Transformers is an ongoing American comic book published by Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment, based on the Transformers franchise by Hasbro and Takara Tomy. It is the second installment in the Energon Universe comic line.
Publication history After IDW Publishing lost the licenses to produce Transformers and G.I. Joe comics by the end of 2022, Hasbro announced in June 2023 that Skybound Entertainment, an imprint of Image Comics, would acquire those licenses.
Skybound's first Transformers comic is set in the Energon Universe, the first 24 issues being initially written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson, and colored by Mike Spicer, and debuted on October 4, 2023. Jorge Corona would later serve as the new artist of the series starting with issue 7.
Johnson said, “To my readers, retailers, and fellow Transformers fans: get ready! I’ve only been drawing Optimus Prime and the rest of this amazing cast since I was in first grade. This is a dream project for me, and I’m so glad to be adding a new chapter to the decades long celebration of robots turning into cars. Also, cab-over trucks are so fun to draw!”
In June 2023, Skybound announced that the main roster of Autobots features Optimus Prime, Arcee, Cliffjumper, Wheeljack and Ratchet, while the main roster of Decepticons features Starscream, Soundwave, Laserbeak, Rumble and Skywarp.
In June 2025, Void Rivals writer and Energon Universe showrunner Robert Kirkman announced he would become the new leading writer, starting from issue #25 on October 8, 2025.
Premise When Autobots and Decepticons travel from Cybertron to Earth, their war changes humanity's fate, and only Optimus Prime can save them.
Overview VolumeTitleIssuesFirst releasedLast releasedWriterArtistsColorists1"Robots in Disguise"6October 4, 2023March 13, 2024Daniel Warren JohnsonDaniel Warren JohnsonMike Spicer2"Transport to Oblivion"6April 10, 2024September 11, 2024Jorge Corona, Jason Howard and Lulo Lullabi3"Combiner Chaos"6 + SpecialMay 4, 2024March 12, 2025Ryan Ottley and Jason HowardMike Spicer and Sarah Stern4"Conquer and Control"6 + SpecialApril 9, 2025September 10, 2025Ludo Lullabi and Daniel Warren Johnson and Jorge CoronaAdriano Lucas and Mike Spicer5"Generation One"6October 8, 2025March 11, 2026Robert KirkmanDan Mora and Jorge CoronaMike Spicer and Sarah Stern6"Decepticons Attack!"6April 8, 2026September 9, 2026Jason Howard and Ludo LullabiMike Spicer
Plot {| class="wikitable" width="100%;" style="text-align: center;" ! style="background:#02BCF5; color:white" |Issue ! style="background:#02BCF5; color:white" |Written by ! style="background:#02BCF5; color:white" |Drawn by ! style="background:#02BCF5; color:white" |Colored by ! style="background:#02BCF5; color:white" |Publication date |- ! colspan="5" style="background:#02BCF5; color:white" | Volume 1: "Robots in Disguise" |- |01 |Daniel Warren Johnson |Daniel Warren Johnson |Mike Spicer |October 4, 2023 |- | colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" |In the town of Farmingham, Spike Witwicky finds his father Sparky asleep in a local veterans' bar. After a short argument, Sparky's coworker Davey picks him up while Spike leaves with his girlfriend Carly. The two climb a nearby mountain to discuss their futures when an earthquake sends them plummeting into the mountain, and they find themselves inside an enormous crashed spaceship. The Cybertronian Jetfire arrives from deep space and activates the ship's computer, Teletraan 1, to repair his fallen friends. Upon being rebuilt, Starscream immediately kills the nearby Bumblebee and guns down Jetfire, but is stopped by Optimus Prime. Teletraan 1 randomly reactivates more Autobots and Decepticons, including Skywarp, Ratchet, and Soundwave, and Optimus is pinned down after being distracted by Bumblebee's body. After Spike and Carly help him break free, he destroys Ravage and the computer and flees with them, Ratchet, and the bodies of several other Autobots. Jetfire uses the last of his strength to deter the pursuing Starscream and Skywarp, who are forced to turn back from a lack of Energon. Spike leads the Autobots to an abandoned quarry where Jetfire dies, while Soundwave informs Starscream he needs energy and raw materials to fix Teletraan 1. As Sparky and Davey finish their shift at a local power plant, Starscream arrives and kills Davey. |- ! colspan="5" style="background:#02BCF5" | |- |02 |Daniel Warren Johnson |Daniel Warren Johnson |Mike Spicer |November 7, 2023 |- | colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" |Optimus and Spike connect with each other over their names, families, and homes – in particular, Optimus tells Spike about how a vicious civil war consumed his homeworld of Cybertron, prompting him and a team of Autobots to flee aboard the Ark. However, the Decepticons and their leader Megatron attacked them, with the Ark crash-landing on Earth during the battle. The newly repaired Cliffjumper arrives and brings them back to the quarry, where Ratchet informs them that both they and the Decepticons are critically low on Energon. Skywarp, Starscream, and Soundwave arrive at the power plant with technology from the Ark to convert the plant's energy into Energon, where Starscream kills a police officer as Soundwave intercepts a U.S. military transmission requesting air support. An amused Starscream destroys the fighter jet and kills its pilot, but its passenger manages to escape. Sparky flees in the chaos as the Autobots realize the plant is under attack, and Optimus and Spike leave to investigate despite Ratchet's protests. Carly returns home to find an armed Sparky barricaded inside, who informs her that Davey, her father, is dead. |- ! colspan="5" style="background:#02BCF5" | |- |03 |Daniel Warren Johnson |Daniel Warren Johnson |Mike Spicer |December 6, 2023 |- | colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" |Carly realizes that Starscream was responsible for killing her father as she and Sparky are ambushed by Laserbeak. Cliffjumper saves them, but Sparky shoots him before fleeing with Carly. Starscream and Soundwave send Skywarp to deal with the humans as they bicker over repairing Teletraan 1, while Sparky and Carly arrive at the veterans' bar, already fortified by a local militia. Cliffjumper arrives and is shot again before Carly can explain, allowing Skywarp to attack them. Carly distracts the Decepticon long enough for Optimus to arrive and subdue him; however, Sparky and the militia severely injure Optimus' right arm with a bazooka. As the humans renew their attack on all three Cybertronians, Spike is shot in the crossfire, and Optimus rips off his injured arm to beat Skywarp into submission. The Autobot leader picks up the wounded Spike and asks Sparky to help him save his son. |- ! colspan="5" style="background:#02BCF5" | |- |04 |Daniel Warren Johnson |Daniel Warren Johnson |Mike Spicer |January 10, 2024 |- | colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" |Ratchet receives a call for help from Optimus and Sparky, and Starscream leaves the severely damaged Skywarp behind to pursue the Autobots. Carly and Cliffjumper ambush him, and he contacts Soundwave for backup as the Autobots escape. Optimus and Cliffjumper arrive at Farmingham Hospital and are attacked by Soundwave, Laserbeak, and Rumble as Spike is rushed inside. Starscream destroys the hospital's power generators, but Ratchet and the freshly repaired Jazz arrive and force the Decepticons to retreat. Optimus uses the Matrix of Leadership to reactivate the hospital as Starscream and Soundwave return to the Ark and rip the injured Skywarp apart to repair Teletraan 1. Jazz shuts down again, having used up the last of the Autobots' Energon, and Ratchet berates Optimus for prioritizing the humans' safety over their survival. Optimus reluctantly accepts Ratchet and Sparky's ideas to regain a foothold as Cliffjumper comforts a grief-stricken Carly, revealing that Starscream also killed his family on Cybertron during the war. Starscream gloats over successfully reactivating Teletraan 1 as Optimus rallies the Autobots and humans, having replaced his missing right arm with Megatron's. |- ! colspan="5" style="background:#02BCF5" | |- |05 |Daniel Warren Johnson |Daniel Warren Johnson |Mike Spicer |February 14, 2024 |- | colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" |Optimus and Sparky connect over their wartime experiences as the Decepticons use Teletraan 1 to repair and revive Thundercracker, Frenzy, and Reflector. Thundercracker is horrified to see Skywarp disassembled and integrated into the computer's systems, but Starscream assures him he sacrificed himself for the greater good. The Decepticons leave to find the Autobots as Sparky, Ratchet, and a newly reactivated Wheeljack (albeit only his upper half) finish building a water turbine to convert the local dam's power into an Energon generator. They revive Arcee before the Decepticons attack, but Optimus single-handedly kills Reflector and Frenzy and injures Starscream with Megatron's arm-mounted fusion cannon. The Decepticons retreat after destroying the turbine, and the Autobots decide to press their advantage and pursue their enemies, with Sparky accompanying Optimus and Cliffjumper secretly bringing Carly along. However, they are beset by the revived Constructicons upon arriving at the Ark, and Starscream orders them to combine into Devastator. |- ! colspan="5" style="background:#02BCF5" | |- |06 |Daniel Warren Johnson |Daniel Warren Johnson |Mike Spicer |March 13, 2024 |- | colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" |The Autobots manage to fend off Devastator long enough to escape into the Ark, but Ratchet loses a leg and Optimus is mortally wounded. Cliffjumper and Carly sneak into the Autobot ship through another route and encounter Starscream while Devastator begins digging into the mountain. As the Autobots despair, Sparky sacrifices himself to the Matrix of Leadership to repair Optimus, who promises to protect Spike and Earth in his honor. The Autobot leader attacks Devastator with his blaster and Megatron's cannon as Carly and Cliffjumper manage to subdue Starscream; however, Cliffjumper hesitates to deliver the killing blow, and Starscream seizes the opportunity to try and crush Carly. She is only saved when Optimus suplexes Devastator off the mountain, injuring Starscream as he falls. The Constructicons decombine and retreat with Starscream, and Soundwave rejects Optimus' peace offering before leaving with Thundercracker. At the hospital, Spike awakens and asks where his father is. |- ! colspan="5" style="background:#C95230; color:white" | Volume 2: "Transport to Oblivion" |- |07 |Daniel Warren Johnson |Jorge Corona |Mike Spicer |April 10, 2024 |- | colspan="5" style="text-align: left;" |On Cybertron, an Autobot squad is killed while storming a Decepticon fortress; their leader, Elita One, manages to break in and finds an Autobot prisoner stripped down to a near-skeletal pile of parts. On Earth, the captain of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Henry Harrison is ordered to investigate reports of giant robots as Soundwave challenges Starscream for leadership of the Decepticons. Starscream protests but refuses to yield, and Soundwave mortally wounds him in the resulting duel. He disposes of Starscream's body and promises the remaining Decepticons they will rebuild together. At the Ark, Carly bonds with Arcee over target practice, who tells her how she was trained by the great Autobot warrior Ultra Magnus after her family died in the war. As they shoot, Cliffjumper confides in Jazz about his strained relationship with Carly after failing to kill Starscream, while a recovering Spike declines to speak with Optimus and Ratchet. As they return to the Ark, Optimus is suddenly overcome by a mysterious vision of himself holding a baby human. Wheeljack informs them that the Skywarp-controlled Teletraan 1 is refusing to repair any more Autobots, and Optimus suggests creating an aerial transport out of Jetfire's remains. |- ! colspan="5" style="background:#C95230" |