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Kareem Ali 3.5

Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle #7

 

  • The good

    Story threads from early in the series start to become clear and connect in an interesting way. Potential ramifications of Connor and Skynet working together

  • The bad

    Mostly exposition so the potentially intriguing events haven't occurred yet

  • The ugly

    • Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle #7 opens up with the 3 terminators sent in the past examining their mission parameters, and one proposes they make a change in their strategy. The logic is that since they’re trying to protect Thomas Parnell and law enforcement also wants him alive then they should instead target Simon since he’s the only one trying to kill Parnell. The other 2 agree, however the key is to locate Simon first. So they go to the local Sheriff’s office and after killing him they download all the information from traffic cameras, security cameras, and anything else that would help them discern Simon’s whereabouts. Meanwhile in the future, Simon and Connor are assessing their situation guarding the time door, and the terminators are doing their best to try to break through the defenses to get to them. They don’t know that Parnell has infected Skynet and is controlling the majority of the terminators, and that it’s only a matter of time before he takes over Skynet completely, and in essence become Skynet. Nor do they know that there isn’t much Skynet or Dr. Kogan can do to counter Parnell since he has a larger force than they do. However, Marcus Wright returning from the dead might just be the answer Connor and Skynet both need to ensure their survival.

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    I’ve been pretty down on this series lately due to each issue feeling like filler or at worst just going through the motions of events that were already well-established from the original Terminator movie. So I didn’t have high hopes for this issue and even the revelation at the end of last issue about Marcus Wright returning didn’t excite me as I felt it would just be a rehash of that movie. So aside from the exchange with the terminator and the little girl in the beginning of this issue that made me laugh I was pretty apathetic to how this issue started. The story wasn’t difficult to follow even when switching to the future but Skynet’s problem with Parnell being explained piqued my interest somewhat as the situation become more complicated and dire for Skynet, meaning there was finally a big story development that felt fresh. And when Marcus and John Connor came face to face there was a slight rehashing of Marcus’s past but I became interested when he would state Skynet wants his help, and then legitimately excited as things started to become clear and the story threads that had so much potential early in the series started to come back to the forefront. And even though some answers still remain, the different events occurring simultaneously finally have a context. It still remains to be seen if the series will live up to the potential from the first issue because even though it’s definitely on track now this issue is still just a setup without any of these events actually unfolding. However there is now hope that the rest of the series could be engrossing.

     

    SUMMARY

    Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle #7 is an enjoyable issue where the early story threads finally start becoming clear, although this issue is just a setup for things to come. It doesn’t completely make up for all the recent lackluster issues but I finally have hope that it’s on the right track and will tread new ground going forward. It was interesting to see Connor and Skynet talking about working together since obviously this could have drastic ramifications for the terminator chronicles but I am curious about their portrayals and how this will be pulled off. So yes, this issue was a step in the right direction for the series but it still has a long way to go before living up to the potential from the first issue.

     

    Release Date: 7/9/14

    Writer: J. Michael Straczynski

    Artist: Pete Woods

  • Rating ( 7 )
  • Total score 7.0

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