One of the most consistently brilliant comic lines on the market today is Skybound’s Energon Universe, consisting of Void Rivals, Transformers and GI Joe.
But in the last few days, that line has officially gotten bigger with M.A.S.K [Mobile Armoured Strike Kommand], but there was a big surprise when the first issue of the new M.A.S.K ongoing was released. You see, Skybound, for the first time, did a blind bag release for M.A.S.K #1, but inside wasn’t just one of a handful of variant covers, but a whole new comic written by Robert Kirkman, featuring none other than ROM.
Who is ROM: The Space Knight?
Rom is a famous cosmic superhero and cyborg from the planet Galador who sacrificed his human body to be fused into an indestructible suit of robotic armour so he could defend his homeworld from an alien invasion by shapeshifting, magic-wielding monsters known as Dire Wraiths, which are basically the alien from The Thing, only nastier.
ROM was originally created by Hasbro and had its own Marvel comic from 1979 to 1986 and then from 2023 to 2024, with IDW briefly owning the character from 2016 until 2020. He has long since become a fan favourite and was a character that many hoped would come into the Energon Universe, but feared it would never happen due to Marvel’s grip on the rights, but here we are… he’s in the Energon Universe.
The standalone issue reunites Void Rivals co-creators Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici, and it promises to be the first of many appearances of the character, with the end of the book promising he would return in a few months in Void Rivals #33.
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The overseer of the Energon Universe, Kirkman, had this to say: “Nothing is more exciting to me than an unexpected comic drop! Getting to a store and finding out a brand-new book exists is just the coolest thing. The only thing that could make it better… is if it was ROM!
“ROM is such an iconic character with a rich history spanning decades. He’s been a constant request for the Energon Universe. Getting to develop him for the Energon Universe alongside my pal Lorenzo De Felici was an absolute blast and I can’t wait for fans to see our long-range plans for the character! ROM! WOO!!”
The one-shot features ROM and his companion Carpet, a weird alien creature who doubles as a cape, and has the duo chasing the Wraith, as is the tradition.
The Energon Universe to expand as Visionaries and M.A.S.K confirmed
As of now, it doesn’t seem to be planned to give ROM his own ongoing book but rather to have him appear across the titles.
However, it appears that ROM isn’t the only newcomer in the Energon Universe as eagle-eyed Reddit user UltraMightyDillo spotted another beloved toyline hiding in the ROM comic.
Taking to the platform, UltraMightyDillo writes: “There was one Big Thing I noticed and it was this panel of Rom (left) saving some random female Alien sea creature from a Bunch of anthro sharks, and I am not sure if this was intended but… I think these Sharks are Battle Beasts! aka Beastformers.
“I always hope they would be in the Energon Universe as there is so much potential for them as this Transformers Spin-off needs to make a big Proper comeback.
“Because the thing is there were Shark Battle beasts like Badshark and Sparkshark and these Shark guys kinda almost resembles one of them in a way.”
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And he’s not wrong. The sharks in the frame even seem to be carrying little tridents like the Battle Beast line of toys from the 80s!
The Battle Beasts had a strange origin story in the world of toys and Transformers; originally created in 1986 by Takara in Japan, they were licensed to Hasbro for distribution in other areas, howeverm there was a big difference in how the line was handled. Hasbro released them as their own toy line, little two-inch figures who were very cool, armoured animals, but Takaka created them as part of the Transformers line, even calling them BeastFormers!
The characters actually appeared in the Japanese Transformers series, The Headmasters! Sadly, in the UK and everywhere else, they were just another cool little toy oddity of the 80s… but I always, even as a nipper, wondered why they had the little rub-decal that revealed which faction they belonged to, just like the Transformers of the time.
With all this being known, it makes sense that they might appear in the Energon Universe.
So who is next to join up? Well, the Visionaries toy line/animated series has already been alluded to with their home planet of Prysmos being name-dropped in Transformers.
After that, personally, I would love to see robotic bounty hunter Death’s Head pop up in Transformers (perhaps leading to a Doctor Who appearance? IYKYK) or maybe the Inhumanoids could pop up from Earth’s core… they could tie into GI Joe and Cobra’s adventures pretty easily, I’d imagine.
The Energon Universe continues to expand and give new life to Hasbro’s expansive line of toys and here at FTN HQ, we’re excited to see what, or who, comes next.
Thoughts? I know you have them and I wanna hear ’em all.
M.A.S.K. #1 is available now.
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Source: AIPT Comics
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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