I want to say it was around 2015 that “this meeting could have been an email” really took off as an expression in the cultural consciousness, and as the world shifted even more online in the 2020s, it came roaring back in a big way. Void Rivals #30 finally advances the story and plot forward in a meaningful way, but there was no reason for the Quintesson War story arc to take this long. As much as I enjoyed the ending and the promise of what’s to come, this six-issue arc could’ve been a two parter, maybe even a one-shot. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Let’s talk about what the issue gets right, which in its defense, is a lot. Picking up seconds after last month’s issue, with Darak and his father subjugated to a quick and easy Quintesson trial that left them at the mercy of Sharkticons. Before long, Solila shows up and provides a little extra muscle to help the two out of the bind they’re in.
Dulin acknowledges the war is lost and it’s up to Darak to survive and help his people. Shortly after, Dulin passes in one of the more quick, but nonetheless heartbreaking deaths in the series so far.
Appealing to Zerta herself, Solila and a despondent Darak are given a new mission: to rally her people, the cybertronians to their cause and fight back against the Quintesson Army who’s now trying to cause unity that will release Goliant. The catch? Their technology can easily be intercepted by the Quintessons, so they have to plead their case to Pythona, whose organic leviathan is the only thing that can get off world safely.
This is what I’ve been waiting for. The past few issues did a good job of showing you cool action figures smashing together but finally characters are meeting and forced into weird situations where their goals and motivations clash and get tested. Solila is questioning her faith in Zerta, Darak is questioning his faith in himself and as a reader I’m questioning my faith in Pythona’s sincerity. It’s a tense mess that feels more exciting than any destruction the Quintesson Tribunal has caused yet with his giant tentacles.
The art really sings. Andrei Bressan on pencil duties and Dee Cunniffe on colors work harmoniously together to capture a neon soaked world on the brink of total collapse. I can’t explain it, but even through his helmet, you can tell how destroyed Darak is at the loss of his father. Facial expressions by the supporting characters are heart-wrenching to look at. While I may not have enjoyed this lengthy story arc in its entirety, it’s clear the characters have gone through absolute hell just to get to this point.
Image/Skybound
Void Rivals is in what I think is probably the unenviable position of being its own new intellectual property while also carrying the lore burden for some of the deeper Transformers and Energon concepts. The potential to be a substantive book looms over every issue, and while nothing deep or expansive was really explored here this month, the promise of the collision course the Energon Universe is set on now makes you feel like there’s a timer in the corner of every page, waiting for the fireworks to start.
Delivering a new mission statement for the leads Solila and Darak, Void Rivals #30 captures that lightning in a bottle feeling from earlier arcs as it sunsets the way-too-long Quintesson War. There was significant change for not just the main characters, but also their world as they have to form new alliances together and forge a new way of life and order to save the Ring and prevent galactic war. Just like the arc itself, the end is the most interesting, but my curiosity and excitement is back for a series that had been starting to lose me.
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