to be reader surrogates to the awakening of the Transformers on Earth, but are already more than just blank innocent bystanders randomly caught up in events and trying to survive a clash of robots. We know a little about them, and as you mentioned up top, Johnson quickly connects the Transformers and the Witwickys thematically as well, which goes a long way toward making the human characters feel relevant to the story as more than just a narrative necessity.
Just as Sparky and Spike are dealing with the loss of Spike’s brother, Jetfire — at this point, the connective tissue of the Energon Universe — is on hand to underscore how an entire generation of Transformers has been lost to war. Jetfire’s joy at seeing his old friend Starscream alive and well, only for Starscream to be a complete and utter dick to him thanks to the factionalization of a conflict Jetfire isn’t even aware of, is surprisingly sad. It’s like reuniting with an old college buddy after years apart only to realize you no longer have anything in common, except you also haven’t seen or interacted with any other member of your species for the same period of time.
Tony: It’s almost like reconnecting and suddenly realizing, “Oh no, you’re a fascist!” Poor Jetfire, though. That guy has had it rough. His appearances so far haven’t been good to him.
So I really like how the Ark (because it’s Transformers, it’s always an Ark) has a mixture of Autobots and Decepticons who are all waiting to be woken up and repaired. I’m really curious about that story. How did this mixed crew end up on Earth? Why are they mixed together?
Austin: It’s all a really neat homage to the opening of the original animated series/comic book, with the Autobots fleeing Cybertron, getting attacked en route by the Decepticons, and then both groups crashing on Earth aboard the Ark into the mountain before Teletraan One gives them new alt modes and they wake up. That’s basically what we see here (with, to your point, the immediate pre-crash circumstances still a mystery), with a few interesting tweaks.
Tony: I do love this scene from here as Jetfire uses Teletraan One, the ship’s computer, to start to repair and wake everyone, seemingly at random. A lot of fans thought, “Oh, these casts are so random,” and that’s exactly it — they are. Teletraan One starts with Starscream, then Optimus, then Ratchet, Skywarp and Soudwave, and a brawl ensues. Absolutely my favorite part of the issue here. Johnson packs it with great action beats, but also emotional impact for everyone.
Austin: It’s definitely much more visceral in its action/violence than those previous stories. This is where the aforementioned suplex occurs, and there’s almost horror beats as the revived Starscream immediately starts blasting away at the unconscious Autobots (poor Bumblebee takes a shot to the face, the sight of which later fills Optimus with despair, because Johnson correctly knows the best Prime is a sad one).
I also like the way Johnson effortlessly switches between perspectives during this action set piece, shifting back and forth from showing us action from the perspective of the Transformers and from the perspective of Spike and Carly. It’d be easy for the transition from “giant looming robots” to straight-on “regular” sized figures to be jarring and disorienting, but he handles the transitions well. This sequence also features my single favorite image from the issue, when Spike and Carly in the foreground are trying to push (what is to them) Optimus’ giant gun in the background of the panel toward Optimus, who is busy being piled on by Starscream and Ravage. The sense of scale and perspective at work is wonderful.
Tony: It’s totally great. Spike and Carly are literal POV characters here. I like how much Johnson captures the sense of awe that should come from this moment. This is Earth’s first contact moment, and it’s with a group of giant alien robots who are at war within their race. It’s terrifying, but it’s also really freaking cool.
Optimus is being driven by his parental/leadership instincts, so it’s total self-defense mode. That doesn’t mean he’s just holding up his arm and getting his people out. He’s giving Ratchet time to do that, sure, but he’s also putting the hurt on Starscream’s soldiers as well. And the moment he takes with ’Bee …
I kind of love that Johnson takes ’Bee off the table immediately. I mean, we just saw everyone reassembled from shattered pieces, so I’m not going to say he’s DEAD dead. However, I have to think he’s off the table for the foreseeable future, which means Johnson’s core Autobots are going to have to build a dynamic as a team that’s definitely unfamiliar to us. But it’s not a fridging either. This is war, and Starscream did something evil and cowardly to try to win it. Of course it’s going to impact Optimus, but it’s also going to drive the story forward.
Austin: I agree, and along those lines, I also appreciate that Megatron is off the table at the moment. Like, we all know he’s coming, but that makes him a looming threat that builds tension as we go longer and longer before his appearance. In the meantime, we’ve got Starscream leading a ragtag group of Decepticons, which is neat. Metatextually, it’s a shit-or-get-off-the-pot moment for Starscream: He always wanted to lead, and now he is. Let’s see how he does (and watch Johnson wake up Megatron next issue).
Tony: I mean, he has to be on the way. He didn’t appear to be on the Ark, so we’ll see.
Austin: All in all, the immediate configurations of both Transformers groups is another clever way to shake things up and add some new dynamics to a familiar setup. It manages to thread the needle between “familiar” and “fresh,” which is both a necessary and difficult thing for relaunches like this to do. The mixing of familiar characters in a familiar setting in new configurations and with slightly different setups gets it done.
Tony: I trusted Johnson BEFORE I read this issue, and I trust him more afterward. This is good comics storytelling that I think a lot of publishers could learn from. I mean, it has fantastic action beats, strong emotional stakes and characters — not just protagonists — that we can get invested in.
Except Davey. Poor Davey.
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Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
Austin Gorton also reviews older issues of X-Men at the Real Gentlemen of Leisure website, co-hosts the A Very Special episode podcast, and likes Star Wars. He lives outside Minneapolis, where sometimes, it is not cold. Follow him on Twitter @AustinGorton
