Void Rivals issue 28

	; Looks like the Void Rivals are facing a Roman centurion!
Publisher	Image Comics; Skybound Entertainment
First published	March 25, 2026
Cover date	March 2026
Written by	Robert Kirkman
Art by	Andrei Bressan
Colors by	Dee Cunniffe
Letters by	Rus Wooton
Editor	Ben Abernathy
Continuity	Energon Universe

The dreaded Quintesson Tribunal arrives to tip the scales in the enemy’s favor.

Synopsis

Polada has decided to join the Zertonian High Guard, to the horror of his sister Solila. The soldiers are letting him say goodbye, but as he leaves, Solila cries out to him, begging him not to leave her…

Proximus dons his helmet once more and steels himself for the coming fight.

Elsewhere, Agorrian Minister Dulin is remotely coordinating troops to repel the invading Quintessons. He takes a moment to check in on Darak, who is now fighting Skarkticons alongside Grand General (and Uncle) Dukan.

Meanwhile, Judge Makmun is not happy with the reports from the front lines. Fortunately for them, the Tribunal has arrived; a three-faced war judge that immediately makes his mark on the battlefield. He pontificates for a minute and shows off his Elite Sharkticons, leading the nearby platoon of Agorrians to surrender…only for them to take a shot at the Tribunal while his guard is down! This proves to be a mistake, however, as the Tribunal eviscerates them all. Distraught, Dulin declares that the time comes near for them to make a final stand, right there in Agorria.

Aboard the Leviathan, Grakula has donned a (somewhat revealing) backup skin, as her normal armor is mutated, though still alive. Suddenly, their vessel is hit! From the surface of the Sacred Ring, Pythona watches in horror as the Leviathan goes down!

Featured characters

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

Agorrians

Zertonians

Others

Dulin (3)
Dukan (4)
Darak (6)

Polada/Proximus (1)
Solila (2)

Red Handroid (5)

Cobra-La

Bola (13)
Grakula (14)
Vipria (15)
Pythona (16)

Quintessons

Sharkticons (7)
Judges (8)
Judge Makmun (9)
Allicons (10)
The Tribunal (11)
Elite Sharkticons (12)

Quotes

“You now face The Tribunal! War Judge of the Quintessons! I come to pass judgement for the war crimes you have committed! Count one: you are weak. Count two: you are afraid. Count three: you are bad at war!

—You don’t have to be a dick about it.

“My judgement is singular. My vision—focused. War, Death, Rage, Doubt, and Wisdom—I do not require five faces! Only War! Only Death! ONLY DOMINION!

—The Tribunal does a bit of an introdump.

Notes

Continuity notes

The Tribunal was first alluded to last issue.
Makmun identifies the Agorrians and Zertonians as the creations of she-who-shall-not-be-named. The Quint’s intel is incorrect, however; per #17, Zerta Trion did not create the two races, but she did influence their development, and likely has something to do with their Mind Eyes and Energon-receptive physiology.
Grakula’s armor has been mutating since #14.
Pythona was last seen aboard Makmun’s Quintesson Cruiser last issue, where she expressed a desire to jump ship. She evidently did just that between issues.

Transformers references

The Tribunal rattles off the five faces of a typical Quintesson Judge: War, Death, Rage, Doubt, and Wisdom; all pulled from pre-existing terms for the faces, though the sources for each vary. The Tribunal’s three faces are stylized renditions of War and Death, plus a new one called “Dominion”.

Errors

In the Energon Experience segment (see below): “…the arrival of the powerful and ruthless the Tribunal could spell the end of the Sacred Ring!” has an extra “the” in the sentence…unless it’s not a title and his name is literally “the Tribunal”.

Other notes

Energon Experience: Presented by Skybound Executive Editor Ben Abernathy
- Character Spotlight: Solila
- All Hail Tribunal!: The powerful Tribunal may just be the doom of the Sacred Ring!
- Creator Spotlight: Ben asks Ben Oliver who his favorite Void Rivals character to draw is. It’s Proximus! That half-metal skull was fun for him to paint.
In the letters page, a reader asks about the possibility of Octane, Runabout or Runamuck appearing, to which Kirkman responds that one of them is going to pop up “very soon…somewhere”. We’ll go ahead and guess that it’s not going to be in G.I. Joe. Probably.
Okay, we know the Tribunal is supposed the bad guy and all, but…false surrender actually is a war crime. Point Tribunal.

Covers

Cover A: The Tribunal confronts Zalilak, by Lorenzo De Felici.
Cover B: Darak and Dukan battle Sharkticons, by Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas.
Cover C: Proximus, by Ben Oliver.
Cover D (1:25 Copy Incentive): Pythona, by Lesley Li.
Cover E (1:50 Copy Incentive): Proximus and Solila surrounded by Sharkticons, by Cliff Rathburn.
Cover F (Invincible Month Variant): Thragg from Invincible hovering ominously over the Sacred Ring, by Conor Hughes