Terminator is a multimedia franchise created by James Cameron. In the near future an artificial intelligence, Skynet, becomes self-aware and decides it is in its own self interest to wipe out humanity. It brings about a nuclear armageddon, but despite its vast armies of robot soldiers humanity, lead by John Connor, is able to defeat it. As a last ditch attempt to save itself Skynet sends a robot disguised as a man back in time to kill the members of the resistance before they were even born.
Each of the movies follow after one another sequentially, but most of the expanded media puts forth the possibility of multiple timelines created through the constant abuse of time travel. Simultameously Skynet is victorious, defeated, and in some cases never exists at all.
I-950[]
- See article: I-950
T-8XX[]
The T-8XX is one of the most high tech of Skynet's Terminator series of infiltrators. Unlike previous models it has a suit of living flesh over its metal chassis, and is only distinguishable from a human by its poor social skills. An unusually large number of them are modeled after an austrian body builder (designated the 101 model) and some sources claim that the brutish figure is required to hide all the electronic components inside it. Other sources have Terminators of any damned size they feel like, including those with a female form.
T-9XX[]
The T-9XX model of Terminator is similar in design to their earlier T-8XX bretheren, but, due to the increasing number of Terminators reprogrammed by the resistance, is designed specifically to destroy other Terminators. They still have an organic skin that allows them to appear human as well as survive time-travel, but the T-950 has the added function of ballistic guns located inside each forearm. A T-950 in the story Fragmented makes use of timed mines which it presumibly stored within its body.
In the Terminator 3 comic Fragmented two T-950s are sent back, both believing that they are intended to save John Connor from the other. Only at the end does the male T-950 realise that its intended mission was to kill Connor, and that it thought otherwise because of damage to its memory. The female T-950 promptly destroys it and leads Connor to safety.
T-1XXX[]
The T-1XXX abandons the metal chassis of previous Terminator models for a liquid metal body that is able to reform from any damage less than complete dissintegration. This ability allows it to take the form of anything with similar mass, and this enhanced infiltration ability is further enhanced by a greatly updated social ability. The only tell for a T-1000 is their inability to raise their body heat above room temperature. So far only four T-1XXXs have appeared: two T-1000s, the first sent to kill John Connor and the second to ensure Skynet's creation, a T-1001 named Catherine Weaver working for an unknown rival AI to Skynet, and a T-1002 which lost in a sparring match to the T-X.
The second T-1000 appears in the comic series Cyber Dawn. She arrives in the past along with a pair of T-800s to ensure the creation of Skynet. Once there she assumes the identity of Karyn Stern, employee of NetWork Developments; a company looking to take over DataDyne's work. When Sarah Connor tries to convince "Karyn" of what NetWork's work will create, the T-1000 makes an attempt at replacing her so that it can eliminate Connor's allies. During the fight Sarah accidentally discovers a compound that kills a T-1000's polyalloy, and splashes the machine with enough of it to totally destroy her. Perhaps by chance this T-1000 only took the forms of females.
T-X[]
The T-X is the primary antagonist of Terminator 3. Its body combines the metal skeleton of the earlier Terminator series with the liquid metal skin of a T-1000, allowing it to take, or modify, any humanoid form. It can also deploy nanomachines that turn any modern computer-controled machinery into a slave. Unlike the T-800 the T-X is also equipped with over a dozen internal weapons, like a flame thrower and rail cannon. In Terminator 3 a T-X is sent back in time before Judgement Day in order to eliminate future resistance leaders. It accidentally stumbles upon the trail of John Connor, and changes its mission to killing him. With the aid of yet another T-101 sent back in time John is able to escape from his would-be assassin, and the T-X is crushed under a blast door just as Judgement Day begins.
