Terminator: Infinity #1

[history79]

Written by Simon Furman, Art by Nigel Raynor

7.2 pages of 24

Comments

[reveen]

Directly referencing Rise of the Machines? You'd think that that'd be something of a faux pas for Terminator media.

[grumman]

Even more so for one that proudly states "Terminator 2" on the cover.

The Terminator was about keeping Sarah Connor from being murdered by the terminator. Terminator 2 was respectful of its predecessor - it didn't turn around and say "Fuck you, Sarah Connor dies anyway." Terminator 2 was not merely about survival, it was about preventing the war. One of the most important characters in the series gives his life because he considers it necessary to prevent the war. Then Terminator 3 turns around and says "Fuck you, the war happens anyway."

This is the very first issue of a so-called Terminator 2 comic, and it is about this undercutting of one of the most powerful parts of that movie. It's like if Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane started with Peter selling his marriage to Mephisto.

[steverodgers5]

I'd respectfully disagree that Terminator 2 was respectful of its predecessor. In the original, all the time travelling by Reese and the Terminator created the events of the future. In a perfect circle of events. Whereas with 2, it was if Cameron said, "Fuck it. Let's just appeal to Schwarzenegger's popularity at the box office and have Arnie save the world. Logic be damned." Not to mention that it loses a lot of the human element from having it largely being about a couple of robots duking it out.

T3 at least tried to restore something of the spirit of the original by having things come full circle again. (Because if there's no future war, how the heck are these terminators coming back through time?) I thought it was commendable that it had the balls to do that. And judging by the reviews of the time, the ending was equally praised by most folks...including even a lot of those that didn't like the film itself.

Oh and the only reason Sarah Connor was killed off was because Linda Hamilton didn't want to go through all the bulking up again for the part. Read the rather excellent Terminator Vault book that's out just now if you want to find out some actual facts about that. Because they definitely did try to get her for it.

I'd actually say this comic book is more disrespectful towards the most recent movie. As Kate Brewster was alive in that, albeit played by a different actress.

[mrstatham]

Does it really? I'd say the core of Terminator 2 is pretty much Sarah Connor, in addition to probably Arnold's best performance on screen, to be honest. Those two performances actively work in parallel to one another; Connor becomes more cold and machinelike to the point she nearly gets their freaking leitmotif when trying to kill Dyson, and only then realises she can't do that. And the Terminator - in the Director's Cut - becomes more human, leading to the not-entirely-optimistic ending with Sarah's monologue - rather than the entirely happy ending we've seen as trimmed footage. And Arnold doesn't 'save the world', hence the slight optimism but uncertainty of the ending. There is, after all, another T-800 arm stuck in a gear, plus data that could, presumably, be recovered from Cyberdyne's computers. I also think you're dismissing T2 a little too easily if you're just focusing on the 'robots'. Sarah's the core. The Terminator's learning curve toward becoming human is key. John's asserting himself against his mother when she wants to destroy the T-800 - in the Director's Cut, again - is awesome character stuff. The human element is, to me, stronger than in the first movie, where the interaction with Sarah and Kyle and it's results seemed more necessary to advancing the plot along.

[steverodgers5]

I think Hamilton's performance, (though to a certain extent, it may be the script) get's progressively sillier as T2 goes on. Which is a shame as I liked that scene in the mental asylum where she's starts freaking out about how everyone thinks they're alive but she sees them all as dead. That was the only scene I think where she was matching what Michael Biehn did in the original. I cringed at her later scene where she goes on a big rant about Men. To the extent that the film even makes a joke out of it with her son telling her to give it a rest.
Think we're going to have to agree to disagree on the human element being better in the sequel. T1 is much more visceral, passionate and ultimately poignant to me. Whereas T2 very much gets hung up on the humour of it's 'A Boy and his Terminator' storyline. I don't hate T2. But part of me wishes Cameron had maybe repurposed it as a different film entirely and left the original as a closed storyline.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Interesting... I thought Kate lived through to Salvation?

Also, upon seeing the writer, I'm hoping we at least get some classic Furmanisms in here.

[glprime]

It's Terminator, a fresh new continuity with each iteration!

[steverodgers5]

The more I think about this, the more it doesn't make sense. Kate Brewster's role in the future was pivotal to sending back the terminator in T3. She should at least have survived long enough to play that part of the story out. But then I suppose Connor would have to be dead too, and we'd have no lead. I don't think the writer of this book had thought this through enough. Which surprises me as Furman was very good with his timetravel stories in the old Uk Transformers series.