WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Duke #5They may fight for freedom wherever there’s trouble, but now, the newly-formed G.I. Joe team is taking on a completely new foe in the Energon Universe: the Transformers. While many fans would think that means an alliance with Optimus Prime and the Autobots to face off against the Decepticons, those fans should think again. According to team leader Duke himself, America’s elite fighting force’s new parameters are to “destroy them all.”
Coming from the creative team of Joshua Williamson, Tom Reilly, Jordie Bellaire and Rus Wooton, Duke #5 sees the titular character in the clutches of Destro and his new Battle Android Trooper. Duke winds up beating the robot, but Destro decides to destroy his Arctic facility before the U.S. military can find them.
Duke is reported dead by the media, but it turns out to be a ruse. Colonel Hawk retrieves him from the wreckage and has a new proposition for his top soldier. He takes Duke back to the Pit, which is being rebuilt as the base of operations for a specialized mission force to deal with a new enemy entirely.
Codename: G.I. Joe Officially Forms In the Energon Universe
Hawk finally tells Duke what he wants to hear: the mysterious, transforming robots are real, and they have proof of their existence. Cover Girl shows Duke video footage of Optimus Prime, whereupon Hawk explains, “We need to know what they are… and how to stop them.” And with that, the new G.I. Joe team’s mission parameters are clear: hunt down the Transformers, and take them out of the picture. Duke is more than willing to cooperate, seeing as how he is still recovering from the trauma of witnessing his friend being murdered by Starscream in Transformers #2.
It’s interesting to see Duke show the same level of hostility towards Optimus Prime as he does to Starscream, but from Duke’s perspective, they’re both the same. Aside from allies like Spike and Carly, none of the humans know the history of the Autobots and Decepticons. They may not even realize the Transformers are sentient beings in their own right. In the opening scene, Duke assumes that Starscream is a weapon designed by Destro and M.A.R.S. Industries, only to be quickly corrected. “Destro might not have built them,” Hawk explains, “but someone did.” This perfectly highlights just how little the world at large knows about these new, transforming invaders.
G.I. Joe vs. Optimus Prime: Duke Is Looking For Revenge In the Energon Universe
The stage is being set for an epic showdown between the new G.I. Joe strike team and the Transformers, with no distinction being made between Autobot or Decepticon. Given how crossovers usually work, fans can assume a skirmish between the Joes and the Autobots at first, before they team up to fight the Decepticons together. Yet the Energon Universe has been a line built on surprising reveals and shocking events, so the two groups’ inevitable battle could play out any number of ways. For now, it’s interesting to learn that the Energon Universe version of G.I. Joe has formed with the explicit orders to hunt down and destroy the Transformers.
Duke #5 (2024) | |
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