Duke #1 Review

Duke #1 Review

It wasn’t long ago that Skybound announced, alongside Image Comics and Hasbro, a franchise team-up so big that it’d rock a percentage of the toy and comics world. They weren’t lying. Beginning with Robert Kirkman’s new Void Rivals, it wasn’t long before Daniel Warren Johnson would take on Transformers.

The Energon Universe is born, as the Easter egg laid in Transformers Rise of the Beast laid the foundation for a cinematic lane of enriched comic adaptation as GI Joe seems to be making their resurgence on the silver screen to feud with the universe’s most popular freedom fighters. And speaking for the Joe’s will be Joshua Williamson (Superman, Justice League, Dark Crisis), a DC comics writer who’s gained lots of popularity working on popular titles, including Batman and Robin.

He’ll be taking on not only Duke #1 but also Cobra Commander #1, set to launch in January 2024. Both series will run for five issues and likely, at some point, bleed into one larger arc that wows us into the cinemas. It’s stirred the pot, and it’s sure going to be a crossover for the ages to come.

Why does everyone think conspiracy theorists are these fat nerds who love pizza or these scrawnier-than-life basement dorks with glasses? Oh, the glory days of 90s alien movies. That’s just the beginning of Duke’s investigation into the death of his friend Frost at the hands of Starscream. Now, if I’m not mistaken, in the scene in Transformers: Rise of the Beast where Starscream attacks the jets, one explodes, but the co-pilot survives.

If that is to be true, then this would be a very skilled Easter egg to hint toward these runs becoming canon to whatever Paramount and Warner Brothers are cooking, which might be a lot of the rumored merger of the two media giants.

Reimagining Duke on the big screen with Optimus Prime—we’ve all waited too long for that. Duke finds himself in a fit of guilt over the death of his friend and Air Force pilot Frost, and he’s out of vengeance, but he never thought it would come in the form of Dr. Adele Berkhart, a female scientist who studied energies for the same United States government, who lied to Duke about his accident, quote “so-called” accident.

His A-wall investigation turns from finding giant robots and chasing endless abductees to universal energies and the dangers of their weaponization really fast. Dr. Berkhart explains to Duke that if these energies were discovered by the wrong military-industrial complex, the world would tremble. Big stakes are nothing new for Duke, but he’s no longer in the inner circle, so where does he go with this new information?

Dr. Berkhart knows, and her hunch leads us to the heart of our new antagonistic force, hoping to find the apple of this new Eden-like energy and take a winning bite toward the finish line of this new technological arms race. That organization is called M.A.R.S. Industries. I’m not going to lie; the interiors of this compound installation almost mirror the end-credit scenes of Transformers: ROTB.

As Dr. Burkhart suggests the spot, Duke decides to use his years of extraction and espionage skills at M.A.R.S. Industries, hoping to catch a new lead or get a pulse on the robot he saw. Unfortunately, Duke was made by Mercer and bum-rushed by a bunch of security forces. It was a ridiculous amount. I thought that part was a little overkill, but when I saw the shadowy silhouette of Destro atop his throne of mischief, I knew why.

Cobra, alive and well, but no commander in sight, just Destro keeping the throne warm. I’m sure we’ll get some context in Cobra Commander #1 next month.

After Destro catches Duke, he lets him walk. Duke, thinking he got off scot-free, wasn’t very aware of how suspicious that might be for him as he returned to Dr. Burkhart. To make matters worse, he’s met by a police firing squad, catching a bullet for his patriotism. When Duke asked Dr. Burkhart who did it, she said it was a man from Australia.

Armed with a weird device, the truth, and a mystery man who must be brought to justice, Duke has—his mission. Tom Reilly and Jordan Bellaire brought emotion to the color and art that jumped at you. I love the use of red for the truly tragic moments; it evokes that moment of surprise and urgency. I’m not looking forward to watching Williamson march other Joe’s like Stalker and Rock’n’Roll to hunt down the man of action, but it’s exciting to watch how Duke’s abilities out-skill his brothers in arms.  

If you’re a covers person, then you’ll enjoy this list: Duke #1 Cover A by Tom Reilly, Duke #1 Cover B by David Aja, Duke #1 Cover C by Tyler Boss & Jason Wordie, Duke #1 Cover D by Steve Epting, Duke #1 Cover E by Andrea Sorrentino, Duke #1 Cover F (Foil) by Jonboy Meyers, and last but not least, Duke #1 Cover G a Blank Sketch Cover for the confolk.

It’s an exciting start to what seems like a Reacher meets Bourne adventure. Speaking of the other Joe’s, don’t miss all the exciting holiday deals, specials, and new releases from Hasbro Pulse. They have some killer GI Joe action figures and one-of-a-kind Transformers, and with Energon Universe in full force, you’ll likely see some of those on-page characters on a brick-and-mortar shelf soon.

Support your local comic shops by adding Duke and Cobra Commander to your reader list, Transformers, if you can swing it. So long as you’re supporting someone doing comics, It’s the only way we can keep it going. As always, stay geeky, share the network, and don’t forget to catch me on the latest episode of Comics’N’Poptarts.