Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle #4 continues right after Thomas Parnell eludes the 3 terminators and with Simon, the resistance fighter sent back to kill him, no where in sight, Thomas is smooth sailing. However the terminators have more tracking capabilities than Simon and so they’re able to recreate his footsteps and actions and determine what occurred after his car was wrecked. And being the psycho he is, the terminators see how Thomas executed a man who tried to help him and ended up taking his car and head to an unknown destination. But that’s exactly the mentality Skynet wants as Thomas is greeted in the future by Dr. Kogan after he’s awakened with his new body and they’re both excited about the fact that the process worked. Apparently the plan was to turn Thomas into the perfect weapon against the resistance in a way that would soon be revealed. But the resistance has its own plan as Kyle Reese is on the verge of being sent back to protect Sarah Connor, and ultimately end up as John Connor’s father. But with Skynet seemingly successful in its plan to turn Thomas Parnell into the perfect weapon that enjoys nothing more than killing, is it finally over for the resistance?

I felt this series was off to an excellent start but started to stall in terms of clarity regarding the events taking place and just leaned more towards action at the expense of story progression. And even though I enjoyed the last issue I felt there needed to be some answers in this issue or else it would start to feel like bad filler. Fortunately this issue does have answers and the way the story unfolds is very impressive, especially the way Skynet’s origins are portrayed. Skynet has always been portrayed as a self-aware AI that immediately started attacking humans and just wanted to wipe out all humans with little to no explanation. That changes here as Skynet’s first moments of existence are conveyed and the initial attack is portrayed in a different light. It doesn’t change the dynamic of the war, at least not in this issue, but Skynet’s awareness and rise to power has never been explained in such clear detail. And it provides the perfect segway to why Skynet wanted Thomas Parnell and when his purpose is explained it’s somewhat shocking and at the same time it’s interesting that Skynet would take that course of action. It’s also very intriguing and connects back to what was mentioned in the first issue about how time travel is viewed differently by Skynet than it is by humans because to Skynet it’s more like a straight line regardless of the actual time period but the humans/resistance remembers events that took place, i.e. the terminators being sent back, and since the resistance was aware of Thomas Parnell enough to send someone back the mystery regarding that and time travel deepens. Whether not that is the case or it was just a theory remains to be seen but either way this issue has the best storytelling since the first issue and enough action to maintain the feeling of a final battle, and the story progresses in an enjoyable fashion. And despite the air of inevitability still hanging over the series in terms of one of the focuses still being on Kyle Reese being sent back I’m starting to believe that there’s enough of an original story here that truly adds to the Terminator franchise and will ultimately break new ground.

SUMMARY 

Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle #4 gets the series back on track story wise and makes excellent progress on that front as Skynet reveals its hand and its purpose of going back in time to acquire Thomas Parnell. And even more impressive than that is the clear and detailed way Skynet’s rise to power was laid out including its very first moments of being self-aware and why it responded the way that it did. And as this issue answered questions in impressive fashion the series becomes more intriguing as the mystery regarding the time-traveling events deepens and sets the stage for some entertaining developments, and possibly shocking revelations going forward. But the stakes were raised in this issue and one thing is clear: Skynet intends to finish off humanity and has no interest in negotiating a truce. And the reasoning behind the Final Battle moniker added to the title of this series starts to come to light and I can’t wait to see what unfolds the rest of this series.

Release Date: 3/5/14

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski

Artist: Pete Woods