Void Rivals

Void Rivals is an American comic book ongoing series written by Robert Kirkman, and drawn by Lorenzo De Felici. It debuted on June 14, 2023, being published by Skybound Entertainment, an imprint of Image Comics. The story follows Darak and Solila, two individuals from opposing sides of an ancient extraterrestrial racial war, whose ships crash on a barren planet, forcing them to cooperate for survival.

It is the first installment (and only wholly original intellectual property) in the Energon Universe, a shared universe that combines new Transformers and G.I. Joe comics developed by Skybound, in collaboration with Hasbro.

Void Rivals was announced in February 2023 as the beginning of an "all-new shared universe" developed by Skybound Entertainment and Image Comics.

The series is being written by Robert Kirkman, drawn by Lorenzo De Felici and colored by Matheus Lopes. Kirkman and De Felici had previously worked together on another comic titled Oblivion Song.

Kirkman said, "With every project I do, I’m always trying to challenge myself. One thing I’ve always loved doing is starting small with a story and expanding the depth, scope and stakes as we progress. With Void Rivals we’ll be going bigger than I ever have and at a much faster pace. This project is going to be monumental. I can’t wait for people to see what Lorenzo and I have been cooking."

Sean Mackiewicz, publisher and SVP for Skybound Entertainment, also added, "Void Rivals takes every element fans expect from Skybound comics—incredible worlds, dynamic characters, and jaw-dropping twists—and kicks off our first shared universe. This comic is the start of something we’ll be talking about for years to come."

By the time the first issue was published, Skybound announced the series to be part of the Energon Universe, which combines new comics based on Hasbro brands Transformers and G.I. Joe.

In March 2025, Hasbro announced a three pack toy line featuring Darak, Solila and Jetfire figures for San Diego Comic-Con. The toys were presented on July 24, 2025.

The Sacred Ring is a massive, disk-like artificial structure that encircles a black hole located in a desolate quadrant of space. This black hole draws in resources such as comets and other celestial bodies towards itself and the ring. On either side of the Ring reside two once-united worlds, Agorria and Zertonia. Both were once thriving planets whose societies fractured into opposing races after their parent star collapsed. They then spent thousands of years and generations building and assembling their respective halves of the Sacred Ring around the black hole, in a desperate struggle to survive.

The remnants of each world now inhabit their halves of the Ring and are locked in a bitter, racial hate-driven conflict, fighting over resources and trying to sustain their struggling civilizations. After a battle in outer space over a large asteroid of frozen water, two survivors—one from each race, find themselves stranded on a barren dwarf planet. They are then forced to work together to find a way off the lifeless rock, or die there. As they navigate their challenges, they uncover a troubling truth: their war has been perpetuated by a cycle of secrets and lies. In reality, the Agorrians and Zertonians are the same species, but powerful parties on both sides want to keep them divided.

• Darak

• Handroids

• Minister Dulin

• Director Elander

• Grand General Dukan

• Solila

• Keepers of the Light

  • Mistress Vill
  • Premier Zalilak

• Unifiers

  • Kanela
  • Ultum

• Polada/Proximus

• Autobots

  • Jetfire
  • Hot Rod
  • Springer

• Decepticons

  • Shockwave

• Beta/Zerta Trion

• A-3/Alpha Trion

• Wheelie

• Skuxxoid Beta

  • Skuxxoid Alpha

• Lord Gyconi

• Slizardo

• Bosch

• Judges

• Prosecutor

• Scientist

• Scorpia

• Allicons

• Cobra-La

  • Golobulus
  • Akronus
  • Bola
  • Grakula
  • Pythona
  • Vipria

• Wreck-Gar

• HAZMAT

• Junkyard

• Re-Cycle

• Rubbish

• Goliant

• Vector Theta

The series received positive reviews, with critics praising the surprising guest appearance of several Transformers and G.I Joe characters in each issue.

The first volume collecting issues #1–6 has gotten positive reviews from the book review and cataloging website Goodreads, holding a strong average score of 3.84 out of 5 stars for 1,089 ratings, and 154 reviews.

In February 2025, the initial 18 released issues have received a collective positive review from the Review Aggregator website Comic Book Roundup, holding a strong average critic rating of 8.4 out of 10 for 142 reviews, and a slightly higher average user rating of 8.6 out of 10 for 315 reviews.

• Energon Universe
  • Transformers
  • G.I. Joe
• List of comics based on Hasbro properties