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John Connor

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This article is about John Connor from the original timeline . For his counterpart from The Sarah Connor Chronicles timeline, see John Connor (Alternate Timeline).
Spoiler warning: This article contains plot details about an upcoming episode or other production.


John Connor
Biographical Infomation
Birth: February 28, 1985
Physical Description
Gender: Male
Hair color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue-Green
Associations
Alias: John Reese, John Baum
Affiliation: Resistance


John Connor, son of Sarah Connor, is the leader of the human resistance group, Tech-Com. Skynet, the supercomputer mainframe of the machines, decides that John Connor is the focal point of the rebellion and his termination would end the opposition. After repeated failures at terminating John during the war, Skynet decides to use a time displacement device to send Terminators to various points in John Connor's past in an attempt to terminate him before the war ever begins. Actors such as Edward Furlong, Thomas Dekker, Nick Stahl, and others have portrayed John Connor in his various incarnations. Christian Bale plays John in Terminator Salvation and the upcoming Terminator 5.

Contents

In the Film Franchise

Early life (1985–1995)

A young John Connor.

John Connor was born to Sarah Connor on February 28, 1985 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day). His father, Kyle Reese, had been killed several months prior in May 1984, protecting Connor from a time-traveling Terminator (The Terminator). John's early life was filled with training by various persons his mother Sarah had met as the two lived off the grid after the attempt on her life by the Terminator. Much of his training concentrated on the areas of weaponry, computer technology, and espionage.

When Sarah Connor was shot and captured after trying to blow up a computer factory in 1994, John was placed into foster care and told that his mother's stories of the future were merely delusions. He was unable to cope with life in suburbia and rebelled, edging towards delinquency and receiving a police record (which included trespassing, shoplifting, disturbing the peace, and vandalism) by the time he was ten years old. His foster parents, Todd and Janelle Voight, found themselves unable to deal with him, and were not surprised when a police officer showed up at their door asking to speak with John.

John's life was changed in a matter of seconds, when a T-1000 came back from the year 2029, programmed to assassinate him. A T-800 (whom John later nicknamed "Uncle Bob") had also come back in time, this one programmed to protect him. John, now believing his mother's stories, used the protecting T-800 to release his mother from the mental institution. The three then proceeded to seek out Miles Dyson, the would-be creator of the neural-net processor, in an attempt to stop Judgment Day from occurring. During their time together John bonds with the T-800, who becomes a friend and father figure to him. Once the T-1000 is destroyed along with all of Cyberdyne's research, the T-800 asks that it be destroyed also so that its technology would not be discovered and used by others.

Deviating Timelines

Two main time lines begin after the events of Terminator 2. One is handled in the movie Terminator 3, and the other the Sarah Connor Chronicles, which directly follows the first two films and has no ties to Terminator 3.

Drifter Years *Terminator 3 Timeline* (1995–2004)

Having survived the assassination attempts of the T-1000, John Connor again dropped off the grid, living as unobtrusively as possible. His mother Sarah died in 1997, having lived past the supposed date that Judgement Day would have taken place, after she fought with her terminal leukemia disease for three years, to make sure the world did not end. He took up various odd jobs to pay his way and convinced himself that the actions he and Sarah had taken had prevented Judgment Day from happening.

In 2004, however, John was once again thrown back into the turmoil of his still unresolved future. Skynet had once again sent a Terminator back in time to try and finish him off. This new model, the T-X, was a substantial upgrade over the older T-1000 model, capable of creating mechanical parts (flamethrowers, saw blades, etc.) as opposed to simple stabbing weapons. A T-850 unit was sent back once again to protect John from this new weapon, but there was an unforeseen event surrounding its arrival.

Second Judgment Day (2004)

John Connor, as seen in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

John Connor and the newly reprogrammed T-850 were once again faced with a familiar situation. With a newer, highly advanced terminator after him, Connor had to round up as many future generals as he could before Judgment Day occurred.

There is some confusion over these events though, as John thought that Judgment Day was stopped in 1995. Though it was delayed by the events surrounding the destruction of Cyberdyne, the T-850 revealed to him that Judgment Day was inevitable, and that the previous actions only delayed it.

Please note John Connor was only 19 years of age at the time of Terminator 3-Rize of the machines, not in his 20's as it says on the DVD descrition and other web sites. His future wife Kate Brewster was also older than him, as she was a qualified vet, maybe 2 -3 years older.

Connor and Kate tried to reach Kate's father, Robert Brewster, who has been ordered to activate Skynet, a new software program that was designed to "protect" the American military computer systems, which were currently under attack from a very insidious virus that had been attacking civilian and other non-military government computer systems. What Brewster and the other generals didn't know was the Skynet was the virus. Once activated, Skynet took over all military systems, including those connected to the nuclear ballistic missile defense system. Connor and Kate obtained the access codes to Crystal Peak, where Brewster had said was the location of Skynet's core systems. The Terminator was successful in keeping the T-X from killing the pair, who were set to destroy Crystal Peak with C4 plastic explosives. However as Skynet went online and became self aware, it perceived humanity to be a threat and launched nuclear warheads at other countries. They responded in kind and the nuclear holocaust of Judgment Day began. Connor and Kate survived because Crystal Peak was instead an abandoned military fallout shelter and General Brewster had sent them there to survive when he realized what was happening. As the military watch officers at other areas saw "their" systems turning against them, they desparately called out over the emergency radios for guidance. John Connor answered the call and started to build the resistance from there.

The War Begins & The Assassination of John Connor (2018-2032)

John Connor, leader of the Resistance in 2018.

Several years into the war, John Connor has risen to leadership of his own squad of soldiers within the resistance and served under the direction of General Olsen. He was a member of a mission to infiltrate Skynet VLA in order to obtain classified data vital to the machines and to rescue the prisoners there. Connor would leave after having infiltrated the base to try to rescue several prisoners being taken by a Skynet transport. This would be his salvation as the base exploded moments after he left due to a Skynet booby trap. He would be picked up a short time afterward and would request to be taken to Resistance Headquarters. After arrival he was denied entry, but forced his way in. While there he met with General Ashdown and told him what he'd found and that Skynet was more advanced than they should be. Ashdown, who was familiar with Connor's history, told him that he didn't believe it for a second and that destiny could be changed in a second (he said this while holding a gun to Connor's face). He then revealed that the Resistance would be testing a new weapon against the machines designed to end the war. Connor volunteered for the mission to test it and soon learned that he was the second target on Skynet's hit list, Kyle Reese was the priority target.

Concerned for his father's safety, Connor perservered and buried himself in his work including his nightly broadcasts to the survivors. He and his team captured a hydrobot and confirmed that the weapon worked against Skynet. Not long afterward they would test it on a larger target. Around the same time Connor noted increased Skynet activity and ordered his pilot, Blair Williams, to investigate. Days later Williams and a guest (Marcus Wright) arrived at the base; however, Marcus wasn't what he seemed. Connor was called to a secured room inside the base where he saw a new terminator series that neither he nor his mother had encountered previously, it was different to the T-850 as not only did it have living tissue like the T850, but it also had organs and thought it was human. The T800 and T850 series were just living tissue over metal endo skeleton, they had no organs and did not believe they were human. It was also to early for a T800 let alone an even more advanced model, meaning that the process had somehow been sped up, perhaps because Miles Dysons work was not completely detroyed, or perhaps some parts from The Sara Connor Chronicles had been found ( We will never know as the series has been axed). Connor and Wright faced off talking about how he was a machine and that he was sent there to destroy. Connor eventually left to consider what to do next and prepared for the world wide assault on Skynet, but Williams was already working to release Wright from captivity.

Connor personally led the mission to recapture Wright. From a helicopter, Connor led the attack upon Wright. His pilot, nevertheless, miscalcuated their position and they were attacked by a series of hydrobots. Connor was rescued by Marcus and the two came to an agreement. Wright would help them to infiltrate and rescue the captured Kyle Reese from Skynet Central. Connor agreed and let Marcus go. He urged General Ashdown to reconsider the attack, but the Resistance's leader would not agree and ordered Connor removed from command of his base. Instead Connor would make a final impassioned plea to his fellow Resistance leaders to halt the attack and turn against General Ashdown so that he could rescue the prisoners. This led to Connor becoming the prophesized leader of the Resistance against Skynet. Not long after he would capture and reprogram a moto-terminator to allow faster transport to San Francisco's Skynet Central.

Upon arrival at the agreed upon coordinates (the Golden Gate Bridge), Connor watched and waited for the agreed upon signal from Marcus. When the signal came - the location of Reese - Connor infiltrated the city and reprogrammed several of the lesser machines. He would then access Skynet Central and begin his search for Kyle. He released the cages holding the human prisoners and, believing he found the teen, was attacked by a prototype T-800. Connor was able to break away by blowing a hole into the floor of the facility which the machine fell through and continued after Kyle. He soon found him at an execution chamber, but there was no time to relax as the T-800 was already coming.

After several quick actions, the humans managed to reach a Terminator Factory beneath the base where they were able to build explosives utilizing the power cells of the under construction terminators. Connor and Reese worked together to build bombs when the machine attacked Connor. Reese helped the Resistance soldier by firing a rocket propelled grenade at the T-800 and temporarily disabling it long enough for Connor to break free. They began to fight hand to hand and the machine was about to kill the leader of the Resistance when Marcus Wright engaged the terminator in hand to hand combat to provide a diversion. The machine would make quick work of Marcus and continue after Connor, using the voice of Kyle Reese to distract him.

The machine was temporarily disabled by John Connor a short time afterward. Connor fired a grenade causing molten steel to cover the machine followed by a similar attack to a container of industrial coolant. Connor then proceeded to revive Marcus via CPR, which was successful, only to have the T-800 awaken and impale Connor in the heart. Immediately, Marcus knocked the machine's skull assembly off of the machine's body. With the machine destroyed Marcus turns his attention toward helping Connor up, who now acknowledges him as a friend. When the Resistance arrived, Connor and the rest of the group boarded the helicopter, which was flown straight to the main headquarters for immediate medical attention for Connor, as he detonates the building and everything around it while flying back. With Connor on the verge of death, Marcus tells everyone that he willingly wants to transplant his heart to Connor, which is successful. Later, Connor gives one more daily announcement telling everyone that the battle has been won, but the war is still on. It was implied that Connor had become the leader of the Resistance afterwords.

At an unknown date during the war, Skynet decided to try a new tactic to remove the leader of the resistance. Knowing the familiarity that Connor had with the T-800 unit, Skynet sent a T-850 that physically resembled the old model out to the human resistance bases where it eventually found John. His judgment clouded by memories of past experiences, he allowed the terminator into the base where it promptly killed him and a large portion of the leaders of the human resistance. This event occurs on July 4, 2032. However the fact Skynet sent back the T-X implies John's death came too late to alter the course of the war.

The terminator was stopped before it could eliminate all of the leaders, and was eventually reprogrammed by Connor's wife to serve as a protector once again. This terminator was once more sent back in time to protect John, only this time not under his direct command, but Kate Brewster's. This leads into the events of Terminator 3, during which the T-850 reveals to Connor the date and circumstances of his future death. It is possible that, having learned of his fate, John would be able to avoid his death in the future, capture the T-850 and send it back himself. This leaves the true fate of John Connor open to speculation.

In the Sarah Connor Chronicles

John Connor in the Sarah Connor Chronicles.

See main article: John Connor (Alternate Timeline).

John and Sarah try to settle down to normal lives after the events of T2, but they are in fear of being captured for blowing up Cyberdyne. While at school, John is attacked by a Terminator posing as a teacher, and is protected by a reprogrammed Terminator named "Cameron". John learns that Judgment Day has not been prevented, only postponed to April 21, 2011. John does not want to run anymore and asks Sarah to stop Skynet from being created. Cameron uses time displacement technology (built by "The Engineer" from the future) to send all three of them to 2007, just before Skynet is created, so that they can stop it.

Settling down in 2007, John enrolls in high school under the name of John Baum, after author L. Frank Baum who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a book that Sarah says was John's favorite when he was younger. He becomes acquainted with his father's older brother, Derek Reese, who is also a resistance fighter sent back in time to help them track down the origins of Skynet and kill it before it's created.

Paradox Theory

Many people believe that Kyle Reese is John Connor's father, which would create a paradox: John must send Kyle back in time so that he can exist to defeat Skynet and send Kyle back to protect his mother in the first place. But this opens up the potential that John may have had another father, as otherwise he may not have existed in the original timeline (i.e. a timeline prior to TDE existing). This leads many fans to one of four possible options that:

  1. The man that Sarah was dating in the first film, Stan Morski is the true biological father of John Connor. However, there is no evidence that Sarah and Stan were actually involved, only that they had a date (which he canceled).
  2. Kyle Reese was sent back in a different time line to alter the future outcome against Skynet and John Connor was born then creating the time line in which John led humanity to victory against Skynet and sent Kyle back to protect his mother and ensure his survival.
  3. Without presuming temporal intervention as some part of the unaltered original timeline that somehow gave rise to the first "John Connor, Leader of the Resistance" before anyone went back in time. Given that Sarah was basically just out there dating, any of a dozen one-night stands or blind dates could certainly have led to a pregnancy. And the "flake" nature of the guys she was dating (or blind-dating like Morsky) can easily lead to Sarah being a single mother. So could whatever hook-up she may have made with any unnamed stranger in Club Noir as a rebound for Morsky breaking their date. Since without TDE intervention, no one was coming to the club to kill her that night. Perhaps it is this original situation that leads to Sarah abandoning the conventional lifestyle of College, Waitressing, and City life to somehow become a recluse militant survivalist on her own, placing her in a position to be John's mentor through the unaltered original time line Judgment Day that has to have happened prior to any TDE intervention.
  4. The whole entire theory of a paradox is untrue just alternate universes all together exist even without the same events happening, this comes from the fact that the Terminator 3's T-850 is from a world where John Connor went to a basement and hooked up with future wife Kate Brewster. However this was not shown in T2, and was only mentioned in T3. As in the first film Kyle mentioned that John Connor was the leader of the resistance, but as soon as the T-800 Terminator and Kyle Reese go back to 1984 (originally John's father would be someone else) an altered time line is in which Kyle Reese is John's father is created. To make it more confusing, in Terminator Salvation John Connor thinks that if Kyle Reese (his father) dies in the present, he would not exist; this is untrue as he already does exist, it just means that John Connor will have to send someone else back to 1984 to protect his mother, and his father would be someone else, it also might mean that he might not exist in an alternate reality at all.

Behind the scenes

In Terminator 2, the young John Connor was portrayed by Edward Furlong, while the older version was portrayed by Michael Edwards. Dalton Abbott, who is Sarah Connor actress Linda Hamilton's son, played an infant John in a flashback scene. In Terminator 3, John was portrayed by Nick Stahl (unlike in T2, the same actor portrays John as a young man and as his older self). Thomas Dekker portrays John in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, with John DeVito playing an even younger John on the show. And in the next film, Terminator Salvation, Christian Bale has taken on the role of the 33 year old John Connor who has just established the resistance.

In the Sarah Connor Chronicles John is listed as 15 years old, in his mother's FBI record, and on the shows website. However his birthday (1985-02-28) as established in The Terminator and Terminator 2 would make him about that age when the show is set (September 1999/2007, with a time jump in between). In the season one finale, he remarks that he should be chronologically twenty-four years old, but that he is currently at sixteen.

Gallery

An infant John Connor, T2
- Dalton Abbott

John Connor, T2
- Edward Furlong

An older John Connor, T2
- Michael Edwards

Alternate Future John Connor, T2
- Michael Edwards

John Connor, T3
- Nick Stahl

Older John Connor, T3
- Nick Stahl

John Connor, TSCC
- Thomas Dekker

A young John Connor, TSCC
- John DeVito

An older John Connor, TSCC
- Thomas Dekker

John Connor, Terminator Salvation
- Christian Bale

John Connor, The Terminator: The Dark Years, 2030

John Connor, The Terminator (NOW Comics), 2031

John Connor, Painkiller Jane vs. Terminator

John Connor with a Gun

Trivia

  • John Connor has been portrayed by more actors than any other character in sci-fi film and television history (7 actors)[1]; with the exception of James Bond (7 actors)[2] and Dr. Who (33 actors)[3].
  • Promotional photos of the Playmates Toys action figure line list the character as John Conner.[4]

Appearances

Films

Television

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (played by Thomas Dekker (age 15))

Comics

Novels

Video Games

References

  1. ↑ This article
  2. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_bond
  3. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_actors_who_have_played_the_Doctor
  4. ↑ [1]

External links

Retrieved from "http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/John_Connor"
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