G.I. Joe is about to be rebooted as a part of the new Energon Universe, but the franchise will be taking its cues from another popular reboot in recent years. According to new writer Joshua Williamson, the new G.I. Joe is inspired in part by Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men reboot from 2019, which has shaped the direction of Marvel’s mutants ever since.
Appearing on the Comic Tropes YouTube show, Williamson revealed how Hickman’s X-Men reboot informed his approach to the upcoming Duke and Cobra Commander miniseries. “(Jonathan) Hickman did this thing with the X-Men…He had [House of X/Powers of X], where it was these two different books that were parallel to each other.”
For Williamson, that gave him a fresh, new way to approach Skybound’s G.I. Joe reboot. “They’re two books that could be read independently,” Williamson says, “but if you read them together you will see its one story.” Hickman’s influence on comic books in the last several years has lead to a renaissance of sorts for the medium – with G.I. Joe being the latest to benefit.
The Energon Universe’s G.I. Joe Is Inspired by Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men
Released in 2019, Hickman rebooted the X-Men line with two interconnected miniseries: House of X, with artist Pepe Larraz, and Powers of X with R.B. Silva. The two series saw the X-Men take up residence on Krakoa, joining together with the other mutants of the Marvel Universe to form their own mutant nation. The reboot proved hugely successful, returning the X-Men titles to the top of the sales charts and re-establishing their place in the Marvel hierarchy. The “Krakoa” era has lasted for four years, and many of the elements that Hickman put in place in HoX/PoX are still utilized in various X-titles to this day.
Much like House of X and Powers of X, the Duke and Cobra Commander miniseries will ultimately tell one big story. “It’s about these two characters that are on a collision course with each other,” Williamson said, describing how each series spins out of the discovery of the Transformers on Earth, and how the G.I. Joe and Cobra organizations will be formed in the aftermath. It will be interesting to see how classic characters such as Destro, Baroness, Scarlett and Snake Eyes are introduced, and watching the formation of the two rival organizations from two different perspectives will be the perfect way to bring G.I. Joe back in the Energon Universe era.
Duke and Cobra Commander Will Tell One Big Story
It is a no-brainer for comic book creators – especially those working to bring a new sense of urgency, and relevance, to major franchise IP – to look to Jonathan Hickman as an example and an inspiration; it makes total sense that the latest incarnation of G.I. Joe, and by extension, the entire Energon Universe shared continuity being developed by Skybound Entertainment, would look to Marvel’s recent success with its X-books and seek to replicate that. Having two five-issue miniseries should be plenty of narrative runway for the creators to build out the world of the Energon Universe. With any luck, the Energon Universe era of G.I. Joe will be as successful as X-Men’s Krakoan-era.
Duke #1 is available December 27th from Skybound Entertainment
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