The Terminator franchise is one of the most beloved science fiction universes that’s been created in the past four decades. It has provided for solid scenes of action and war as well as quieter moments and philosophical questions of artificial intelligence overcoming humanity.

However, what has maybe gotten less attention over the years is the myriads of stories of human survival post-Judgment Day. How do humans cope with their new normal? How different are people who have only known this post-apocalyptic world? How is hope maintained during the day-to-day struggle just to make it to a new sunrise?

These questions and more look to be addressed in the new series The Terminator: Metal, debuting this October from Dynamite Comics. From co-writers Declan Shalvey and Rory McConville and from a stacked creative team of artists, The Terminator: Metal will focus on that period post-Judgment Day, how humans are surviving, and sometimes throw in some pre-Judgment Day tales for good measure.

I spoke with Declan Shalvey about the idea behind The Terminator: Metal, working with co-writer Rory McConville on the comic, fleshing out the series with the rest of the creative team, and what makes The Terminator such an enduring concept.

I had the chance to interview Declan Shalvey last year about the then-latest Terminator title he was writing. The passion he exuded in that discussion translated to the comic, one of the best contributions to Terminator lore in its 40+ years history. His energy and excitement for The Terminator: Metal feels just as palpable, so I’m sure we’re in for more quality and compelling man-vs.-machine tales.

 

 

FreakSugar: Before we start, I know you have varying degrees of professional experience with the Terminator franchise. What is your personal history with that universe, though? What makes you love it?

Declan Shalvey: I think out of everyone who’s worked on the previous series and now the current one, I was the only one who was alive when the original movie came out. As a franchise though, Terminator really is the bedrock of contemporary time travelling stories and introduced a dystopian future line no other franchise had done previously. The core concepts are so strong, they really connected with me as reader/viewer. The imagery is also so powerful… I still remember seeing a T-800 crush a bunch of human skulls under its feet from when I was a kid. That kinda thing leaves an impression.

FS: What is the conceit of The Terminator: Metal?

DS: The Terminator: Metal is a new series much in the vein of the previous series, in that it’s self-contained stories set in the world of Terminator. However, with this new title the focus is more on human survival during the Future War, post-Judgement Day. It’s a lot grimmer, a lot more chaotic, a hell of a lot more metal.

FS: I’m a history teacher. When I read that you’re doing standalone stories about the Future War, I perked up. It feels very much like you’re doing histographies and ethnographic work. What made you want to take that slant?

DS: Well with the previous series, I felt that we covered a lot of historic periods that were deep in the historical pop culture. My approach to the concept it that Judgment Day happened, there is no stopping it. If we accept that, then we have about 25 years of history of Future War to explore that takes place before this current year. That’s a lot! We did investigate it a little in the previous Terminator series but with Metal, we wanted to flip the focus on that period, while also having the luxury of popping back pre-Judgement Day, just so we’re not boxed in. Focusing on this period, opens up more story possibilities that the previous Terminator series didn’t have room for, as that was more of a planned 10-issue series.

 

 

FS: What can you tell us about Percy and Tex, two new characters in the book? What kind of philosophical questions do they afford you to explore?

DS: Well, Tex is a re-programmed T-800 model that is being used by the human resistance forces. Percy is his operator, essentially. A scientist assigned to monitor Tex in the field. There is a conflict between Percy and the other Resistance fighters who don’t trust the machines, any machines. Percy on the other hand, has total faith in Tex and science. When their mission goes sideway, rifts erupt, and these previously philosophical concerns become deadly serious.

FS: The early art is so detailed and gritty. It’s just perfect. What is the collaboration process like with the creative team?

DS: Well, I was fortunate to work with great artist on the previous Terminator series and we’ve drafted some of them back for another tour, but we’ll also be introducing other artist talent. Issue #1 features Lorenzo Re who drew two fantastic issues of the previous book. We wanted to establish the tone of this book right out of the gate, and Lorenzo was the perfect choice. He’s getting better with every issue and by God, he’s blown us away with this new Issue one.

For issue #2, we have the excellent Eoin Marron, who has done amazing pages for a story set in a Skynet work camp. So moody and textured, each page is filled with human drama. Series colourist Colin Craker is illustrating issue #3, featuring a T-800 model stranded in the Old West. He drew an excellent AI-heave issue in the previous series, so I’m excited to show his wonderful Western-landscape vista. The goal for each issue is to have an interesting story that showcases fantastic art that channels the different time periods in a visually powerful way.

FS: Following up on that, what is your process like as co-writers?

DS: Rory and I developed our process while working together on our time travel series at Image Comics, called Time Before Time. We would basically break down the overall story together on the phone. Because of the broader story arcs, Rory would take the lead with more detailed outline, I would give notes back. There would be the odd issue where I would take the lead, doing our best to keep everything moving.

We have a similar set-up with The Terminator: Metal, but it’s actually a little cleaner as the issue are self-contained. So while we broke the overall issue ideas together, we both take the lead on different issues and run it by the other as we wrap it up. We’re not tripping over each other’s toes as a result and can dig into our own stories. We co-wrote #1 straight down the middle, to establish the book together, but after that we’ve been alternating the actual writing between issues. It’s made the book a lot more manageable for me as the physical workload of writing has been halved, as has the mental workload of having a brand-new story concept for every issue.

FS: To read the press release, you can feel your passion and enthusiasm for the project pop off the page. What’s been your favorite part of working on the series?

DS: Being able to take such a strong concept that was offered in the original Terminator movie and finding a way to mine more creative opportunities has been extremely satisfying. I feel like they could make a movie out of each issue of the previous Terminator book in that we delivered great stories in a visually compelling way that left readers satisfied. We didn’t try to rehash the other films, thereby giving readers something recognisable, yet fresh. We got to use a great franchise as a method to tell dramatic/exciting stories. That was very, very satisfying for me as an artist and as a writer. With The Terminator: Metal, I’m getting to do it all over again but with a great writer like Rory to bounce off of, and a great set of artists to draw some amazing pages.

FS: Why do you think fans and creators keep coming back to this franchise? Why is it so enduring?

DS: I think Terminator hit at a specific time in the pop culture, when technology was making huge leaps, where theory was becoming reality and now, we’re well into the era of when the future War was predicted, we’re dealing with so many of those imagined outcomes. The idea of fighting an inevitable future is a powerful human quality that I think will always be with us, this franchise is so tied to that idea.  Also; metal skeletons with machine guns is one of the coolest images ever put to film/paper.

FS: If you had a final pitch for the book, what would it be?

DS: The Terminator: Metal delivers gripping human drama in the face of a brutal future. In each issue we show you a future you dread yet the art is so fantastic, the stories so powerful, you cannot look away.

The Terminator: Metal #1 goes on sale Wednesday, October 22, 2025, from Dynamite Comics.

From the official issue description:

KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE – AND YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER!

In the post-apocalyptic future that follows Judgment Day, the shattered remnants of humanity must make use of every tool they can in their existential battle against the machines – and that includes the deadliest weapons that Skynet sends to annihilate them.

For one member of the Resistance, this means trusting his life to a reprogrammed Terminator. Trapped behind enemy lines, the soldier and his repurposed engine of destruction must find a way to both survive and complete their mission – an undertaking with such a low probability of success that it could reboot the Terminator back to its default settings!

Acclaimed Terminator and ThunderCats author DECLAN SHALVEY is joined by co-writer RORY MCCONVILLE and returning artist LORENZO RE for a brand-new chapter in his chilling saga of the War Against the Machines with The Terminator: Metal #1 – featuring brutally beautiful covers from SHALVEY, BOB LAYTON, SEBASTIAN PIRIZ, and IVAN TAO!