WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Void Rivals #17There is a new planet-devouring villain in theTransformersfranchise, as the Energon Universejust introduced what might be its most dangerous villain yet – one that makes Unicron pale in comparison, and should give even the most resiliant Autobot, Optimus Prime, cause for concern. Goliant has joinedSkybound’s sharedTransformers/G.I. Joecontinuity, and the consequences could be devastating.
Void Rivals#17 – written by Robert Kirkman, with art by Lorenzo De Felici – finally reveals the origin of the Sacred Ring, the main setting of the Enegon Universe’s debut title.
Readers learn that the Sacred Ring was formed by the ancient Cybertronian Zerta-Trion,who fled her homeworld to drawtheQuintesson weapon known as Goliant away from Cybertron. A massive being capable of devouring planets, Goliant instead fed on a distant star, causing it to turn into a black hole. This lore drop potentially sets the stage for Goliant to become amajor antagonist as the Energon canon progresses.
Move Over Unicron; Goliant Is Now The Deadliest Force In “Transformers” Canon
Void Rivals#17 – Written By Robert Kirkman; Art By Lorenzo De Felici; Color By Patricio Delpeche; Lettering By Rus Wooton
In an attempt to save the survivors of the nearby planets, Zerta-Trion “influenced” them to build the Sacred Ring around the black hole. This had the adverse effect oftrapping Goliant within the black hole itself,with the Sacred Ring producing large quantities of Energon, as Goliant slowly fed off the energycreated by the black hole. Goliant has been asleep within his prison for several millennia, but Zerta-Trion warns that the black hole has almost been completely drained. When he’s done feeding, Goliant will eventually be powerful enough to break free.
Void Rivals#17 confirms Goliant is an entirely new character, apparently a weapon designed by the Quintessons during their war with Cybertron in ancient times.
Goliant was first introduced inVoid Rivals#12, where main characters Darak and Solila parted ways. As they said goodbye, they touched the“Energon port” gems on their foreheads together, which caused something massive at the center of the black hole to open its glowing, green eyes in the darkness. Many fans assumed this was the Energon Universe debut of Unicron, the original planet-devouring villain of theTransformersfranchise.Void Rivals#17 confirms Goliant is an entirely new character, apparentlya weapon designed by the Quintessonsduring their war with Cybertron in ancient times.
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Void RivalsSets Up a New Mystery
Goliant may not be Unicron, but he certainly shares some key characteristics. The two share a similar look, what with their massive size and glowing green eyes. Both also have a propensity to feed on any planets in their nearby vicinity. Perhaps most intriguing of all is thatUnicron is usually tied to black holesinprevious iterations of theTransformersfranchise. Given all of that, it would be easy to assume that Goliant may be related to Unicron somehow in the Energon Universe, if not an early, nascent form of theTransformersbig bad.
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Whatever the case may be, Goliant’s awakening will likely spell doom for the Energon Universe. According to Zerta-Trion, his essence was split and hidden within the two races of the Sacred Ring, the Agorrians and Zertonians. If the two races come together, that will cause “unity” to take place, freeing Goliant from his prison and allowing him to become more powerful than ever. Whether he winds up being connected to Unicron or not,Goliant is being set up as the next big bad in the Energon Universe era ofTransformers.
Void Rivals#17is available now from Skybound Entertainment.
Transformers (2023)
Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies—the Decepticons. As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. And humanity’s only hope of survival is Optimus Prime.
