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Released by: Dark Horse Comics
Released on: March 5 2014
Detailing the moments leading up to the events that start the first Terminator film, the story here goes to great lengths to detail Skynet.
The resistance, led by John Connor, are winning in their fight back against the machines but Skynet has one last trick up its sleeve: Namely, the resurrection of crazed killer Thomas Parnell as a new human-terminator hybrid that can control all the Terminator units currently in action.
Meanwhile, in the present, a team of T-800's and a human resistance fighter from the future seek Parnell, to stop him from becoming what we've just been shown that he becomes. In the future, John readies to send Kyle back to protect his mother, Sarah, and the turncoat scientist Dr. Kogan readies that “first†T-800 for its trip back in time…
During this story, though, perhaps the most interesting component is the portion devoted to Skynet telling its own story. It details how it came online and when it achieved consciousness. But it was in freefall, unable to understand what happened to it. However, at the same time, it was then being attacked (as the humans attempted to shut it down) so it reacted the way anything being attacked would - by finding something to “make a fist†with. It then details how it learned from devastating human history to subjugate survivors and rebuild, bringing its story up to its present time.
Just when you think the Terminator line is done with someone comes along with a new entertaining story within its universe. J. Michael Straczynski's story does just that, moving effortlessly between competing timelines to do so and that's a pretty hefty accomplishment. Pete Woods' artwork is adequate to the story, really coming to life during the big-panel action sequences. Still, it's a surprisingly good read and worth picking up.
