They call him Hot Rod, and while he sounds a bit like John Bender, he’s just looking for his pal, Springer. Your Major Spoilers review of Void Rivals #15 from Skybound Entertainment awaits!
VOID RIVALS #15
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Lorenzo de Felici
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Publisher: Skybound Entertainment (Image Comics)
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 26, 2024
Previously in Void Rivals: Everyone’s favorite Autobot, Hot Rod, finds his way to the Sacred Ring! What news of Cybertron does he bring to Springer? How dire are things?
And how much trouble can two Autobots cause in Agorria? (Tons!)
A FRIEND IN NEED
In deep space, the Quintessons (five-faced creatures who may or may not be the creators of all Transformers) are shocked to find the existence of the sacred ring, now revealed to be the work of Zerta Trion, a lost Cybertronian. On one of the ring’s worlds, an Agorran pilot named Darak has returned home from a near-miss in space, followed by the ship he nearly crashed into, along with its pilot, Hot Rod. Unbeknownst to his people, Darak has already MET a Cybertronian and even provided sanctuary to them. The reunion of Hot Rod and Darak’s other friend, Springer, is good news for the two Autobots but not so much for the Agorrans. Of course, that’s not the only unsanctioned heresy that Darak has committed, since he also gave his Handroid technology to a member of the rival Zertonian race. That Zertonian, Solila, has delved deep into the void to find the truth about her people and Zarak’s.
As the issue ends, she has found and activated an ancient super-computer, Vector Theta, bringing her a step closer to that end.
A LOT OF LORE
In the grand scheme of things, fifteen issues of story isn’t really all that much, but this issue manages to feel like I’ve stumbled onto the fifteenth volume of ancient, secret tomes that outline a universe worth of events. This issue juggles the Quintessons, Zertonians, Agorrans, and the secrets of the void, and that’s before we even touch on the presence of Pythona, priestess of the hidden world of Cobra-La. It’s very daunting, and I say that as someone well-versed in the various universes of G.I. Joe and the deep lore of Cybertron. Vector Theta, for instance, is a reference to Vector Sigma, the computer at the core of Cybertron itself, while Zerta Trion evokes the memory of Alpha Trion, who once hid the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. The art is charming enough, and Felici gives the various creatures of this world very expressive faces; the sketchiness of the line work is an odd choice for the Transformers. Hot Rod looks just plain goofy and cartoonish more than once, but it’s almost balanced out by how good the strange biological greeblies of the Cobra-Lavians are.
BOTTOM LINE: NOT THE BEST JUMPING-ON POINT
All in all, while Void Rivals #15 ends up being an issue full of character and revelation, it also feels a bit off-putting, as though a massive wall of history, secrets, and backstory must be climbed before it all works, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. After I did the requisite research to place all the various beings in their proper context, it hangs together quite well, but it will be best appreciated by those who’ve been on board since issue #1.
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VOID RIVALS #15
The central spine of this series (and the new Skybound Energon Universe) is super mysterious, ancient myth and legend, carrying forward into bits of Transformers and G.I. Joe lore. It's interesting, but it's already steeped in mythos and not very approachable.
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Writing6
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Art6
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Coloring7
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.