In its last (for now) “Terminator” entry, Dark Horse goes full circle with a gritty four-issue series that calls to mind its earliest work. “Sector War” (August 2018-May 2019) is especially in the vein of “One Shot” in that it’s about another woman targeted by Skynet at the exact same time as Sarah Connor in the 1984 events of “Terminator.”
A target from the past
In “One Shot,” the target is another Sarah Connor in San Francisco, as Skynet covers its bases. Here, the target is young cop Lucy Castro in New York City. Her as-yet-unborn daughter will go on to become a Resistance fighter under John Connor.
Brian Wood, who wrote some solid “Star Wars” Legends comics in 2013-14, pens a very simple story. It’s basically the same as the movie except that Lucy has no help from a good time-traveler.
“Terminator: Sector War” (2018-19)
Dark Horse, 4 issues
Writer: Brian Wood
Artists: Jeff Stokely, Triona Farrell
The draw is the art by Jeff Stokely (pencils and inks) and Triona Farrell (colors). They capture all the grit of 1984 in the Big Apple. All the surfaces – and all the people, for that matter — look like something you wouldn’t want to touch.
It reminds me of the Mirage “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” comics and “Batman: Year One,” but with any prettiness stripped away – this is the ugly side of NYC through and through, from grungy music clubs to dingy apartments to partially collapsed buildings in the projects. Rats seem to have the run of the town.
And that ugliness carries over to Castro’s only hope for defeating the T-800: teaming up with a murderous weapons dealer in the projects. In order to secure his cooperation, she agrees to destroy evidence back at the precinct.
Although I enjoyed “Enemy of My Enemy” (Dark Horse’s previous release under the “T1” license), it did strain believability with its story of a mortal woman who defeats a Terminator on her own without much advance preparation. “Sector War” is a more realistic answer to that, as it better shows the price of defeating one of these killing machines.
All told, this is a simple and unessential “Terminator” story. It might’ve been interesting if Castro tied into other Dark Horse stories, but since it’s one and done for her, “Sector War” is little more than Stokely portfolio.
CHARACTERS
Lucy Castro: This young NYC cop will give birth to a Resistance-fighter daughter. As such, a Terminator aims to kill her in 1984. At the story’s end, Lucy plans to meet Sarah Connor in Los Angeles. She sees coverage of the L.A. event on the national news.
TERMINATORS
T-800, model 101: The theory that “model 101” represents models that look like Arnold Schwarzenegger is challenged here, as this one does not look like him.
CONTINUITY AND CONTRADICTIONS
Lucy Castro’s daughter doesn’t appear in any other “Terminator” yarns. That doesn’t mean she’s not an important Resistance fighter, but it seems strange that Skynet would bother trying to erase her existence specifically. It might’ve been neat if Woods had plucked an existing character from the established lore.
TIMELINES AND TIME TRAVEL
A T-800 Infiltrator travels from 2029 to 1984 to kill Lucy Castro in New York City, coincidentally on the same night that another one targets Sarah Connor in Los Angeles.