Transformers Energon Universe 2025 Special story
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| Publisher | Image Comics Skybound Entertainment | ||||||||||||
| First published | May 3, 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Daniel Warren Johnson | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Daniel Warren Johnson | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Mike Spicer | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Rus Wooton | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Energon Universe | ||||||||||||
Jazz wants to play in harmony with his fellow bots, but he just can’t seem to avoid jamming to his own rhythm.
Synopsis
Years ago, on Cybertron, Jazz is kicked out of his band with Arcee, Cliffjumper, Bluestreak, and Blurr right before their big performance because he can’t stay on the beat and keeps improvising. Later that evening, using an intergalactic radio devised by Wheeljack, he listens to a strange sound that fascinates him. He excitedly shares his discovery with Optimus Prime, who appreciates his friend’s sense of wonder, but politely asks him to turn the noise off.
In the present, on Earth, Optimus and Jazz are driving down a road when Jazz suddenly hears that same noise off in the distance. He swerves off the road in an effort to find the source, arriving at a cocktail lounge. He peers inside to see a group of jazz musicians playing to an attentive crowd. He smiles, finally finding what he was looking for all those years ago.
Featured characters
Characters in italic text appear only in photographs.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Others |
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Quotes
"Optimus… have you ever hunted for something? Something you barely know exists?"
"I’m not sure I know what you mean, my friend."
"Listening to this… is like finding a new question to ask. It’s a brand new journey."
- –Jazz and Optimus Prime
Notes
Continuity notes
- This story reveals that most of the main cast of Transformers were in a band either before or during the war. That just rules.
- Where exactly this story fits in with the ongoing narrative of the Transformers series is unclear, but it would appear to be some sort of flash forward. One key detail to note is that the “present day” pages show Optimus with his normal right arm, not Megatron’s, which he’s had since Transformers #4 (the same issue where Jazz was first awoken, meaning it can’t take place earlier).
Real-life references
- The B cover to the Energon Universe 2025 Special (as pictured above) features many real album covers and references to real recording artists, including:
- The Beatles
- Blood Incantation’s Absolute Elsewhere
- Brooticus, the fictional band from Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer’s previous comic, Murder Falcon (the titular character of which also appears in a photograph).
- Carcass's Heartwork
- Megadeth
- MF Doom and Madlib's Madvillainy
- MXPX
- Power Trip
- Racer X
- Relient K
- Toto’s Africa
- The Velvet Underground's The Velvet Underground & Nico
- Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A.
- Rush
- Big Star's Number 1 Record and Radio City
- Watchtower's Control and Resistance
- And most importantly, The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
- The cocktail lounge Jazz discovers is the famous Green Mill Cocktail Lounge in Chicago.
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
