Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle #5 Review

Can this title successfully bridge temporal voids or does it ultimately fail to connect? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dark Horse:

John Connor’s assault on Skynet is met with a devastating counterattack! Controlled by a human serial killer with no loyalty to mankind, the Terminators’ deadly mechanical efficiency is now matched with the creativity and pleasure for killing of a murderous psychopath!

The scope of this particular franchise has always been massive, but the skeletal structure of each film allowed it to function on a microscopic level. The creative team has taken it upon themselves to try and bridge all of it together in a set of moments that are key to the overall cannon. The end result is something that’s good in its own right but stumbles along the way.

J. Michael Straczynski charts the course, and the scribe does a fine job telling his narrative and keeping the Connor legacy in play. We see the formation of history we already know while the terrors of the present plague our primary cast. The problem that faces the narrative course falls squarely on the actions required by the previous films. The weight of continuity comes to bare and at certain moments the text inevitably falters. The sturdy dialogue however keeps things moving briskly, and the inclusion of a specific T-800 will certainly generate excitement among devoted fans.

The furute war is captured brilliantly by the illustrations contained within this comic book. Pete Woods handles the renditions giving our serial killer and his robot army enough personality to instill terror in our freedom fighters. There’s a lot at stake here but the talent has a strong enough grip on the material to deliver when the author requires it. The colors done by Matthew Wilson finish a stand out display that engages and thrills. The summation of the visual component has some slight variations but the bulk is more than up to its task.

Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle #5 is a solid continuation with some hiccups. Followers of the franchise will forgive its inconsistencies as it comes recommended.