2222: Terminator: Dark Fate

2019-10-31T20:14:19Z

Plaid Hat Guy: Two grammer corrections

{{comic
| number = 2222
| date = October 30, 2019
| title = Terminator: Dark Fate
| image = terminator_dark_fate.png
| titletext = I was sent here to stop the robot that was sent here to protect the human who was sent here to protect the human who was sent here to destroy the robot that was sent here to vacuum the floor.
}}
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SKYNET ROOMBA. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Cueball]] is on his way to see the new ''[[:Category:Terminator|Terminator]]'' movie; ''{{w|Terminator: Dark Fate}}'', when Cueball's future self comes back to stop him, trying to convince him that, as always, he will be disappointed by sequels. (This was, for instance, the main joke in the last part of [[566: Matrix Revisited]]).

Future Cueball, Cueball-2, almost succeeds in spite of good reviews and the fact that the original star {{w|Linda Hamilton}} is back after several movies without her. ''Terminator: Dark Fate'' actually negates any movie that came after the first two (''The Terminator'' and ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''). That is what time travel can do and also what the rest of the comic's joke is about. Because then more future Cueballs arrive, from the different timelines created by the first, Cueball-2, traveling back (and then later time travelers create new timelines as they come along). The next, Cueball-3, complains that in his timeline he still wished he had went to see it, making Cueball exclaim that they should all go see it together.

But from then on it explodes, as two Cueballs come at once, meaning they must have met in the future so one of them travels back in time twice... And finally five more come from the future, making a total of 10 Cueballs, only one from the present. The last five have more and more silly reasons to come back, with the final one just coming back to buy a ticket for the movie, before all the time travlers join each other and buy them all.

It is a common trope in science fiction to go into the past to stop events from ever happening as explored in the {{w|Terminator (franchise)|''Terminator'' series}}. This comic plays this trope to the extreme.

The ''Terminator'' film series is famous for this time travel trope. The initial 3 films feature a time traveling robot sent from the dystopian future to kill a particular human, with the future resistance in turn sending a protector to ensure the human's survival. However, the series has never been consistent on even the most broad rules of how time travel affects the timeline, with each movie exploring different possibilities. This is another point of spoof for the comic, featuring multiple recursive time loops until it becomes a jumbled mess. And the new movie only refers to the first two, ignoring any later movies.

The final pane also invokes the "killing Hitler" trope. {{w|Adolf Hitler}} was the leader of Nazi Germany during World War II, and it has been a common trope to "go back in time to kill Hitler" such as in [[1063: Kill Hitler]]. However, this Cueball is over 70 years too late to kill Hitler, as Hitler himself committed suicide in 1945, shortly before the end of WWII.

The title text is what is said by the next Cueball-11 (the 10th time-traveler), with each link in the chain relating to the Terminator movies. Except at the end where the initial "dangerous robot" turns out to being a robot send to vacuum the floor. Robotic vacuum. Robotic vacuums, such as the Roomba, are a [[:Category:Roomba|recurring theme]] on xkcd.

The title text split up:
#A Roomba like robot was sent to clean the floor.
#A human was sent to destroy the robot (this happens in ''{{w|The Terminator}}'')
#A human was sent to protect the previous human (This does not happen like this, but in ''The Terminator'', the human was sent back to protect a human)
#A robot was sent to protect the previous human (this happens in ''{{w|Terminator 2: Judgment Day}}'')
#Cueball-11 was sent to stop the previous robot
Thus Cueball-11 tries to stop the person that needs to destroy the Roomba by stopping his protector's protector.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is walking to the right. Another Cueball, Cueball-2, appears behind him in a bubble of energy that appears with a loud sound. The bubble floats in the air behind the walking Cueball, with Cueball-2 inside holding his arms out to the side and having his legs bend.]
:''Zap!''

:[Cueball-2 from the sphere is standing to the left of Cueball, pointing at him. Cueball has stopped and is looking back over his shoulder]
:Cueball-2: I've traveled back in time to stop you from seeing ''Terminator: Dark Fate''!

:[Cueball-2 is looking at Cueball who has turned around and holds his arm a bit out to the sides.]
:Cueball: But it looks so good! Reviews are actually decent! Mackenzie Davis! '''''Linda Hamilton is back!'''''

:[Cueball-2 is holding both arms up, hands held down as Cueball stands normally.]
:Cueball-2: I know, but you always think this, and you're always disappointed.
:Cueball: I ''guess''...

:[Zoom out as another Cueball, Cueball-3, appears to the left in a similar bubble of energy and noise as in the first panel, his arms are out to the sides and his legs are bent. Cueball-2 is holding a hand in front of his mouth, while Cueball throws his arms out to the side.]
:''Zap!''
:Cueball-3: Hi, I'm from the future where you didn't watch it and I realize I still kind of want to see it.
:Cueball: Let's go together!

:[Another bubble appears from the right of the three Cueballs, the one in the middle (Cueball-2) holding his arms out. This new bubble contains two Cueballs. The first, Cueball-4, throws up his arms over his head, while Cueball-5 has one arm out in front of him. Both have their legs bent..]
:Cueball-4: No! We're both of you from the future! We're here to stop you!

:[In a large panel five more individually energy bubbles with five Cueballs appear. Two of the bubbles float over the now five Cueballs on the ground. The other three are a bit lower and in a line to the right. Cueball-6 to 10 are in different poses, all with their legs bent, all the way to sitting on the knees in one case and most of them throw their arms out to the side. All look down at the five regardless of their bubble's position. Their text is alternating between being up and down, so the text goes over or below the other text, making it hard to decide which comes first. This may be intentional. But here they are in the order of Cueballs as they come from left to right:]
:Cueball-6: I'm here to stop '''''you!'''''
:Cueball-7: I'm here to stop the robot sent to stop you!
:Cueball-8: I'm here to protect you from...you? I lost track.
:Cueball-9: I'm here to kill Hitler. Did I get the right year?
:Cueball-10: I'm here to get tickets because in like 20 minutes you people buy them all.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

[[Category:Terminator]]
[[Category:Time travel]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Roomba]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hitler]]

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2222: Terminator: Dark Fate