Transformers vs. The Terminator

Transformers vs. Terminator #1-4

by David Mariotte, John Barber, Tom Waltz

It's Skynet vs. Cybertron in a crossover for the ages!

1984: When a deadly race of machines emerge from another time, will a robotic guardian be able to protect the Earth from a dire future... or will the T-800 fail in his mission to prevent the world from becoming a plaything to the Decepticons?

The T-800, last hope of its kind, has travelled back to 1984 to destroy the Cybertronians before they can awaken and subjugate his future. But when the Ark systems start to bring the Autobots and Decepticons back online, what will he do against two armies? It's up to one Terminator to save the future and nothing's gonna stand in his way!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Action

104 pages, Paperback

Published February 2, 2021

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about the book. Great story true to both franchises. The story of Skynet being on the losing side is a great start. I love the subtle way the first change happens.

Great artwork on both the interior as well as the great covers. Lot of action, on a personal note Sarah Connor is my favourite character from the Terminator franchise it was great to see her in action as well.

This is a great crossover. I really hope there is another part to come. I would love for there to be. This is must have for a fan of either franchise. Great cover gallery and sketch book at the end as well.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid Elseworlds type story where the Transformers fight the Terminators in the future and come back to 1984 to try and take out the Transformers before they awaken. The story remains true to both franchises. It's a cool take on the whole thing.

The art is decent but the T-800 looks nothing like Arnold even though it's clear by the story it's meant to be him. Milne didn't even get his body type correct for some reason.

[Sud666 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heh, this had the potential to be a real shit sandwich. It turned out not to be so, but is more in line with a Subway sandwich. Not quite awful, but by no means to be considered good. So let's take a look at this $5 footlong.

The story has some potential. Essentially, the Decepticons take over Earth. Skywatch eventually becomes Skynet and is tasked with terminating the Cybertronian threat. But, the Decepticons are able to dominate the war. Skynet sends a Terminator back in time to destroy the Cybertronians before they can strike.

Now, for some reason, they decided to include Sarah Connor in this. Bad idea. There was no need. Since the whole John Connor stuff doesn't matter in this timeline. Anyways, the Terminator finds the Autobots and repairs them. This allows them to team up to fight the Decepticons.

It was an ok story. Not terrible. It had its moments. Nothing to go crazy over here, just a decent one shot about a "What If" type of scenario.

[Robert]

Not rated in keeping with my custom for these one-off crossovers no rating here but it was well done for what it was, with particular kudos to the art team who kept things crisp and tidy despite the obvious problems of scale and some not terribly expressive robot faces.

[Chris Robertson · Rating 2 out of 5]

REALLY wanted to like this one. This was not a crossover, but a mash-up: smush two plot putties together and the new goo is what you get. I am not entirely sure who was fighting who, much less why. The art was ok, but the action was too muddied, making some panels too hard to see. Sarah Connor is changed from the hard hitter we love to the girl from the Bumblebee movie. Too few issues to properly flesh out the story.

[Alex Sarll]

Eighties robot violence, squared. The set-up does pull off one pretty clever surprise (and this is made clear early enough that I don't feel bad spoiling it away): the obligatory apocalyptic future isn't Skynet versus the Autobots, it's a Skynet that never went rogue versus the Decepticons who destroyed humanity. Thereafter, though...sometimes even I can't find a pseudy angle. A Terminator who's clearly meant to be Arnie (Sarah Connor mentions his German accent), though doesn't look much like him, delivers some of the greatest hits of his dialogue while shooting at Transformers as Mount St. Hilary erupts. Prime gets to do his 'Freedom is the right of all sentient beings' speech. Starscream gets to be a treacherous little shit. It ticks all the requisite boxes well enough to pass the time, but even if we limit comparison to other recent Transformers crossovers, it never comes anywhere near the invigorating, intoxicating jouissance of Tom Scioli's Transformers Vs GI Joe.

(Netgalley ARC)

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty simple story. In the future things were messed up because of the Decepticons/Cybertronins came and took out the resistance. A T-800 was sent back in time to take out all of the Cybertronians. Of course the T-800 comes back I. The middle of the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons. This isn’t anything I’m telling people to run out and read but it wasn’t terrible either.

[Horus Lupercal Online · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well….this was just fun, pure and simple. A crossover between two of my favourite franchises, and it somehow worked too. The story is of course a completely alternate timeline of the future we know from the Terminator movies (but let’s be honest with so many changes to the timeline in all films, who know what’s the real timeline these days lol ;))

In all seriousness though, I enjoyed the heck out of this! The artwork was great, especially for the bots, and I loved the way Sarah Connor’s character was a part of the story as well. (And as usual she was one woman to look out for ;)) The story’s end certainly left room for a follow up, which I hope they’ll do at some point in the future. The book contained quite a few easter eggs as well which you’ll certainly recognise if you are familiar with both the franchises.

Simply put: if you are a fan of either the Terminator or Transformers (or better yet like me: a fan of both!) this is one to check out for sure! :)

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sure is a weird book. Skynet doesn't fight humanity but instead it was created to fight the Decepticons so... it's basically good! I kept waiting for The Terminator to go rogue and evil but... well no that wasn't the book!

Sarah is in it but by pure coincidence because The Terminator isn't trying to kill John's father and it seems there isn't even a John in the future and Kyle doesn't factor either.

Set in 1984 it's both doing a revisit of the original Terminator timeline, not unheard of in Terminator fictions, be it comics or movies, but also the original Transformers timeline as we tweak the original awakening of the Autobots and the Decepticons. An interesting plot, to be sure.

I would be interested in more from this series and it ends with the always promissing "The End?" but ... sadly those sort of ends usually are more final than we'd hope. Oh well...

[Kristoph Kosicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty disappointed. Art work is awesome, but I feel like some one needed to do some serious quality control on the Terminator aspect of this. Skynet being the good guy and having the terminator team up with the autobots was silly. Especially when skynet and decepticons are perfect for a team up against the autobots that results in a betrayal later type of story. But whatever. It's like it was written for children, and that's a shame because they could have made something interesting here and just didn't even try

[Brandon Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept was cool. A bigger robotic threat making Skynet turn it's attention to something beyond humans. There were some unique ideas but overall it felt like it was rushed. Not really fleshed out, so to speak.

I like the concept but felt the execution was lacking. Also some characters and concepts felt shoehorned in like Sarah Conner.

[Bibliophobia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bro Why Are You Doing That ‼️

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know I got an advance review copy and everything, and a digital one at that, and so I might not have the real thing, but I find it really quite indicative of the quality of this book that they don't even bother to tell me, a humble reviewer, who the heck wrote or draw it, until the last line of the last page. Sure we find out the editors, etc, on what does pass for a credits page, but no, all that might sell it is the concept written into the title, and anything else – any craft, intelligence or interest provided by, you know, real humans – can go hang. Another indication of its merits is how one of those four-poses-in-one-frame panels, of Ravage transforming, has a chunk of lettering right across one of those poses. Still, what it does have, where the Terminator franchise at least lies, is veracity – Sarah Connor has humongously bad hair (seriously – in one image I wasn't sure if the reference was Thundercats or Whitesnake), it has riffs and in-jokes to pin this to the canon (or at the least, paper-clip it to it), and the whole comes with the same horrendously ugly colouring and heavy inking of most early 1980s monthlies. That verite doesn't really mean it's a great read, however, although for fans of the 'Formers the sight of Sarah Connor finding her feet on the battlefield of the two sides, with an Endoskeleton rattling around in the action too, might be worth the price of admission. But the artwork still needed to be a heck of a lot clearer, and I do find the lack of credit where it's due an admission it was all about the USP of the mash-up and not at all about the creatives. Two and a half stars.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of these crossovers are rather contrived in terms of how they come together, but that doesn't make them any less fun. And this was a pretty smart merging of the classic Terminator story with the usual ebb and flow of the Transformers narrative. In this case, we have the Skynet of the future sending a Terminator back in the past to eliminate the Cybertronians before they can reactivate and become a threat to Skynet's existence.

Why Skynet has identified the Cybertronians as its biggest threat is all part of how the story unfolds and it totally makes sense while still preserving the classic origin of the Ark reactivating in 1985 because of volcanic activity. We just throw in a Terminator unit trying to eliminate both Autobots and Decepticons permanently.

And yes, Sarah Conner is in this book, too. And she has some good moments as well.

[José Vázquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

No sé a quién se le ocurrió esta idea pero es una de las historias más originales que han surgido este año. El primer número, aunque un poco acelerado, promete mucho. Además, tiene un giro bastante inesperado.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an eARC courtesy of IDW via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was an interesting crossover and I'm certain that it will leave many readers amused. The art style is definitely reminiscent of a more old-school 80s style which is more than appropriate.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Milne's art can save any story.

[Sean Bai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terminator and Transformers feel like a natural fit in each others' worlds.

The artwork was moderately excellent, but the storytelling using images needed work. At times the artwork felt a little rough around the edges. I would have preferred Transformers to have sharper edges because they're machines.

Sometimes the sequence of events would also be a little confusing, such as when I'm trying to figure out who said what, or who attacked who. In one panel, you can see a machine seeming to knee another machine, and it seems like a Decepticon is attacking another Decepticon during a fight with the Autobots, but the next scene glosses over it without explaining what happened.

But the story was very good (besides the convenient plot point in which multiple Decepticons run away from two Autobots instead of destroying all of them while they're in stasis so that the story can continue).

This is an alternate-timeline history in the Terminator universe, in which Skynet is the only thing standing between humanity and The Transformers.

Sarah Connor also shows up in the series in a Sam Witwicky-type role, which I liked.

The story is set in the 1980s. Sarah Connor just happens to play a role in helping save humanity. Again. But it was cool to read this crossover.

I won't spoil it for you, but I really liked the ending. It feels like this crossover could be cannon.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay... I actually enjoy official interfranchise crossovers. But I admit there are five kinds. The kind that are natural fit and their turning out great and you'd have to be really stupid to somehow eff it up. (Star Trek: TNG Meets Dr. Who for instance.) Then you have ones that seem like a no brainers but someone was really dumb and messed it up somehow. (While I wouldn't say Batgirl/Ghost was BAD, I will say it didn't live up to its potential.)

Apart from being about robots, Transformers and Terminator don't really have much in common. But that isn't necessarily a hindrance. Comics have done plenty of crossovers that should have been just as absurd. Look at Archie vs. Punisher. What a GREAT comic. And even if you can't do that level of quality, you can do a 'so bad it's good', like two out of the three Star Trek and X-Men crossovers.

But this... I can really some up what this series is in just four letters. It's
SHIT!

[Philmore Olazo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd love to say that this is a great story. I mean, it's a crossover between the biggest robot related franchises in the world.

I however am unable to lie to you, this is quite bad.

We begin with an Arnie impersonator being transported to the past to terminate the cybertronians that craslanded on earth in the 80s.

It crosses paths with Sarah Connor, which in this story doesn't make sense since he was not sent to terminate her. Anyway the Terminator, which by the way we only get one in the story, arrives at the ark where Megatron is about to destroy an unconscious Optimus Prime.

A battle between the Decepticons and the terminator later. We have the Autobots reactivated and with the help of Sarah, whom by the way hasn't run out for her life, they form an alliance to stop the evil robots because I guess Skynet Is good in this world?

The story is filled with plot holes and the characters don't feel genuine. The world of the terminator is child-fied to accommodate the transformers instead of having it in a middle ground between both series.

On that point. There was no real reason to have anything from the Terminator here, the transformers end up being the main event.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Crossover for the AGES!

Very cool! This not only took me back to my youth, it took me back to an alternate reality version of it, where the Nelwyn, Willow, and the Galladoorn knight, Madmartigan, his paramour and dame, Sorsha, and the white sorceress Raziel, joined forces with Jack, the Gump and his Dwarves to retrieve the cosmically powerful alicorn of the Unicorn from the unholy union of the witch-queen Bavmorda and the dastardly goblins of her demon-king, the Lord of Darkness, and the Thundercats crash-landed on a planet called "Third Arus" where their feline lair transforms into the invincible mount of Voltron, Defender of the Universe!

[Jean-Pierre Vidrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting take that goes into some unexpected places. I'll say as little as possible about the story here, as it takes some truly surprising turns. From the beginning, if you think you know what's going to happen, you're basically wrong. And the ending has me hoping for a sequel.
Alex Milne's art is amazing here. The slight redesigns of the Transformers work well to fit them into the darker world of the Terminator. I have to say that seeing the Terminator smiling is a bit jarring. Perhaps this is a visual cue that things are not as we've always known them to be.
It's a fun read with lots of eye candy.

[Doctor Doom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Early pages have terminators talking like meatbags [human] - I mean literally, the dialogue is very human and not at all terminatorlike. The main plot of the story is not bad- Sarah Connor is featured [unbelievably so] and she goes from waitress to warrior in a quite unbelievably short time.

The unused art [alternate covers] are basically the only times Sarah and the Terminator look like Linda and Arnold. Btw- the Terminator smiles way too much before he finally loses his face.

Never been a Transformers fanatic though I am not a hater. I mainly came for the T-800. I read this via kindle unlimited and it was worth a read though I am glad I did not have to pay for it.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty wide range of feelings on this one. The art was meh but there were a lot of really solid details and visual cues that either foreshadows elements within the narrative moment to moment and scene to scene, or functioned as thematic callbacks. These were a nice touch. The general story is basically a “I have an Arnold T-800 toy and bunch of transformers, so I made them fight a bunch!” There are some moments, especially regarding the terminator, where the behaviors or actions didn’t quite make sense but I’m not feeling that bar was super high to begin with.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty easily the best of the various “Terminator vs. [X]” comics I've read. I admittedly don’t know a ton about Transformers aside from what was in the movies, and I’ve seen a handful of episodes of the various TV shows, but I thought these two worlds meshed together surprisingly well! Everyone seemed in character (and the biggest characters you’d expect to see from both franchises made appearances), and they actually told a new and interesting story. The idea that Skynet and humans would end up on the same side in the face of another threat is something that just never occurred to me.

I really think this is about as good as any of these silly crossovers possibly could be. It’s nice to see one of these finally actually deliver.

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Check out my compilation review, The RoboCop vs. Terminator Non-Franchise Franchise, on my blog, 24,000 Miles to the Moon! https://24000milestothemoon.com/2022/...

[Jarred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mashup for fans of either transformers or terminator. Great art, fun nostalgia laced dialogue, and a good solid retelling that merges the two worlds together at their shared crossroads of the 80’s timeline. It also leaves a teaser to possibly a second series run which would provide room for growth/original content and potentially set in the future timeline.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise had a lot of potential - the Terminator is sent back to destroy the Transformers - and there are some good moments. However, a few key bits of the plot aren't really explained, and I'm not sure what to make of the ending, other than it being very Terminator-y. Could have been better. (B)

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant premise for a story. Insert the Transformers into the Terminator storyline. Deceptions take over the world instead of Skynet and they’re the resistance instead of humans. A Terminator is sent back to 1984 to stop the Transformers from taking over. It was a great story with lots of surprises.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, ridiculous mash up that feels like playing with my toys when I was a kid. Is the dialogue stilted and weird? Yup.
But is it full of Transformers and a Terminator blowing stuff up and just generally being bonkers?
Also yes.

This is exactly what you think it’ll be. If it sounds good, you’ll like it. If not, you’re not even going to consider reading it in the first place. 😆

I liked it.

[Vladimír · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zaujímavý cross-over, ktorý mal v úvode svoje kúzlo, ale neskôr strácal dych sa stal sa štandardnou jemne chaotickou rúbačkou medzi dvoma skupinami Transformers. Komiksy s Transformers sa mi strašne ťažko čítajú, najmä kvôli svojej neprehľadnosti. A tento príbeh nebol výnimkou. Ako zábavná jednohubka sa to ale dalo.