Just two years after Robert Kirkman‘s Skybound Entertainment helped Image Comics launch the Energon Universe, the Invincible creator is teaming up with Hasbro Entertainment to develop the concept as an adult-oriented animated series.
According to Deadline, Kirkman has tabbed Lucifer scribe as showrunner Joe Henderson for the project for Hasbro, who is expected to begin shopping it around shortly.
Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies-the Decepticons.
-Official synopsis for Transformers via Image Comics
As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. And humanity’s only hope of survival is Optimus Prime.
The Image Comics Energon Universe is a shared fictional universe published by Skybound Entertainment (an imprint of Image Comics) in collaboration with Hasbro. It serves as a comprehensive reboot and unified continuity for the franchises of Transformers, G.I. Joe, and a new original property, Void Rivals, all tied together by the concept of Energon, the substance the Transformers need to survive.
Launched in June 2023, Void Rivals served as the initial cornerstone of the universe. It follows two soldiers, Darak (Agorrian) and Solila (Zertonian), from two warring alien races within the distant space anomaly known as the Sacred Ring. When they crash-land on a mysterious planetoid, they are forced to work together to survive, only to uncover a secret that reveals their two cultures are tied to ancient Cybertronian technology and the origin of the Transformers’ war. The first issue features the surprise first appearance of a Transformer (Jetfire), officially linking the franchises.
War rages around the Sacred Ring where the last remnants of two worlds have collapsed around a black hole in a never-ending war.
-Official synopsis for Void Rivals via Image Comics
However when pilot Darak and his rival Solila both crash on a desolate planet these two enemies must find a way to escape together. But are they alone on this strange planet? And what dark forces await that threaten the entire universe?
Image followed up Void Rivals in October 2023 with an all-new Transformers ongoing book which focuses on The Autobots and Decepticons’ war expanding to Earth. The story picks up after a contingent of Transformers crash-land and are dormant before being accidentally reactivated.
At the same time, four, solo, limited series were launched featuring key G.I. Joe franchise characters Cobra Commander, Destro, Duke and Scarlett. In November 2023, Joshua Williamson‘s G.I. Joe #1 hit shelves, telling the story of how the emergence of the Transformers on Earth spurs the formation of G.I. Joe and Cobra as military responses to the threat and the new energy source.
It’s unclear if one project or several are being developed for streaming.
Source: Deadline
