That is my Question

Well we are getting closer to Optimus Optimus first true fight without the Matrix of Leadership between Cobra-La & whatever the Decepticons have planned

I wanna how he adapts for combat specially with what is around the corner with Megatron & his upgrades how much Optimus has in thee other end of that story & how much damage he has gotten in the aftermath

It be interesting the stories that fallow it to maybe Optimus finds a new weapon to make up for loosing the Matrix or his own upgrades

But thats me what do you think is next?

Art by Sid Kotian

I read the EU back when it started coming out in late 2023, and I read the first few Void Rivals, some Transformers, an maybe 2 of the G.I. Joe series, but I think I lost interest in early 2024, and didn't keep up. I got back into Transformers recently, and was wondering if it would be fine if I just read the Transformers book through without anything else at the same time, and then go back and read Void Rivals and other things.

That is my Question

In the Energon Universe is a lot like the Ultimates in the New Ultimate Universe were there job is basically to rebuild the world

Unlike the Ultimates the MASK doesn't have have powers well mostly so it is a harder job

I think it would be cool if the team had multiple headquarters specially since its a global thing & connecting to the Energon Universe

My idea would be interesting to how Matt Trakker reacting to the Responsibility slowly increasing as the comic continues

But thats me what do you think is MASK Next Step?

Art by Derek Charm

Been doing some thinking as to how the Dinobots would be incorporated into the comic, especially since I have seen a few people not being happy over them seemingly being inspired by Sunbow. Here's my take.

I would actually like to take some inspiration from Sunbow but also from Marvel/FoC. Strong and powerful brutes that prefer to act on their own but at the same time a bit stupid. For Grimlock in particular however, I actually want him and his dynamic with Optimus to be inspired by Cyberworld. For those who haven't watched it, the basic summary is at first, Grimlock didn't like Optimus or his leadership skills, leading to some conflicts between the two until Optimus gained Grimlock's respect, at which point he basically became a ride or die for Prime. Seeing as we already have Elita being the one to combat Optimus's leadership I feel like this would be the best option to avoid retreading old ground and character arcs.

As for Snarl, who's been missing from all the covers, I think he, and possibly other Dinobots, are with Starscream, judging by him stealing some of Wheeljack's work in issue 36. With the "how many can I carry" line I do think he probably took more than just 1 spark, so I think it's possible we might see others like Slash or Scorn eventually. The way I see this playing out is Starscream witnessing the Dinobots Wheeljack created in action and then deciding to copy him using the sparks he stole. Hence, I think we could get an adaptation of "War of the Dinobots" from G1 with Starscream in Megatron's place and Snarl in Grimlock's.

I could also see this being how Grimlock grows to respect Optimus. Maybe at first, Grimlock's team encounters Starscream and his Dinobots, with Grimlock trying to get them to join him based on strength alone, but fails. Then Optimus helps Grimlock learn a different approach to leadership, which eventually works and gets Snarl and the others on his side.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what would happen beyond them acting as enforcers. But what do you all think? How would you want the comic to handle these guys?

This is a specific fear I have going into the next arc that's really keeping me on edge. Because it just feels like something that would happen, right? Megatron or his Decepticons are gonna kill an Autobot to really establish the stakes and be a gut punch or something.

And yet... I don't think Kirkman should, and there's a specific reason why I don't think he should.

I can't see an outcome where any Autobot death would feel satisfying or earned.

Wheeljack, Arcee, Cliffjumper, Beachcomber, Thundercracker, and Hound—if we're counting him—have too much going on, so killing them off would probably cripple the story direction. Wheeljack in particular since he's the only mechanically minded main cast member at the moment.

The Aerialbots just added Thundercracker to Superion, so losing that right away would suck.

Jazz, Jetfire, and/or whoever else comes along with them back from Cybertron would be unsatisfying because we just got them back.

Any of the new Autobots Beachomber finds in his search arc would be bad for the same reason.

I think the only Autobot safe from death is Shredhead, but only because we just had a death fake-out for him.

With all this in mind, I really think killing any Autobot in this next arc would be a bad idea. People are finally starting to feel like they can get invested in the characters since Kirkman's toned down the death toll (aside from Trailbreaker). Do we really want to backslide into that again?

But sadly given how much narrative "sense" it would probably make, I'm scared Kirkman might do it. Like maybe Beachcomber will find...I dunno...Skids or something, and then he'll die right away.

I'm hoping to be proven wrong.

It's so bad omg ew ew ew I'm almost glad he's barely in it after the writer change but I miss my boy 😭

I got a chance to meet Daniel Warren Johnson today after work! I managed to ask him a couple questions, I asked about who Astrotrain’s love was? He doesn’t really have an answer for that which kinda surprised me, he mentioned how much it sucked working for Hasbro, how the deer scene almost didn’t make it in. I also asked about his opinions about the current run, he has a real positive outlook on it! He’s a super cool guy, he signed my credit card and a comic that was given to me by another super cool guy in line! ( THANKS JOHN!)

DWJ was nice, appreciate the sizing on the remark especially

There's no way they kill onslaught and keep the others around right?

Especially with how popular he's becoming recently

I just wanted to take a moment to just look back on and reflect on one year of Robert Kirkman's Transformers run.

So to start off, and I want to get this out of the way right now, I don't think Kirkman's a bad writer. He has his faults, and he's had his low points like all writers do, but I hesitate to call him a bad writer entirely; he's done plenty of good stuff in the past, and he's doing good stuff now in Void Rivals. I really like that book at the moment.

But I think we're all in agreement; his Transformers run has left a lot to be desired, especially after how strong Daniel Warren Johnson was.

Although to be fair, as enjoyable as it was, I don't think DWJ's run was perfect either. I think the biggest problem was that Johnson never really took the time to just establish a proper status quo for the comic and let it stick for more than one arc, and subsequently, there were hardly any breather points that just allowed the characters to sit down and give us time to enjoy them. And of course there's its infamous body count, which was so excessive that even Johnson somewhat admitted he took it too far.

I'll say this: I do think one of the pros of Kirkman's run is that he does seem to be trying to fix some of this. The entirety of his second arc seems to be just letting the current status quo breathe for a bit, and the only major character death has been Trailbreaker. But that could all change with the upcoming Megatronus Rex arc...

And yet...it still doesn't feel right at points. I think it's mostly because Kirkman's run has had some really bizarre creative decisions. I think the idea of Elita taking over for Optimus was interesting, but in execution it's really lacking and made Elita come off as a massive jerk (especially after the "not real Autobots" thing), which makes it hard to get behind her as a leader, which clearly wasn't Kirkman's intention (it's worth noting Johnson was the one who came up with the Elita Prime concept, and I'm curious how he would have handled this plot development).

It's not helped by Kirkman's bizzare pacing. We're constantly rushing through certain plot points that probably should have been whole arcs on their own (Miles Mayhem going rogue, Arcee becoming Magnus, Elita talking to Sparky, etc.), but then the overall story takes forever to go anywhere interesting. It's weird.

And of course there's my big sticking point, the fact that Kirkman introduced Sideswipe, Mirage, and Bulkhead and retconned Blaster and Brawn to be alive, only to do nothing with them and have them go back to Cybertron with Elita right away. Mirage probably got this the worst deal of all of them since he was written out in Issue #37. I know a lot of people have disagreed with me on this, but I stand by it. I don't understand what the point is in introducing a whole bunch of new characters if you're not going to do anything with them.

In general I'd have to say my biggest problem with Kirkman's run is how all over the place it's felt. I don't have a clear idea of where Kirkman is going with all this, and it's made the book a frustrating read. Not helped by how reactionary the run has felt. I don't know what the production lead times of these comics are, but it really feels like Kirkman is letting the fan discourse dictate certain story points.

When people were complaining about how Flagg keeping Magnus prisoner wasn't addressed, the very next issue had just that with Flagg and Magnus confronting each other.

When Kirkman revived a bunch of Autobots in his first arc, people started wondering, "What does it take to permanently kill a transformer in this verse?" and Kirkman answered the question by killing Trailbreaker.

People wondered where the Arcee and Carly "iron apprentice arc" went, and Kirkman addressed it in the second arc.

People started theorizing Thundercracker was going to be the new Arm of Superion, and then Kirkman did that.

People complained Jazz leaving Earth was out of character, so Kirkman reveals in #37 Optimus had ordered Jazz to go with Elita, presumably because he knew Jazz would be the one to get Elita to recognize Earth's importance (and while I appreciate having the explanation, if that was Kirkman's plan from the start, it probably should have been revealed a lot sooner, TBH)

And more recently, Elita's realization that Earth needs to be protected got rushed through, possibly because Kirkman realized people weren't really on board with the whole "abandon your fellow Autobots on Earth" thing.

Sure all this could be a coincidence...but it's just happened too often for me to see it as anything but a pattern.

Also, I just think Kirkman's run lacks the heart and sincerity Johnson's had. For all of Johnson's faults, I listed several above, the thing that made his run fun was how he clearly understood the mission statement. Even if Johnson isn't familiar with the likes of Star Saber or Rotorstorm, you can tell he loves Transformers and loved writing the comic, and it showed in the work.

Kirkman's run lacks that heart. I do believe he does love Transformers, but it's not showing up in the run for whatever reason.

And honestly I kind of have to wonder...does Kirkman even want to be writing the main Transformers title? If he really wanted to do so, he could have right away; instead, he chose to focus on his original concept of Void Rivals, and the quality difference between the two titles at the moment is so different it's almost palpable.

Maybe Kirkman just feels more comfortable when he's allowed to play with either his own toys or toys that are mostly a blank slate that allow him to do whatever he wants to do.

The run is getting better, though. I thought Issue #37, despite the Mirage thing and the rushed Elita and Sparky talk, was good overall, and with Elita realizing she's wrong and Beachcomber searching for lost Autobots, we might finally be expanding the cast properly in a way that sticks. And I do appreciate his willingness to just let the characters breathe in a way Johnson never did. If there's one strength I can give Kirkman, it's that he has a better grasp of the long game than Johnson does (no offense, DWJ).

But with Megatronus Rex coming next month and the Autobots in for the fight of their lives, we'll see if this more positive direction sticks.

That is my Question

In the pages of GI JOE we know Duke has been though though lot since his first appearance in the pages of TRANSFORMERS

with the conclusion to Night Force arc it basically the conclusion of the first chapter of Energon Universe GI JOE

With that in mind were do you think Duke will be when the smoke clears & we see The Aftermath of it all?

We already have some hints but I would really like a brighter picture but will probably get that soon

But thats me what do you think?

Art by Tom Reilly

We still have a bunch of dead Decepticons who need reviving (Blitzwing, Slipstream, Dirge, Frenzy, etc). Who do you think will revive them if they are planned to be revived?

My theories:

Megatron once transformed into Megatronus Rex will revive them with the Matrix of Oppression but will corrupt them in the process

Starscream will take their bodies when everyone is busy and revive them, having them force their loyalties to him for bringing them back (although idk how to feel about a second Decepticon Civil War already)

My third idea theory is a stretch but Knockout could make his way to Earth, probably sneaking aboard Jetfire last second or following with a few other Decepticons who retreated from their fight with Elita. I feel if they go with Knockout’s personality similar in Prime, he’s a opportunist who would attempt to go to wherever side seems to be best for himself overall, also it would make sense for him to be on Earth knowing his alt form and enjoyment of Earth’s luxuries in the show. But him coming to Earth would give the Decepticons a person who can repair them and potentially reawaken their fallen allies. You could go a step ahead and have him and Starscream work together like they do in the show and like the theory above suggest, bring them back to serve under them.

First issue with Jason Howard as main Cover artist to