Terminator #3 opens with the familiar phrase, “War is hell.” In the case of Private Edward Duggan, it becomes literal, as he is being chased by a Terminator. In Part 2 of “After the Apocalypse,” Duggan never lets up, staying one step ahead of a literal killing machine as he races to catch the last flight out of Vietnam.
As it turns out, there’s another reason why Duggan is rushing to safety, and it adds a whole new layer to the story. Declan Shalvey showed in the previous two issues that he could capture the horror elements of the original Terminator movies, but Terminator #3 also captures the other half of the equation: humanity’s resilience. That resilience is what drives Kyle Reese, and it exists in Duggan as well. Even when he was at a disadvantage, he did not give up.
Heart-pounding moments come courtesy of artist David O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan’s first five pages begin with Duggan hijacking a bicycle and fleeing the Terminator, resulting in a carefully constructed cacophony of chaos. Another huge panel shows the Terminator bursting into flames from a tank shell, and Colin Cracker covers the page in reddish-orange light. Readers will be hooked from the first page to the last.
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But O’Sullivan also deserves credit for making the Terminator a truly terrifying force. The false body is finally stripped away, and the iconic metal skull stares straight ahead, transfixing the reader with its glowing red eyes. This leads to a really scary page. There, Duggan, who has apparently reached safety in a helicopter, thanks the pilot…and the pilot’s head turns and a Terminator glow appears. The way O’Sullivan sets this page up, it looks like the Terminator is staring straight at the reader.
Terminator #3 also continues with a backup story by Sal Crivelli and Cracker called “Buried Alive.” I like how Cracker’s artwork supports the action elements of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, especially the scene where the Terminator’s victims are rammed by cars, but it’s only four pages in. So I feel like it would be good to add a little more content to these backups. Also, I still don’t understand why this Terminator was sent back, or why another Terminator is trying to sabotage it.
Terminator #3 concludes the story set in Vietnam by emphasizing the combination of horror elements and human resilience. This approach, combined with time travel through different eras, makes this a Terminator story worth reading.
Terminator #3 perfectly captures the series’ combination of unrelenting horror and human perseverance
Terminator #3
Terminator #3 concludes the story set in Vietnam by emphasizing the combination of horror elements and human resilience. This approach, combined with time travel through different eras, makes this a Terminator story worth reading.
Shalvey combines time travel, horror elements, and human resilience to create one of the best Terminator stories.
Under O’Sullivan’s pencil, the Terminator becomes a terrifying force.
A tense and action-packed opening that sets the stage for the rest of the issue.
The backup story needs to be fleshed out a little more.
