The Terminators pursue Killerman and his hostages into the desert.
On page 4, Ken mentions the borax wagon that Killerman
pushed onto the two Terminators (in
"Death Valley" Part
3). Borax is a naturally made compound used in
detergents and many other products. It is mined heavily in
the high deserts of California and Nevada.
Scotty tells Van Dirk that the chase looks to be heading
south into the Panamint Mountains. This is a mountain range
that forms the western wall of Death Valley.
On page 6, panel 6, the narrative states, "...the storm
draws ever closer like a distant echo of the tempest
that will one day engulf all mankind." This is, of
coure, a reference to the upcoming apocalypse to be
perpetrated by Skynet to wipe out humanity. But it may also
encompass allusions to the "storm" at the end of
The Terminator,
and
"tempest" (the term itself means "violent storm") may
be an oblique reference
to the Terminator: Tempest
mini-series published by Dark Horse in 1990.
On page 7, writer Alan Grant's British background stands out
in his writing of John Connor's dialog referring to his mother
as "mum", a term of distinctly British origination. In the
U.S. the term is rarely used, preferring instead "mom" (as
John uses in Judgment Day).
The narrative and dialog between John and Sarah on page 7
continues the implication (established in
"Death Valley" Part
3)
that this story takes place in a timeline in which the
events of the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day
never occurred.
On page 10, D810-X is struck by lightning during the storm
while standing at the edge of a desert wash. Possibly her
metallic endoskeleton acted as a lightning rod, attracting
the electrical bolt.
On page 16, Scotty and Van Dirk commandeer a tourist ride to
Skull Mine in Saddler's Wells. As far as I can tell,
Saddler's Wells and Skull Mine are fictional locations in
Death Valley. Possibly, writer Alan Grant borrowed the name
Saddler's Wells from the Sadler's Wells royal ballet theater
in Birmingham, England.
In panel 2 of page 6, notice that Scotty's mule, Jezebel,
appears to be about to eat a folded map or rag that is
sticking out of his back pocket!
Page 17 reveals that Sarah and John have been living in
Death Valley for the past 5 years (since 1993 if it is now
1998 as stated in
"Death Valley" Part 1).
For some reason, the two Terminators step off and then back on
the railroad tracks near the end of the story. On page 19,
D810-X is clearly off the track and
D800-L is standing with one foot on the track. On page 20,
they are on plain dirt approaching the mining shack. On page
21, they are both standing on the tracks again...just in
time to get hit by the oncoming train piloted by Scotty! And
how is it that the two did not hear the train coming in time
to step out of the way?!
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