Today brought another signature Skybound surprise, kind of like that time they ended The Walking Dead without telling anyone it was ending, included a Spider-Man comic in their mix of Battle Beast #1 blind bags and stealth-launched the Energon Universe.
Today’s surprise, really shouldn’t be a surprise based on their track record, but it’s a fun one: some of the blind bags for M.A.S.K. #1 included completely different comics, with one of them being Rom #1, a standalone issue by Void Rivals co-creators Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici that introduces the space knight into the Energon Universe.
In a press release, Skybound said the character has been a fan request since Skybound launched the shared universe. Longtime Marvel fans know he previously published by them in the 1980s, following his introduction as toy by Parker Brothers. The toy was kind of a dud when it launched, but the comic proved popular, as he was integrated into the Marvel Universe and met everyone from the X-Men to Galactus. Later IDW Publishing reintroduced him to comics when they held the Hasbro license.
“Nothing is more exciting to me than an unexpected comic drop! Getting to a store and finding out a brand-new book exists is just the coolest thing. The only thing that could make it better… is if it was Rom!” Kirkman said. “Rom is such an iconic character with a rich history spanning decades. He’s been a constant request for the Energon Universe. Getting to develop him for the Energon Universe alongside my pal Lorenzo De Felici was an absolute blast, and I can’t wait for fans to see our long-range plans for the character! Rom! WOO!!”
The blind bags also contained two other possible surprises: M.A.S.K. Origins #1, reprinting the first appearances of M.A.S.K. and V.E.N.O.M. in the Energon Universe, and an advance edition of M.A.S.K. #2.
Rom will next appear in Void Rivals #33, the title that launched the Energon Universe to begin with, quietly folding what seemed like another new Skybound comic into a shared universe that eventually revealed itself to include Transformers and G.I. Joe.
So are the Micronauts next? Hopefully they’ll get their own surprise drop sometime in the future.
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