Terminator: The Burning Earth

Last updated

Terminator: The Burning Earth
Burning Earth cover.jpg
Terminator: The Burning Earth vol. #1
Art by Alex Ross.
Publication information
Publisher NOW Comics
Format Limited series
Genre
Publication dateMarch – July, 1990
No. of issues5
Creative team
Written by Ron Fortier
Artist(s) Alex Ross
Collected editions
Terminator: The Burning Earth ISBN   1-59687-820-7

Terminator: The Burning Earth is a graphic novel first published in 1990. It was published by NOW Comics as a five-part story utilizing characters featured in James Cameron's popular film, The Terminator . The story was written by Ron Fortier.[ citation needed ] It was illustrated by 19-year-old artist Alex Ross, as his first published comic work. [1]

Contents

A digitally remastered reissue was later published by iBooks. [2]

Plot

The story is set as part of the background history of John Connor's future war with the machines. It is also set after the events of the 17 part The Terminator (1988–1989) series also penned by Fortier. The story starts with members of the resistance fighting against the machines with John (nicknamed Bear) giving a commentary on how the war has been. Later he is seen having what could only be described as a loss of faith as he is shown putting a pistol to his mouth. However, after watching two lone fighters (one injured) firing on an oncoming Hunter Killer tank only to be run over, John regains his resolve to never stop and never give up.

The story continues from Skynet's perspective of completing final tests of the Terminator (a female called Aurora). It also shows Skynet initiating its final solution to the human problem, with a co-ordinated mass nuclear carpet bombing of humanity with nuclear weapons strapped underneath Aerial Hunter Killers. As John and his group are formulating an attack on Skynet's mainframe at Thunder Mountain, his troops see the Aerials and they decide that an immediate strike is needed and mobilize. There are two groups, one that will assault the mainframe and one that will attempt to knock out the facility's external power station.

The initial strike sparks off a volcanic eruption at a fault line bringing fiery winds along with the shock waves. These winds strike the Thunder Mountain facility just as John's group reach the outer doors. The ensuing chaos allows him and his commandos to get inside before the blast doors close. Once inside John's group have a running firefight to the main frame with John being lowered in front of it on a rope, just as the second group succeeds in causing an avalanche that flattens the power facility. John has a brief exchange with Skynet and fires his rifle into the mainframe screen and then falls from his rope and lands at the feet of a terminator who aims its rifle at his head. The shot never comes as everything powers down. The final scenes show the resistance leaving Thunder Mountain into a sunrise, but then cuts to an image of John's powered down Terminator. The last panel showing red glowing eyes as it powers up back to life.

Associations and continuity

In the story Thunder Mountain is referenced as Skynet's mainframe. However inside are signs indicating it as a NORAD facility. Since NORAD's main technical facility since 1963 has been the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center in Colorado it is not known if this was just a story device or if it was meant to be Thunder Mountain in California. The Jeremiah comic series and its television spin off also include a Cheyenne Mountain-like complex called Thunder Mountain.

As with most comics based on film franchises, it may not be considered canon by future filmmakers. Notably, the alternate future of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines established that the films' version of Skynet did not have a central mainframe, being more a part of the internet than a stand-alone facility.

Collected editions

The series has been collected as a trade paperback a number of times:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NORAD</span> Combined organization of the US and Canada providing air defence for North America

North American Aerospace Defense Command, known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Canada and the continental United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheyenne Mountain Complex</span> Space Force installation

The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a United States Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which hosts the activities of several tenant units. Also located in Colorado Springs is Peterson Space Force Base, where the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) headquarters are located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T-1000</span> Robotic antagonist in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"

The T-1000 is a fictional character in the Terminator franchise, debuting as the antagonist in the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The character was originally portrayed by Robert Patrick, marking his breakout role.

Terminator is an American media franchise created by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd. It is considered to be of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction. The franchise primarily focuses on a post-apocalyptic war between a synthetic intelligence known as Skynet, and a surviving resistance of humans led by John Connor. Skynet fights with an arsenal of cyborgs known as Terminators, designed to mimic humans and infiltrate the resistance. A prominent model throughout the films is the T-800, commonly known as the Terminator and portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Time travel is a common aspect of the franchise, with humans and Terminators often sent back to alter the past and change the outcome of the future.

Sarah Connor (<i>Terminator</i>) Fictional character in the Terminator franchise

Sarah Jeanette Connor is a fictional character and the female protagonist of the Terminator franchise. She is one of the protagonists of The Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator Genisys (2015), and Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), as well as the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009). The character develops from a timid damsel in distress victim in the first film to a wanted fugitive committing acts of terrorism, a hardened warrior and mother who sacrificed everything for her son's future, on the verge of losing touch with her own humanity, and a mentor preparing and protecting a protégée for her destiny.

Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics references and art titles. Its imprints are Titan Books, Titan Comics, Titan Magazines and Titan Manga.

NOW Comics was a comic book publisher founded in late 1985 by Tony C. Caputo as a sole-proprietorship. During the four years after its founding, NOW grew from a one-man operation to operating in 12 countries, and published almost 1,000 comic books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Connor</span> Fictional character in the Terminator franchise

John Connor is a fictional character and the male protagonist of the Terminator franchise. Created by writer/director James Cameron, the character is first referred to in the 1984 film The Terminator and first appears in its 1991 sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day (T2). In the character's first appearance, John is portrayed by Edward Furlong as a child, and briefly by Michael Edwards as an adult in a small role. Other actors have portrayed the character in subsequent films, including Nick Stahl, Christian Bale, and Jason Clarke. In addition, Thomas Dekker portrayed John Connor in the two-season television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

<i>RoboCop Versus The Terminator</i> (comics)

RoboCop Versus The Terminator is a four-issue comic book crossover limited series published in 1992 by Dark Horse Comics. It was written by Frank Miller and drawn by Walt Simonson, and ran for four issues. A crossover between the RoboCop and Terminator franchises, the comic follows RoboCop as he works with a soldier from a Skynet-controlled future to prevent the machines from using him to achieve victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Arcudi</span> American comic book writer

John Arcudi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on The Mask and B.P.R.D. and his series Major Bummer.

John Bergin is a writer, illustrator, designer, and musician. As Art Director at Lakeshore Records. He has created and designed packaging for soundtrack albums such as Stranger Things,Drive, Mandy, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Wednesday, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Mr. Robot, Napoleon Dynamite, The Walking Dead, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, Underworld, and hundreds more.

<i>RoboCop Versus The Terminator</i> 1993 video game

RoboCop Versus The Terminator is a run and gun game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Master System, and Game Gear in 1993, with later ports to the Sega Genesis and Game Boy in 1994. It is based on the 1992 four-issue comic book mini-series of the same name, which is a crossover between the RoboCop and Terminator franchises. Two characters from the films are portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger from 1984's The Terminator and Peter Weller from 1987's RoboCop and the 1990 sequel, although both actors did not reprise their roles in this game.

GraphicAudio is an audiobook publishing imprint of RBMedia. Its tagline is "A Movie In Your Mind". The GraphicAudio format includes a full cast of actors, narration, sound effects and cinematic music. GraphicAudio has published over 1,600 action-adventure titles and over 180 series in the fantasy, science fiction, post-apocalyptic, comic and western genres.

<i>Superman vs. The Terminator: Death to the Future</i> Comic book

Superman versus The Terminator: Death to the Future is a 2000 four-part comic book crossover written by Alan Grant, with pencils by Steve Pugh and inks by Mike Perkins.

Skynet (<i>Terminator</i>) Fictional artificial general superintelligence

Skynet is an artificial neural network-based conscious group mind and artificial general superintelligence system that serves as the antagonistic force of the Terminator franchise.

<i>T2</i> (novel series) Series of science fiction novels by S. M. Stirling

The T2 trilogy is a series of novels written by S. M. Stirling, set after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and first published in May 2001, which makes them the first works to officially continue the franchise. The series consists of three novels: T2: Infiltrator (2001), T2: Rising Storm (2003), and T2: The Future War (2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station</span> US Space Force installation in Colorado

Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station (CMSFS) is located in Cheyenne Mountain on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to Colorado Springs, The Cheyenne Mountain Complex, an underground facility within Cheyenne Mountain SFS, was first built for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Combat Operations Center, though NORAD moved day-to-day operations to its headquarters on Peterson AFB in 2006. However, day-to-day operations were moved back in 2011 after a major overhaul and renovation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheyenne Mountain</span> Mountain in El Paso County, Colorado, US

Cheyenne Mountain is a triple-peaked mountain in El Paso County, Colorado, southwest of downtown Colorado Springs. The mountain serves as a host for military, communications, recreational, and residential functions. The underground operations center for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was built during the Cold War to monitor North American airspace for missile launches and Soviet military aircraft. Built deep within granite, it was designed to withstand the impact and fallout from a nuclear bomb. Its function broadened with the end of the Cold War, and then many of its functions were transferred to Peterson Air Force Base in 2006.

<i>Terminator: Resistance</i> 2019 first-person shooter video game

Terminator: Resistance is a 2019 first-person shooter game developed by Teyon and published by Reef Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The game is based on the Terminator franchise, set during the original future war depicted in the films The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). It was released in Europe on 15 November 2019. In the United States, the Windows version was released a day earlier through Steam, while the other versions released on 7 January 2020. An enhanced version of the game for PlayStation 5 was released on 30 April 2021. The same version was released for Xbox Series X/S on 27 October 2023. It received generally mixed reviews from critics.

References

  1. "HEROES & VILLAINS Brought to Life". USA Today Magazine. January 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2024 via EBSCOHost.
  2. Nadel, Dan (October 20, 2003). "Preiss Is Back with More Graphic Novels". Publishers Weekly . Vol. 250, no. 42. p. 86. Retrieved May 11, 2024 via EBSCOHost.