Kirkman Teases Potential Crossover Between ‘Invincible’ and ‘Transformers’

Robert Kirkman suggests a significant crossover between Omni-Man from Invincible and Optimus Prime from Transformers.

The characters are compared quite often in popular culture. Kirkman’s Void Rivals, a new series, launches the Energon Universe, a shared universe that features Transformers and G.I. Joe and opens up new possibilities.

As per Kirkman, anything is possible and “on the table”, but clarified that it would not be part of the Energon Universe. As the creative head of both series under Skybound, Kirkman has the chance to create a convincing crossover universe that combines the properties and explains their connection.

The idea of an Invincible/Transformers crossover came up when IDW Publishing’s license for the Transformers was set to expire. Around the same time, Skybound, the publisher of several successful comics like The Walking Dead, Invincible, Birthright, and Arcade Kings, started talks with Hasbro. Eventually, Skybound secured the license for both the Transformers and G.I. Joe.

The deal was a significant achievement for Kirkman and his company. It gave Skybound the right to create content for two of the most popular toy franchises in the country and the world, and they were also two franchises that Kirkman had loved since his childhood.

In the same interview with CBR, Kirkman said, “I’ve loved Transformers and G.I. Joe since the ’80s and have been dying to do literally anything with them.” Kirkman’s enthusiasm about the deals indicates that getting the publishing licenses for the two brands fulfilled his childhood dream.

Kirkman quickly made his mark on the Transformers universe. Skybound recently launched Void Rivals, a new ongoing series by Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici that explores the shared universe that features both the Transformers and the G.I. Joe stories. This new Energon Universe has been teased in Void Rivals #1 and in the end credits scene of the new movie, The Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

If the Transformers and G.I. Joe can be combined, why not Invincible? Kirkman’s statements imply that there is no obstacle to such a crossover. He says it will not happen in the Energon Universe as it is reserved for exploring the Transformers, G.I. Joe, and other in-universe inhabitants.

But that does not mean that the Transformers – or G.I. Joe – will be confined to that reality forever. In other words, Robert Kirkman hints that another shared universe featuring characters from the Transformers and Invincible is possible.

About Transformers

Launched in 1984, the Transformers toyline by Takara and Hasbro was promoted through both a comic book by Marvel Comics and an animated series produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions with Toei Animation.

Transformers follows the battles of sentient, living autonomous robots, often the Autobots and the Decepticons, who can transform into other forms, such as vehicles and animals.

In Cybertron, Optimus Prime prepares to lead his autobot warriors to Earth. Just as they are leaving they are confronted by Vector Prime who warns Optimus Prime of the threat to the galaxy if the four Cyber Planet Keys are not gathered in time. However, Megatron has plans of his own for the universe.