Transformers Vs Terminator:
The world is bored with too many inter-brand crossovers in comic books. But this is something brand new and fresh. All the lives we have pitted the League of Superheroes of DC Comics against the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes of Marvel Comics. A new comic book limited series by IDW Publishing under the Dark Horse banner is upping the ante by a large margin. They are taking the world’s two greatest robot franchises and merging them into one, pitting one against the other. This new comic book will see the Terminator fight the Transformers. The fans are already losing their minds. It is about time you do too.
The comic book issue takes a different turn than what fans would expect. The Unstoppable Cyborg Assassin from the future is not a usual enemy for the Transformers, who are habituated with fighting enemies their own size (and species). The Transformers are also a pretty kid-friendly franchise. The amalgam of the Terminator Universe with the world of the Transformers would mean there would be some compromises along the way.
To ensure the comic book reaches a wider audience, Dark Horse had to tone down the bloodbath and the element of grit in the issues. The T-800 will always remain in our hearts as a ruthless killing machine. But with each subsequent Terminator issue, it went from a predator to a protector, tarnishing its image. This comic book takes a similar route.
Fans have remained polarized on how to critique this new issue. Some claim it is a masterpiece and it opens up a path for the Terminator to have crossovers with other universes like, say Robocop or the Archie Verse. The reason the comic book decided to tone down the Terminator’s R-rated facet was to allow it to have a larger audience, which makes sense and is fair enough. But a lot of the fans are angry at this diluted piece of work. On a quest to make the Terminator more reader-friendly, they ended up hurting the comic book issues them-selves. As a result, the Transformers vs. Terminator limited series is claimed to be entirely different than what the fans imagined it to be.
John Barber, David Marionette and Tom Waltz give their best in creating the storyline but the actual champion that stole the show Is Alex Milne, who provided the artwork for the issue. The trio of writers makes a story that introduces the Terminator into the far future of an alternate timeline. In this future, as the Terminator and the readers come to realize, Earth is ravaged by a different kind of race of machines, and it is not an A.I made by humans but of alien origin. The force that has now taken over the Earth is Decepticons. The Terminator has to find a way to a secret Autobot Bunker deep within a volcano, all the while fighting rogue warriors of Cybertron. Oh, and yeah, this issue has Sarah Connor as well so there is one other thing to look forward to.
The issue might not be the best in its class. But it does have its moments. Milne’s illustration is top-notch and in a rather bland storyline, his colors end up engaging the audience and add some life to the artificial landscape and the action sequences that take place within the plot. The flashbacks from the past are a cause of major concern and David Garcia Cruz, who was responsible for that part of the issue, should have taken a bit more time to add in a few more details to the frames. All in all, the story may end up boring you a little but the illustrations keep you engaged throughout.
It does have a lot of potential that Dark Horse could explore. Both the Transformers and Terminator manage to steal the show and are given equal spotlights in the story, with the plot not being biased to either the universe. If you are a fan of the Terminator or Transformers (or both), we would strongly suggest you give it a swing.
