Editing Void Rivals issue 2

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Void Rivals]]'' #2
|prev=Void Rivals issue 1
|next=Void Rivals issue 3
|prev2=
|image=VoidRivals02A_Cover.jpg
|caption=Hide your face from the spoilers, Darak!
|title=
|publisher=[[Image Comics]]<br>[[Skybound Entertainment]]
|date=[[July 18]], [[2023]]
|coverdate=July 2023
|written by=[[Robert Kirkman]]
|art by=[[Lorenzo De Felici]]
|colors by=[[Matheus Lopes]]
|letters by=[[Rus Wooton]]
|editor=[[Sean Mackiewicz]]
|continuity=[[Energon Universe]]
|chronology=
}}

'''Having discovered the truth, Darak and Solila are more determined than ever to return to the Scared Ring. But what awaits them on their journey?'''

==Synopsis==
''Director [[Elander]] briefs [[Darak]] on his next assignment: a comet is approaching the [[Sacred Ring]], composed of four thousand tons of ice to add to the [[Agorrian]] reserves, especially since the [[Zertonian]]s are currently having to ration water. Their meeting is interrupted by the arrival of Darak's father, Minister [[Dulin]]. Dulin gives his son a cold warning that if his mission is unsuccessful, he should not return to the Ring. Darak climbs into his [[Jump Jet]] and prepares for takeoff, ordering his [[Handroid]] to revive him once they are beyond the Ring's event horizon.''

''As the ship emerges into space, Darak experiences a vision and voice telling how the Sacred Ring came to be: when their sun began to collapse, two warring planets came together and, over the course of thousands of years, built the Ring to contain the resulting black hole, the people of each planet living on one half. Unfortunately, over the centuries, their tenuous peace broke down and the conflict between the Agorrians and Zertonians resumed, escalating as resources became more scarce and each side forgot their shared origins. However, the two sides will have to reunite soon. [[Goliant]] is coming.''

[[Solila]] believes the voice Darak heard was that of [[Zerta]], though he assures her Agorrians don't share the Zertonian's superstitious beliefs. Recognizing that their peoples' war is built on lies, Solila resolves to work with Darak to get off the planetoid, return to the Sacred Ring, and discover the truth. The pair begin to salvage what remains from their initial patchwork ship. They work tirelessly over the next twenty days constructing a crude, makeshift shuttle. Darak thanks Solila; she breaks down. She's spent her entire life training to kill Agorrians. Now, she's not only failed her mission to recover the comet but is trying to save the life of her enemy. Darak comforts her by assuring her that they're likely to die long before they ever reach the Sacred Ring. Amused, the pair climb into the shuttle and take off. Solila activates her transponder, hoping to get a signal out to either side as they venture into the depths of space.

Days pass. Handroid tells the pair that, at their current speed, they should reach the Sacred Ring in 12.4 years. Solila detects an [[Rockeroid|asteroid]] moving towards them. Darak takes evasive action, but the asteroid begins to follow them. Robotic arms emerge from the asteroid and grab the shuttle, pulling it inside. Darak and Solila exit their shuttle with weapons drawn, finding themselves in some kind of spaceship. Solila marvels at the ingenuity of melding a spacecraft with an asteroid, a compliment appreciated by their captor - [[Skuxxoid]]!
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.<br>
{{Featuredcharacters
|h4=[[Agorrian]]s|c4=
* [[Darak]] (1)
* ''[[Elander]]'' (3)
* ''[[Dulin]]'' (4)

|h5=[[Zertonian]]s|c5=
* [[Solila]] (5)

|h6=Others||c6=
* [[Handroid]] (2)
* [[Skuxxoid]] (6)
}}

==Quotes==
"Darak, in a matter of moments, you will launch as the greatest Agorrian pilot in history. '''That''' is the '''only''' thing that has spared you from my '''wrath'''. Return with the same sterling reputation... or '''do not return at all.'''"
:—'''Dulin''', going for a Father of the Year award.

"I was kidding about us starving, by the way. We'll suffocate '''long''' before that."
:—'''Darak'''

"How much charge does your blaster have?"
"Maybe they're not hostile? Let's start with 'Hello' or 'Have you any food?'"
"I think I'm with the Zertonian on this one."
:—'''Solila''', '''Darak''', and '''Handroid'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* Darak's vision gives us our first glimpse into the history of the Sacred Ring and how the war between the Agorrians and Zertonians began.

===Transformers references===
* The [[Skuxxoid]]s and their [[Rockeroid]] ships first appeared in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode, "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1]]".

===Other trivia===
* Darak and Solila's vessels are identified for the first time in this issue: Darak's [[Jump Jet]] and Solila's [[Star Wing]].

===Covers (9)===
* Cover A: Darak works on his ship, by [[Lorenzo De Felici]]. 
* Cover B: Darak and Solila sit pouting, by [[Nick Robles]].
* Cover C (1:10 Copy Incentive): Darak and Solila grapple, by [[Mindy Lee]].
* Cover D (1:25 Copy Incentive): Darak emerges from his wreckage, by [[Karen S. Darboe]]. 
* Cover E (1:50 Copy Incentive): Darak, by [[Tula Lotay]].
 
<gallery>
File:VoidRivals02A_Cover.jpg|
File:VoidRivals02B_Cover.jpg|
File:VoidRivals02C_Cover.jpg|
File:VoidRivals02D_Cover.jpg|
File:VoidRivals02E_Cover.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
* ''Kroma'', by Lorenzo de Felici
* ''Clementine: Book Two''
* ''Dark Ride''
* ''Arcade Kings''
* ''I Hate This Place''
* ''Everyday Hero Machine Boy''
* ''Ultramega''
* The [[Energon Universe]] continues in ''Void Rivals'' #3

==External links==

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Void Rivals issues]]