I do find it a little interesting that a few characters AREN'T in the lineup. Bumblebee's one for sure, given how much Hasbro likes to push him.
But, the lack of Megatron is more interesting to me. Especially with how everything else screams Sunbow G1 to me.
Are they pulling something like Infiltration, where Megatron won't come in until later to up the stakes? That would be repeating things a bit...but IDW's start WAS 18 years ago, so fair enough if they do.
Maybe Megatron's damaged and they need to repair him somehow?
Or could someone else actually be in charge in this universe? A Galvatron or Deathsaurus or Overlord or something?
Is this just Starscream going rogue and trying to start his own faction?
I'm probably overthinking this, but it'll be fun to see where they're going with it.
Jazz and Grimlock and Shockwave are also notable absences. But, they could easily show up later. Megatron is a lot more conspicuous to me.
Soooo who are the possible Transformers who will appear there? Omega Supreme? Cosmos? Astrotrain?
Yeah, I could easily see some of the space-based guys showing up there. Maybe even a few Japanese exclusive characters that the main book doesn't want to use yet. Your Star Sabers or Metal Hawks and the like. And Jetfire might end up coming back.
But, honestly, I think Void Rivals MIGHT end up being it's own thing. Think the ROM book in IDW. In the same universe, but doing it's own thing with it's own villains and characters. I get the feeling the Transformer involvement MIGHT end up being saved for a crossover down the line.
But, there is the "Sacred Ring" they keep mentioning. It sounds to me like a Space Bridge or Stargate type thing. So, if THAT activates, a few Transformers could step through and show up in the Void Rivals book as a sort of surprise. It's not going to happen, but the Ring even COULD turn out to be Spanner (from G1 Marvel) or something. Crazier things have happened.
Mind you, the Sacred Ring MIGHT just be the black hole. But the black hole MIGHT be caused by a faulty Space Bridge. We'll see. It's REALLY early days.