The Energon Universe panel at San Diego Comic Con 2026 gave readers a glimpse of what’s next for the Transformers, G.I. Joe, and M.A.S.K.. Moderator and Skybound’s VP of Brand and Editorial, Arune Singh, was joined by Robert Kirkman (Void Rivals, Transformers), Joshua Williamson (G.I. Joe), Conor Hughes (Void Rivals) and Sean Mackiewicz, publisher at Skybound. The panelists announced new characters, new story arcs, and new romances for the line of Hasbro titles.
Singh started off the panel by announcing that the Energon Universe had reached over 7,000,000 copies sold across all titles, while volunteers passed out M.A.S.K. wristbands to attendees. The panelists spotlighted M.A.S.K. as the newest Energon title. Singh stated that M.A.S.K. was always planned as a tentpole Energon title and asked the panelists what made the franchise so important?
Kirkman replied, “I think it’s just a perfect fit, you know? It’s transforming cars, soldiers of some form. It’s just a natural merging of Transformers, of G.I. Joe. Like Transformers and G.I. Joe, it’s got a rich history. It’s got really great characters, really great villains, really awesome visuals, and really expands the Energon Universe in the perfect way.”
Mackiewicz added that M.A.S.K. had a bigger foothold in the UK than other properties, with writer Dan Watters and artist Pye Parr being a great fit for the series.
Singh and Kirkman also teased that M.A.S.K. issue #3 will be an important issue before revealing that new characters will be joining the cast in issue #5. Scott Trakker (the son of main character Matt Tracker) will be thrust into the action alongside robot sidekick T-Bob. Singh asked Mackiewicz what the “Skybound spin” on these characters will look like. “M.A.S.K. is predominantly civilians that have been enlisted into a war against otherworldly, other interplanetary forces. And you had a father who was doing this to really protect his son.”
Mackiewicz continued, stating that these characters are important to the plot Watters is building but joked that Kirkman was firm about “making him (T-Bob) look like an egg.”
Singh continued with talking about the success of Skybound’s blind bag releases, especially with the secret inclusion of Rom Special #1 within the M.A.S.K. #1 blind bag. Kirkman was asked about the stealth launch, to which he replied, “… you want to make the blind bags as special as possible. I want to make the comic shop going experience unique, memorable, and exciting. And, you know, the blind bag, I think, is a really good opportunity for that.”
The panel then continued discussing the upcoming story arc in Void Rivals, Kirkman’s original series for the Energon Universe, where Rom will make a full debut as an Energon character, in issue #33. G.I. Joe villain Predacron will also make his debut in issue #34. Finally, in issue #37, Frank Mazzolli will join the team with the start of a new story arc.
The panel then moved to discussing Joshua Williamson’s G.I. Joe series. Williamson stated, “we are going to spoil a little” with Singh replying, “but we want you to be shocked.” who then revealed a major twist involving the character of Zartan, much to the chagrin of the audience. Singh continued that issue #25 will show the first confrontation between the Joes and Zartan’s Night Force. Williamson added that from the beginning, he wanted the series not to be solely focused on G.I. Joe versus Cobra but he wanted to change up the conflicts. Williamson continued that he wanted to add a new character who was totally committed to Cobra Commander joking, “I gave Tom [Reilly] a call and I was like, what if we gave Cobra Commander a girlfriend?” This new character, Major Medusa, will debut in G.I. Joe issue #25.
The panelists then moved to Transformers with Kirkman jokingly announcing, “Wheeljack is Snake Eyes.” Singh then asked Kirkman about his changes to the Transformers mythos, “Arcee has become Arcee Magnus. Elita 1 has become Elita Prime. Optimus Prime has dropped the Prime, and Megatron is…” with Kirkman adding, “a pile of rocks! What are we doing in this comic book?” Kirkman then talked about the nature of comic book writing transitions, “But, traditionally, in comic books … the goal was to try and do as seamless a transition as possible… And then in the modern era, everybody wants to have their own issue one and everybody wants to put their own stamp on things. And so I wanted to try and honor everything that Daniel [Warren Johnson] did and continue moving things forward.” Issue 36 will also have former Decepticon Thundercracker switching sides to join the Autobot Combiner, Superion.
Transformers 36 Cover A
The panel concluded with a QnA, with one attendee asking if fans can expect any other solo titles similar to the Destro and Duke miniseries. Kirkman replied that there are no future plans and that they keep the Energon line to only four titles. Another attendee asked, “Where is the Bumblebee love?” to which Kirkman replied, “Not here.” The panelists were then asked about which characters live or die, to which Mackiewicz replied that “it has to really matter.”
Stay tuned to The Beat for more news from SDCC ’26.
