Blast from the Past: Nostalgic Trauma and Cartoon Mayhem

If you grew up in the ’80s, chances are you’ve experienced some serious trauma just from watching cartoons. I mean, who can forget the sheer anguish of seeing Optimus Prime bite the dust at the hands of Mega-Mean-Machine Megatron in the 1986 masterpiece Transformers: The Movie? Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, a year later, G.I. Joe: The Movie rolled around and jacked up the creepiness factor by transforming Cobra Commander into a freaky snake monster. Great job, childhood!

A New Dawn: Energon Universe

Fast forward to today, when Skybound Entertainment—a name you might recognize if you’ve ever cried over The Walking Dead—is teaming up with toy giant Hasbro to birth the Energon Universe! That’s right, brace yourselves for a wicked adult animated series featuring none other than our old pals, G.I. Joe and the Transformers. Yeah, that’s sure to spark a few nightmares in the kids of this generation!

Meet the Einsteins Behind the Madness

Founded by comic book wizard and overall tragedy-master Robert Kirkman (hello, Walking Dead again) and David Alpert, Skybound is no stranger to dark material. They’re the folks who brought us the stomach-churning, yet hilariously thrilling, Invincible. If you think you can handle this new venture, well, good luck!

What to Expect: G.I. Joe, Transformers, and More

Like its predecessors, Energon Universe is based on a comic series from Skybound. Since 2023, they’ve been churning out some seriously entertaining content featuring some fan-favorite characters from the Hasbro-verse. Besides mashing up G.I. Joe and Transformers into one fabulous pot of nostalgia, Energon Universe also introduces us to Void Rivals—two aliens who are as mismatched as two socks from different pairs, forced to team up to survive a galactic race war. How’s that for a twist?

Let’s Bring the Action!

Joe Henderson, fresh off his escapades with the Lucifer series (and turning a comic about the devil into binge-worthy television), is steering this wild ship. There’s been something brewing between the two iconic franchises, with hints dropped in the post-credit scene of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, when ex-military tech whiz Noah Diaz teams up with G.I. Joe. A crossover film anyone? Well, we’re not sure yet, but fingers crossed!

Can Skybound Make it Happen?

So, will Energon Universe finally bring G.I. Joe and the Transformers together in a high-profile crossover? They’ve got the fandom backing them up, since both toy lines enjoyed their day in the sun back in the ’80s. The two even crossed paths in a miniseries by Marvel Comics! But weirdly, despite the long history, they’ve never had a true blockbuster crossover. Will Skybound be the golden ticket? Only time will tell, but they’re clearly on a mission to rattle some childhoods—and we’re here for it!