Transformers (2023) issue 19

« Transformers #19 »
Publisher	Image Comics Skybound Entertainment
First published	April 9, 2025
Cover date	April 2025
Written by	Daniel Warren Johnson
Art by	Ludo Lullabi
Colors by	Adriano Lucas
Letters by	Rus Wooton
Editor	Ben Abernathy
Continuity	Energon Universe

A glimpse into the past shows how Megatron became the great conqueror that bent Cybertron to his will.

Synopsis

Megatron awakens in a cell on the planet Quintessa. Confused, he demands to know where he is, last remembering being on Moonbase 1 with the rest of his clan. He is then greeted by the Quintesson Prosecutor Dezimir, who tells him that he has been brought to undergo a great trial. Megatron tries to defiantly fight back, but Dezimir uses a device to control and subdue him. He is then brought to an arena, where Dezimir unleashes a horde of Sharkticons on the Cybertronian. However, Megatron is unfazed, and quickly tears through the Sharkticons, even firing a stray shot from his fusion cannon at his captors, only to earn another shock from Dezimir. The Quintesson then activates the next part of the trial: the floor opens underneath Megatron to reveal an inferno. Unfazed, Megatron transforms into his tank mode and blasts at Dezimir's platform. Dezimir taunts Megatron, telling him that while he is powerful, he could be much more. He then summons the mechanical shell of the mighty Mechanokoar and crushes Megatron.

Once more, Megatron awakens in the same cell, confused. Dezimir tells him that failure is not an option, proceeding to drag him out of the cell and back to the Sharkticon pit. Megatron demands to be returned home, but Dezimir tells him to continue fighting. Once again, Megatron defeats the Sharkticons, but is destroyed by the Mechanokoar.

On and on the cycle repeats, hundreds and hundreds of times. Eventually, the strain becomes too much for Megatron, and he breaks down, begging for mercy. Dezimir reveals that this is not only a trial, but a lesson: for as mighty a warrior Megatron may be, compared to the vast universe, he is small—insignificant. Nothing. Just as he is about to finish Megatron with the Mechanokoar once more, a voice from above orders him to stop; his master has declared the trial over. Dezimir reveals that what allowed them to control Megatron was the dark opposite of the Matrix of Leadership, the legendary artifact wielded by the Prime. Through it, Dezimir and his master plan to make Megatron such an opposing force to the Prime. Energy from this dark Matrix surrounds Megatron, granting him a third mode that will allow him to channel its energy to assert his control over others: a gun. The master then orders Dezimir to pick up Megatron, much to the Quintesson's horror. Megatron revels in the power he now has over his captor, forcing him to aim his gun form at the Mechanokoar and destroy the beast.

In the future, Megatron has returned to Cybertron and uses his new power to lead the Decepticons.

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Decepticons	Quintesson
Megatron (1) Shockwave (6) Soundwave (7) Starscream (8)	Dezimir (2) Quintesson Bailiffs (3) Sharkticons (4) Mechanokoar (5)

Quotes

"Do not look to the past, THE FUTURE IS WHAT MATTERS NOW!"

—Dezmir

"If you won't come down to me-- I shall force you down to my level!"

—Megatron to Dezimir

"This is not only a trial. It is a lesson. My master has asked me to show you how small you truly are."
"I AM NOT SMALL!!!!"

—Dezimir and Megatron

Notes

Continuity notes

• This issue flashes back to give us our earliest look at Megatron's history in the Energon Universe, while also serving to expand on ideas and plot points that have been drip-fed to readers over the course of the series.
  • For the majority of this issue, Megatron is seen without the Decepticon insignia on his chest, indicating this is set before the Great War broke out.
  • This issue reveals the origin of Megatron's gun form and his ability to seemingly overpower the will of those who wield it, an ability first seen in flashbacks to Starscream's origin in issue #14.
• While the Quintessons have been a recurring presence in Void Rivals, this issue marks their first appearance in the Transformers series. Void Rivals revealed that the Quintessons used to control Cybertron during the Age of Wrath until they were overthrown by the resistance led by Alpha and Zerta Trion. However, what connection (if any) Dezimir and his mysterious master have to the rest of the Quints and their plans with Goliant and Zerta remains to be seen.
• The Matrix of Leadership was first glimpsed in the very first issue of the series, and became a major plot point towards the end of the first arc.

Transformers references

• Megatron mentions he was previously on Moonbase One, a Cybertronian moon outpost first introduced in The Transformers: The Movie.
• Megatron's enslavement by the Quintessons echoes other versions of Megatron who were similarly enslaved and forced to fight for a living.
• The idea of the Matrix of Leadership having a darker counterpart has recurred throughout Transformers media, including the Matrix of Conquest, the Dark Matrix of Leadership, and most notably the fictitious Decepticon Matrix, the idea of which the Quintessons used to manipulate Galvatron in the Generation 1 cartoon episode “Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4”. It seems that in the Energon Universe, such a Matrix might exist after all.
• In another one of the deepest cuts in this series, the Mechanokoar Megatron faces during the trial has a design reminiscent of the "Mechano-Beast", which was the combined form of the Anibots, a cut combiner team from the second draft of The Transformers: The Movie. The creature takes design cues from Floro Dery's original concept art, even supporting a similar name as well.

Other trivia

• Daniel Warren Johnson provides some more insight on what's to come on the letters page:

• He and editor Ben Abernathy confirm that Jetfire has not been forgotten following his crash into the Pacific Ocean back in issue 9.
• Cosmos will not be included in his run.
• Though he says he plans to stick to G1 during his run, Johnson states that Skybound plans to do Transformers for "a VERY long time", leaving plenty of room for future writers to branch out to explore ideas from other eras.

Covers

• Cover A: Megatron tears a Sharkticon in half, by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer.
• Cover B: Megatron overwhelmed by Sharkticons, by Jorge Corona and Mike Spicer.
• Cover C: Connecting cover by David Nakayama.
• Cover D: Megatron walks through a scorched land, by Steve Beach.
• Cover E: Megatron stands over the bodies of his victims, by Frédéric Pham Chuong.
• Cover F: Megatron grimaces, by Ludo Lullabi.
• Cover G: Blank sketch cover.

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• Energon Universe hardcovers
• Explore the Energon Universe in G.I. Joe #6, Void Rivals #18, and Transformers #20.
• G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero - Silent Missions
• Blood & Thunder

Reprints

• Transformers Volume 4: Conquer and Control (November 25, 2025) ISBN 1534332588 / ISBN 978-1534332584
  • Collects Transformers issues #19–24 and the Transformers story from Energon Universe 2025 Special.
  • Trade paperback format.

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  Volume 4: Conquer and Control – cover art by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer