Warning! Spoilers for Transformers #21 ahead!
Optimus Prime and Megatron will finally go head-to-head in Skybound Entertainment’s latest issue of Transformers, giving fans the moment they have waited nearly two years for, as the rebooted version of the iconic series has patiently build toward this epic first confrontation between the stalwart leader of the Autobots and his opposite, the most powerful and ruthless Decepticon of them all.
The official synopsis for Transformers #21, written by Daniel Warren Johnson, with art by Jorge Corona, reads simply «the face-off you demanded,» acknowledging that readers have clamored for the franchise’s updated take on the rivalry that defines Transformers, at its core.
With Johnson ending his two-year tenure on the series with Transformers #24, his take on the Optimus Prime vs. Megatron showdown could not have waited any longer, and fans should expect it to have major consequences for the future of the series.
The Energon Transformers Canon Is Finally Serving Optimus Prime Vs. Megatron
Transformers #21; Written By Daniel Warren Johnson; Art By Jorge Corona; Available June 11, 2025 From Skybound Entertainment
The Energon Universe reboot of Transformers lore has been a breath of fresh air in many ways, but it has been slow to integrate Megatron into its ongoing storyline. Or, rather, it has taken a deliberate pace to building up the villain, letting the smaller-scale antagonism of lower-level Decepticons set the stage for their leader’s eventual ascendancy. However, this pace has left a fair share of fans impatient, especially as the ongoing series reaches two years in publication. Now, it is finally happening, and the publisher has done a good job of keeping the details under wraps.
The most pressing question right now, in the days leading up to the issue’s release, is whether this long-awaited moment will be worth it; whether the decision to delay their inevitable confrontation will be validated.
Ahead of the issue’s release, there is little hint as to how the Megatron vs. Optimus Prime 1-v-1 in Transformers #21 will go down. Nor is there a clear sense of what the fallout will be, though fans wouldn’t be wrong to prognosticate that it will be significant. The most pressing question right now, in the days leading up to the issue’s release, is whether this long-awaited moment will be worth it; whether the decision to delay their inevitable confrontation will be validated. Or, alternatively, if fans will be left with the nagging feeling that it should have come sooner.
Most Transformers Readers Expect That This Is Only Round I For The Heavyweight Enemies
Should Fans Expect A Decisive Winner?
Transformers #21 will be a pivotal point for the ongoing series, one way or another. More than just a tentpole moment the story has built to over its first twenty issues, it is also the culmination of author Daniel Warren Johnson’s run on the series. For however long the series runs, and wherever its story goes, it will be built on the foundation laid by Johnson up to this point. So, it wouldn’t have been right for the author to never get the chance to write a Megatron vs. Optimus Prime battle.
This certainly adds to the excitement of finding out what he’s going to do with that scene once he finally gets to it. Of course, as much as fans want to witness the fight itself, they are also eager to know who wins, but it isn’t guaranteed Transformers #21 will offer a definitive victor, or clear-cut loser. Among Transformers fans, the expectation is that this will only be the first in a line of fights between Prime and Megatron. It wouldn’t be unlike Daniel Warren Johnson to subvert expectations, but it would be shocking if either character were killed off.
Megatron Is Finally Ready To Challenge Cobra Commander For The Role Of Worst Energon Universe Threat
Two Iconic Villains On A Collision Course
Notably, the scope of the Energon Universe extends beyond the Transformers franchise; it also includes G.I. Joe, and Skybound Entertainment has devoted a great deal of effort over the past several years to building up Joe villain Cobra Commander as a major «Big Bad» for the crossover continuity. Megatron’s increased presence in Transformers complicates the dynamics of the Energon Universe, in a good way. With Megatron now competing with Cobra Commander for the role of Energon’s supreme antagonist, both will become more complex villains, and could also potentially prompt unexpected alliances in the future.
The Transformers fight fans have waited for, patiently or otherwise, is finally here, and the Energon Universe won’t be the same after.
That is, a Cobra-Joe alliance, or even more shockingly, an Autobot-Decepticon detente, in order to fight a greater threat, wouldn’t be out of the question for a future Energon Universe crossover event. Given how patiently Megatron’s role in the new continuity has been cultivated, it should be expected that pieces are being maneuvered into place for future arcs in an even more long-gestating, methodical way. In any case, the Transformers fight fans have waited for, patiently or otherwise, is finally here, and the Energon Universe won’t be the same after.
Transformers #21 will be available June 11, 2025 from Skybound Entertainment.
Transformers
Expand Collapse
