WARNING! Spoilers for Transformers #16Two of the most powerful Decepticons in theTransformersfranchise have finally faced off in theEnergon Universe, as the enemy faction has split in the new continuity. Soundwave and Starscream have each taken leadership over separate cadres of Decepticons in Megatron’s absence, and the two groups are currently more concerned with fighting each other rather than the Autobots.
Coming from the creative team of Daniel Warren Johnson, Jorge Corona, Sarah Stern, and Rus Wooton,Transformers#16 sees theCombaticons finally merge into their combined form as Bruticus,which of course leads the Constructicons to merge into Devastator.
Both Combiners have chosen their sidesin the split Decepticons, with the Constructicons remaining loyal to Soundwave, while the Combaticons have aligned themselves with Starscream’s rogue faction.Transformers#16 wastes no time in pitting the two titans against each other, resulting in a beautiful double-page splash by Corona and Stern.
New Transformers Lore Expands Thanks to the Clash of the Transformers Titans
Devastator and Bruticus Have a Smackdown for the Ages
TheCombiners have long been a major part of nearly every major iteration of theTransformersfranchise, so it’s nice to see the creators of the new Skybound series embrace the concept wholeheartedly. The creative team manages to give the fans what they want while also upping the stakes drastically in the ongoing Cybertronian conflict on Earth. The Devastator vs. Bruticus showdown winds up being an immovable-object-meets-unstoppable-force type of situation, and the resulting battle threatens to destroy everything in its path, as “Starscream’s Brigade” declareswar on Soundwave’s Decepticons.
Transformers Embraces a Crushing Autobot Death as a New Faction Enters the Decepticon’s Bloody War
An Autobot falls as a new faction enters the Autobot / Decepticon war in Transformers #15. The Energon Universe’s body count continues to grow…
While the two Combiners throw everything they have at each other, the battle winds up beinginterrupted by Optimus Primebefore a victor can be declared. The Autobots barely survived their last encounter with Devastator, and it was only thanks to a supercharge in power from the departing Sparkplug Witwicky that allowed Prime to take on the Constructicons’ combined form and survive. The Autobot leader has to think quickly on his feet in dealing with the threat of the Combaticons, using Megatron’s cannon arm toblow a hole in a nearby dam and wash Bruticus and Devastator away.
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Will More Combiners Join the Battle?
It’s also interesting that the only Combiners seen thus far are Decepticons. Given their destructive power, Optimus Prime will eventually have to bring some of the Autobot Combiners into the battle to stay competitive with the Decepticons. The Aerialbots or the Protectobots – who combine into Superion and Defensor, respectively – would be the most likely choices, as they were the first sets of Autobot Combiners released in the original toy line. However things play out, it’s nice to see the creators givingTransformersfans epic new moments in theEnergon Universe.
Transformers#16is available now from Skybound Entertainment.
Transformers (2023)
Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies—the Decepticons. As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. And humanity’s only hope of survival is Optimus Prime.
