Void Rivals — BrandWiki

Void Rivals

schedule	Monthly
ongoing	y
scifi	y
publisher	Skybound Entertainment (Image Comics)
startmo	June 14,
startyr	2023
endyr	present
issues	25
main char team	Darak Solila
writers	Robert Kirkman
artists	Lorenzo De Felici Conor Hughes
letterers	Rus Wooton
colorists	Patricio Delpeche Matheus Lopes
editors	Ben Abernathy Sean Mackiewicz Jonathan Manning Bixie Mathieu
creators	Lorenzo De Felici Robert Kirkman Matheus Lopes
subcat	Skybound Entertainment
sort	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,[1] being published by Skybound Entertainment, an imprint of Image Comics.[2] 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.[3]

Publication history

Plot

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Volume 1: "More than Meets the Eye"

! colspan="5" style="background:#E6EDF7" | ! colspan="5" style="background:#E6EDF7" | ! colspan="5" style="background:#E6EDF7" | ! colspan="5" style="background:#E6EDF7" | ! colspan="5" style="background:#E6EDF7" | ! colspan="5" style="background:#7274AF; color:white" |

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01
Robert Kirkman
Lorenzo De Felici
Matheus Lopes
June 14, 2023
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colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" | The Agorrian pilot Darak crashlands after battling with an enemy Zertonian ship on a remote planetoid far from the Sacred Ring, their shared hom. After Darak's artificial intelligence assistant, Handroid, revives him, they are ambushed by Solila, the Zertonian pilot. Darak spares her on the condition that they work together to repair one of their ships and return to the Ring, to which Solila and Handroid reluctantly agree. During the repairs, Solila is nearly killed when she accidentally detonates part of their energy supply, and she leaves in a huff after Darak saves her. She returns several hours later with news of another spacecraft buried nearby, which Handroid confirms is neither Agorrian nor Zertonian. Darak and Solila attempt to reactivate the ship but are astonished when it suddenly transforms into the Cybertronian scientist Jetfire; horrified at his eons-long slumber, Jetfire leaves them behind to return to Cybertron. Darak suggests salvaging parts from their flight armors to re-repair Solila's ship, which would mean removing their helmets and violating their peoples' most sacred degrees. Solila agrees, and they discover to their shock that they are actually the same race beneath their helmets, as foretold in a mysterious vision Darak had.
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02
Robert Kirkman
Lorenzo De Felici
Matheus Lopes
July 19, 2023
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colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" | Darak tells Solila about the vision he experienced after leaving Agorria on a mission from his leader, Minister Dulin, which detailed the history of the Sacred Ring – Agorria and Zertonia were once two warring planets whose populations united after their sun collapsed, and the Sacred Ring was built to contain the black hole. The surviving Agorrians and Zertonians each took half of the Ring, but the peace soon broke down, and the conflict resumed fiercer than ever. However, the vision warns that unity must happen again soon as "Goliant" is coming. Solila believes the voice in Darak's vision belonged to the Zertonian religious figure Zerta, despite his skepticism; nonetheless, both agree that they should continue working together to return to the Sacred Ring and uncover the truth behind their war. The two spend the next twenty days crafting a patchwork shuttle out of the remaining materials despite Solila's conflicted feelings over her new relationship with a supposedly sworn enemy. The shuttle finally takes off, but Handroid informs Darak and Solila that they will take years to return to the Ring. However, they are soon captured by an asteroid-shaped spaceship and its pilot, the bounty hunter Skuxxoid.
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03
Robert Kirkman
Lorenzo De Felici
Matheus Lopes
August 16, 2023
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colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" | Darak and Solila escape the Skuxxoid and flee deeper into his ship. He opts to inspect their shuttle rather than pursue them. Solila fends off a strange mechanical scorpion, and Darak realizes she is actually a Zertonian warrior, not a mere pilot as she previously claimed. Against Solila's warnings, Darak releases another of the Skuxxoid's alien prisoners in exchange for passage off the ship, and they return to the main hangar. The Skuxxoid confronts them and reveals the prisoner is a Quintesson Prosecutor, offering them another deal – in exchange for the Quintesson and their junker shuttle, Darak and Solila can leave using a different ship. The two accept, to the Quintesson's dismay, and they return to the borders of the Sacred Ring within a few days. They agree to split up and continue investigating within their own people, but Solila betrays Darak and knocks him out.
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04
Robert Kirkman
Lorenzo De Felici
Matheus Lopes
September 27, 2023
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colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" | Solila returns to Zertonia with the captured Darak, narrowly fending off an attack from Handroid. As Zertonian leader Premier Zalilak is informed of their arrival, Solila apologizes to her new frenemy and agrees to keep their discoveries secret until they can reconnect and figure out who to trust. Zertonian guards arrest Darak as the Skuxxoid attempts to sell his Quintesson prisoner on Cybertron, but he is turned away by the Decepticon Shockwave. Zalilak informs Solila that Darak will be kept alive for leverage and immediately becomes suspicious of her relief. She is arrested and thrown in the same cell as Darak, who finds their shared imprisonment hilarious despite the revelation that their leaders are both in on the larger conspiracy. Zalilak secretly removes his helmet and contacts Minister Dulin to inform him of the situation; Dulin reluctantly allows Zalilak to proceed with his judgments, even though he is Darak's father.
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05
Robert Kirkman
Lorenzo De Felici
Patricio Delpeche
October 25, 2023
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colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" | Darak is taken away for interrogation as Solila is visited by Mistress Vil and the Keepers of the Light, a mysterious religious sect that Solila abandoned to become a pilot. Vil gives Solila advice for her upcoming quest and a strange green key bearing both Agorrian and Zertonian markings. At the same time, the Skuxxoid tries to return the Prosecutor to the Quintesson home planet of Quintessa. The five-faced Quintesson Judge is furious at the Skuxxoid's insolence and orders the Allicon horde to execute him, but pauses when the Skuxxoid offers them the Zertonian shuttle. Darak endures three days of torture before a young child named Ultum rescues him and returns his clothes, helmet, and Handroid. Ultum brings him to the Unifiers, a group of Zertonian resistance fighters dedicated to reconnecting the two halves of the Sacred Ring, and Darak requests that they retrieve Solila as well.
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06
Robert Kirkman
Lorenzo De Felici
Matheus Lopes
November 22, 2023
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colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" | The Unifiers reluctantly agree and rescue Solila as the Quintessons take Darak and Solila's shuttle; the Judge orders the ship scanned for any information on Zertonia's whereabouts, musing about how a mysterious "her" must have succeeded eons ago. Solila is surprised that Darak helped engineer her escape, and the Unifiers request the two deliver a data packet to their counterparts on Agorria, with whom they recently lost contact. Zalilak is notified of Darak and Solila's escape as they venture into the destitute Zertonian public, but Ultum betrays them in of hopes that the Zertonian guards will help him find his mother. Darak and Solila flee and eventually escape into the desolate Wastelands separating the two halves of the Sacred Ring. However, Zalilak refuses to risk the Sacred Ring reuniting and the coming of Goliant and orders Proximus, their most terrible hunter, to be revived.
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Volume 2: "Hunted Across the Wasteland"

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2024 Special
Robert Kirkman
Lorenzo De Felici
Matheus Lopes
May 4, 2024
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colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" | The Skuxxoid finally reunites with his longtime bounty-hunting partner Slizardo, who threatens to shoot him for abandoning him. He manages to calm Slizardo down after telling him about his misadventures with the Quintessons. Although Slizardo is interested in hearing more, the conversation is interrupted by the Autobot Hot Rod, who is also keen to learn more about the Zertonian ship the Quintessons confiscated. After Hot Rod threatens the bickering bounty hunters not to impede his search for a missing ally, the Skuxxoid agrees to cooperate and gives him all the information he had on the ship, where he discovered it, and the trajectory its former pilots took after leaving. A satisfied Hot Rod leaves, and the Skuxxoid decides to return home, unaware that a mysterious robotic figure was recording the meeting.

Volume 3: "The Key to Vector Theta"

! colspan="5" style="background:#F58FA5" | ! colspan="5" style="background:#F58FA5" | ! colspan="5" style="background:#F58FA5" | ! colspan="5" style="background:#F58FA5" | ! colspan="5" style="background:#F58FA5" | ! colspan="5" style="background:#D4D792; color:black" |

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13
Robert Kirkman
Lorenzo De Felici
Patricio Delpeche
October 23, 2024
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colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" | Pythona of Cobra-La awakens from a nightmare in which she failed her leader Golobulus to find that the Energon signature she and her team of Royal Guards – Vipria, Bola, Akronus, and Grakula – have tracked through deep space has led them to a small planetoid. They discover the evidence of Darak and Solila's escape and depart to trace the new signal, hoping it will eventually lead them to Cybertron. As Darak and Springer leave for Agorria, Solila descends into the Sacred Ring's cramped interior despite Handroid's doubts that a Cybertronian like Zerta Trion could fit inside. Darak tells Springer about his encounter with Jetfire while Zalilak meets Mistress Vil at the Temple of Zerta's Light. At the Agorrian capital, Darak has a cold reunion with Dulin, who rebuffs his son's pleas to stop the war and warns that unifying the Sacred Ring would actually destroy them all. Vil echoes these warnings to Zalilak but also states that unity would bring both an end and a new beginning.

Volume 4: "First Chosen"

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2025 Special
Robert Kirkman
Conor Hughes
Patricio Delpeche
May 3, 2025
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colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" | On the planet Quintessa, the Quintessons have inexplicably halted all executions, giving a group of prisoners enough time to escape. In their chambers, a group of Quintesson Judges discusses the recent discovery of the Sacred Ring. One of the Judges proposes sending a war fleet to conquer the Ring and retrieve Goliant, but they are interrupted by news of the escaping prisoners. The Judge orders the Sharkticon horde to be sent after them, and the prisoners' leader, the Cybertronian Wheelie, helps fend off several Sharkticons as the Judges return to their discussion. They agree that Goliant remains their best defense against an unnamed cosmic threat and officially declare war on the Sacred Ring.
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Volume 5: "Quintesson War"

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25
Robert Kirkman
Andrei Bressan
Patricio Delpeche
December 24, 2025
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colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" | As Zalilak meets with his advisors in the wake of the failed assault on Agorria, a furious Proximus interrupts the meeting and attacks him for betraying Zertonia and enslaving him to Zerta. The brawl is interrupted when a massive Quintesson Cruiser suddenly appears and drills itself into the ground, destroying the Zertonian capital pyramid and narrowly missing Zalilak and Proximus. In Agorria, Darak and Handroid discuss the nature of the latter's sentience and growing desire to "live" as Dulin meets with his brother, Grand General Dukan. They suddenly receive word of the Quintesson invasion fleet over Zertonia, and Dukan orders Darak and his pilots sent out to investigate the disturbance; however, another Cruiser destroys one of the Agorrian ships as it lands in Agorria. Solila and her Handroid attempt to free themselves from the Temple of Zerta's Light, but she receives another psychic message from Zerta offering her a second chance.
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Void Rivals

Publication history

Comics

Toys

Premise

Overview

Characters

Agorrians

Zertonians

Cybertronians

Monacolians

Quintessons

Earthlings

Junkions

Other

Plot

Volume 1: "More than Meets the Eye"

Volume 2: "Hunted Across the Wasteland"

Volume 3: "The Key to Vector Theta"

Volume 4: "First Chosen"

Volume 5: "Quintesson War"

Reception

Collected editions

Trade paperback editions

Hardcover editions

See also

References