In The Terminator, John Connor is the human resistance leader who sends Kyle Reese into the past.
James Cameron’s 1984 science-fiction film takes place across two timelines. In the future, an artificial intelligence called Skynet has launched a war against humanity. John Connor leads the human resistance and becomes important enough that Skynet sends a Terminator back to 1984 to kill his mother, Sarah Connor, before John is born.
John responds by sending soldier Kyle Reese back to protect Sarah. Reese explains the future threat and becomes Sarah’s ally as they try to survive the machine assassin played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
John himself appears only through photographs, memories, and future scenes in the first film, but he becomes a central on-screen character in later installments. The original movie therefore treats him as the target and future leader whose existence determines the conflict.