Terminator 2: Judgment Day took the franchise to the Marvel Universe, but was it actually any good?
Let’s take a look at issue one of the Marvel Comics adaptation of blockbuster giant T2: Judgment Day.
Product details:
- Language English
- Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
- Cover Artists: Klaus Janson
- Writers: Gregory Wright
- Pencilers: Klaus Janson
- Inkers: Klaus Janson
- Colourists: Christie Scheele
- Letterers: Jim Novak
- Editors: Bobbie Chase, Chris Cooper
- Next Issue: Terminator 2: Judgment Day #2
Sypnosis:
THE ADAPTATION OF THE NEW SMASH HIT FILM! More or less a direct adaptation with some re-jigging, and swapping some dialogue here and there, with some alternate imagery and differences in scenes – which highlights the transition of the movie to ink and paper.
This is Part 1 of 3 of the official T2: Judgment Day comic, released to coincide with the launch of the movie itself! Also quite exciting is the fact that the deleted scenes are apparent in the comic. So, for those people who bought the comic,- they had a glimpse of what would later be released on the T-1000 Edition VHS; now called the Special Edition.
On retrospect: *SPOILER WARNING* If you have not seen the movie, and wish not to know the plot… DO NOT READ.
As I remove this issue from its prison of plastic I feel a sense of something special. That, in 1991, I could walk into a store and I could purchase this for a dollar. Oh, how the years have changed things…
Obviously Terminator 2 as a movie was aimed at a wider audience, more so than the first picture; the first film being on the knife edge that is the sci-fi / horror / chase flick. The second still kept the edge but went for more of a clean perfection instead of the dark and grittiness.
The Terminator (1984) had little in the way of merchandise, but T2 took merchandise to the max. This was the bond created with a younger audience – though, the adults would also go to the movies and get the movie they wanted, no lack of swear words or brutal killings. If you didn’t fit the age you couldn’t watch it! simple! But you could still bond with the movie via different channels, like gaming, toys, comics and books, and, if your parents were really nice they would even rent the VHS so you could sit down and experience the magic of such a movie at home if you weren’t lucky enough to experience the big screen.
Terminator 2 the comic; is a three part series in which the younger audience could connect with the story of Terminator 2… It is more or less script perfect and follows the movie tightly. This opened the movie up for kids, in a more responsible manner. THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!
So, turning the cover with bated breath; now for the review…
Review:
Straight off I get a blast from the past. A Bill and Ted video game advertisement hits me in the face with the two cool dudes photoshopped onto a giant NES entertainment system, this was the 90’s… and boy, does this bring a welcome sense of nostalgia!
The comic is in color, but the paper quality is similar to a newspaper and, sadly, time has damaged this copy somewhat.
The first real page (past a glossy advertisement) is a stark black page with terminator fonts and titles. This issue is titled Part One Arrival. It does fit in with the terminator feel pretty well.
We start with a one page introduction to John Connor in his final stance with binoculars and scar, as he watches the final seconds of the movie’s future war introduction. Sarah Connor’s narration is used as a way to bring people straight into the movie’s story but also covering the last movie and the overall mission of the machines… now time to save the world…
By page 2 Arnold is back from the future and having a cigar stubbed out on his chest (great to see violence in comic book form). In fighting the bikers the main and most noticeable difference is a more OTT fight and the T-800 grabbing the blade of the knife with his bare hands, which was done in the movie, to my knowledge, but had no real focus on doing so – he then throws the knife attacker onto the bar instead of the pool table on his back, then puts the knife in the front of his shoulder.
The other biker, who was thrown to the kitchen, has made his way behind the bar and is waving a gun around and asking if they can make a deal as all his men have been thoroughly assaulted.
Cut to T-1000 Arrival
The scene takes place in the middle of the night and is dark in palette.
Murky and gritty (as it should be), reminding me more of the first movie than the second, with its level of utter darkness. The T-1000 goes from looking like Jet Li to Bruce Willis in the matter of a frame (was this an Expendables prophecy?) I hope they pin the likeness of the T-1000 soon…
Sarah Introduction
So far this comic’s keeping it safe, this is a proper old school movie adaptation. Word for word Pescadero is covered well.
“The next patient is a 29 Year old female diagnosed as suffering from acute schizo-affective disorder.”
For some reason Dr. Silberman, in this iteration, is fat with a double chin. Douglas is also here and he is tall and muscular and has bright red hair. Now, perhaps Douglas we can understand; maybe the comic makers had minimal reference material bar the plot… but Dr Silberman was in the first movie – why get his likeness wrong… ? Perhaps they didn’t have the rights to use these actors likeness’? Who knows…. The mysteries of the Terminator series.
Now the comic goes into the Special Edition (originally known as the T-1000 edition) scene.
“Douglas I don’t like the patients disrupting their rooms like this”
The end of this scene feels just as violent, and a bit more humiliating for Sarah too, as they pour liquid medication down her neck and face whilst electrocuting her.
John Connor:
John’s best friend Tim has black hair in this comic and not the red haired mullet from the movie, and he also has a bright red shirt…
“Your foster parents are kinda dork’s huh John?
Replacing the word ‘dicks‘ with dorks is genius… isn’t it?
They get the money, he shows his friend the picture of his mom. We are watching the movie in picture cells – but I’m not complaining yet. The artwork so far isn’t great but in no way is it the worst I have seen in my many years of comic reading..
The T-1000 head’s to Janelle and Todd‘s to get a certain photograph of a certain child. The script again is bang on and ends on him (the T-1000) saying “I wouldn’t worry” instead of “I wouldn’t worry about him“. They cut out the whole good looking boy dialogue.
As Todd tells Janelle to get the photograph album, John and friend decide to go to the mall, and the T-800 is approaching a telephone box (original tactic used by the first T-800 unit – The Cop Killer of 1984). It’s a good throwback and also gives a feeling of behind the scenes, scenes – the stuff going on while we are watching the other parts of the movie. It’s also a good reference to the advanced methods of a prototype such as a T-1000 being able to mimic the law and go unnoticed as well as using government data to track John down, while the T-800 uses more mundane methods.
Sarah Connor up for review:
As always this is done well, using the rails of the movie plot, the dialogue is more compact than usual but again,- script perfect. Gotta mention this for the younger users of this site.
” On August 29th, 1997, it’s gonna feel pretty freaking real to you too”
Dyson’s Introduction:
Cyberdyne Systems Exterior…. Looks great. Nice touch.
Miles is not introduced, in this comic adaptation he looks a little more crazed and obsessed when observing the chip and the arm. Again script perfect more or less.
Outcome of Sarah Connor’s review with Dr. Silberman:
Silberman refuses access to the minimum security wing. Sarah reacts in an obviously more toned down manner than in the movie and then gets restrained. “Model Citizen”.
The Galleria:
The T-800 arrives at The Galleria- Nice touch. We cut to John at the arcade cue a pretty good take on the whole mall / canal chase. Very fast paced drawings with speed lines coming off of the vehicles.
After the chase is over, we arrive to John’s quiet time with the T-800.
“Now don’t take this the wrong way, you are a Terminator right?”
Following this scene / page; we are on the phone to Janelle, it gets quite interesting here… was this planned for the movie…?
Arnold impersonates John, and Janelle responds with “Wolfy’s just excited”. We cut to the kitchen of John’s Foster Parents home. The T-1000 is stood in the kitchen, with Todd and Janelle in pools of blood on the floor. The T-1000 then morphs back into his Austin mode (Robert Patrick) and finds a letter from Pescadero on the side with the address at the top.
– This scene in the comic is a really great idea to show a plot device that triggers the T-1000’s trip to Pescadero.
Obviously John is overlayed in the comic cell (we see the phone booth phone), however the idea that The T-1000 killed Janelle as John, could have been an interesting twist, although T-1000 has no physical contact with John it could have been explained by possibly going into John’s bedroom and perhaps analyzing a piece of hair on John’s pillow; allowing him access to the genetic data but now we are just in fan fiction territory so… moving on.
The comic by now seems to be speeding things up and taking short-cuts which isn’t a bad thing. Some faults are perhaps due to lack of resource material, maybe changed scenes in the production process of the movie or even the writers implementing their own little twists… which is a nice touch.
The two jocks who called John a “little dipshit” are removed completely from this scene and instead John has a reflection on his relationship with him mom and his lack of belief in the things she said. He realises the hate he has for his mom has no grounds, and his deep rooted love for his mother comes forth – and he demands they (he and the T-800) go save her.
The Terminator puts his grip on John, John tells him to let go… blah blah and they head off to Pescadero, JUST LIKE THE MOVIE! wow! but in more of a hurry with some fast bike riding.
Cut to: Sarah Connor questioned by police about the Cop Killer of 1984
Paperclip acquired, she goes about her escape. Nice. Sarah Connor is not cast to the shadows in this comic, she has a strong sense of character, the T-800 feels like a protector, and John the child in need of protecting. Everything feels right…
T-1000 gets past security booth with police car and enters Pescadero while the irritating fucking Douglas (creep) bangs on the doors… obviously no face licking in this comic (Stan Lee has a private edition with this very cell inserted).
YEAH SARAH SMASH THAT MOP HANDLE ON BIG DEFORMED DOUGLAS… she does it in one picture WOW she is badass….she did it in one picture… Spiderman would take ten cells just to shoot a web and Sarah Connor broke wood on a mans neck in a fraction of a millisecond!
Changed Scene in Pescadero:
Silberman leads police out of the hospital as T-1000 asks for Sarah Connor at the reception desk. T-1000 disappears. Silberman then asks Lewis, the security guard, to lead the police out the entrance and to lock the doors.
As Lewis locks the doors the T-1000 rises behind him on the chequered floor and does his job, taking his gun. Yes, the comic shows the finger through the eye.
Lewis (T-1000) Goes to the office, where Silberman is talking to a member of staff about methods of medication, and takes a file, that was presumably shown to the police, and reads “Cell #19”. He heads off to mimic and Terminate Sarah Connor in her room..
Sarah then pretty quickly gets the syringe full of liquid rooter and sticks it in Silberman’s neck….
TO BE CONTINUED…..
Overall:
Marvel Comics, in my opinion, did a good job. Next year (2011) This comic will be 20 years old, so what can you say… ?
Most comic books these days don’t follow the movie closely, and instead are used to fill out a non-existent plot with a prequel or different tale.
The art-work is close to the movie, but it’s not the best Terminator comic art I have seen but is also not the worst Terminator comic art out there. NO DUDLEY!!!! : ) *If you got that you’re a star.
It’s Dark and gritty with simple coloring. This feels like a comic from the 90’s and it is.
I enjoyed the read to see how things differed, and it makes you think “was this meant to be in the film?“. It’s all interesting to the mythos.
It is nice to have the movie on paper and ink. All curse words are removed (or changed) which makes the adults smile with the wit used by the writers in replacing them. Although it’s pretty much the movie script but it is worked well and pieced together in a good way.
Terminator 2 was an adult movie yet it appealed to a younger audience by providing cool figures, games, books etc – the kids could still have a piece of the action.
Terminator 2 turned the series into a franchise no doubt about that, but, as always, the movies need to return to their roots or the magic will die.
Collector must have! Buy all 3 to complete the collection.
Have you read this comic?
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