I was already excited for Dynamite Entertainment’s new ongoingTerminatorcomic series, but the debut issue affirmed for me that the series has the potential to make the T-800 as scary as it has been in forty years, on the level of thrilling terror thatthe original 1984 James Cameron filmstill manages to evoke, even though I’ve seen the movie countless times.
The Terminator#1 – written by Declan Shalvey, with art by Luke Sparrow – does more than just make the T-800 physically threatening; it reminds readers that the relentless killing machines are a potent metaphor, representing the villain that gets all of us in the end, no matter what: time.
Time has always been anessential part of theTerminatorlore, of course, but I would arguefew stories in the franchise’s extended universe have so succinctly tied together the series' iconic antagonists and its central temporal themes.
Dynamite’s New “Terminator” Comic Emphasizes What Truly Makes The T-800 An Iconic Horror Villain
The Terminator#1 – Written By Declan Shalvey; Art By Luke Sparrow; Color By Collin Craker; Lettering By Jeff Eckleberry
As a debut issue,The Terminator#1 is, naturally, intended to set up the series ahead. As a reader, I appreciate how author Declan Shalvey skillfully establishes the story’s tone and style, and I love the way he lays the thematic foundation for the book. The issue tells a seemingly self-contained tale of a T-800 mission, split between two eras; the Terminator starts its assassination mission in the late 1970s, and finishes it in 2018. The antagonist is presented as effectively scary in the comic, but this is a result of more than just its unstoppable drive to kill.
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The T-800 is depicted as classically relentless, though I find it especially interesting thatthe issue’s greatest horror beat comes from replicating Sarah Connor’s discovery of her stalker’s machine nature from the original film.In the story, the protagonists have been on the run from a murderous man for some time, but it is only when they think they have killed their pursuer that they are exposed to the shock of his T-800 exoskeleton. It wasn’t until I read this moment inTerminator#1 that I realized what makes the franchise truly horrifying.
Author Declan Shalvey Displays A Fundamental Grasp On Why “Terminator” Is Such A Timeless Franchise
The Terminator#1 – Variant Covers By Jason Flowers, John Giang, Joshua Swaby, & More; Available Now From Dynamite Entertainment
Of course,one of the things that madeThe Terminatorso great, upon its original release, was the way that it adapted the tropes of the burgeoning slasher movie genre to a sci-fi premise. As a movie villain, the original T-800 has a lot in common with Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees – the killer that won’t stop coming after you, and is seemingly indestructible. Similar to how theFriday the 13thfranchise would soon make Jason a full-on zombie,Terminatorexplained its killer’s impervious nature by making it inhuman.
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The Terminator franchise is one with rich history even outside of the movies, as the decades-long lore has remained just as prevalent in the comics.
Rather than a supernatural threat, however, Terminators are technological – and this is, in my opinion, the thing that is actually scary about the premise. Unlike a supernatural antagonist, a technological enemy is an enemy that humanity is directly responsible for creating. In James Cameron’sTerminator, Sarah Connor’s most abject moment of fear and confusion comes when she has to face the reality of more than just the existence of killer robots disguised as humans, but an apocalyptic future in which she plays a pivotal role – and in the process is forced to accept the responsibility of trying to change it.
Declan Shalvey’sTerminator#1 offers its own versionof that moment effectively, though with a narrative purpose slightly adjusted to suit the needs of this new series. Sarah Connor’s story ultimately became a classic tale of “fate vs. free will,” whileShalvey’sTerminatorongoing comic appears to take the position that whichever side of that coin flip you land on, time is the real enemy.Killer robots simply expedite an inevitable process. That might sound bleak – but it makes for a compelling perspective for his characters to push back against, as they wage a war across time, and against time.
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The Terminator#2 – Available Now From Dynamite Entertainment
InThe Terminator#1, a T-800 fails to eliminate its target in 1979, but it does eliminate them, nearly forty years later. The Terminator finally finds Penny, the woman it has been sent back in time to kill, living an almost idyllic with her husband in a remote cabin on a lake. Their lives would be perfect, if it weren’t for the ever-looming threat of a killer robot attack – which, as I probably don’t need to tell you, happens in the issue. As Penny’s husband is fishing, the T-800 emerges from the lake, and heads for the cabin.
It is not that Terminators aren’t susceptible to the damage done by time, but that impact is drawn out over a much longer scale.
Both him and Penny lose their lives at the Terminator’s hands, and the cabin itself is destroyed in a spectacular explosion. The story ends with an image I think is spectacular, of the Terminator, in flames, sinking back below the surface of the lake, its mission complete. To me, this sends a clear thematic signal for the series; it is not that Terminators aren’t susceptible to the damage done by time, but that impact is drawn out over a much longer scale. With time as the battleground of the human-machine war,Skynet and its Terminators will always have this crucial advantage.
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The Terminator#3 – Releases August 18, 2025 From Dynamite Entertainment
At this point, it probably goes without saying thatmy expectations for Dynamite’sTerminatorseries have been raised by the first several issues.The series is ambitious, and promises – apropos of the time travel premise of the franchise – to hop around human history, with stories set in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s announced so far, as Skynet expands the scope of its attacks on the past beyond individuals, and seemingly targets the tension points of the 20th century. I am all in on this premise, and eagerly anticipate where author Declan Shalvey is taking us.
The newTerminatorcomic series has succeeded at making the franchise scary and exciting again, by displaying a fundamental understanding of what makes the T-800 an unforgettable enemy.
The second issue ofTerminatorbrings the T-800s to the Vietnam War, andTerminator#3 is set to continue that story; beyond that, solicitations for the next several issues promise to visit more pivotal moments in the Cold War. As fans, part of the excitement for the book will be speculating endlessly about where and when the series could go next. For now, however, it is safe to say that the newTerminatorcomic series has succeeded atmaking the franchise scary and exciting again, by displaying a fundamental understanding of what makes the T-800 an unforgettable enemy.
The Terminator#1 and #2are available now from Dynamite Entertainment.
Terminator
The Terminator franchise, launched by James Cameron in 1984, explores a dystopian future where intelligent machines wage war against humanity. The relentless pursuit of key human figures by time-traveling cyborg assassins known as Terminators is central to the narrative. John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance, is the core target of the malicious machines.
