WARNING! Potential spoilers ahead for Transformers #18The Decepticons have started a civil war in the pages of theEnergon Universe’sTransformersseries, and they may be leaving no survivors in their path of wreckage and devastation. The differing factions led by Soundwave and Starscream have been more focused on fighting each other rather than the Autobots in the new continuity, as their battle spills into the city of Seattle.
Coming from the creative team of Daniel Warren Johnson, Jorge Corona, Mike Spicer and Rus Wooton, the preview forTransformers#18 posted toSkybound’sInstagram sees the Decepticon Combiners Devastator and Bruticus continue their epic smackdown on the streets of Seattle.
Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots focus on protecting the civilians caught in the crossfire, more worried about saving the humans than defeating the Decepticons. The battle between Devastator and Bruticus shows the true destructive power of the Transformers, and the human cost has been drastic in the Energon Universe.
The Decepticons Start a Civil War inTransformers
When the Cybertronians awoke on Earth all the way back inTransformers#1, Megatron was nowhere to be found, so Starscream took up the Decepticon leadership in his stead. After one particularly crushing defeat by the Autobots, Soundwave wrenched control of the Decepticons from Starscream, leaving the Seeker for dead after a vicious battle. Starscream was later found by a MARS scrap team, who attached his upper body to a HISS tank. Even though he was half a robot,Starscream managed to recruit his own faction of Decepticonsto his cause, leading to the current conflict.
Devastator is made up of the Constructicons Scrapper, Scavenger, Mixmaster, Bonecrusher, Hook and Long Haul, whileBruticus is made up of the CombaticonsOnslaught, Brawl, Blast Off, Swindle and Vortex
The Autobots have managed to handle the threats posed by the Decepticons thus far in the Energon Universe, but with two Combiners in the enemy ranks, they’re going to need some heavy firepower to stay in the fight. According to Daniel Warren Johnson in the letters column inTransformers#17, they may be getting some Combiner help of their own, as thewriter hinted that the Aerialbots may be appearing in future issues. With the aid of their combined form Superion, the Aerialbots would certainly help to level the playing field for the Autobots.
Will Megatron End the Decepticon Civil War?
Even though the Decepticons are currently locked in a heated civil war, it may be soon coming to a close.Megatron officially returned to the pages ofTransformersat the end of the sixteenth issue, claiming that he was coming back to retake control of the Decepticons once and for all.Transformers#17 didn’t feature any trace of Megatron, but readers can expect he’ll be entering the fray sooner rather than later, perhaps even as soon as the next issue. With so many compelling plot threads, theEnergon Universeera ofTransformerscontinues to be one of the most exciting comic books around.
