Transformers’ New Canon Settles Optimus Prime vs Megatron with a Brutal Answer

WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Transformers #2In the new Energon Universe, Optimus Prime and Megatron have already settled the matter of who is strongest in the Transformers’ new continuity. The respective leaders of the Autobots and Decepticons have already come to blows, and the outcome left Optimus with a savage beating.

Transformers #2 begins by providing a brief glimpse at what happened in the previous war on Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticons. Optimus explains the war to his new human friend Spike Witwicky, relating how the Transformers arrived on Earth.

“It was during our escape that the most powerful of the Decepticons came to extinguish the spark of my kind forever,” Optimus tells Spike, speaking of Megatron attacking the Autobots on the Ark in space and causing them to crash on Earth.

Optimus Prime Carries the Weight of the World

Optimus having already lost to Megatron in the past raises the stakes immeasurably in the present, and the ramifications leave the Autobot leader reeling in the aftermath. Given that he’s already lost two allies after being reawakened in the present day, Optimus feels his failures compounded even more. The Autobot leader is carrying the weight of several worlds on his shoulders, an idea that is beautifully-expressed by Johnson in the opening moments of the issue, where Optimus Prime accidentally kills a deer by stepping on it. Optimus is a leader, and thus every step he takes carries with it the burden of consequence.

Even though Megatron hasn’t appeared yet in the present-day storyline (despite rumors to the contrary), Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots already have their hands full with Starscream, Soundwave and Skywarp. On the run and low on Energon, the Autobots find themselves in the fight of their lives, and now feel an obligation to protect the small, vulnerable creatures of the planet they’ve crashed on. Starscream and the other Decepticons launch an all-out assault on humanity when they attack a local power plant, showing no remorse as they smash and kill everything in sight. If and when Megatron returns, the Autobots are going to be in even more trouble that they already are.

When Will Megatron Return In the Energon Universe?

Unfortunately for Optimus and his Autobots, Skybound seems to be setting things up for an epic return of Megatron, possibly even across a massive crossover between Transformers and fellow EU titles Void Rivals and the G.I. Joe books. Editor Jonathan Manning says in the letters column, “We’ve got big plans for his arrival to be as monumental as possible,” with the editor going on to start a new hashtag: #WhereIsMegatron. When Megatron makes his official Energon Universe debut, it should prove to be an epic rematch between the Optimus Prime and the rest of the Transformers.

Transformers #2 is on sale now from Skybound Entertainment