Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Script: Frank Miller
Art: Walt Simonson
Release Date: 2nd July 2014

Back in 1992, both Robocop and The Terminator had only 2 films each. 4 movies, 3 classics and 1 could-have- been.

Dark Horse had made a name for themselves with a string of licensed properties such as Aliens and Predator, with their genius mash-up of the 2 movie monsters proving to be massive hit.

They upped their game even more with this though. Frank Miller and Walt Simonson, 2 of the biggest names in comics, were brought together for the first (and only) time to create Robocop Vs Terminator and man, did they get it right.

With Miller at his inventive best on script detail, it’s a genius blast of time travel-heavy action, while retaining the human drama that both properties did so well. Murphy is a tragic character, constantly mourning for his lost humanity, while the suffering of the human race in the Terminator-dominated future us horrifyingly bleak.

What’s really smart about Miller’s story is the way he fuses both properties into one timeline, one in which it’s Alex Murphy himself that provides the final spark for Skynet to attain sentience.

His Terminators are wonderfully sinister too, imbued with a little more personality than their big-screen counterparts. These are T-800s who look down their shiny noses at the human filth and triumphantly fist pump the air when the last human is finally executed.

Simonson’s art is a joy to behold here too, whether it’s realising massive battle scenes between thousands of mass-produced robots or flexing his brilliantly kinetic draughtsmanship on every panel, where you can almost feel every punch connect.

In an ideal world, this would have been the movie that followed Terminator 2. Done right, we’re talking one of the greatest Sci-Fi movies of all time. As it is, it’s only one of the greatest Sci-Fi comics of all time and a testament to what you can do with a licensed property.

I can’t stress this enough, you need this.

Rating: 5/5.

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The writer of this piece was: Jules Boyle
Jules tweets from @Captain_Howdy