This past weekend at the Comic-Con International in San Diego, comic book tie-ins to next summer’s Terminator Salvation, which stars Christian Bale as John Connor and directed by McG, were announced.
But die-hard fans of Terminator comics had wondered about the other comic book series, Terminator: Infinity. First announced
by Dynamite Entertainment in 2007, the initial five-issue arc was
written by Simon Furman. Despite the title, the series was set after
the events of 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
There was also an unusual crossover
between Dynamite’s version of the Terminator with Jimmy Palmiotti and
Joe Quesada’s Painkiller Jane character. The four-parter will be
collected into a Painkiller Jane vs Terminator Vol. 1: Time To Kill this September.
In November, the veteran writer will be back to relaunch the series as another five-parter but retitled this time as Terminator: Infinities.
We spoke with Furman about relaunching the series and… the possibility of a Terminator vs Transformers event?
Newsarama: Dynamite is re-starting the series this November with a new #1. Will it still be set after the crossover with Painkiller Jane? Does the four-parter (Terminator: Infinity #6 & #7 and Painkiller Jane #4 & #5) still matter?
Simon Furman: Terminator: Infinities continues with the cast and general story direction of Terminator: Infinity #1-#5 (the Painkiller Jane/Terminator crossover exists largely in its own bit of the T2 universe, but does it still matter...? Heck yes!). But Terminator: Infinities, while it is the next stage of the Dynamite/T2
saga, is still very much its own self-supporting entity. No one coming
into it for the first time will do so with a ‘what the-?’, ‘who dat?’
reaction!
NRAMA: How much time has passed since the end of the earlier Terminator series?
SF: Terminator: Infinity was set (as much as any Terminator series is set in any one fixed point of time!) in 2009. Terminator: Infinities
jumps forward a bit: to 2015, which is where/when we pick up on John
and Tara Holden (now Connor). But the action isn’t just set there/then.
We also jump forward to 2033 and back to 1996!
NRAMA: Since there're different versions of the Terminator out there (with the first three Terminator film series, The Sarah Connor Chronicles TV series, next year's Terminator Salvation film and tie-in projects, and Dynamite's own series), can you briefly explain to us the world that John Connor finds himself in in the Dynamite series?
SF: Sure. Despite the Terminator tag, continuity-wise we roll on from the end of T3, but subtract Kate Brewster (a character that the new movie, Terminator Salvation, does feature, I believe) from the equation. We saw (in Infinity)
John’s first stumbling steps on the way to becoming the future
resistance leader we know (as much as we can, given “the future’s not
set”) he’s destined to become. Along the way, he meets Uncle Bob, a
mentor-like T-850 sent back to ‘coach’ John through these first
difficult days/weeks/months and a lethal temporal Terminator tagged The
T-Infinity, which is ruthlessly tidying up the damaged timeline. We see
him come together with a rag-tag band of human survivors and a more
military-minded mob under Tara’s no-nonsense command. Together, and
after one or two false starts and missteps, they make the first
significant inroads against Skynet, arming themselves (for the first
time) with modified Skynet weaponry.
NRAMA: So this is still the version where Sarah Connor has passed on then?
SF: Yeah, Sarah’s dead. But she features heavily in Terminator: Infinities. Yeah, I know, but this is Terminator. Anything can happen... and frequently does!
NRAMA: Is the Terminator known as Uncle Bob still going to be in the series?
SF: Uncle Bob, though, is not back this time around. I think our
choice of Terminator ‘protector’ will surprise a few people. We’re
really mucking with our cast’s (and audience’s) heads in this one.
NRAMA: Will you be introducing new models in your series?
SF: Yup. As well as the T-Infinity (who’s back in a big way),
there’s an all-new Terminator called a Dire Wolf. We’re taking the idea
of Terminators as ‘hunter’-killers to a whole new level this time
around! Oh, and there’s a T-850... or two... or three... or...
NRAMA: What about other supporting characters?
SF: Kyle Reese, step up to the plate! We introduced him as a tongue-tied scrap of a lad in Terminator: Infinity and in Terminator: Infinities he’s got a whole lot more to say (oh, and do!).
NRAMA: With the Terminator franchise, the future, as you said, is not set. Where are you headed with the series? What have you got planned?
SF: My plan is to keep taking us (and the cast) further and
further into post-Judgment Day world, and ultimately to a point where
someone, be it the humans or Skynet, out and out wins!
NRAMA: For someone who's written practically every version of the Transformers, co-created the cyborg bounty hunter known as Death's Head and now, writing Terminator for Dynamite, has the thought of doing a crossover ever, well, crossed your mind? Transformers vs Terminator, perhaps?
SF: It’s crossed my mind. In fact it’s crossed Dynamite’s mind
and IDW’s mind. But, honestly, I don’t see it happening any time soon.
But, never say never.
NRAMA: Who would win in a battle between the two major properties?
SF: The Care Bears. (Oh, didn’t I say they were involved?)
