Didja Notice?

Page 1 quotes the definitions of "computer" and "store" from Webster's Four, Riverside Edition. This is a reference to the series of Webster's dictionaries published by various companies. As far as I can tell, there is no Webster's Four, Riverside Edition, the Riverside Editions only going up to Webster's II, published in 1995; of course, this story was written in 1989, before even Webster's II. The definitions of "computer" and "store" seen here are the ones presented in the first and second Webster's Riverside Editions.

On page 2, Skynet claims to have all the knowledge mankind has ever recorded in hundreds of data banks.

In panel 3 of page 2, the mini-mart has a sale sign in the front window with two exclamation points at the end. In panel 4, there is only one.

The rock band playing on page 3 appears to be Fred Zeppelin. This is a real world tribute band to the world-renowned Led Zeppelin.

In panel 5 of page 3, hooded figures are seen burning a man at the stake in a scene from Skynet's database. The figures appear to be members of the Ku Klux Klan, an American extremist organization that promotes ideas of white supremacy and anti-immigration, among other concepts of intolerance.

On page 4, an artist's note is mistakenly left in the printed outer margin of the page next to panel 2, that being the word "snow" (there is snow falling in the panel's scene).

Pages 4 and 5 seem to indicate that Skynet came to sentience without its human masters ever realizing it and, after studying humanity's self-destructive nature for a time, decided to grant them their greatest desire and wipe them out. This doesn't match with what was stated about Skynet in Judgment Day, but is not too far off from the limited account Kyle Reese told Sarah Connor in The Terminator.

On page 5, Skynet states that it launched 25% of the world's guided missiles simultaneously to destroy most of humanity in a matter of minutes.

On page 6, Skynet states it converted automotive plants to the construction of Hunter-Killers in order to wipe out the remaining vestiges of humanity.

On page 9, Skynet states that Cuban resistance is growing to unacceptable levels, including remnant Soviet troops and tanks aiding the island forces. "2031" states that this timeline's version of Judgment Day occurred in 2004, over a decade after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 in the real world. Of course, the writer could not know this when the story was written in 1989. We must presume the Soviet Union lasted longer in the timeline of this story.

Writing in his journal on page 11, the elder Tim Reese states that he was 14 years old when he and Konrad met John Connor (as seen in "Night Convoy").

On page 17, panel 1, John Connor hands Tim a Hurshey bar. Obviously, the name is a play on Hershey's chocolate.

Page 18 reveals that John has a secret base headquarters in the Sierra Madres mountains of Mexico where many resistance troops were trained. There are several mountain ranges in Mexico that have "Sierra Madre" as part of their name: Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range in northwestern Mexico; Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range in northeastern Mexico; Sierra Madre de Oaxaca, a mountain range in south-central Mexico; Sierra Madre del Sur, a mountain range in southern Mexico; and Sierra Madre de Chiapas, a mountain range which extends from southeastern Mexico.

On page 18, panel 3, a few partial names can be read on a notepad held by Gerry: T. Turnbladt, L. Smalls, and A. Bundy. Possibly "A. Bundy" is a reference to the character of Al Bundy on the 1987-1997 sitcom Married...with Children. Publisher NOW Comics was pursuing the license to publish a comic book of the series at the time (and got it, publishing the first issue in June 1990).

Page 19 reveals that John grew up as friends with Miguel De Verona (Patch), now one of John's most trusted subordinates.

Gerry Gagnon designed special battle vehicles for the Grizzlies called Cruise-Crushers (also known as Cruise-Crashers), with the strength and power of a tank and the speed and mobility of a racing chariot.

Marissa Powell, who previously appeared in "Big, Bad Wolf", joins the Grizzlies in this issue.

On page 25, Tim picks up a plasma 1-X regulator to fight against the Terminators. This is the first mention of a weapon with such a designation.

The last panel of the issue reveals that the Tim Reese journal entries come from his writings in the year 2067. This, of course, indicates that at least he survives to that time.