As Darak and Solila cling to life, deep in the wasteland they find—SPRINGER?! It’s the first Energon Universe appearance of everyone’s favorite Triple-Changer Autobot! Void Rivals #9 returns to the bad habit of random “guest stars” but also features some intriguing teases of the past and the future.

Written by Robert Kirkman, Void Rivals #9 feels more like some of the earlier issues of the series. Darak and Solila are again “stranded” together, relying on each other to survive and at the same time a Transformer is there to save the day. It’s similar beats to when the comic debuted with the Transformer reveal that officially kicked off the “Energon Universe.”

Here, Kirkman hints that Springer has just been hanging out on this planet in a garage for all this time. Darak and the Autobot have a past of some sort. It’s yet to be explained why Springer hasn’t attempted to leave and is just hanging out, but it’s good he’s still there as Darak and Solila are still being hunted by Proximus which leads to a fantastic fight between Springer and the hunter.

But, where the comic really stands out is Kirkman’s teases in other parts. The Skuxxoid gets a small moment where it’s hard to not feel bad for the bounty hunter/scum. And the end, the Quintessons return with a talk of a metal that’s very interesting and the name drop of… a new Transformer!? Yes, it looks like we’re getting some originals Transformers and all-new history to come!

The comic stands out in the fight and that’s all due to the talent of Lorenzo De Felici and colorist Patricio Delpeche. Along with letterer Rus Wooton, the pages are fantastic, emphasizing the size difference and delivering some great action and comedy too. Springer feels both in charge and overwhelmed by his foe and the fight and gives us hand-to-hand combat between a Cybertronian and humanoid that makes far much more sense than the past.

Void Rivals #9 seems like it has some key bits of information in an overall “good” issue. It’s an improvement to the start of the arc but the series still feels like it’s trying to find its footing beyond relying on “guest stars.”

Story: Robert Kirkman Art: Lorenzo De Felici
Color: Patricio Delpeche Letterer: Rus Wooton
Story: 7.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

Skybound provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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