THE TERMINATOR #1, by Dynamite Comics on 10/9/24, brings on a new quest to destroy humanity’s last hope when a couple escapes the War of the Machines in 2018, only to be hunted by a T-800.
Credits:
- Writer: Declan Shalvey
- Artist: Luke Sparrow, Colin Craker
- Colorist: Colin Craker
- Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
- Cover Artist: Declan Shalvey (cover A)
- Publisher: Dynamite Comics
- Release Date: October 9, 2024
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Page Count: 28
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of THE TERMINATOR #1:
First Impressions:
The Terminator #1 is a Terminator comic. That’s about as high praise as we can give it. Writer Declan Shalvey begins a new series with familiar concepts, doing familiar things with familiar outcomes and a familiar cliffhanger. Don’t get me wrong. Despite the rash of recent box-office bombs, there are plenty of Terminator stories that could make for new and exciting entertainment, but this first issue ain’t it.
Plot Analysis:
The issue begins with a fully skeletal T-800 kneeling at the bottom of a body of water. Suddenly, it activates and begins to move. The issue shifts to an older couple living off the grid in 2018, Alaska. We learn through snips of narration that the couple has been on the run and avoided the near-mass extinction from the War of the Machines. While the older man, Harper, enjoys a day of fishing on the lake as his wife, Penny, washes dishes in their cabin, Harper sees a figure emerging from the lake, marching toward the cabin. A Terminator has found them.
Declan Shalvey’s opening is familiar but odd. A couple living off the grid to avoid machines and war makes perfect sense, but how did a Terminator get in the lake or river? Where did it come from? You expect some setup when starting a series, so you’ll find that setup is where this comic is especially weak.
Harper races back to the shore. From his shouts, we can gather he’s aware of the existence of Terminators and that he’s prepared for one to arrive. Harper sprints ahead of the T-800, shouting for Penny to “burn the box” as he dashes for his weapons. The Terminator crashes through the door as Penny lights a box of photos and mementos on fire, presumably to hide the identity of whoever is in those photos.
The scene to defend against the Terminator almost works, and it works even less when you hear what happens next. The year is 2018, so why would Penny and Harper keep photos and incriminating keepsakes around in physical form? If physical photos are your thing, but you know their discovery would be dangerous, why keep them out in a box? Why not store them in a safe or a hiding place? Don’t worry. More questions are coming.
The comic flashes back to 1979, just after Penny and Harper are married. Harper is concerned he is tracked by the government, tipping lightly into conspiracy nutjob territory. A “man” showed up as soon as they got married, destroying their lives and killing their family members to get to them. Harper and Penny arrange to buy a small plane to fly to their new location in Alaska when the man arrives to hunt them down. Their accelerating plane and the “man” collide, tearing part of the flesh off his arm and face. The “man” clings to their plane, but Penny and Harper get away when part of the plane’s door rips free, sending the “man” splashing into the water below.
Penny and Harper’s escape makes sense in the moment becomes more confusing when you think about what comes after. Has the Terminator been sitting at the bottom of the water for almost 40 years? If it’s the same Terminator we saw in the opening pages, how did it lose all its clothes and flesh during its time in the water and get them back when it shows up in 2018? How did the Terminator find Penny and Harper after all these years if it’s resting underwater and has no idea which way their plane went?
The issue ends with Harper and Penny giving their lives to protect the knowledge that they have a child, the Terminator seeing that information as the cabin goes up in flames, and a new hunt beginning.
Overall, The Terminator #1 is the start of a new hunt with all-too-familiar themes and an amateurish mess of continuity errors and editing. We were hoping Dynamite found a way to continue their streak of success with Jonny Quest and Space Ghost, but it appears they haven’t.
Artwork and Presentation:
The artwork by Luke Sparrow and Colin Craker is perfectly okay. Harper and Penny’s character designs, which take up the majority of the comic, are distinctive, the facial acting is on point, and the panel settings are reasonably well done. That said, the weak point of the issue is a general muted flatness in the coloring. Visually, the comic is bland.
Art Samples:
The Bigger Picture:
Series Continuity:
For longtime Terminator fans, you may wonder where this first issue fits in the continuity of the films or previous Terminator stories in other mediums. If we follow the original timeline, Judgment Day takes place in 1997, so if this story follows the original sequence, it takes place 11 years after the War of the Machines began.
Final Thoughts:
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THE TERMINATOR #1 begins a new hunt to destroy humanity with a comic that leans on overly familiar themes and is riddled with too many unacceptable consistency errors. Bland, boring, and inconsistent is not a good way to adapt one of the world’s most recognizable sci-fi franchises.
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