Note: This feature discusses the plot and ending of Terminator Salvation, and thus contains spoilers.

  Who is this man?  Since 1991, we've all wondered who this man is.  Is it John Connor or is it a symbol of the resistance?  As McG would have us believe, it is the actual John Connor.  However, is that what is really best for the story?  Is that the absolute best direction the Terminator franchise can head towards?  I vehemently say no.

  John Connor should be an idea, not a person.  Think about it; what a perfect direction to take the Terminator series in with a twist that could have been one for the ages.  The resistance would have to realize the importance of John Connor as a figure, and how the resistance views him as a prophet.  They could have easily kept the legend alive since there would have been so few people that knew what the real John Connor looked like.  He could have lived on in spirit and been a beacon of hope for humanity regardless who was actually giving the speeches.

Argument 1 - Arnold kills John Connor

  Near the end of Terminator 3, a huge plot point was revealed when Arnold told John Connor that he was the one that killed him in the future.  If that was the case, what better time than to have the CGI Arnold in T4 kill him?

Argument 2 - The Scar

  We all knew the scar was going to come into play at some point in the new Terminator films, however it should have been a calling card of sorts.  Who over took over the "role" of John Connor should have gotten the scar in a future film.  This would have been an amazing throwback/twist to the beginning of T2, when people realize that this man we've seen since 1991 as the "face" of John Connor in the future wasn't actually the John Connor.  By having the original John Connor die without obtaining the scar would have let the mind's wander in "what ifs?" and "how did he get it thens?"  It would have been a big reveal in the later movies when the event actually occurs.  The Connor at the beginning of T2 was clearly in control and a leader, so in terms of timelines, it would have made perfect sense to create some mystery on how it would all come together.

Argument 3 - Radio Broadcasts

  At the end of Terminator 3, John Connor first made his presence felt to the outside world.  It wasn't in body; it wasn't in person with face to face interactions; it was with his voice.  It was the first instance that the present world could connect the name John Connor with the idea of human survival.  Terminator 4 did a brilliant job of keeping that voice alive.   He was on the radio speaking to the pockets of resistance that had never met this man, or knew what he looked like.  They were drawn to him because of what he represented.  They were drawn to him because he was a voice of hope.  This could be an easy theme that could reoccur throughout the remaining movies.

Argument 4 - How did he live?

  Not only did McG miss out on a golden opportunity to take the franchise in a brilliant direction, he seemingly threw it in our faces.  First John Connor survives a huge girder through the heart, but on top of it, he manages to survive a last minute heart transplant that just happened to take and be the correct blood type?  The director dropped the ball big time, and it seems like he had everything in place only to cop out at the last minute in favor of a cheesy happy ending.

Argument 5 - How did McG not see this?

  Everything in the movie, up until the point Sam Worthington offered up his heart, led me to believe that John Connor was going to die, but live on in legend.  The name John Connor was literally uttered dozens and dozens of times in the movie giving it a sort of god-like feel that I was hoping would lend itself to the prophet status he had garnered.  It was as if the director was building the name up to be bigger than the human form of John Connor so that it could be an ideology of sorts.  But then...he didn't.  Another missed opportunity was letting Kyle Reese, John Connor's father, take over the responsibility.  What a twist that would have been as well?  Imagine the paradox that would be created when Reese takes over his son's image, before sending himself back in time to protect John's mother so John could grow up and create the ideology for humanity's hope, in order for him [Kyle] to have the name to continue on in the first place!!  Or alternatively, imagine the resistance being led by a terminator!!  In addition, many of the leaders of the resistance were killed off in the sub at the end of T4, so all that were left were the members that would stand behind John and his image.  This all could lend itself to a perfect scenario for a "cover-up", which could be an interesting plot line later on when the ideology itself comes into jeopardy, thus weakening the human's morale.

  Bottom line, there are a lot of pissed off people right now that feel ripped off.  From everything I've been reading since the opening, fans are upset.  There were a couple good throwbacks, such as the Guns 'n' Roses tune which was in T2, but this is a storyline that a lot of people care about, myself included.  My only hope is that McG and crew know exactly what they are doing and have something even better planned.  If not...Judgement Day is coming...