This issue opens almost immediately after the end of Judgment Day. Panel 1 of page 1 even depicts the headlights on the highway shot that closes out the film. Sarah's narration is different from that at the end of the film, though it could be argued it's her speaking right after the words we hear there.

On page 1, Sarah and John are racing off in a car they presumably stole from the steel factory. The car may be the same Chrysler they are said to have stolen in this same instance in Infiltrator (Timeline JD-4).

On page 1, Sarah reflects that the responsibility of preserving mankind was forced on her in 1984, in a club called Tech Noir, with a voice saying, "Come with me if you want to live." This references events in The Terminator, the voice was that of Kyle Reese.

On page 2, Sarah describes events from both The Terminator and Judgment Day.

In panel 4 of page 2, Sarah and John return to the desert stronghold of Enrique Salceda, last seen in Judgment Day.

Arriving at the desert stronghold, on page 3, panel 1, Sarah calls for Enrique, saying, "Puede ayudarme? Que pasa?" This is Spanish for "Can you help me? What's up?"

On page 3, Enrique's eldest son is said to be named Franco. This was first revealed in the novelization of Judgment Day.

Franco is seen here to be armed with a pump-action shotgun.

On page 4, John uses a couple of euphemisms he taught the T-800 in Judgment Day: "dickwad" and "chill out".

The gun wielded by John on page 4 appears to be the Colt .45 that was carried by the T-800 throughout Judgment Day (originally taken from the biker at the Corral bar).

On page 4, panel 4, Franco says to John, "Lo siento, chico..." This is Spanish for "I'm sorry, boy..."

After falling unconscious, Sarah relives portions of her recurring vision of nuclear annihilation from Judgment Day on pages 4-5.

The words spoken by Reese in Sarah's vision on page 5 are almost identical to various statements made by him in The Terminator.

In her vision on page 6, Sarah shoves a pipe bomb into the T-800's innards, just as Reese did near the end of The Terminator.

When Sarah wakes up from her vision on page 7, the muzzle of what may be an M16 rifle is seen leaning against a cabinet in the background.

On page 6, panel 2, we see that Sarah has bandages on her right shoulder and thigh, patching up the injuries she received near the end of Judgment Day.

The scene of Enrique's death and the T-1000's questioning of the Salceda family on pages 7-9 was in the original script of Judgment Day, but was never shot. (In the Sarah Connor Chronicles timeline, Enrique lives another 12 years before being killed by the female T-900 called Cameron in the episode "Gnothi Seauton".)

Page 10 reveals that the CSI steel mill is in Wilmington. This is a neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Page 10 reintroduces LAPD detectives Weatherby and Mossberg, who previously attempted to interrogate Sarah at Pescadero State Hospital in Judgment Day. Throughout the chapters of Cybernetic Dawn, the names of Weatherby and Mossberg are reversed from the two individuals credited in the movie!

On page 12, Weatherby sees the T-800's severed robotic arm in the gears of the steel mill. However, the novelization of Judgment Day states that John recovered and destroyed that arm in the vat of molten metal. (In Infiltrator, the government found it there instead.)

On page 13, notice that John is, appropriately, still wearing the Public Enemy t-shirt he wore throughout Judgment Day.

John tells his mom on page 13 that the Salceda family is heading to Saucillo. This is a small city in Mexico.

In panel 3 of page 13, the license plate of the Connors' stolen sedan is partially seen as "ST3K". This is probably a reference to MST3K, Mystery Science Theater 3000, the 1988-1999 television series that made fun of bad movies (the series also returned in a new format in 2017). Even though they leave the sedan behind with the Salcedas in this issue, the seemingly same license plate shows up again on a car parked outside their motel in "Judgment Impaired".

On page 14, John asks his mom if she thinks they'll have to wait until Judgment Day before they'll really know if they won against Skynet. Of course, we know from stories in various other Terminator timelines that even after the date of Judgment Day passes (August 29, 1997), John continues to harbor doubts about having defeated the machines.

Page 15 introduces the company NetWork Developments in Simi Valley. This appears to be a fictional company. Simi Valley is a city in Ventura County and considered part of the greater Los Angeles area.

On page 18, panel 1, Sarah and John drive past a Quick Shop. "Quick Shop" was probably just used by the artist as a generic name, though there are a number of independent convenience stores with that name across the country.

On page 19, Weatherby refers to Mossberg as Shakespeare. It is meant as an ironic insult to Mossberg for crudely referring to Karyn Stern as "the babe". Shakespeare, of course, is the 16th-17th Century playwright and poet who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language.

At the diner on page 19, Weatherby asks Mossberg to pass the Sweet 'N' Low. Sweet'n Low is a sugar substitute often found in pink packets at restaurants.

On page 19, Weatherby tells Mossberg that he's come to the realization that Sarah Connor may have been telling the truth all this time.

Three new Terminators arrive in 1995 in the middle of Route 99 near Bakersfield. This is a reference to State Route 99 in California, which runs through the city of Bakersfield.

From the lyrics playing through the truck driver's radio on page 20, the song can be identified as the 1983's "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John.

On page 20, as he's trying to squelch the static that has suddenly come over his radio and the electrical field of time displacement suddenly pops in in front of him, the truck driver says "sumbish" and "whadaf--". These are his mumbled (and PG-versions) of "son of a bitch" and "what the f--(uck)".

On page 21, panel 4, a badge worn by one of the eyewitnesses of the Terminators' arrival can just barely be made out to say, "Hello, my name is Earl."

On the last page, notice that the female Terminator has a silvery form, an early indication that she is a poly-alloy T-1000 model.