STUDIOCANAL Announces Brand New Terminator Design, Ripped From Mythology

Published Oct 20, 2026, 12:21 PM EDT

Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words.

Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II.

Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno.

In preparation for a new release from STUDIOCANAL and Dynamite Entertainment, fans just got their first look at a new Terminator like nothing they've ever seen before.

Since the first Terminator movie in 1984, the series has presented an increasingly strange and powerful roster of Skynet robots. From the liquid metal T-1000 to the Infiltrator rat swarms and the godlike Sky-1 models, Terminator has gotten a lot weirder than Arnold Schwarzenegger with a glowing red eye.

Now, Skynet has unleashed one of its most unexpected enforcers of all time - a killer robot drawn straight from Ancient Roman mythology...

Valentine's Day Special Unveils Cupid Terminator

In a recent press release from Dynamite Entertainment and STUDIOCANAL, fans get to see a radical new Terminator design - one based on the Roman god Cupid. Björn Barends and Stuart Sayger's cover art shows a deadly Terminator with angelic, feathery wings and a heart-shaped bow and arrow. Meanwhile, Francesco Mattina's art shows a Terminator assessing a loving couple for death.

The comic itself (coming from Dan Watters and Pasquale Qualano) will depict a crucial milestone in Cyberdyne history and the rise of Skynet, as two employees prepare to launch the company's first surveillance satellite - a crucial first step to the franchise's dystopian future. The issue's summary reads:

Jack and Jill met at work, with one of those fairytale romances in a whirlwind of love. Even after a year together, they could barely keep their hands off each other. That is, until last week. Jill has found that Jack barely looks at her anymore, never mind tries to touch her. What's happened to this once picture-perfect relationship?

The answer is that Jack has become single-mindedly obsessed with work. He's locked in on the upcoming project they've both been working on, the background track to their passionate entanglement. Their employer Cyberdyne, the Cyber Dynamics Systems Corporation, has a major product launch - literally - around the corner. Their first surveillance satellite is scheduled to lift off February 14, 1987!

Can love survive at the genesis of Skynet, before the rise of the machines, and as the terrifying Terminators loom in the future? Find out in this new 30-page story landing in everyone's reading pile ahead of Valentine's Day.

While the idea of Terminator tackling romance may feel like an unusual choice, at least two movies in the original trilogy focus on couples fighting against the impossible, with Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese's romance being a key aspect of franchise lore. Now, Jack and Jill's romance will offer a dark reflection of the love that promised to save humanity.

Why Fans Shouldn't Miss Terminator Valentine's Day Special

One of the big pulls for this project is writer Dan Watters, whose recent Batman: Dark Patterns was notable as a dark modern classic for DC's Dark Knight. Meanwhile, Qualano is a proven talent whose work includes the the vicious DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War and Supernatural, perfect for the dark action of Terminator.

While it seems like The Terminator Valentine's Day Special 2027 has a sense of humor about its premise given the cupid-themed Terminator on the comic's covers, this creative team is one entirely capable of pulling off a thrilling delivery of this dark sci-fi love story.

One of the biggest questions is how the comic will involve the Terminators themselves in a time period long before Skynet's robotic killers exist. Of course, time travel has always factored into the franchise, but as far as fans know, the Terminators are usually dispatched to kill off future threats, not to protect Cyberdyne's path to Judgment Day.

This January, The Terminator will serve up a Valentine's love story with a difference, as the love lives of two new characters intersect with the birth of Skynet.

The Terminator Valentine's Day Special 2027 #1 is coming January 2027.