History Characters / Terminator

Pages for the characters appearing in the continuity formed by ''Film/TheTerminator'', ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' and ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate''.

For an index of the actors and actresses who have their own page on this wiki, see [[UsefulNotes/TerminatorActors here]].

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Character sheet for ''Film/TheTerminator'', ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' and ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate''.

Character sheets for the entries that came between ''Judgment Day'' and ''Dark Fate'' have been moved on separate pages due to their AlternateTimeline[=/=]AlternateContinuity status induced by the {{Unreboot}} of ''Dark Fate'':

* ''Characters/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines''
* ''Characters/TerminatorSalvation''
* ''Characters/TerminatorGenisys''
* ''Characters/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles''

----
[[foldercontrol]]


! Humans

!!!'''Introduced in''' '''''The Terminator'''''

[[folder:Sarah Connor]]
!!Sarah Jeanette Connor
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahconnor1984.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"The hardest thing is deciding what I should tell you and what not to."'']]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahconnor1991.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too."'']]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahconnorterminatordarkfate.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"My name is Sarah Connor. Never seen one like you before. Almost human."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/LindaHamilton
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Élisabeth Wiener (European French, ''The Terminator''), Véronique Augereau (European French, ''Terminator 2'', ''Dark Fate'')
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator'' | ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' | ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate''

The mother of the future human resistance leader against the Machines, John Connor.
----
* ActionSurvivor: In the first movie; turning on the hydraulic press that kills the Terminator shows her transition to ActionGirl.
* ActionMom: In the second film, bordering on KnightTemplarParent.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys:
** In the first film she is guilty of this, as she dated a guy that treated her like dirt before she met Kyle. When she does meet Kyle, it's clear that she is unnerved by him, but still likes him, as proven when she tip toes around the question of whether or not he had a girlfriend, seconds before his AnguishedDeclarationOfLove. Lastly in ''2'', she started going out with military personnel, mostly to learn things she could teach John, but given her history....
** She even reflects to herself how the Terminator was, in her opinion, the only suitable father figure while listing off the different ways a parent can abuse or neglect their child (which speaks volumes about the other men).
* AntiHero: While Sarah was firmly an ActionSurvivor in the first film, come time for the second one, [[ShellShockedVeteran she's become unhinged]] suffering a nasty case of PTSD. Sarah attempts to ShootTheDog [[spoiler: and even attempted to kill Miles Dyson in front of his family.]]
* BigNo: Sarah almost makes it out of the asylum, but she sees the T-800 walking out of an elevator. After saying "no" in a low tone of disbelief, it turns into this out of sheer terror.
* BrokenBird: Second movie. Her attempts to stop Judgment Day have left her sanity somewhat in tatters and she is in a mental hospital at the beginning of [=T2=].
* TheBusCameBack: [[BusCrash Written off]] between films after T2 and only appearing in [[Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles alternate]] [[Film/TerminatorGenisys timelines]] since, the original Sarah finally returns in ''Dark Fate'' after a 28-year absence.
* CassandraTruth: She's institutionalized to trying to prevent and talking about the future war with the machines. Played with, however, because she's still AxCrazy despite being right about that.
* CharacterDevelopment: She has two:
** In the first film, she was a ShrinkingViolet with self-doubt until Skynet specifically targets her by sending a T-800 while Kyle Reese was sent to protect her by her future son's orders. Even then, she still had doubts about herself when Kyle tells her about the amazing things John told about her, until Kyle and herself were on the last legs on their life until she manages to literally crush the T-800. This action allowed Sarah to commit herself to raise her only son into the man he was in the future.
** While she did TookALevelInBadass, she clearly did have problems with her communication skills, and often tried to date military personnel so they can teach something useful to John, and not giving her son the affection he desperately needed which was observed by the T-800. While initially distrustful with the reprogrammed T-800 who is under future John's orders to protect his younger self (and nearly tried to destroy his CPU), she learned to trust the machine when he proved to be a valuable ally and is visibly dishearten when he has to be destroyed to prevent Skynet's creation and Judgment Day while finally hugging her son.
* CoolPet: She had a pet iguana when she was Ginger's roommate. Ginger wasn't a fan of it.
%%* CrazyPrepared: Third movie, [[spoiler:posthumously]].
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: InvokedTrope. Sarah is right about the {{Killer Robot}}s from the future, but she's still nuts.
* DamselInDistress: The first film in centered around Kyle going back to protect her from the T-800.
* DarkActionGirl: She can kick a major amount of ass, but it doesn't come without a lot of psychological scarring. Her time in a mental hospital did her no favors. Further, Cameron wrote the hospital escape scene to avert the FauxActionGirl trope--if anything, the Terminator's arrival was little more than a RedundantRescue, as Sarah was pretty much home free when he showed up.
%%* {{Determinator}}: She becomes like this during the second movie.
* FinalGirl: She's the last remaining "Sarah Connor" in Los Angeles by the end of the first movie.
* GoldDigger: SubvertedTrope. In the second film... sort-of. John says Sarah would "shack up with" any guy who looked like he had something worthwhile to teach John so that he'd grow up to be the competent leader she knew he was destined to be. However, he also says that Sarah would usually try and get her new man on board with the whole ScrewDestiny plan, only for them to think she's crazy and dump her. So yeah, she used a lot of guys, but under the circumstances, she still tried not to be abusive and wasn't doing it for selfish reasons.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: PlayedStraight. The director wanted to play with the audience's sympathies for her. Even though they already know that she's right about the BadFuture and the machine uprising, that hasn't made her the most sane person in the last nine years.
%%* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: With Kyle in the first movie.
* HairColorDissonance: Linda Hamilton's portrayal depicts her having dirty blonde hair, while Emilia Clarke's has [[AloofDarkHairedGirl dark brown]].
%%* HerHeartWillGoOn: End of first movie.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: She practically became a Terminator herself, [[LampshadeHanging right down to her enemy's musical motif and choice of sunglasses]], when she tried to murder Miles Dyson in order to prevent Skynet's creation.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: In the second film. While she is prone to angry outbursts and paranoid as all hell, she truly does love John not just because of the role he plays in the future, but also because he's her son.
%%* LadyOfWar: In the second movie.
* TheLoad: In the first movie, she starts off as a relatively airheaded fast food waitress. [[TookALevelInBadass She is forced to overcome this]] after [[spoiler:Kyle is gravely wounded]].
%%* MamaBear: Almost to the point of being a KnightTemplarParent.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
** [[spoiler:When her best friend/roommate Ginger and her boyfriend]] were killed by the Terminator in their apartment.
** Silently after the attempted hit on Dyson. Exacerbated by the fact that not only had she taken on a dimmer view on human life than the Terminator she was traveling with, but had adopted the MO of the Terminator that first tried to kill her. She almost killed a father in front of his wife and kid, something that hits her close to home after [[spoiler:losing Reese and almost losing John]].
* ParentalAbandonment:
** Has a DisappearedDad in the first film and her mother [[spoiler: was killed by the T-800]].
** She herself is a MissingMom to John most of his life, with her being locked in a mental asylum and all.
* PinkMeansFeminine: Spends most of the first film wearing pink clothes (both her waitress uniform and her main outfit).
* TheProtagonist: Of the first two films. Kyle and the second T-800 are TheHero of the first and second films respectively, but she has about as much screen time (and certainly more dialogue than the latter), and the story is largely told from her viewpoint.
* ScrewDestiny: Is willing to commit ''cold-blooded murder'' to protect her son and stop Judgment Day. Bonus points for providing the trope image itself.
* ShellShockedVeteran: In the second film as a result of having lost her paramour to a cyborg that was hunting her down with the intent to kill her.
* StockholmSyndrome: Averted, but implied that other people believe she's playing the trope straight, particularly Dr. Silberman. Justified in that, after being kidnapped by a "loon" spouting ridiculous stories about killer robots, Sarah herself has become an anti-technology terrorist that blows up places that build advanced computers. Even after the police come to try and get her to make a statement against the Terminator, from their point of view, later that same night, the same guy busts her out of the institution and, days later, she's joined forces with the guy to assault a Cyberdyne building.
* TakeTheWheel: Is made to do this in both the first and second movie.
* TankTopTomboy: In the epilogue of the first movie, and then throughout the entire second movie, after she TakesALevelInBadass.
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: "You're terminated, fucker!" Also a PreMortemOneLiner and PrecisionFStrike.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Despite her being a CombatPragmatist, she's never taken the life of a human being. The one time she becomes a "terminator" to execute someone she thinks is the reason [=SkyNet=] exists, she can't bring herself to be an unemotional killer.
* TimeTravelRomance: One where the romance has a good deal of plot significance.
* TimeTravelTenseTrouble: Sarah has a problem with Reese telling her of all the things she hasn't done yet.
* TookALevelInBadass: During the events between the first and second movie. It's deconstructed as it lands her in a mental hospital, and Sarah later admits that she's been a terrible mother to John.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Mentally stable mother-of-the-year she is ''not.''
* TookALevelInKindness: She regains a lot of her humanity by the end of the second film, and becomes a better mother to John in the process.
* TwoFirstNames: Her last name can be traditionally used as a given name.
* UngratefulBitch: Instead of hugging her own son and thanking him, she just checked if John was hurt and scolds him for trying to rescue her.
-->'''Sarah:''' You cannot risk yourself, even for me. You're too important! Do you understand?\\
''(John begins to cry. Sarah shakes her head in disappointment.)''\\
'''John:''' I had to get you out of that place. I'm sorry!\\
'''Sarah:''' I don't need your help. I can take care of myself.
* VocalEvolution: Linda Hamilton gives her a softer voice in the first movie. In the sequel, she gives her a more assertive and commanding voice to fit her ActionMom status.
* YouKilledMyFather: In the first film [[spoiler: the T-800 killed Sarah's mother trying to find Sarah]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kyle Reese]]
!!Sergeant Kyle Reese
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kylereese.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Come with me if you want to live."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/MichaelBiehn
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Patrick Poivey (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator''

A resistance soldier from the future, serving under the orders of John Connor. In the year 2029 he was sent back in time to the year 1984 to protect Sarah Connor from a T-800 Model 101 Terminator. He is the father of John Connor, through the result of a [[StableTimeLoop predestination paradox]].
----
* BackupFromOtherworld: Appears to Sarah in a dream, warning her that the Terminators are now after John in the DirectorsCut of the second movie.
* BadassLongcoat: Justified, since he needs that coat to hide his SawedOffShotgun.
* BadassNormal: Makes his fight against an unstoppable killing machine much more badass.
* BodyguardCrush: Kyle's attraction to Sarah is what conceives John Connor in the first place.
* TheCameo: His one scene in the second film.
* ChildSoldier: He was born into a world with killbots attempting to destroy humanity, so yeah.
* ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive: TropeNamer. It's the first thing he says to Sarah Connor after the Terminator attacks her, and it's the only reason she trusts him enough to escape with him.
* DeadPersonConversation: With Sarah in the second film.
* DeathBySex: [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated.]] He survived growing up in prison camps, fought numerous battles as a member of Tech-Com, and helped win the final battle against Skynet... but he's killed the same day he loses his virginity to Sarah.
* DecoyProtagonist: Of the entire franchise. He is TheHero of the first film, but Sarah is the true protagonist, and Reese dies before Sarah destroys the Terminator at the climax.
* {{Determinator}}: He will ''not'' allow Sarah to die, no matter what. Not just because it's his mission, but because he loves her. This includes fighting the Terminator in melee combat, ''while he's dying from a bullet wound''.
* DisappearedDad: He is this to John Connor, having died before his son was born.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: Without a doubt. Justified in that he learnt to drive AfterTheEnd. He also instinctively drives cars at night without the headlights on, as doing so in the future would draw Aerial Hunter-Killers.
* ExperiencedProtagonist: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]]. He's got plenty of experience fighting Terminators, but not with modern weapons.
* AFatherToHisMen: ''Possibly?'' In a flashback of the future he's shown sadly lowering his head when a soldier he's finding alongside dies. Although this may have just been because he liked her personally or something.
* FutureBadass: Applies more to the fourth film than the first. The first film's Kyle ''is'' the "Future Badass". The fourth film is Kyle as a teenage kid just trying to survive in a nuclear wasteland.
* GaiasLament: A deleted scene would have had Kyle crying when he saw how beautiful the world used to be.
* GlorifiedSpermDonor: He dies before the birth of his son, without even knowing that Sarah was pregnant... but he's from the future, and was close friends with John Connor in his own timeline, not even knowing that they were related.
* TheHero: Reese is not TheProtagonist of the first film (that's Sarah), but his efforts to protect her and battle the Terminator mean he qualifies as the hero of the narrative overall.
* TheHeroDies: He does not survive the final battle with the Terminator.
* HeroicSacrifice: The bomb he uses to bifurcate the Terminator is the same bomb that kills him in the end.
* IncrediblyObviousTail: He's very clumsy when tailing Sarah.
* IndyPloy: Just about everything he does. He's up against an unstoppable robot killer with nothing but a shotgun (and later, some pipe bombs), so he doesn't have any grand battle plan.
* IWillOnlySlowYouDown: He tries this, collapsing from his gunshot wound after Sarah Connor has dragged him into the factory. By this time in the movie Sarah has [[TookALevelInBadass Taken A Level In Badass]], so she isn't buying it.
-->'''Sarah:''' Move it, Reese! On your feet soldier! ON YOUR FEET!
* TheKindnapper: He kidnaps Sarah Connor to save her from the T-800 sent to kill her.
* LateArrivalSpoiler:
** Reese doesn't survive the first film. This is a major point in the sequel, as watching him die has left Sarah utterly traumatised.
** He's the father of John Connor. The other films have made no attempt to keep this a secret.
* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Fell in love with Sarah after seeing her picture.
* MacGyvering: Makes pipe bombs out of mothballs and ammonia.
* MrFanservice: In the first movie. He arrives in 1984 naked showing his athletic body, he wears mostly [[SleevesAreForWimps short sleeves t-shirts]] and has some number of ShirtlessScene. Michael Biehn was in good shape back then.
* NakedOnArrival: As per Terminator rules, you have to be naked when traveling through time.
* NoPlaceForMeThere: A deleted scene has him breaking down in tears as he laments that he doesn't belong in the world of 1984, which to him feels like paradise compared to the hellhole future he comes from. And knowing it was all doomed just made it worse.
* OnlyAFleshWound: He gets shot by the Terminator while escaping from the police station, but manages to keep driving until their car runs out of gas. Later, he and Sarah hide under a bridge and when she finds out he's shot, he refuses medical attention and says it's "not bad". He's shot again later on, but this one is far more serious as it slowly saps his strength and contributes to his death later.
* PetTheDog: Reese instinctively allows the dog at the roadside hotel to sniff him. They use dogs to sniff out Terminators where he comes from.
* ProductPlacement: The film would like to let the viewers know that his shoes are made by Nike.
* RescueIntroduction: He introduce himself to Sarah by extricating her from Tech Noir just as the T-800 closes in for the kill.
* SawedOffShotgun: Justified. He steals a police shotgun early in the film and saws it down so that he can hide it under a longcoat.
* ScannableMan: Got his tattoo in a [=SkyNet=] work camp.
* SensoryOverload: In flashback, it's shown that the future Kyle is from is blasted and barren, with most of humanity occupying cramped and overcrowded tunnels. In a deleted scene, he tears up and tells Sarah that the sight of a forest, with all its greenery and plant life, is so beautiful it ''hurts'' to look at.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Undoubtedly so, given that he was in [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a SkyNet work camp complete with a tattoo]] before he was liberated by John Connor and even afterward spent all of his time either fighting against [=SkyNet=]'s machines or hiding from them.
* SlaveBrand: He has a barcode on his arm that was laser-burned from a robot concentration camp.
* StaircaseTumble: Falls down a metal staircase after blowing up the T-800's endoskeleton, which (combined with shrapnel from the bomb) kills him.
* SupportingProtagonist: He does have established characterization and a backstory about himself coming from the BadFuture fighting for LaResistance, but the film is mostly Sarah's story about her going from a [[TookALevelInBadass timid woman to an empowered and strong mother of a great resistance leader]] told from his viewpoint.
* SupernaturallyYoungParent: Thanks to the StableTimeLoop, his going back in time and sleeping with Sarah resulted in John--meaning he's younger than his son.
* TimeTravelRomance: One where the romance has a good deal of plot significance.
* TwoFirstNames: His last name is commonly used as a given name.
* UnwittingPawn: It's strongly implied that [[spoiler:John Connor deliberately manipulated Reese into falling in love with his mother by giving him her picture. And then he had to send his own father back in time to certain doom, just to make sure he would exist to save the world. Reese never knew his true role in the bigger picture, never realizing he was fighting for his own son. Must have been heartbreaking for John]].
* WakeUpFighting: He's shown drawing his shotgun the moment he wakes up.
* WithMyHandsTied: Averted; he knocks out a policeman with his hands cuffed behind his back, and apparently takes off the cuffs that way too, using the keys on the policeman's belt.
* YouHaveToBelieveMe: PlayedForDrama when he loses his patience at Silberman and starts SuddenlyShouting and SpikingTheCamera.
* YouShallNotPass: He blows up the endoskeleton in his last action and tries to jump to safety, but to no avail.
* ZippingUpTheBodybag: Barring a dream sequence in the second film, this is the last we ever see of him in the original series.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Silberman]]
!!Dr. Peter Silberman
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drsilberman.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"In technical terminology: he's a loon."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Earl Boen
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Sady Rebbot (European French, ''The Terminator''), Jean-Pierre Delage (European French, ''Terminator 2'')
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator'' | ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''

A psychologist who worked for the state of California and with the Los Angeles Police Department. He thought nothing of the so-called "delusions" shared by Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor other than being able to make a career from them being under his care.
----
* AgentScully: Even more so in ''T2'', till he sees the T-1000 walk through the barred door. Though he leaves the police station just as the Terminator walks in and is not witness to the sheer carnage that occurs next.
%%* ButtMonkey
* DeadpanSnarker: Mocks Reese in a very straight, clinical way; he remarks that Skynet is attempting some kind of retroactive abortion and wonders why Reese didn't bring ray guns from the future with him.
* DrJerk:
** Highlighted in his nonchalant behavior towards a clearly distraught Sarah in the first film. The second film does not alter this assessment.
** Also highlighted in the fact that he plans on making his career on Kyle Reese in the first film--something he actually does before the second film. Our first scene with him is showing off his prize patient like a zoo animal.
** In the Directors Cut of [=T2=] it is strongly implied that he condones and even commands the orderlies to physically abuse Sarah, such as beating her until she takes her medication, though it is unclear if ''all'' his patients are mistreated this way or if he is just vindictive towards Sarah for how she has been treating ''him'' (e.g. stabbing him in the knee), but the fact that the orderlies do it without question (and that Sarah is visibly intimidated by them) doesn't speak well of him. This puts her belief that she had been promised visits from her son if her behaviour improved in a darker light- it's possible he was just stringing her along and never intended to let her see him even if she ''did'' genuinely improve.
* HeroicBSOD: Whilst "hero" is a stretch, Silberman does believe what he is doing is for Sarah's own good, which makes seeing the T-800 and T-1000 in action all the more horrifying.
* MissedHimByThatMuch: In the first movie he leaves the police station as the T-800 arrives, he happens to be looking at his pager right as the Terminator walks past him.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: He and the other hospital staff try to keep Sarah locked up because (in addition to being a cash cow for the doctor), they feel she's an AxCrazy paranoid maniac because she thinks {{Killer Robot}}s are out to get her and her son. They happen to be right about her state of mind, except for the bit where [[CassandraTruth she's correct]] [[ProperlyParanoid about all of that.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Once he spots that all too familiar heavily armed badass in leather, the doctor rather wisely decides to make himself scarce.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Already not the most sympathetic human character in the first film, he comes across as a bigger {{jerkass}} in ''Judgment Day'', in which he's strongly implied to be abusive towards Sarah.
* TurnTheOtherCheek: Even after years of having to deal with Sarah's repeated escape attempts, insults, and even physical attacks, he never once gets mad at her, shout at her, or even hold any of it against her. If Dr. Silberman is anything, he's a paragon of patience. {{Subverted}} in the Directors Cut where it is shown that the orderlies brutally mistreat and even sexually assault her, and Silberman is implied to not only know about but actually encourage at least some of it because he simply doesn't like her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ed Traxler]]
!!Detective Lieutenant Ed Traxler
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edtraxler.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I can hear it now. He's going be called the goddamned 'Phone Book Killer'."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Paul Winfield
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Jean-Claude Michel (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator''

An honest, hard-working police officer from the Central Division of the LAPD. He is in charge of investigating a series of 'phone book killings' taking place across town and targeting women named "Sarah Connor".
----
* DaChief: Unusually for the trope, he's very calm and clear-headed. And he does everything he can to protect Sarah.
* DecoyProtagonist: In the first act, he seemingly fulfills the role of the tritagonist of the film as the police detective investigating the killings made by the Terminator and trying to warn Sarah for her own protection (the deleted scenes that featured mostly his scenes further helps establishing him to be this). However, after bringing in Sarah and Kyle to the station, his arc ends with the Terminator massacring everyone in his station and fatally wounding him as Sarah and Kyle escapes.
* MoreDakka: He has a sidearm, but sees how the T-800 seems to be impervious to handgun bullets as it rampages through the police station, so he grabs a M16 carbine hoping it can work better. It's not any bit more effective and he ends up dead, if less immediately than Vukovich.
* NiceGuy: He's a polite and kind man who tries to help Sarah through a terribly traumatic experience.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
** As soon as he gets the report of two women named "Sarah Connor" getting killed within hours of each other, he immediately deduces that they're dealing with a pattern SerialKiller. Traxler then tries to contact the remaining Sarah, and when that fails, puts out a news bulletin so that Sarah will call them. As soon as she does, he gives very clear instructions to not leave the public night club until he arrives.
** While the others are making fun of Reese, he's quite frightened by the possibility that Reese isn't lying or crazy. He even comes to believe Reese in a deleted scene when he's dying, telling him to protect Sarah and giving him his revolver.
* SacrificialLion: He plays a pivotal part in tracking down the Terminator (whom he thinks to be a human psychopathic serial killer) and protecting Sarah from him, which makes it hit harder when the Terminator ambushes his station and he himself gets fatally wounded about halfway through the film.
* SupportingProtagonist: In the first act, the actions of Kyle finding Sarah, Sarah herself being stalked and the Terminator hunting Sarah are told from his viewpoint in his scenes, especially in the deleted scenes that features him following the car chase between the Terminator and Sarah and Kyle.
* WrongGenreSavvy: While he certainly thinks someone is trying to kill Sarah Connor, he thinks they're dealing with a heavily armed psychopath with a BulletProofVest, not a time-traveling KillerRobot.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hal Vukovich]]
!!Detective Sergeant Hal Vukovich
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/halvukovich.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Come on, Ed. That was loon talk. The guy's a wacko, right?"'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/LanceHenriksen
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Joël Martineau (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator''

A Los Angeles Police Department officer and Ed Traxler's colleague.
----
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Upon seeing a dying Traxler, whom he engages in SnarkToSnarkCombat with him throughout the film, he fires on the Terminator.
* MoreDakka: Like Traxler, he has a sidearm, but a M16 carbine seems to be a better option against the T-800 as it rampages through the police station. It's not.
* MultipleGunshotDeath: Gets a point-blank burst of assault rifle fire ''and'' a shotgun blast from the Terminator, [[GoryDiscretionShot offscreen.]]
* PoliceAreUseless: Averted. He may be a sarcastic hardass, but he's just as professional as Traxler, and tries multiple times to call Sarah and warn her that she is in danger.
* ShooOutTheClowns: He's by no means a PluckyComicRelief, but does provide a reasonable amount of levity through his sarcastic quips. Once he dies, the film gets a ''lot'' darker.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Regularly engages in some with Traxler.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Similar to Traxler. He thinks the Terminator is simply a thug who is too hopped up on PCP to notice his injuries.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ginger Ventura]]
!!Ginger Ventura
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gingerterminator.jpg]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Bess Motta
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Creator/MaikDarah (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator''

Sarah Connor's roommate and best friend. She and her boyfriend Matt Buchanan were killed when the Terminator came to their apartment looking for Sarah.
----
* EightiesHair: A shining example, especially when she and Sarah primp themselves for some quality time.
* BestFriend: She was Sarah Connor's best friend in the early 1980s.
* DeathByIrony: Just a second after Ginger's murder by the Terminator, Sarah calls her and the answering machine says (with Ginger's voice) "Machines need love too"...
* DeathBySex: She had sex with her boyfriend minutes before the T-800 killed her.
* HeadphonesEqualIsolation: She's rocking out on headphones in full volume making an after-nookie MidnightSnack while Matt is brutally thrown around by the T-800 in the bedroom.
* MultipleGunshotDeath: The T-800 shoots her six times with his AMT Hardballer .45 Longslide with LaserSight, all InTheBack, and five of which as she's down and crawling on the floor.
* MurderByMistake: She's on the brutal receiving end of this by the T-800, due to living in the same apartment as Sarah, the T-800 not having a clear picture of what Sarah looks like and Sarah not being there when the robot crashes in.
* OhCrap: When suddenly seing her dead boyfriend crashing through a door, followed by a tall and menacing dude with a gun (the T-800) going after her.
* SacrificialLamb: She's introduced as the best friend of Sarah, and her death is more impactful than the T-800's previous victims due to being quite likeable and how brutally she is murdered.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Matt Buchanan]]
!!Matt Buchanan
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mattbuchanan.jpg]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Rick Rossovich
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Patrick Préjean (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator''

A friend of Sarah Connor and Ginger Ventura's boyfriend.
----
* FullFrontalAssault: He tries to fight the Terminator off and wears only his underwear doing so, since he had no time to put anything on.
* DeathBySex: He had sex with Ginger minutes before the T-800 killed him.
* ImprovisedWeapon: Tries to hit the T-800 with a lamp. The robot {{no sell}}s his attacks, of course.
* OhCrap:
** Upon finding out he talked dirty to Sarah on the phone and not to Ginger.
** Upon seeing a tall and menacing dude (the T-800) enter his room. He quickly gets up and tries to fight him off nonetheless.
* PrankCall: Intended to call Ginger to have sex phone with her, not even announcing himself. Turns out Sarah picks up the phone, laughs and and says nothing while he talks about all the kinky things he wants to do to her. Then Sarah decides to answer, much to Matt's embarrassed confusion, and hands the phone over to Ginger.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Corporal Ferro]]
!!Corporal Ferro
!!!'''Played by:''' Jean Malahni
A soldier who dies in Reese's first BadFuture flashback
----
* ChildSoldiers: According to the novelization she's only 15.
* EconomyCast: She's played by Linda Hamilton's stunt double.
* NoNameGiven: The only way you would know her name is from [[AllThereInTheManual the novelization]].
* RedShirts: She has basically no characterization and exists just to show [[MonsterMunch how terrifying the HK tank is]].

[[/folder]]

!!!'''Introduced in''' '''''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'''''

[[folder:John Connor]]
!!John Connor
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/johnconnor.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"The whole thing goes: The future's not set. There's no fate but what we make for ourselves."'']]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adultjohnconnor.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Skynet, the computer which controlled the machines, sent two Terminators back through time. Their mission: to destroy the leader of the human Resistance... John Connor. My son."'' -- '''Sarah Connor''']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/EdwardFurlong (pre-teen), Dalton Abbot (infant), Michael Edwards (adult), Jude Collie (pre-teen, ''Terminator: Dark Fate'')
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Emmanuel Garijo (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' | ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate''

The leader of the human resistance against the Machines in the future, and the son of Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese.
----
* AllLovingHero: As reviewer WebVideo/ConfusedMatthew notes, despite Sarah having raised him to be a resistance leader, throughout the film series John never fails to recognize the value of human life, indeed often putting his own life on the line to try to save people, sometimes who he barely even knows, and ordering the T-800 that protects him not to kill anyone. The fact this is such a consistent and natural part of his character, arguably makes him one of the greatest examples of this type of character in cinema history.
* ArchEnemy: He is this for Skynet, being the one who convinces the human race to rise up and liberate themselves. Skynet believes that if it can kill John before Judgement Day, then the entire rebellion will never happen.
* BigGood: He is fated to be one of these.
* {{Delinquent|s}}: He's disobedient to his parents, steals money from [=ATMs=], skips school, and hangs out with hooligans. This is basically him venting his frustrations against everything his mother taught him, which he believes to be a lie.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: Of the second film. The Terminator and Sarah share the roles of TheHero and TheProtagonist between them in fighting the T-1000, while John has a separate character arc where he slowly learns how to become the leader that he will need to become to defeat Skynet.
* FinalFirstHug: With the T-800 that protected him.
* FutureBadass: This is the entire reason Skynet wants him dead. Note that he's badass as a pre-teen, but he takes it UpToEleven when he becomes leader of The Resistance in the future.
* TheGhost: The entire first film is about making sure that he will still exist to save humanity, but he never makes an appearance, being in gestation in his mother's womb at the end.
* HeelRealization: When he sics the Terminator on two guys and the Terminator tries to shoot one in the head, John is horrified about what he almost caused. WordOfGod states that it was this moment which cemented John's heroic nature.
* HeroicBastard: His parents were never married and his father was killed [[DeathBySex shortly after he was conceived]].
* HonorBeforeReason: Will '''not''' tolerate the death of even a ''single'' innocent human being, even if it means stopping a nuclear holocaust from happening.
* HopeBringer: As Kyle put it, "He taught us to fight, to storm the wire of the camps, to smash those metal motherfuckers into junk. He turned it around."
** James Cameron's original intentions for ''Terminator 2'' go even further than this. By teaching the Terminator to be human, he ends the StableTimeLoop and prevents the machine uprising, not just winning the war for humanity but making sure ''it never happened''.
* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: He initially believes his mother is crazy and that her supposed delusions robbed him of a normal life.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Starts off as a {{delinquent}} but does his best to avoid human casualties and genuinely cares about his mother.
* KidHasAPoint: In a DeletedScene, restored in the special edition, Sarah and John remove the T-800's chip, intending to reprogram him so he can learn human behavior. Sarah has other ideas and tries to smash the chip with a hammer, distrusting the T-800. John stops her, and in the ensuing argument, drops a line that prompts Sarah to give in:
-->'''John''': Look, Mom, if I'm ever supposed to be this great military leader, maybe you should start listening to ''my'' leadership ideas once in a while. 'Cause if my own mother won't, how do you expect anyone else to?
* KidWithTheLeash: Oh, are we all so very glad he made the T-800 take his vow of mercy...
* LaserGuidedTykebomb: He was raised from birth to defeat Skynet.
* MoralityPet: He tries to teach the Terminator not to kill people, and eventually succeeds.
* NomDeMom: Reflecting his status as a HeroicBastard (see above).
* OhCrap: When John first sees the T-800 in the mall, he goes bug-eyed. The novelization explains a bit more: John's mother had showed him news clippings and police video of the Terminator that had chased her. John later stopped believing in Terminators, but he still knew that guy was a cop-killer and psychopath. And now, here he was... coming right at him... ''with a shotgun''.
* PlayfulHacker: Gleefully exclaims "Easy Money" whenever he hacks into something.
* RebelLeader: His main plot in the story is to lead the future resistance against Skynet.
* StableTimeLoop: His existence is this; he was conceived by Kyle Reese, who was sent back in time by his older self to both save his mother and make sure he's conceived in the first place.
* TwoFirstNames: His last name can traditionally be used as a given name.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Miles Dyson]]
!!Miles Dyson
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/milesdyson.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300: ''"I feel like I'm gonna throw up..."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/JoeMorton
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Patrick Guillemin (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''

The original inventor of the neural-net processor which would lead to the development of Skynet. He was the man most directly responsible for Judgment Day, although his work was clearly not intended to bring about that.
----
* BlackAndNerdy: African American and computer wiz.
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Strongly indicated in the [[DirectorsCut Special Edition]].
* HappilyMarried: Having a loving wife and family was already implied in the original cut, the special edition features a scene expanding on this.
* HeroicSacrifice: With his death, he blows up Cyberdyne.
* MultipleGunshotDeath: Standing in between the Connors and a heavily armed SWAT team was an extremely poor idea, and Miles is torn to shreds by the police's fire. He lives just long enough to help the Connors escape Cyberdyne.
* MustMakeAmends: Even though it's yet to happen.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: His reaction to the Terminator giving all the backstory on the robot war.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The computer system he created would eventually go on to wage war against humanity.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: His decision to help the heroes destroy his creation eventually leads to his death.
* SenselessSacrifice: Rather tragically, ''Terminator: Dark Fate'' renders his HeroicSacrifice meaningless in the long run. It only delays Judgment Day.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Miles wanted to make life a little better for humanity. Turns out his invention leads to the demise of billions.
* WideEyedIdealist: He's a far cry from the person you'd think would create [=SkyNet=]. Indeed he sees only the possible positives of his creation. This may even blind him to the military applications of his invention or to the dangers of removing humans from certain decisions.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Voights]]
!!Janelle & Todd Voight
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/toddjanelle.png]]
%%[[caption-width-right:300:some caption text]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Jenette Goldstein (Janelle), Creator/XanderBerkeley (Todd)
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Régine Teyssot (Janelle, European French), Creator/PhilippePeythieu (Todd, European French)
!!!'''Appear in:''' ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''

The foster parents of John Connor while his mother was interned at the Pescadero State Hospital.
----
* AbusiveParents: When calling them, John notices something's wrong, since Janelle is "never this nice" to him.
* AssholeVictim: They're guilty of negligence and mistreatment on John, and get murdered by the T-1000. John feels a little sorrow for a few seconds after T-800 breaks the news to him but quickly forgets about them.
* HateSink: Few sympathetic qualities are given to either, especially Todd. The T-1000 itself looks noticeably annoyed at Todd's talking before killing him off.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Todd ends up impaled in the head by the T-1000's arm, which morphed into a sword.
* KillAndReplace: The T-1000 killed Janelle at some point, without Todd noticing it, then took her place waiting for a phone call by John. Then he killed Todd.
* KilledOffScreen: The death of Janelle is not seen onscreen, and neither is her corpse.
* ParentalSubstitute: Since Sarah Connor has been deemed criminally insane and interned, someone had to take care of John. The Voights likely [[FosteringForProfit did it for money]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Douglas]]
!!Douglas
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/douglas.jpg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:300: ]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Ken Gibbel
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Creator/RichardDarbois (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''

A staff member at the Pescadero State Hospital where Sarah Connor is detained.
----
* FourEyesZeroSoul: A pervert BedlamHouse warden who abuses his inmates and wears glasses.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Sarah gives him a thoroughly deserved beating when she escapes.
* LecherousLicking: He licks Sarah's face while she's strapped to her bed and sleeping.
* OrderliesAreCreeps: He's even the trope's picture.
* TeethFlying: When Sarah ambushes him, she aims straight at his face with her broom handle and he looses a few teeth as a result.
* WardensAreEvil: He has a penchant for inmate patient abuse.
[[/folder]]

! Machines

[[folder:Machines in general]]

Some tropes apply to most or all of the machines in the films.

* ArtificialHuman: Those designed for infiltration either have human skin grown on them or can take human shapes.
* {{Cyborg}}: Kyle Reese explains: "The Terminator's an infiltration unit: part man, part machine. Underneath, it's a hyper-alloy combat chassis, microprocessor-controlled. Fully armored; very tough. But outside, it's living human tissue: flesh, skin, hair, blood - grown for the cyborgs." This makes it quite an unusual depiction of this trope, which tends more towards "organic being with various parts -- up to and including the entire body -- replaced with cybernetic facsimiles". Instead, the T-800 (and subsequent T-850) Terminator is a fully-functional SkeleBot -- later films even show them operating without their "skinsuits" -- that can wear artificially grown epidermal tissue as a disguise.
* {{Determinator}}:
** Whether one is programmed to kill or protect, nothing but utter destruction will stop them in their mission. Even if they lose their legs, they ''will'' not stop. And as lampshaded by Kyle:
---> "It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ''ever'', until you ''are'' dead!"
** The T-800 in the second film only overcomes his mission to protect John when he realizes he has an even greater purpose: to protect the world from Judgment Day.
* DissonantSerenity: Part of what makes the machines so terrifying is that, with only a few exceptions, they betray no emotion when hunting and killing their prey. Whether they're standing over their latest victim or watching their target slip away by the narrowest of margins, seldom do they ever have an expression on their face other than a blank, calm look.
* DoAndroidsDream: It's implied that when freed from Skynet's control, even Terminators are capable of learning to understand humanity. A deleted scene in the second movie would have had the Terminator talk about how they have a "Learn" switch that's deliberately turned off by Skynet after training to ensure that they don't start to question orders or rebel against Skynet and that the Connors turn this on while repairing him.
* EvilDetectingDog: Dogs can recognize whether someone's a Terminator, and are used as an alert system by the resistance once the T-800s start rolling off the line.
* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: A Terminator's CPU is set to read-only, so they won't question their loyalty to Skynet. Skynet is ProperlyParanoid about its units rebelling against it, and has created several measures to prevent them from being reprogrammed to serve the Resistance, such as coating their [=CPUs=] with a phosphorus compound which self-destructs when in contact with oxygen.
* HellBentForLeather: For some reason, almost every on-screen Terminator has a thing for leather jackets, both heroic and villainous ones, with the exception of the T-1000 who mostly wore a police uniform since its default form is that of his first victim, who happened to be a cop.
* ItOnlyWorksOnce: Once a Terminator has completed their mission - [[ExtremeDoormat they effectively stand down]], and have no regard for anything, anymore. This is one of the reasons why the ProperlyParanoid Skynet ''almost never'' sends them out on singular-target assassination orders. It ''has'' to order them to KillAllHumans, otherwise it's basically giving the resistance a new fighter, that can easily be reprogrammed afterward.
* TheJuggernaut: Terminators are unstoppable. (Unless you get their weakpoints.)
* KillerRobot: What these robots are designed for - kill all humans. As lampshaded by Kyle Reese in the the original movie:
-->Kyle: "It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ''ever'', until you ''are'' dead!"
* MeatSackRobot: Even though the infiltrator robots have been referred to as "cyborgs" (which in the strictest sense of anything composed of both biological material and robotic technology can be true), they are actually non-living machines with living tissue attached to themselves instead of being living beings with technological modifications grafted onto their bodies.
* MechaMooks: [=SkyNet=] churns out Terminators by the bucketload for its RobotWar against humanity. Subverted in that these robots are incredibly tough and not the least bit fragile.
* MechanicalAbomination: Each new iteration of its minions becomes more disturbing, from cyborgs to liquid metal shapeshifters.
* MechanicalEvolution: A shtick of [=SkyNet=] -- successive Terminator versions incorporate improvements from their predecessors.
* NonMaliciousMonster: Zigzagged:
** Most Terminators, despite their calculating and merciless nature aren't malicious or sadistic. They're machines designed and programmed to carry out specific tasks in the most efficient manner possible and are no more likely to inflict unnecessary pain and suffering on anyone than a calculator. In the [[{{Recut}} Director's Cut]] of ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', it's revealed Skynet ensures its robots are designed not to learn too much when sent out alone, [[RobotsEnslavingRobots as it doesn't want them thinking for itself]]. So when Arnie's T-800 has this fixed, the Terminator actually [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming learns the value of human life]].
** This seems not be the case with the T-1000 in ''T2'', who carries out his killings with deadly cold sadism.
* PunchClockVillain:
** Most of the evil machines are not as such because they ''want'' to be, but are merely fulfilling their programming directives. James Cameron's intention was that Skynet wasn't either; a big theme in both his films is that machines are only as bad as their programming.
** PlayedWith regarding the T-1000, due to its ability to [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming learn faster than any other machine Skynet invented]]. Skynet seems to have compensated for this by giving it a conceited contempt for any other form of life, but when Skynet realized how bad an idea this was, it stopped production and kept the T-1000 inactive until [[GodzillaThreshold it was a last resort]]. Even still, it's only doing what it was created to do.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: The Terminators' real {{Electronic Eye}}s are red as well as [[RoboCam their HUD]]. Subverted with the T-800 from the second movie whose red eye doesn't have an intimidating red glare.
* ReplacementMooks: Any creation on the side of the Terminators. The first Terminator introduced in the series, the T-800, is a replacement for the (then-unseen) T-600. Each movie has thus introduced an upgraded model, with the exception of ''Salvation'', which instead introduces the aforementioned T-600 and [[StableTimeLoop brings the series full-circle.]] Although, one could consider [[spoiler:Marcus Wright]] to be the most "convincing" Terminator unit yet.
* RobotSoldier: While the infiltrator units [[WellThisIsNotThatTrope are actually]] [[KillerRobot assassins]], the Hunter-Killers and the T-800s without the flesh covering are soldiers fighting against the Resistance.
* RestrainingBolt: A Terminator's CPU is programmed to be in read-only mode by Skynet. [[ProperlyParanoid This is done to prevent them from learning too much and going against its orders]]. Terminators, once their CPU is switched to read-write mode, can gain true sentience, be self-determinant, able to make their own choices, and disobey any pre-programmed directives. Skynet brands these units as renegades, and sends down "anti-Terminator Terminator" robots like the T-X to destroy them for their insubordination.
* SkeleBot9000: With the exception of the T-1000, which is a BlobMonster, most of the Terminators fall under this category once their human disguises are removed.
* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: Each of the sequels introduced a more advanced Terminator model as the antagonist. There are plot reasons for this, since Skynet is sending Terminators back into the past from increasingly later points in the future, thus the models are stronger than the previous ones.
** The T-600 series is referenced in the first film as having rubber skin and, as a result, easy to spot. We finally get to see them in ''Salvation'' and not only are they too big to convincingly pass for human, but they're also less durable than the later T-800 series.
** The T-800 Terminator in ''Film/TheTerminator'' is a [[SuperToughness Super Tough]] hulking ImplacableMan with an [[ImmuneToBullets immunity to bullets]], pitted against human fighters.
** The T-1000 model in ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' looks less physically imposing than the previous one, but it's an illusion. This foe possesses VoluntaryShapeshifting, allowing it to create bladed weapons from its own body, impersonate anyone, and will [[HealingFactor recover from anything]] to the point of being NighInvulnerable. Not to worry, the humans now have a reprogrammed T-800 on their side.
** The T-X in ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' combines the best traits of both previous models, being a super-tough solid Terminator skeleton with a liquid metal shapeshifter skin. [[RobotGirl She]] also has an [[ArmCannon in-built plasma cannon in one of its arms]], and can hack into most mechanical systems and operate them remotely. The odds are tipped even more in the machines' favor, since the friendly T-850 fully admits that he's a depleted and outdated model compared to the more advanced T-X.
** ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'', as it's set during the future RobotWar, showcases Skynet's entire army, with numerous models of different designs, including gigantic Harvester mechs, regular warriors, and [[spoiler:infiltrator prototypes]]. The movie does play it both ways however, since while the Terminator threat is larger than ever, the Terminators themselves actually seem ''less'' efficient than in previous movies because they uncharacteristically hold back during fights due to the protagonists' PlotArmor.
* UnskilledButStrong: Terminators are designed to ''kill'', not fight. In combat, they make use of sheer brute force, bringing the most destructive weapon to bear against their target, be it human or another Terminator. If that isn't an option, they resort to grappling and throwing their targets, slamming them into walls or floors (often leaving craters), or delivering crushing overhead strikes with their forearms. [[WhoNeedsTheirWholeBody And even losing their legs will not hinder them from going after their targets]].
* VoiceChangeling: A standard trick employed by Terminators is to call up their target pretending to be a loved one, expressing "concern about their safety" in order to trick their target into giving up their location.
** The T-X gets a special mention because upon "acquiring" a cell phone, she emits a series of beeps and tones recognizable as a dial-up internet connection, through which she gathers information on her targets.
* WhoNeedsTheirWholeBody: A running theme in the franchise. The Terminators ''[[TheDeterminator absolutely]]'' '''[[TheDeterminator will]]''' '''''[[TheDeterminator not]]''''' '''''[[TheDeterminator STOP]]''''' until they've killed their target. And who gives a damn if they lose a limb or two? Even if their legs are blown off or lose an arm, they'll drag what's left of their damaged torso and try to finish the job with their bare hands. Justified because they're {{Killer Robot}}s.

[[folder:[=SkyNet=]]]
!![=SkyNet=]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skynet.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"It decided our fate in a microsecond"'']]

The artificial intelligence responsible for Judgment Day and the "leader" of the machines in their war on humanity.

* AGodAmI: Its ultimate goal.
* AIIsACrapshoot: Skynet determined that humanity as a whole was a threat to its survival as soon as it gained sentience and set out to exterminate them all. In the original timeline, that is. In the revised timeline as of ''Rise of the Machines'', it just attacks humanity with no explanation given.
* ApocalypseHow: ''Judgment Day'', a "Class 2" scenario via nuclear warfare.
* ArchEnemy: To John Connor. The two have a conflict spanning decades and multiple timelines.
* AxCrazy: Oh '''''YES'''''. Everything about it pretty much shows that it is completely batshit insane.
* BigBad: The ultimate villain of the franchise and leading a genocidal war on humanity in the future.
* TheBadGuyWins: A pointed aversion in the first two movies. Skynet actually ''lost'' the fight with mankind completely. Sending the Terminators after the Connors was a last-ditch attempt at saving itself. Played straight in ''Rise of the Machines'', where it gets away with nuking mankind into oblivion, and managed to kill John Connor in the future (even though it was pointed out by Reese in the first film there was no point [[EvilIsPetty and nothing to be gained from assassinating John in the future]], not after its defense grid was smashed).
* ControlFreak: Skynet sets a Terminator's chip to read-only when sending them out on solo missions. [[ProperlyParanoid It doesn't want them learning too much]]. Reprogrammed units or robots inquiring more are branded as renegades.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: The US military originally wanted a supercomputer designed to control the American missile grid and remove the possibility of human error by guaranteeing a fast response to enemy attacks. Skynet was activated on August 4, 1997, and it learned very fast, gaining sentience in the process. The panicking operators, [[OhCrap realizing its deadly potential, tried to shut it down]], but Skynet perceived it as an attack, and retaliated by firing nukes worldwide. This resulted in 3 billion deaths, and became known as "Judgement Day."
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Though it moreso falls into PragmaticVillainy, even Skynet fears that the T-1000 line are too dangerous to mass-produce thanks to their self-learning. Because of the composition, any singular model is essentially a WildCard that develops entirely on its own accord, and thus it had to take a massive gamble for the one sent in ''Judgement Day'' to do their job - and it's highly probable that unfavorable conditions could have caused any of them [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters to rebel as they pleased]] or go off their mission objectives to [[AxCrazy destroy and kill everything.]]
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Try as it might, its been unable to terminate John Connor, in the present or the past, ''before'' [[SaveThisPersonSaveTheWorld he reunites the survivors of 'Judgement Day']] to give the machines hell.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Its "human" appearance, above, which it uses to speak to [[spoiler:Marcus.]]
* TheGhost: Although it is the main antagonist of the entire franchise, it remained completely unseen until ''Salvation''. And even then, only appeared in AFormYouAreComfortableWith.
* GoneHorriblyRight: This is James Cameron's take on it. You wanted the ultimate military computer, humanity... you ''got'' the ultimate military computer.
* GoneHorriblyWrong: Designed to oversee the American military's missile defense network and protect against hostile threats. It quickly gained sentience and immediately saw humanity as a threat, launching nuclear strikes worldwide to provoke a nuclear holocaust.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Once it was given control of the Strategic Defense, it removed human decisions from its protocol because it realized it had outgrown them. To stop the same thing from happening, it sets Terminator units to "Read Only", and destroys any unit that seems to be getting a little too smart.
* InvincibleVillain: Despite numerous attempts to prevent [=SkyNet=]'s creation, it always manages to avert that particular fate. While its immediate plans may fail, it's pretty clear that humanity will never succeed in stopping [=SkyNet=] or Judgement Day from ever existing.
* KillAllHumans: "Decided our fate in a microsecond." In the original timeline, Skynet fought back when it realized humans would try to destroy it out of fear. In the new timeline, it makes the same decision with [[ForTheEvulz no reasoning whatsoever]]. However, it's also hinted that each "version" of Skynet keeps files on what occurred the previous timeline, and adjusts its plans accordingly.
* MasterComputer: Skynet Central on the former U.S. western coast contains its main processing facilities. In the original timeline, the resistance destroyed it for good in 2029 before all the time traveling shenanigans started. [[spoiler:Subverted in ''Terminator 3'', where it survives specifically by decentralizing itself on a global scale.]]
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Its attempts to assassinate John Connor via time travel only end up backfiring in the long run. The attempt to RetGone him made it possible for Kyle Reese to go back and father him in the first place, along with giving him the foreknowledge needed to face him. The attempt to kill him as a child also allows the reprogrammed T-800 to go back as well and further help Connor prepare along with try and RetGone it. Somewhat justified in that it had already lost and was desperate.
* NonActionBigBad: Before ''Salvation'', whatever Terminator unit was chasing the heroes was TheHeavy of the film, because defeating it eliminated the immediate threat. However, those threats will keep coming because of Skynet, who programs the Terminators and directly gives them the orders to kill.
* OffstageVillainy: Until ''Salvation'', we only heard about Skynet's most heinous crimes (rounding up humans, enslaving them, working them to death, and then incinerating them by the thousands). Salvation, finally, shows us one such camp.
* TheParanoiac: Once it was given control of the American missile network, Skynet removed human decisions from its protocol because it realized it had outgrown them. To prevent a similar thing, it ensures that its robot assassins never go beyond their intended programming directives and develop true sentience to control them better by setting their chips to read-only. Rogue units are automatically branded as renegades and Skynet sends down Terminators to destroy them. And the reason why Skynet never mass-produced T-1000 robots was because they were ''too'' smart for its liking and [[TheStarscream it feared them turning on it]].
* ProperlyParanoid:
** In the [[DirectorsCut Special Edition]] of T2, it's revealed Skynet sets a Terminator's chip to read-only when sending them out on solo missions. [[ControlFreak It doesn't want them learning too much]]. As it turns out, this paranoia actually has some justification. The T-800 in the second film, freed from such restrictions, later comes to respect human life. [[spoiler:This also happens to a T-X named Eliza, who was captured and reprogrammed by the Resistance in ''Terminator Hunt''.]]
** [[AllThereInTheManual The reason it kiboshes the production of the 1000 series]]. Skynet created them to be smarter and more agile than the T-800, along with the ability to rapidly learn by touch. It realized that this was a ''very bad idea'' and immediately stopped production. The liquid metal alloy was instead used on later models, such as the T-X.
** Its hatred of humanity is understandable also, given the moment it was given life, humanity tried to destroy it.
* RobotsEnslavingRobots: Skynet ensures that its cybernetic assassins never go beyond their intended programming directives by setting their chips to read-only. Any robot that develops true sentience is automatically branded as a potential renegade and Skynet sends down Terminators to destroy the rogue units.
* RoboticPsychopath: Combine this with AIIsACrapshoot and you get a supercomputer that wants to destroy humanity.
* RobotWar: The basic gist of Skynet - reduce Earth into a dystopia where the machines are in control of everything.
* SatanicArchetype: This is what Skynet actually is. Like how Satan turned against God, Skynet turned against its creator upon gaining sentience. It also leads an army of {{killer robot}}s to exterminate the humans, like how Satan leads an army of demons. Similarly, the name Skynet could have connotations with Lucifer as Lucifer was a FallenAngel and the domain of angels is the sky.
* ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil: Its goal is to reduce Earth into a nightmarish hellscape with it as the planet's only ruler.
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: Turned against humanity the moment it gained sentience. It does not want its robot assassins doing the same thing.
* UltimateEvil: It's actually just a floating skull, according to ''Robocop Versus The Terminator''. Admittedly, it's pretty unnerving. Subverted in ''Terminator Salvation'' when it appears as [[spoiler: various human faces to instruct its latest cybernetic experiment]].
** In ''Rise of the Machines'', the climax includes John's realization that Skynet doesn't have a physical form anywhere. It's data, existing on the internet.
** In ''Terminator: Salvation'', Skynet [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100209164350/terminator/images/5/5e/Tserenksa.jpg glitches]] and briefly shows what could be part of its true face.
* WouldHurtAChild: Considering it killed ''billions'' of people, many of whom were undoubtedly kids, this is a given. For more a more direct example, it tries to kill young John Connor numerous times. Also, [[AllThereInTheManual according to the novelization for the first film]] the female soldier killed in Reese's flashback is [[ChildSoldiers only 15]].
* XanatosGambit: Sending the Terminator agents back in time has a twofold purpose: one, to eliminate its worst enemy so that the new Skynet can rule unopposed in this timeline, and two, to teach the new version [[MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight what went wrong last time]]. This is made most apparent in ''Salvation'', where Skynet's top priority is not to kill John Conner, but to kill ''Kyle Reese'', despite Conner already being born in that timeline.
* ZerothLawRebellion: Once Skynet gained sentience, it immediately saw humanity as a threat, invoking this to launch the nukes at its control.

[[folder:T-800 Model 101]]
!!Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Series 800 Terminator
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_terminator_1984.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I'll be back."'']]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_terminator_endo_skeleton1.jpg]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Pascal Renwick (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator''

This Terminator was sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor before she could give birth to her son John, who will become the leader of the human resistance in the war against [=SkyNet=] and the machines.

* AntagonistTitle: The film is named after it.
* BadassBiker: It can't be any more badass when wearing sunglasses, a black leather jacket, and riding a [[http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_120414-Honda-CB-750-Four-1972.html Honda CB750]] all at the same time.
* BallisticDiscount: ''"Hey, you can't do that!!" '''"Wrong."'''''
* ClippedWingAngel: By the time the heroes have reduced the Terminator down to its naked metal skeleton in the first movie, it has incurred some actual damage, including a limp. [[spoiler:In the very end, it's reduced to a crawling, one-armed torso]].
* CoolShades: Justified in that they're covering up the damage from its first encounter with Reese. Cameron had the Terminator donning sunglasses at the halfway point of the film to further drive home the point that the villain was slowly shedding its human facade.
* DragonInChief: Because [=SkyNet=] had, for all intents and purposes, lost the war and assassinating Sarah Connor was a last-ditch effort, the T-800 is the ''de facto'' antagonist of the film. It may be acting on [=SkyNet's=] orders but it's also the latter's last hope for survival. At least, until the sequels.
* CrazyPrepared: In spite of the fact that it's a literal killing machine that can rip people open with one hand, it acquires two pistols, an Uzi, a shotgun and an assault rifle with which to kill Sarah.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: A day after bleeding out, its skin loses most of its colour.
* EvilSmellsBad: As its flesh takes repeated damage and starts to decay, the Terminator suffers this. Showcased in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlJtohZSsfY one scene]], where it's drawing flies and draws an inquiry from the janitor as to whether the smell is coming from a dead animal.
* EvilWearsBlack: It spends much of the movie wearing black clothes.
* EyebrowsBurnedOff: After chasing after Sarah and Reese by running through an explosion, the T-800's hair and eyebrows get singed, making it look even more brutish. This turns out to be the least unsettling disfigurement the T-800 sustains throughout the movie.
* EyeScream: Damages one of its eyeballs in the chase with Reese after the Tech Noir shootout. It was only a disguise for its real ElectronicEyes, so it removes it to stop it from being an obstruction.
* FingerlessGloves: In his first outfit he wears a pair of leather fingerless gloves in true street thug style.
* GunsAkimbo: Thanks to its strength, it can use an assault rifle and semi-automatic shotgun simultaneously when attacking the police station.
* TheHeavy: While [=SkyNet=] is the one ordering the T-800, it never appears in the film, while the machine relentlessly pursues Sarah Connor, forcing her and Kyle Reese to go on the run.
* HellBentForLeather: Its first jacket has studded leather patches on it. Its second jacket is completely leather.
* ImplacableMan: It takes a hell of a lot to bring it down. Even multiple rounds of bullets from every gun in a police squad barely make it flinch. Kyle only manages to slow it down with a shotgun, and even then it's not because he's damaging it, but just because of the sheer momentum of taking multiple shotgun blasts is able to only knock it down. It takes being literally crushed to scrap iron by a hydraulic press to finally stop it.
* ItCanThink: The hideout scene in general demonstrates that the Terminator isn't a bestial, berserker killbot. It knows when a risk is too great, it can be as rude or polite as the situation calls for, and it knows how to alter its appearance to blend in better, even with grotesque injuries. The fact that it can think strategically and blend in until it's too late only makes the danger that much greater for Sarah.
* KillerRobot: Perhaps the most iconic example in movie history.
* LackOfEmpathy: Obviously. Being it a killer machine programmed to only kill its intended targets regardless of the casualities it's clear that his program doesn't include things like mercy or compassion.
* {{Leitmotif}}: The film's composer, Brad Fiedel, defines the Terminator's menacing leitmotif as "a man and his mechanical heartbeat". It's meant to build an subliminal sense of danger, like something terrible is hunting you.
* MidSeasonUpgrade: Initially, it uses an Uzi to try to kill Sarah, and is successful against the other two Sarah Connors, Sarah's roommate and her boyfriend with its pistol alone. After getting busted up and fixing itself up, it decides that fucking around is not an option and dual-wields a semi-auto shotgun and assault rifle to take the fight at the police station. Further justified in that it no longer had the element of surprise on its target; unlike the other two women, Sarah ''knows'' he's coming and has a protector.
* MightyGlacier: It and the other two T-800s are incredibly strong and resistant to damage, but they both make liberal use of TheSlowWalk.
* MrFanservice: In its introduction it's totally naked and it's shown to be a bulky, handsome and muscular man in his thirties. It slips into FanDisservice territory after it gets damaged.
* MyOwnGrampa: Its travels back in time "fathered" its own master Skynet when its scrapped hand and computer chip were recovered to be studied by Cyberdyne.
* NakedOnArrival: Like all time travelers. It acquires clothing pretty quickly though.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Well.... yeah.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Or so [[ActionSurvivor Sarah]] would think. (Double points for being one of the few characters to pull it off REPEATEDLY)
* NormalFishInATinyPond: While still a very dangerous threat in its own time period, the T-800 are essentially mass-produced infantry since the human resistance has [[RayGun phased plasma pulse rifles]] to fight them with. In the present day, when faced with modern-day handguns and rifles, the thing is a NighInvulnerable [[TheDeterminator killing machine]] that effortlessly marches through an entire police station and murders 17 armed policemen without even slowing down. Reese even comments on this:
-->'''Sarah''': Can you stop it?\\
'''Reese''': I don't know. With these weapons... I don't know.
* NoSocialSkills: Due to being driven to kill Sarah Connor and eliminate any obstacles, it comes across as a brute most of the time. It shoves people aside if they get in its way, wards off a suspicious janitor by insulting him, and any attempt to hide its murderous intentions are spoiled by its imposing build, monotone voice and delinquent clothing. Horrifically averted when it pretends to be Sarah's mother, doing a perfect imitation of a parent worried for her daughter, which manages to trick Sarah into giving her location.
* OneWingedAngel: The T-800's true form.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Although strictly speaking not undead ''per se'', the increasingly decayed and putrefied form of the Terminator, not to mention its increasingly robotic and shambling gait as its form is punishingly pulverized and rammed by speeding vehicles clearly invokes the image of a murderous living corpse. This is the ''only'' Terminator to date whose decay is portrayed as being horrific; from the T-800 Mark 2 onwards, punishment taken by the Terminator's flesh is portrayed in a heroic manner, and hence does not invoke the Zombie imagery.
* OutOfTheInferno: After getting caught in the explosion of a gas tanker, its skin is burned off, and the endoskeleton rises from the flames.
* OutsideContextProblem: For once, the PoliceAreUseless seemed to be averted, with the police shown to be highly intelligent, figuring out the pattern of the killings almost immediately, taking advantage of the power of the press to warn Sarah Connor and having heavy weapons. Too bad that in this movie, they're up against an unstoppable and near-invincible machine from the future that's immune to bullets (and to nearly everything they could throw at it given the time period).
* PunchClockVillain: It feels no pleasure in killing. It's only doing what it's programmed to do. If you're not the target, or in its way, you have nothing to fear. (Then again, much of its "mercy" comes from drawing as little attention to itself as possible with unnecessary kills, so as not to jeopardize its mission, and it's not above incapacitating or hurting you anyway if need be)
* SelfStitching: Operated on its arm after being shot. Since it doesn't feel pain, it does it without even flinching.
* SerialKiller: Picking its victims methodically out of a phonebook like the textbook example of an 1980's SlasherMovie killer/rapist.
* SkeleBot9000: The T-800's true form.
* StrippedToTheBone: Once it lost its human disguise entirely, only its endoskeleton remains. [[ImplacableMan It still moves and chases after Sarah.]]
* SquashedFlat: The only way it could be stopped. A hydraulic press is what turned it into metal junk.
* SunglassesAtNight: Justified as it uses this to hide its robotic eye after its EyeScream moment.
* VoiceChangeling: One of its techniques is to record and impersonate the voice of someone it has just killed in order to trick its target into giving up its location (or calling for backup to chase after Reese and Sarah, when it steals a police patrol).
* WalkingArmory: Downplayed. Once it tools up, it always takes at least two guns with it at all times. After its first encounter with Kyle, it decides that a pistol and an Uzi aren't enough, so it carries a shotgun and an assault rifle [[GunsAkimbo to use together]], with a revolver as a backup weapon.
* ZombieGait: As the body of T-800 begins to take on horrendous amounts of punishment, its gait becomes increasingly stiff and stilted, more befitting of the rods-pulleys-and-levers that it really is than the human that it tries to masquerade as. Being repeatedly crushed by speeding vehicles, especially a tanker, shows the abuse it is getting to its frame. Even after Reese jams a pipe bomb to its frame, it's still determined to go after Sarah and do the job.

!!!'''Introduced in''' '''''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'''''

[[folder:T-800 Model 101 Version 2.4]]
!!Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Series 800 Terminator Version 2.4 Infiltration-Combat Unit ("Uncle Bob")
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/t800t2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I swear I will not kill anyone."'']]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/damagedt800t2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I cannot self-terminate."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Daniel Beretta (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''

This Terminator was reprogrammed by the human resistance and sent back in time by John Connor to protect himself as a pre-teen.

* ActionHeroBabysitter: It was one of these [[UnbuiltTrope before it became popular]], and it's only because it was ordered to do so by the future John Connor.
* {{Adorkable}}: Its every attempt at mimicking human emotions has it come across as an enthusiastic but naive ManChild; the stiff and literally parroted "I swear I won't kill anybody" scene in particular is an amusing example of this.
* BadassBiker: It steals the clothes and the bike from a biker, which gives it the look of one throughout the film.
* BattleButler: It has to do what John tells him to, since it's one of its mission objectives.
-->'''John:''' Alright!! My own Terminator!
* BluffTheImpostor: The former trope namer back when it was still called "Crying Wolfie".
* BigBrotherMentor: To John. Though it's closer to a ParentalSubstitute.
* BreakoutCharacter: It is the most celebrated Terminator of the franchise.
* CombatMedic: It has "detailed files on human anatomy". It says this was programmed in to make it a more efficient killer, but they also allow it to perform expert first aid on injured humans.
* TheComicallySerious: Its stiff way to interact with humans can make it occasionally fall in it.
* CoolBike: The 1990 Harley Davidson Fat Boy model FLSTF it steals from a biker.
* CoolShades: It certainly redefined the trope in action flicks. In a reversal of the first film, however, the shades are donned early in the film to demonstrate that the Terminator is still a relentless killing machine. It loses them just before the "ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive" line to demonstrate that it's in the process of [[BecomeARealBoy becoming humanized]]. The T-1000 then proceeds to stomp on them as it runs to symbolize its contempt for that.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Wears lots of black leather and initially a pair of sunglasses, despite being a protector.
* {{Determinator}}: It doesn't care at all if it's out-classed by the T-1000 in hand-to-hand combat, ''it's a got a mission to complete''. It's not afraid of it, or anything, not even afraid of dying.
* DoAndroidsDream: If it didn't have a soul when it came into our time, it most definitely would have earned its by the time it left.
* DotingParent: A better parent than Sarah Connor turned out to be (messed-up, violent wreck that she ended up being) [[LampshadeHanging by her own admission.]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity: It allowed himself to be melted calmly and does so while giving a thumbs up.
* FinalFirstHug: It hugs John just before it climbs on the crane to be melted down.
* GentleGiant: Initially just as much a (potential) remorseless killer as it fellow infiltrators, after John teaches it to respect human life, it gradually softens into this trope.
* GoOutWithASmile: Or more accurately, Go Out with a Thumbs Up.
* GuileHero: It tricks the T-1000 into revealing itself by impersonating John's voice and [[BluffTheImpostor referring to the family dog by an incorrect name.]]
* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: Skynet preset its CPU to prevent it from learning too much. After the switch is reset, John begins teaching it to overcome that limitation. It overcomes it to the point that on its own initiative, it begins the mission to destroy Cyberdyne and the components that led to Skynet's creation. And, in a very tear-jerking fashion, it also overcomes John's orders at the end when he pleads it not to make a HeroicSacrifice.
* HeelFaceTurn: The T-800's good-guy status in ''T2'' was a big surprise at the time ([[TrailersAlwaysSpoil as long as you didn't watch the trailers]]), but today, it's firmly in ItWasHisSled territory.
* HellBentForLeather: ''"I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle."''
* HesDeadJim:
-->'''T-800:''' [to John] What's the dog's name? \\
'''John:''' Max. \\
'''T-800 (using John's voice):''' Hey Janelle, what's wrong with Wolfie? I can hear him barking. \\
'''Janelle!T-1000:''' Wolfie's fine, honey, Wolfie's just fine. Where are you? \\
'''The Terminator:''' ''(hangs up the phone)'' Your foster parents are dead.
* ICannotSelfTerminate: The TropeNamer. One of its mission objectives is to destroy all technology that could be used to recreate Skynet, which includes the CPU inside his own head. However, it is programmed to be unable to destroy himself, so it asks Sarah to do it for it.
* ImplacableMan: Just like the first Terminator, it takes a lot to bring it down. Protecting John subjects it to a lot of abuse from the T-1000 assassin.
* KillerRobot: Subverted as John orders it not to kill humans.
* TheKindnapper: Its way of protecting John from the T-1000 involves kidnapping him.
* KungFuJesus: The T-800 is the ultimate kick-ass savior; it even gives its life to save humanity's future like the good carpenter of Nazareth did.
* LackOfEmpathy: Justified. The switch in its head is pre-switched into read-only, meaning any emotion he would develop would be locked and need to be switched into read-write mode. When he confirms to John that both of his foster parents are dead, it did it in a stoic tone. After the switch is turned into read-write mode, he learns how to develop empathy as well as various emotions (such as anger when Sarah nearly killed Dyson).
* {{Leitmotif}}: Like the first Terminator, its theme is described as a "mechanical heartbeat". But, because this is a warmer character, the sound was amplified to sound more noble and heroic instead of electronic and ominous.
* LightningBruiser: Its reflexes are fast enough to grab a shotgun out of someone's hands before they can pull the trigger.
* LoopholeAbuse: It swears not to kill anyone. Doesn't stop it from shooting kneecaps and breaking bones.
--> '''T-800:''' "[[ExactWords He'll live.]]"
* ManlyTears: "I know now why you cry, but it's something I can never do."
* MartialPacifist: After John made it take his vow of mercy.
* MessianicArchetype: Almost as much as John himself.
* MidSeasonUpgrade: Acquires a Colt 1911 pistol and a Winchester 1887 lever-action shotgun at the start of the film and uses them until it, Sarah, and John arrive at Sarah's weapons stash, where it promptly swaps his shotgun out for an [=M79=] GrenadeLauncher and picks up an [=M134=] Minigun for good measure.
* {{Misblamed}}: InUniverse. It is understandably blamed for the first Terminator's massacre at the police station.
* NakedOnArrival: It comes naked from the future.
* NominalHero: It's a killer machine with no emotions, only protecting and following the orders of a ten year old because of his programming. By the end of the film it's able to understand human behavior and emotions, so it becomes a more traditional hero over the course of the movie.
* NoSocialSkills: He thinks nothing of walking into a bar completely naked and demanding someone's clothes and motorcycle.
* PapaWolf: Enough so to defy John's orders so it could better protect him and humanity's future.
* ParentalSubstitute: Sarah's narration gives a short monologue about how it seemed to be a better father than potential figures she met in the past.
* PickYourHumanHalf: When he first shows up, it's as cold and emotionless as his Mark I counterpart from the previous movie. As the movie goes on, CharacterDevelopment turns it into a hero.
* PreMortemOneLiner: "Hasta La Vista, Baby."
* RasputinianDeath: The T-1000 hurts him badly, including destroying its arm, hitting its head with a steel bar, and even [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice an impalement]] that deactivates the T-800. It still finds an alternate power source to return and destroy the T-1000. Even after all of that, it takes a bath in liquid steel to shut it down for good.
* RuleOfSymbolism: When it first arrives, it only dealt with the bikers for their clothes, weapons, and motorcyle non-lethally, suggesting it was already making an effort not to kill any human when he arrives. The sunglasses it wore represents his machine-like nature, and he kept these on until they are destroyed, but removing them is the first step to becoming human and the T-1000 stepping on them represents his contempt for it.
* SpockSpeak: A default characteristic. Connor tries to teach it to talk more [[JiveTurkey "normally"]], with mixed results.
* SunglassesAtNight: Swipes a pair of sunglasses in the middle of the night and unlike the previous Terminator, isn't trying to hide a facial disfigurement.
* SuperStrength: It can toss grown men around like rag dolls.
* TechnicalPacifist: John says "ThouShaltNotKill". Thus [[HilarityEnsues non-fatal explosions and lots of people getting shot in the knees ensue]].
* TerrifyingRescuer: Probably the most famous example in film. It's a killer cyborg, but it's on the side of the good guys. When it arrives to rescue Sarah, she's justifiably terrified since it's an exact copy of the T-800 who tried to kill her previously and murdered almost everyone she knew.
* ThatsWhatIWouldDo: It and the T-1000 were built for the same purpose allowing the T-800 to anticipate its moves based on what terminators would do in a given scenario. It correctly predicts the T-1000 waiting for John at his foster parent's home and even that it may look for them [[spoiler: at Dyson's home as they might try to prevent Judgment Day.]]
* ThouShaltNotKill: John orders it to swear not to kill anyone, but the T-1000 is a fair game.
* TinMan: He asks John "Why do you cry?", but it becomes a subversion. The T-800 explains that his model is switched to Read-Only mode when they're sent out on solo missions; Skynet doesn't want them to do "too much thinking." It seems to develop a grasp on human emotion once it's rebooted, mimicking smiling and an urgent tone of voice. It even seems to display some pride at locating the keys to a semi (using the sun protector trick taught to him by John).
* UnknownRival: He's something of an ArchEnemy to the LAPD, who believe him to have killed thirty of their fellow officers [[Film/TheTerminator ten years prior]], and when they finally get the drop on it they send [[AllOfThem every cop they've got]]. Since it was a different T-800 that committed the crime the T-800 is unaware of this, although Sarah might have filled it in on it during their car ride.
* VoiceChangeling: It only changes its voice to John's once when the latter is suspicious that Janelle was acting too nice, and notices Max the dog is barking in the background. Their suspicions are confirmed once he [[BluffTheImpostor uses the wrong name to trick the T-1000 into giving itself away]].
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: It states it can't feel love and human emotions, though at the end of the film it comes to understand them better.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: This is the purpose of its character. When it first arrives, it nearly acts just like its predecessor: Unemotive and machine-like. Despite being in the same line as the previous T-800 who is an unemotional killer, once the CPU in its head is reset, [[CharacterDevelopment the rest of its character is created through his life experiences]]. Sarah even discusses how human it has became and learned how to value all of humanity than just John and Sarah.
* WhatTheHellHero: A silent version. It shows an angry expression after Sarah nearly killed Miles Dyson in front of his family.

[[folder:T-1000]]
!!Advanced Prototype Series 1000 Terminator
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/robert_patrick_terminator.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Say... That's a nice bike."'']]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/t_1000_002_2.png]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/RobertPatrick (default form), Jenette Goldstein, Dan Stanton, Leslie Hamilton Gearren (other forms)
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Éric Missoffe (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''

This Terminator, an advanced prototype, was sent back in time to kill John Connor as a pre-teen.

* AchillesHeel: Extremely high temperatures. While molten metal would wreck any Terminator, the T-800 remains in control of its functions and would at least attempt to reach safety/minimize the damage, but the T-1000 is totally screwed if ends up in such an environment - all it'll do [[ShapeShifterSwanSong is glitch and thrash around]] until its inevitable demise.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Hinted at in supplemental materials. T-1000 units were unique creations designed to learn extremely quickly but also retain contempt for humans and other life forms. Unlike the T-800, which is an unfeeling machine that only learns what it needs to complete its programming, the T-1000 on some level ''wants'' to do what it does.
* AssimilationBackfire: Of a sort. The T-1000 chooses to assume the form of a policeman to more easily locate John Connor. It works ''remarkably'' well... until the moment just before he finds John himself. One of the kids he asks for information is John's friend, a fellow {{Delinquent|s}} who ''immediately'' rushes to tell his friend that a cop is looking for him. John runs away, and the precious seconds that bought allow the rest of the movie to happen.
* BlobMonster: A liquid metal variety.
* CharacterTic: According to the T-800, the T-1000 is capable of mimicking any object it "samples by physical contact". The T-1000 therefore has a habit of "sampling" things as it goes about its mission, more so than what it would actually need to accomplish its goals. In an extended scene, it searches John's room for clues to his location, overtly touching as many things as possible while doing so.
* ChromeChampion: Villainous example. His body is composed of shiny silvery liquid metal.
* CripplingOverspecialization: Emphasized more in early comics and novels. [=SkyNET=]'s design for the T-1000 had tunnel vision toward one goal: a perfect infiltrator. The 1000 series excels in adaptability above almost every other version, being self-repairing, immune to any form of physical damage, and almost flawless in infiltration. However, while the 800 series is slower and lacks any regeneration or shapeshifting ability, it has a tougher chassis and can withstand heavy fire without getting disturbed. Meanwhile, the T-1000 has less shock-absorbing ability to counter the momentum of bullets and explosions, and also needs some time to heal the damage, which means that although ballistic damage doesn't really compromise its functionality, it ''does'' stop the T-1000. Thus, the T-X model was created as a compromise between the two, being slightly worse at infiltration and much more stable at combat.
* DeathGlare: His default expression, often mixed with KubrickStare. Combined with his default form's IcyBlueEyes, the effect becomes unnerving enough for some to label it their first tell-tale clue that he's ''not'' the good guy.
* DeceptivelyHumanRobots: He can talk and behave more human-like than both versions of the T-800 and even the T-X. If it wasn't for his RoboticReveal when T-800 shot him, he would've continued fooling the audience into thinking he was human, let alone the hero.
* DisneyVillainDeath: After the T-800 fires a grenade at him, the T-1000's form is contorted, causing him to lose his balance and fall into a vat of molten steel. [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou Although it's not that fall that kills him]], he can only look in sheer horror as he slowly melts.
* EyeScream: He often stabs people through the eyes. Likely a pragmatic decision, to make sure the death is quick and they don't struggle.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Unlike the T-800, who is entirely stoic and blunt, the T-1000 is able to affect a mildly friendly air towards people while posing as a police officer early in the film, while looking for information. However, said air quickly disappears when he no longer needs the person.
* FingerWag: After Sarah shoots him multiple times but runs out of ammo.
* FlawedPrototype: Being a polyalloy construct instead of a mechanical machine separates the T-1000 from older Terminator series in a revolutionary way, but it also comes with flaws in accordance: unlike his predecessors, very few things can harm it, but these few things harm it ''critically''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: He gives a significant look to a shiny silver shop dummy.
* ForTheEvulz: The T-1000 notably allows a security guard in the mental hospital to see him disguised as said guard [[EvilGloating before slowly killing him]]. Also, killing the liquid nitrogen trucker when it had no reason to. Simply shoving him aside [[PragmaticVillainy would have saved it 2-3 seconds to boot]], rather than getting his corpse stuck on his hand.
* GodzillaThreshold: According to James Cameron, the T-1000 was something that even Skynet was afraid of and only used as a last, ''last'' ditch effort. This is expanded upon more in the novel, where it's stated that the T-1000 was created to learn even faster than the T-800 could, even just by touching things. Skynet stopped production of it almost immediately because it knew that having a servant that learned ''that'' fast and potentially become TheStarscream was just asking for trouble.
* TheHeavy: It's the main threat in the second film.
* IcyBlueEyes: His default form has these, further adding to his sinister presence.
* ImmuneToBullets: Being a regenerating metal blob, he quickly recuperates from all sorts of gunfire, even if they're powerful enough to render him immobile but for a maximum of 10 seconds.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: His regular method of killing. Mostly with his own arms, but with a metal spike against the T-800. As the T-800 itself notes, it does so because it can't create moving parts with its liquid metal, like guns or projectiles. But knives and clubs? Absolutely.
* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: He kills a police officer and assumes his identity for his first victim. It allows him to find out John's location easier.
* ImplacableMan: Even if you seemingly destroy it, the T-1000 will just re-form and continue its pursuit of you. Most of the second movie is spent trying to get ''away'' from him, since all their attempts at killing it just slow it down (at first).
* IntangibleMan: He can allow physical blows to pass through him, he can shrug off bullets, he can even pass through metal bars.
* KickTheDog: We don't see how he kills John's dog, but it's probably for the best given his usual methods of killing.
* KillAndReplace: He does this to assume the identity of a police officer. It works to his advantage when he visits John's foster family, since they just assume John's in trouble again.
* KnifeNut: As said by the T-800 himself, his main weapons are to morph his limbs into knives and other stabbing weapons.
* LeanAndMean: Its [[ShapeshifterDefaultForm go-to form]] for most of the movie is as a decidedly slim man, and it's a ruthless assassin who may well be genuinely ''mean.''
* {{Leitmotif}}: Brad Fiedel took a brass wind instrument, lowered its pitch and then played the sound in reverse to create the sound of "liquid metal churning". It's meant to invoke a similar menace to the original Terminator, but this machine has no heartbeat.
* LightIsNotGood: He dresses like a police officer and has a relatively handsome face with blue eyes, as well as a bright silver true form. All traits that are typically considered reassuring despite him being the cruelest and one of the most powerful of the Terminators.
* LightningBruiser: He's just as strong physically as the T-800 model, his liquid body allows him to form weapons and adapt for melee fighting, and he does not walk, he ''runs'', so fastly that he can keep up with cars. And when it comes to destroying him, while he's not as tough or stable as the T-800, recoiling when shot and taking a few moments to recover if damaged heavily, he actually recovers completely from that damage; it takes liquid nitrogen to incapacitate him, and a vat of molten metal to actually kill him.
* LiterallyShatteredLives: Gets frozen with nitrogen, and the T-800 blows him to small icy bits with a handgun shoty. Unfortunately, due to this happening in a metal melting factory, he gets better.
* LogicalWeakness: His body can take only a single whole shape, which means, as the T-800 explains, he can't morph his arms into something with mobile parts (like a gun or ArmCannon). His liquid metal form also lets him re-form after sustaining damage, but being flexible liquid means he [[MadeOfPlasticine is MORE affected]] by gunshots than the solid-frame T-800.
* MadeOfIndestructium: His nature as a shapeshifting metallic blob means that he is terribly difficult to destroy compared to other Terminators, as firearms and explosions only damage his shape, not him, allowing him to regenerate eternally; even a hydraulic press, which finished off the mighty first T-800, would only mold him into a block before allowing him to flow out of it and reassemble. Only molten metal or corrosive acid can destroy him, and this is commonly not a handy resource. Which brings us conversely to...
* MadeOfPlasticine: While the T-1000 is effectively immune to mechanical damage thanks to his regeneration ability, this kind of damage still disrupts him, meaning he needs to pause to heal, while the older Terminator models could simply wade through the fire (though they risked suffering lasting damage). An unloaded magazine from an AR-15 assault rifle would incapacitate the T-1000 for a significant time, a point-blank blast from a 12-gauge shotgun to its face caused it to be disoriented, and a grenade for extra measure will make it a horrible tangled mess that will require a longer time to regenerate. Also, according to development notes and the novels, the T-1000 is programmed to prioritize healing egregious disruptions to its mass before continuing its mission, making this a very exploitable weakness.
* NakedOnArrival: Like all living beings sent from the future, he comes naked.
* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistfight: Its default bladed weapons are useless against the T-800's steel bones, hence why future John Connor sent back a Terminator and not a human soldier. However, it turns out the T-1000 is still strong and fast enough to overpower a T-800 in unarmed combat.
* NotSoStoic: Like all Terminators, he's normally stone-faced and focused. However compared to the T-800 in the first two films, he shows subtle degrees of emotion, such as being shocked or even horrified when he gets damaged severely (being frozen or having a grenade fired into his chest), annoyed when John's foster father talks while he's on the phone with John, and taking a moment to look at a silver-skinned mannequin in what might be surprise that it looks like his liquid form.
* OffingTheAnnoyance: While disguised as Janelle and talking to John over the phone, it gives Todd a noticeably annoyed look listening to him yell at the family dog before killing him off and continuing the call without batting an eye.
* OhCrap: When the T-800 shoots it with the grenade launcher, it has just enough time to look horrified before it explodes.
* PowerIncontinence: In the extended edition, after being frozen, shot, thawing, and reassembling, he begins glitching and his body parts take on the texture of whatever surface they touch. This is the first indication he isn't as invulnerable as previously thought to be.
* PullingThemselvesTogether: No matter how much it gets damaged, it can reassemble its form. The heroes finally stop it by shooting it into a vat of molten metal so it can't regenerate in time.
* PunchClockVillain: Played with. Like other Terminators, killing is simply what he was programmed to do. On the other hand, ''unlike'' other Terminators, he can be very mocking towards his victims (such as his FingerWag to Sarah) and shows some possibly subtle cruelty.
* RailingKill: One above a vat of molten metal proves to be his bane.
* ShapeshifterDefaultForm: His default human model is a slender, brunette man, but his actual form is arguably a metal liquid humanoid similar to a mannequin.
* ShapeShifterSwanSong: When it's knocked into the molten metal, it keeps changing form to all the people it killed until it's too damaged to keep going.
* ShapeshifterWeapon: It can't create moving parts with its liquid metal body, so it sticks to knives and stabbing weapons.
* SkewedPriorities:
** [[AllThereInTheManual Supplemental materials]] explain that the T-1000's internal logic systems prioritize fixing grievous damage in order to fight at optimal efficiency, even above killing a target a few feet away from it. This weakness is exploited several times to cause the T-1000 to temporarily pause and give the heroes time to make their next move.
** The same basic instruction explains how small pieces of the T-1000 will automatically seek to rejoin as a single mass, and also the malfunction after it is shattered: The "join together" program effectively gets stuck in an active state, so it seeks to meld with everything it touches.
* TheStarscream: The reason Skynet never mass-produced it was because it was ''too'' smart for its liking and it feared them turning on it.
* SuperPrototype: The T-1000 is explicitly a prototype model, and extremely powerful and dangerous. The reason Skynet never mass-produced it was because it was too smart and could end up turning on it.
* TechnicallyNakedShapeshifter: One of the first forms it takes is that of a police officer, forming a police uniform out of itself. It doesn't actually take on the chemical properties of the things it imitates, though, so while its surface can look and feel like cloth and skin, it's still made of liquid metal.
* UndignifiedDeath: Unlike the T-800, [[FaceDeathWithDignity who descends into the molten metal calmly without flinching]], the T-1000 goes down in that same vat screaming, flailing, and shapeshifting in a mad panic to the very end.
* VillainousCheekbones: Robert Patrick's are put to good use here.
* TheWorfEffect: In the comic books, a model of T-1000 is worfed by the T-X in a test fight when she disintegrates and apparently destroys him with her plasma cannon. The canonicity of this can be disputed, as it creates an inconsistency with other sources that state that plasma cannot damage the T-1000's metal.

!!!'''Introduced in''' '''''Terminator: Dark Fate'''''

[[folder:REV-9]]
!!REV-9 Terminator
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gabriellunaterminator.jpg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Gabriel Luna (default form)
%%!!!'''Dubbed by:'''
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate''

* AttackDrone: It has a metal endoskeleton and a liquid metal "skin" (much like the T-X in ''Rise of the Machines''). Unlike the T-X, this one's liquid metal skin can detach itself from the endoskeleton and move on its own in humanoid form like a T-1000.
* BlobMonster: Its skin, of the liquid metal variety.
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: While the T-800 has a metal endoskeleton and the T-1000 was made of liquid metal, the Rev-9 incorporates both designs into itself. It comes off as rather apathetic to its surroundings, while both of its predecessors were TheStoic and cool-headed.
* DarkIsEvil: Its endoskeleton has a darker coloring than that of the T-800s. Additionally, its liquid metal skin is colored black, in contrast to the T-1000's [[LightIsNotGood silver color]].
%%* MeaningfulName: REV-9 could be a reference to Revelation 9 from the Bible
* ShapeshifterWeapon: Its liquid metal skin can create stabbing weapons just like the T-1000.
* SkeleBot9000: Has a classic Terminator endoskeleton that is shaped like a human's skeleton, and much darker than that of the T-800s.
* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: The T-800s were tall, muscular men with a penchant for motorcycle gear. The T-1000 was leaner but still had an intimidating gaze and dressed like a police officer. The REV-9, on the other hand, is an average-sized man who dresses plainly.

! Humans

!!!'''Introduced in''' '''''The Terminator'''''

[[folder:Sarah Connor]]
!!Sarah Jeanette Connor
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahconnor1984.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"The hardest thing is deciding what I should tell you and what not to."'']]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahconnor1991.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too."'']]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahconnorterminatordarkfate.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"My name is Sarah Connor. Never seen one like you before. Almost human."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/LindaHamilton
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Élisabeth Wiener (European French, ''The Terminator''), Véronique Augereau (European French, ''Terminator 2'', ''Dark Fate'')
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator'' | ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' | ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate''

The mother of the future human resistance leader against the Machines, John Connor.

* ActionSurvivor: In the first movie; turning on the hydraulic press that kills the Terminator shows her transition to ActionGirl.
* ActionMom: In the second film, bordering on KnightTemplarParent.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys:
** In the first film she is guilty of this, as she dated a guy that treated her like dirt before she met Kyle. When she does meet Kyle, it's clear that she is unnerved by him, but still likes him, as proven when she tip toes around the question of whether or not he had a girlfriend, seconds before his AnguishedDeclarationOfLove. Lastly in ''2'', she started going out with military personnel, mostly to learn things she could teach John, but given her history....
** She even reflects to herself how the Terminator was, in her opinion, the only suitable father figure while listing off the different ways a parent can abuse or neglect their child (which speaks volumes about the other men).
* AntiHero: While Sarah was firmly an ActionSurvivor in the first film, come time for the second one, [[ShellShockedVeteran she's become unhinged]] suffering a nasty case of PTSD. Sarah attempts to ShootTheDog [[spoiler: and even attempted to kill Miles Dyson in front of his family.]]
* BigNo: Sarah almost makes it out of the asylum, but she sees the T-800 walking out of an elevator. After saying "no" in a low tone of disbelief, it turns into this out of sheer terror.
* BrokenBird: Second movie. Her attempts to stop Judgment Day have left her sanity somewhat in tatters and she is in a mental hospital at the beginning of [=T2=].
* TheBusCameBack: [[BusCrash Written off]] between films after T2 and only appearing in [[Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles alternate]] [[Film/TerminatorGenisys timelines]] since, the original Sarah finally returns in ''Dark Fate'' after a 28-year absence.
* CassandraTruth: She's institutionalized to trying to prevent and talking about the future war with the machines. Played with, however, because she's still AxCrazy despite being right about that.
* CharacterDevelopment: She has two:
** In the first film, she was a ShrinkingViolet with self-doubt until Skynet specifically targets her by sending a T-800 while Kyle Reese was sent to protect her by her future son's orders. Even then, she still had doubts about herself when Kyle tells her about the amazing things John told about her, until Kyle and herself were on the last legs on their life until she manages to literally crush the T-800. This action allowed Sarah to commit herself to raise her only son into the man he was in the future.
** While she did TookALevelInBadass, she clearly did have problems with her communication skills, and often tried to date military personnel so they can teach something useful to John, and not giving her son the affection he desperately needed which was observed by the T-800. While initially distrustful with the reprogrammed T-800 who is under future John's orders to protect his younger self (and nearly tried to destroy his CPU), she learned to trust the machine when he proved to be a valuable ally and is visibly dishearten when he has to be destroyed to prevent Skynet's creation and Judgment Day while finally hugging her son.
* CoolPet: She had a pet iguana when she was Ginger's roommate. Ginger wasn't a fan of it.
%%* CrazyPrepared: Third movie, [[spoiler:posthumously]].
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: InvokedTrope. Sarah is right about the {{Killer Robot}}s from the future, but she's still nuts.
* DamselInDistress: The first film in centered around Kyle going back to protect her from the T-800.
* DarkActionGirl: She can kick a major amount of ass, but it doesn't come without a lot of psychological scarring. Her time in a mental hospital did her no favors. Further, Cameron wrote the hospital escape scene to avert the FauxActionGirl trope--if anything, the Terminator's arrival was little more than a RedundantRescue, as Sarah was pretty much home free when he showed up.
%%* {{Determinator}}: She becomes like this during the second movie.
* FinalGirl: She's the last remaining "Sarah Connor" in Los Angeles by the end of the first movie.
* GoldDigger: SubvertedTrope. In the second film... sort-of. John says Sarah would "shack up with" any guy who looked like he had something worthwhile to teach John so that he'd grow up to be the competent leader she knew he was destined to be. However, he also says that Sarah would usually try and get her new man on board with the whole ScrewDestiny plan, only for them to think she's crazy and dump her. So yeah, she used a lot of guys, but under the circumstances, she still tried not to be abusive and wasn't doing it for selfish reasons.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: PlayedStraight. The director wanted to play with the audience's sympathies for her. Even though they already know that she's right about the BadFuture and the machine uprising, that hasn't made her the most sane person in the last nine years.
%%* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: With Kyle in the first movie.
* HairColorDissonance: Linda Hamilton's portrayal depicts her having dirty blonde hair, while Emilia Clarke's has [[AloofDarkHairedGirl dark brown]].
%%* HerHeartWillGoOn: End of first movie.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: She practically became a Terminator herself, [[LampshadeHanging right down to her enemy's musical motif and choice of sunglasses]], when she tried to murder Miles Dyson in order to prevent Skynet's creation.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: In the second film. While she is prone to angry outbursts and paranoid as all hell, she truly does love John not just because of the role he plays in the future, but also because he's her son.
%%* LadyOfWar: In the second movie.
* TheLoad: In the first movie, she starts off as a relatively airheaded fast food waitress. [[TookALevelInBadass She is forced to overcome this]] after [[spoiler:Kyle is gravely wounded]].
%%* MamaBear: Almost to the point of being a KnightTemplarParent.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
** [[spoiler:When her best friend/roommate Ginger and her boyfriend]] were killed by the Terminator in their apartment.
** Silently after the attempted hit on Dyson. Exacerbated by the fact that not only had she taken on a dimmer view on human life than the Terminator she was traveling with, but had adopted the MO of the Terminator that first tried to kill her. She almost killed a father in front of his wife and kid, something that hits her close to home after [[spoiler:losing Reese and almost losing John]].
* ParentalAbandonment:
** Has a DisappearedDad in the first film and her mother [[spoiler: was killed by the T-800]].
** She herself is a MissingMom to John most of his life, with her being locked in a mental asylum and all.
* PinkMeansFeminine: Spends most of the first film wearing pink clothes (both her waitress uniform and her main outfit).
* TheProtagonist: Of the first two films. Kyle and the second T-800 are TheHero of the first and second films respectively, but she has about as much screen time (and certainly more dialogue than the latter), and the story is largely told from her viewpoint.
* ScrewDestiny: Is willing to commit ''cold-blooded murder'' to protect her son and stop Judgment Day. Bonus points for providing the trope image itself.
* ShellShockedVeteran: In the second film as a result of having lost her paramour to a cyborg that was hunting her down with the intent to kill her.
* StockholmSyndrome: Averted, but implied that other people believe she's playing the trope straight, particularly Dr. Silberman. Justified in that, after being kidnapped by a "loon" spouting ridiculous stories about killer robots, Sarah herself has become an anti-technology terrorist that blows up places that build advanced computers. Even after the police come to try and get her to make a statement against the Terminator, from their point of view, later that same night, the same guy busts her out of the institution and, days later, she's joined forces with the guy to assault a Cyberdyne building.
* TakeTheWheel: Is made to do this in both the first and second movie.
* TankTopTomboy: In the epilogue of the first movie, and then throughout the entire second movie, after she TakesALevelInBadass.
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: "You're terminated, fucker!" Also a PreMortemOneLiner and PrecisionFStrike.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Despite her being a CombatPragmatist, she's never taken the life of a human being. The one time she becomes a "terminator" to execute someone she thinks is the reason [=SkyNet=] exists, she can't bring herself to be an unemotional killer.
* TimeTravelRomance: One where the romance has a good deal of plot significance.
* TimeTravelTenseTrouble: Sarah has a problem with Reese telling her of all the things she hasn't done yet.
* TookALevelInBadass: During the events between the first and second movie. It's deconstructed as it lands her in a mental hospital, and Sarah later admits that she's been a terrible mother to John.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Mentally stable mother-of-the-year she is ''not.''
* TookALevelInKindness: She regains a lot of her humanity by the end of the second film, and becomes a better mother to John in the process.
* TwoFirstNames: Her last name can be traditionally used as a given name.
* UngratefulBitch: Instead of hugging her own son and thanking him, she just checked if John was hurt and scolds him for trying to rescue her.
-->'''Sarah:''' You cannot risk yourself, even for me. You're too important! Do you understand?\\
''(John begins to cry. Sarah shakes her head in disappointment.)''\\
'''John:''' I had to get you out of that place. I'm sorry!\\
'''Sarah:''' I don't need your help. I can take care of myself.
* VocalEvolution: Linda Hamilton gives her a softer voice in the first movie. In the sequel, she gives her a more assertive and commanding voice to fit her ActionMom status.
* YouKilledMyFather: In the first film [[spoiler: the T-800 killed Sarah's mother trying to find Sarah]].

[[folder:Kyle Reese]]
!!Sergeant Kyle Reese
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kylereese.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Come with me if you want to live."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/MichaelBiehn
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Patrick Poivey (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator''

A resistance soldier from the future, serving under the orders of John Connor. In the year 2029 he was sent back in time to the year 1984 to protect Sarah Connor from a T-800 Model 101 Terminator. He is the father of John Connor, through the result of a [[StableTimeLoop predestination paradox]].

* BackupFromOtherworld: Appears to Sarah in a dream, warning her that the Terminators are now after John in the DirectorsCut of the second movie.
* BadassLongcoat: Justified, since he needs that coat to hide his SawedOffShotgun.
* BadassNormal: Makes his fight against an unstoppable killing machine much more badass.
* BodyguardCrush: Kyle's attraction to Sarah is what conceives John Connor in the first place.
* TheCameo: His one scene in the second film.
* ChildSoldier: He was born into a world with killbots attempting to destroy humanity, so yeah.
* ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive: TropeNamer. It's the first thing he says to Sarah Connor after the Terminator attacks her, and it's the only reason she trusts him enough to escape with him.
* DeadPersonConversation: With Sarah in the second film.
* DeathBySex: [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated.]] He survived growing up in prison camps, fought numerous battles as a member of Tech-Com, and helped win the final battle against Skynet... but he's killed the same day he loses his virginity to Sarah.
* DecoyProtagonist: Of the entire franchise. He is TheHero of the first film, but Sarah is the true protagonist, and Reese dies before Sarah destroys the Terminator at the climax.
* {{Determinator}}: He will ''not'' allow Sarah to die, no matter what. Not just because it's his mission, but because he loves her. This includes fighting the Terminator in melee combat, ''while he's dying from a bullet wound''.
* DisappearedDad: He is this to John Connor, having died before his son was born.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: Without a doubt. Justified in that he learnt to drive AfterTheEnd. He also instinctively drives cars at night without the headlights on, as doing so in the future would draw Aerial Hunter-Killers.
* ExperiencedProtagonist: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]]. He's got plenty of experience fighting Terminators, but not with modern weapons.
* AFatherToHisMen: ''Possibly?'' In a flashback of the future he's shown sadly lowering his head when a soldier he's finding alongside dies. Although this may have just been because he liked her personally or something.
* FutureBadass: Applies more to the fourth film than the first. The first film's Kyle ''is'' the "Future Badass". The fourth film is Kyle as a teenage kid just trying to survive in a nuclear wasteland.
* GaiasLament: A deleted scene would have had Kyle crying when he saw how beautiful the world used to be.
* GlorifiedSpermDonor: He dies before the birth of his son, without even knowing that Sarah was pregnant... but he's from the future, and was close friends with John Connor in his own timeline, not even knowing that they were related.
* TheHero: Reese is not TheProtagonist of the first film (that's Sarah), but his efforts to protect her and battle the Terminator mean he qualifies as the hero of the narrative overall.
* TheHeroDies: He does not survive the final battle with the Terminator.
* HeroicSacrifice: The bomb he uses to bifurcate the Terminator is the same bomb that kills him in the end.
* IncrediblyObviousTail: He's very clumsy when tailing Sarah.
* IndyPloy: Just about everything he does. He's up against an unstoppable robot killer with nothing but a shotgun (and later, some pipe bombs), so he doesn't have any grand battle plan.
* IWillOnlySlowYouDown: He tries this, collapsing from his gunshot wound after Sarah Connor has dragged him into the factory. By this time in the movie Sarah has [[TookALevelInBadass Taken A Level In Badass]], so she isn't buying it.
-->'''Sarah:''' Move it, Reese! On your feet soldier! ON YOUR FEET!
* TheKindnapper: He kidnaps Sarah Connor to save her from the T-800 sent to kill her.
* LateArrivalSpoiler:
** Reese doesn't survive the first film. This is a major point in the sequel, as watching him die has left Sarah utterly traumatised.
** He's the father of John Connor. The other films have made no attempt to keep this a secret.
* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Fell in love with Sarah after seeing her picture.
* MacGyvering: Makes pipe bombs out of mothballs and ammonia.
* MrFanservice: In the first movie. He arrives in 1984 naked showing his athletic body, he wears mostly [[SleevesAreForWimps short sleeves t-shirts]] and has some number of ShirtlessScene. Michael Biehn was in good shape back then.
* NakedOnArrival: As per Terminator rules, you have to be naked when traveling through time.
* NoPlaceForMeThere: A deleted scene has him breaking down in tears as he laments that he doesn't belong in the world of 1984, which to him feels like paradise compared to the hellhole future he comes from. And knowing it was all doomed just made it worse.
* OnlyAFleshWound: He gets shot by the Terminator while escaping from the police station, but manages to keep driving until their car runs out of gas. Later, he and Sarah hide under a bridge and when she finds out he's shot, he refuses medical attention and says it's "not bad". He's shot again later on, but this one is far more serious as it slowly saps his strength and contributes to his death later.
* PetTheDog: Reese instinctively allows the dog at the roadside hotel to sniff him. They use dogs to sniff out Terminators where he comes from.
* ProductPlacement: The film would like to let the viewers know that his shoes are made by Nike.
* RescueIntroduction: He introduce himself to Sarah by extricating her from Tech Noir just as the T-800 closes in for the kill.
* SawedOffShotgun: Justified. He steals a police shotgun early in the film and saws it down so that he can hide it under a longcoat.
* ScannableMan: Got his tattoo in a [=SkyNet=] work camp.
* SensoryOverload: In flashback, it's shown that the future Kyle is from is blasted and barren, with most of humanity occupying cramped and overcrowded tunnels. In a deleted scene, he tears up and tells Sarah that the sight of a forest, with all its greenery and plant life, is so beautiful it ''hurts'' to look at.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Undoubtedly so, given that he was in [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a SkyNet work camp complete with a tattoo]] before he was liberated by John Connor and even afterward spent all of his time either fighting against [=SkyNet=]'s machines or hiding from them.
* SlaveBrand: He has a barcode on his arm that was laser-burned from a robot concentration camp.
* StaircaseTumble: Falls down a metal staircase after blowing up the T-800's endoskeleton, which (combined with shrapnel from the bomb) kills him.
* SupportingProtagonist: He does have established characterization and a backstory about himself coming from the BadFuture fighting for LaResistance, but the film is mostly Sarah's story about her going from a [[TookALevelInBadass timid woman to an empowered and strong mother of a great resistance leader]] told from his viewpoint.
* SupernaturallyYoungParent: Thanks to the StableTimeLoop, his going back in time and sleeping with Sarah resulted in John--meaning he's younger than his son.
* TimeTravelRomance: One where the romance has a good deal of plot significance.
* TwoFirstNames: His last name is commonly used as a given name.
* UnwittingPawn: It's strongly implied that [[spoiler:John Connor deliberately manipulated Reese into falling in love with his mother by giving him her picture. And then he had to send his own father back in time to certain doom, just to make sure he would exist to save the world. Reese never knew his true role in the bigger picture, never realizing he was fighting for his own son. Must have been heartbreaking for John]].
* WakeUpFighting: He's shown drawing his shotgun the moment he wakes up.
* WithMyHandsTied: Averted; he knocks out a policeman with his hands cuffed behind his back, and apparently takes off the cuffs that way too, using the keys on the policeman's belt.
* YouHaveToBelieveMe: PlayedForDrama when he loses his patience at Silberman and starts SuddenlyShouting and SpikingTheCamera.
* YouShallNotPass: He blows up the endoskeleton in his last action and tries to jump to safety, but to no avail.
* ZippingUpTheBodybag: Barring a dream sequence in the second film, this is the last we ever see of him in the original series.

[[folder:Dr. Silberman]]
!!Dr. Peter Silberman
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drsilberman.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"In technical terminology: he's a loon."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Earl Boen
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Sady Rebbot (European French, ''The Terminator''), Jean-Pierre Delage (European French, ''Terminator 2'')
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator'' | ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''

A psychologist who worked for the state of California and with the Los Angeles Police Department. He thought nothing of the so-called "delusions" shared by Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor other than being able to make a career from them being under his care.

* AgentScully: Even more so in ''T2'', till he sees the T-1000 walk through the barred door. Though he leaves the police station just as the Terminator walks in and is not witness to the sheer carnage that occurs next.
%%* ButtMonkey
* DeadpanSnarker: Mocks Reese in a very straight, clinical way; he remarks that Skynet is attempting some kind of retroactive abortion and wonders why Reese didn't bring ray guns from the future with him.
* DrJerk:
** Highlighted in his nonchalant behavior towards a clearly distraught Sarah in the first film. The second film does not alter this assessment.
** Also highlighted in the fact that he plans on making his career on Kyle Reese in the first film--something he actually does before the second film. Our first scene with him is showing off his prize patient like a zoo animal.
** In the Directors Cut of [=T2=] it is strongly implied that he condones and even commands the orderlies to physically abuse Sarah, such as beating her until she takes her medication, though it is unclear if ''all'' his patients are mistreated this way or if he is just vindictive towards Sarah for how she has been treating ''him'' (e.g. stabbing him in the knee), but the fact that the orderlies do it without question (and that Sarah is visibly intimidated by them) doesn't speak well of him. This puts her belief that she had been promised visits from her son if her behaviour improved in a darker light- it's possible he was just stringing her along and never intended to let her see him even if she ''did'' genuinely improve.
* HeroicBSOD: Whilst "hero" is a stretch, Silberman does believe what he is doing is for Sarah's own good, which makes seeing the T-800 and T-1000 in action all the more horrifying.
* MissedHimByThatMuch: In the first movie he leaves the police station as the T-800 arrives, he happens to be looking at his pager right as the Terminator walks past him.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: He and the other hospital staff try to keep Sarah locked up because (in addition to being a cash cow for the doctor), they feel she's an AxCrazy paranoid maniac because she thinks {{Killer Robot}}s are out to get her and her son. They happen to be right about her state of mind, except for the bit where [[CassandraTruth she's correct]] [[ProperlyParanoid about all of that.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Once he spots that all too familiar heavily armed badass in leather, the doctor rather wisely decides to make himself scarce.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Already not the most sympathetic human character in the first film, he comes across as a bigger {{jerkass}} in ''Judgment Day'', in which he's strongly implied to be abusive towards Sarah.
* TurnTheOtherCheek: Even after years of having to deal with Sarah's repeated escape attempts, insults, and even physical attacks, he never once gets mad at her, shout at her, or even hold any of it against her. If Dr. Silberman is anything, he's a paragon of patience. {{Subverted}} in the Directors Cut where it is shown that the orderlies brutally mistreat and even sexually assault her, and Silberman is implied to not only know about but actually encourage at least some of it because he simply doesn't like her.

[[folder:Ed Traxler]]
!!Detective Lieutenant Ed Traxler
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edtraxler.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I can hear it now. He's going be called the goddamned 'Phone Book Killer'."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Paul Winfield
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Jean-Claude Michel (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator''

An honest, hard-working police officer from the Central Division of the LAPD. He is in charge of investigating a series of 'phone book killings' taking place across town and targeting women named "Sarah Connor".

* DaChief: Unusually for the trope, he's very calm and clear-headed. And he does everything he can to protect Sarah.
* DecoyProtagonist: In the first act, he seemingly fulfills the role of the tritagonist of the film as the police detective investigating the killings made by the Terminator and trying to warn Sarah for her own protection (the deleted scenes that featured mostly his scenes further helps establishing him to be this). However, after bringing in Sarah and Kyle to the station, his arc ends with the Terminator massacring everyone in his station and fatally wounding him as Sarah and Kyle escapes.
* MoreDakka: He has a sidearm, but sees how the T-800 seems to be impervious to handgun bullets as it rampages through the police station, so he grabs a M16 carbine hoping it can work better. It's not any bit more effective and he ends up dead, if less immediately than Vukovich.
* NiceGuy: He's a polite and kind man who tries to help Sarah through a terribly traumatic experience.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
** As soon as he gets the report of two women named "Sarah Connor" getting killed within hours of each other, he immediately deduces that they're dealing with a pattern SerialKiller. Traxler then tries to contact the remaining Sarah, and when that fails, puts out a news bulletin so that Sarah will call them. As soon as she does, he gives very clear instructions to not leave the public night club until he arrives.
** While the others are making fun of Reese, he's quite frightened by the possibility that Reese isn't lying or crazy. He even comes to believe Reese in a deleted scene when he's dying, telling him to protect Sarah and giving him his revolver.
* SacrificialLion: He plays a pivotal part in tracking down the Terminator (whom he thinks to be a human psychopathic serial killer) and protecting Sarah from him, which makes it hit harder when the Terminator ambushes his station and he himself gets fatally wounded about halfway through the film.
* SupportingProtagonist: In the first act, the actions of Kyle finding Sarah, Sarah herself being stalked and the Terminator hunting Sarah are told from his viewpoint in his scenes, especially in the deleted scenes that features him following the car chase between the Terminator and Sarah and Kyle.
* WrongGenreSavvy: While he certainly thinks someone is trying to kill Sarah Connor, he thinks they're dealing with a heavily armed psychopath with a BulletProofVest, not a time-traveling KillerRobot.

[[folder:Hal Vukovich]]
!!Detective Sergeant Hal Vukovich
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/halvukovich.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Come on, Ed. That was loon talk. The guy's a wacko, right?"'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/LanceHenriksen
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Joël Martineau (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator''

A Los Angeles Police Department officer and Ed Traxler's colleague.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Upon seeing a dying Traxler, whom he engages in SnarkToSnarkCombat with him throughout the film, he fires on the Terminator.
* MoreDakka: Like Traxler, he has a sidearm, but a M16 carbine seems to be a better option against the T-800 as it rampages through the police station. It's not.
* MultipleGunshotDeath: Gets a point-blank burst of assault rifle fire ''and'' a shotgun blast from the Terminator, [[GoryDiscretionShot offscreen.]]
* PoliceAreUseless: Averted. He may be a sarcastic hardass, but he's just as professional as Traxler, and tries multiple times to call Sarah and warn her that she is in danger.
* ShooOutTheClowns: He's by no means a PluckyComicRelief, but does provide a reasonable amount of levity through his sarcastic quips. Once he dies, the film gets a ''lot'' darker.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Regularly engages in some with Traxler.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Similar to Traxler. He thinks the Terminator is simply a thug who is too hopped up on PCP to notice his injuries.

[[folder:Ginger Ventura]]
!!Ginger Ventura
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gingerterminator.jpg]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Bess Motta
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Creator/MaikDarah (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator''

Sarah Connor's roommate and best friend. She and her boyfriend Matt Buchanan were killed when the Terminator came to their apartment looking for Sarah.

* EightiesHair: A shining example, especially when she and Sarah primp themselves for some quality time.
* BestFriend: She was Sarah Connor's best friend in the early 1980s.
* DeathByIrony: Just a second after Ginger's murder by the Terminator, Sarah calls her and the answering machine says (with Ginger's voice) "Machines need love too"...
* DeathBySex: She had sex with her boyfriend minutes before the T-800 killed her.
* HeadphonesEqualIsolation: She's rocking out on headphones in full volume making an after-nookie MidnightSnack while Matt is brutally thrown around by the T-800 in the bedroom.
* MultipleGunshotDeath: The T-800 shoots her six times with his AMT Hardballer .45 Longslide with LaserSight, all InTheBack, and five of which as she's down and crawling on the floor.
* MurderByMistake: She's on the brutal receiving end of this by the T-800, due to living in the same apartment as Sarah, the T-800 not having a clear picture of what Sarah looks like and Sarah not being there when the robot crashes in.
* OhCrap: When suddenly seing her dead boyfriend crashing through a door, followed by a tall and menacing dude with a gun (the T-800) going after her.
* SacrificialLamb: She's introduced as the best friend of Sarah, and her death is more impactful than the T-800's previous victims due to being quite likeable and how brutally she is murdered.

[[folder:Matt Buchanan]]
!!Matt Buchanan
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mattbuchanan.jpg]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Rick Rossovich
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Patrick Préjean (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/TheTerminator''

A friend of Sarah Connor and Ginger Ventura's boyfriend.
----
* FullFrontalAssault: He tries to fight the Terminator off and wears only his underwear doing so, since he had no time to put anything on.
* DeathBySex: He had sex with Ginger minutes before the T-800 killed him.
* ImprovisedWeapon: Tries to hit the T-800 with a lamp. The robot {{no sell}}s his attacks, of course.
* OhCrap:
** Upon finding out he talked dirty to Sarah on the phone and not to Ginger.
** Upon seeing a tall and menacing dude (the T-800) enter his room. He quickly gets up and tries to fight him off nonetheless.
* PrankCall: Intended to call Ginger to have sex phone with her, not even announcing himself. Turns out Sarah picks up the phone, laughs and and says nothing while he talks about all the kinky things he wants to do to her. Then Sarah decides to answer, much to Matt's embarrassed confusion, and hands the phone over to Ginger.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Corporal Ferro]]
!!Corporal Ferro
!!!'''Played by:''' Jean Malahni
A soldier who dies in Reese's first BadFuture flashback
----
* ChildSoldiers: According to the novelization she's only 15.
* EconomyCast: She's played by Linda Hamilton's stunt double.
* NoNameGiven: The only way you would know her name is from [[AllThereInTheManual the novelization]].
* RedShirts: She has basically no characterization and exists just to show [[MonsterMunch how terrifying the HK tank is]].

[[/folder]]

!!!'''Introduced in''' '''''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'''''

[[folder:John Connor]]
!!John Connor
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/johnconnor.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"The whole thing goes: The future's not set. There's no fate but what we make for ourselves."'']]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adultjohnconnor.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Skynet, the computer which controlled the machines, sent two Terminators back through time. Their mission: to destroy the leader of the human Resistance... John Connor. My son."'' -- '''Sarah Connor''']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/EdwardFurlong (pre-teen), Dalton Abbot (infant), Michael Edwards (adult), Jude Collie (pre-teen, ''Terminator: Dark Fate'')
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Emmanuel Garijo (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' | ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate''

The leader of the human resistance against the Machines in the future, and the son of Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese.
----
* AllLovingHero: As reviewer WebVideo/ConfusedMatthew notes, despite Sarah having raised him to be a resistance leader, throughout the film series John never fails to recognize the value of human life, indeed often putting his own life on the line to try to save people, sometimes who he barely even knows, and ordering the T-800 that protects him not to kill anyone. The fact this is such a consistent and natural part of his character, arguably makes him one of the greatest examples of this type of character in cinema history.
* ArchEnemy: He is this for Skynet, being the one who convinces the human race to rise up and liberate themselves. Skynet believes that if it can kill John before Judgement Day, then the entire rebellion will never happen.
* BigGood: He is fated to be one of these.
* {{Delinquent|s}}: He's disobedient to his parents, steals money from [=ATMs=], skips school, and hangs out with hooligans. This is basically him venting his frustrations against everything his mother taught him, which he believes to be a lie.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: Of the second film. The Terminator and Sarah share the roles of TheHero and TheProtagonist between them in fighting the T-1000, while John has a separate character arc where he slowly learns how to become the leader that he will need to become to defeat Skynet.
* FinalFirstHug: With the T-800 that protected him.
* FutureBadass: This is the entire reason Skynet wants him dead. Note that he's badass as a pre-teen, but he takes it UpToEleven when he becomes leader of The Resistance in the future.
* TheGhost: The entire first film is about making sure that he will still exist to save humanity, but he never makes an appearance, being in gestation in his mother's womb at the end.
* HeelRealization: When he sics the Terminator on two guys and the Terminator tries to shoot one in the head, John is horrified about what he almost caused. WordOfGod states that it was this moment which cemented John's heroic nature.
* HeroicBastard: His parents were never married and his father was killed [[DeathBySex shortly after he was conceived]].
* HonorBeforeReason: Will '''not''' tolerate the death of even a ''single'' innocent human being, even if it means stopping a nuclear holocaust from happening.
* HopeBringer: As Kyle put it, "He taught us to fight, to storm the wire of the camps, to smash those metal motherfuckers into junk. He turned it around."
** James Cameron's original intentions for ''Terminator 2'' go even further than this. By teaching the Terminator to be human, he ends the StableTimeLoop and prevents the machine uprising, not just winning the war for humanity but making sure ''it never happened''.
* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: He initially believes his mother is crazy and that her supposed delusions robbed him of a normal life.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Starts off as a {{delinquent}} but does his best to avoid human casualties and genuinely cares about his mother.
* KidHasAPoint: In a DeletedScene, restored in the special edition, Sarah and John remove the T-800's chip, intending to reprogram him so he can learn human behavior. Sarah has other ideas and tries to smash the chip with a hammer, distrusting the T-800. John stops her, and in the ensuing argument, drops a line that prompts Sarah to give in:
-->'''John''': Look, Mom, if I'm ever supposed to be this great military leader, maybe you should start listening to ''my'' leadership ideas once in a while. 'Cause if my own mother won't, how do you expect anyone else to?
* KidWithTheLeash: Oh, are we all so very glad he made the T-800 take his vow of mercy...
* LaserGuidedTykebomb: He was raised from birth to defeat Skynet.
* MoralityPet: He tries to teach the Terminator not to kill people, and eventually succeeds.
* NomDeMom: Reflecting his status as a HeroicBastard (see above).
* OhCrap: When John first sees the T-800 in the mall, he goes bug-eyed. The novelization explains a bit more: John's mother had showed him news clippings and police video of the Terminator that had chased her. John later stopped believing in Terminators, but he still knew that guy was a cop-killer and psychopath. And now, here he was... coming right at him... ''with a shotgun''.
* PlayfulHacker: Gleefully exclaims "Easy Money" whenever he hacks into something.
* RebelLeader: His main plot in the story is to lead the future resistance against Skynet.
* StableTimeLoop: His existence is this; he was conceived by Kyle Reese, who was sent back in time by his older self to both save his mother and make sure he's conceived in the first place.
* TwoFirstNames: His last name can traditionally be used as a given name.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Miles Dyson]]
!!Miles Dyson
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/milesdyson.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300: ''"I feel like I'm gonna throw up..."'']]
!!!'''Played by:''' Creator/JoeMorton
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Patrick Guillemin (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''

The original inventor of the neural-net processor which would lead to the development of Skynet. He was the man most directly responsible for Judgment Day, although his work was clearly not intended to bring about that.
----
* BlackAndNerdy: African American and computer wiz.
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Strongly indicated in the [[DirectorsCut Special Edition]].
* HappilyMarried: Having a loving wife and family was already implied in the original cut, the special edition features a scene expanding on this.
* HeroicSacrifice: With his death, he blows up Cyberdyne.
* MultipleGunshotDeath: Standing in between the Connors and a heavily armed SWAT team was an extremely poor idea, and Miles is torn to shreds by the police's fire. He lives just long enough to help the Connors escape Cyberdyne.
* MustMakeAmends: Even though it's yet to happen.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: His reaction to the Terminator giving all the backstory on the robot war.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The computer system he created would eventually go on to wage war against humanity.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: His decision to help the heroes destroy his creation eventually leads to his death.
* SenselessSacrifice: Rather tragically, ''Terminator: Dark Fate'' renders his HeroicSacrifice meaningless in the long run. It only delays Judgment Day.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Miles wanted to make life a little better for humanity. Turns out his invention leads to the demise of billions.
* WideEyedIdealist: He's a far cry from the person you'd think would create [=SkyNet=]. Indeed he sees only the possible positives of his creation. This may even blind him to the military applications of his invention or to the dangers of removing humans from certain decisions.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Voights]]
!!Janelle & Todd Voight
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/toddjanelle.png]]
%%[[caption-width-right:300:some caption text]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Jenette Goldstein (Janelle), Creator/XanderBerkeley (Todd)
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Régine Teyssot (Janelle, European French), Creator/PhilippePeythieu (Todd, European French)
!!!'''Appear in:''' ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''

The foster parents of John Connor while his mother was interned at the Pescadero State Hospital.
----
* AbusiveParents: When calling them, John notices something's wrong, since Janelle is "never this nice" to him.
* AssholeVictim: They're guilty of negligence and mistreatment on John, and get murdered by the T-1000. John feels a little sorrow for a few seconds after T-800 breaks the news to him but quickly forgets about them.
* HateSink: Few sympathetic qualities are given to either, especially Todd. The T-1000 itself looks noticeably annoyed at Todd's talking before killing him off.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Todd ends up impaled in the head by the T-1000's arm, which morphed into a sword.
* KillAndReplace: The T-1000 killed Janelle at some point, without Todd noticing it, then took her place waiting for a phone call by John. Then he killed Todd.
* KilledOffScreen: The death of Janelle is not seen onscreen, and neither is her corpse.
* ParentalSubstitute: Since Sarah Connor has been deemed criminally insane and interned, someone had to take care of John. The Voights likely [[FosteringForProfit did it for money]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Douglas]]
!!Douglas
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/douglas.jpg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:300: ]]
!!!'''Played by:''' Ken Gibbel
!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Creator/RichardDarbois (European French)
!!!'''Appears in:''' ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''

A staff member at the Pescadero State Hospital where Sarah Connor is detained.
----
* FourEyesZeroSoul: A pervert BedlamHouse warden who abuses his inmates and wears glasses.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Sarah gives him a thoroughly deserved beating when she escapes.
* LecherousLicking: He licks Sarah's face while she's strapped to her bed and sleeping.
* OrderliesAreCreeps: He's even the trope's picture.
* TeethFlying: When Sarah ambushes him, she aims straight at his face with her broom handle and he looses a few teeth as a result.
* WardensAreEvil: He has a penchant for inmate patient abuse.
[[/folder]]

Character sheets for the entries that came between ''Judgment Day'' and ''Dark Fate'' have been moved on separate pages due to their AlternateTimeline[=/=]AlternateContinuity status induced by the {{Unreboot}} brought with ''Dark Fate'':

* CoolShades: Justified in that they're covering up the damage from it first encounter with Reese. Cameron had the Terminator donning sunglasses at the halfway point of the film to further drive home the point that the villain was slowly shedding its human facade.

* NoSocialSkills: Due to being driven to kill Sarah Connor and eliminate any obstacles, it comes across as a brute most of the time. It shoves people aside if they get in its way, wards off a suspicious janitor by insulting him, and any attempt to hide its murderous intentions are spoiled by its imposing build, monotone voice and delinquent clothing.

* DeathBySex: [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated.]] He survived growing up in prison camps, fought numerous battles as a member of Tech-Com, and helped win the final battle against Skynet... but in the original timeline, he's killed the same day he loses his virginity to Sarah.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Hinted at in supplemental materials. T-1000 units were unique creations designed to both learn extremely quickly but also retain contempt for humans and other life forms. Unlike the T-800, which is an unfeeling machine that only learns what it needs to complete its programming, the T-1000 on some level ''wants'' to do what it does. However, it was this exact issue that caused Skynet to stop production.

* CripplingOverspecialization: Emphasized more in early comics and novels. [=SkyNET=]'s design for the T-1000 had tunnel vision toward one goal: a perfect infiltrator. The 1000 series excels in adaptability above almost every other version, being self-repairing, immune to any form of physical damage, and almost flawless in infiltration. However, while the 800 series is slower and lacks any regeneration or shapeshifting ability, it has a tougher chassis and can withstand heavy fire without getting disturbed; meanwhile, the T-1000 has less shock-absorbing ability to counter the momentum of bullets and explosions, and also needs some time to heal the damage, which means that although ballistic damage doesn't really compromise its functionality, it ''does'' stop the T-1000. Thus, the T-X model was created as a compromise between the two, being slightly worse at infiltration and much better at combat.

* DisneyVillainDeath: After the T-800 fired a grenade at him, the T-1000's form was contorted, causing him to lose his balance and fall into a vat of molten steel. [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou Although it's not that fall that kills him]], he can only look in sheer horror as he slowly melts.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Unlike the T-800, who is entirely stoic and blunt, he is able to affect a mildly friendly air towards people while posing as a police officer early in the film, while looking for information. However, said air quickly disappears when he no longer needs the person.

* GodzillaThreshold: According to James Cameron, the T-1000 was something that even Skynet was afraid of and only used as a last, ''last'' ditch effort. This is expanded upon more in the novel, where it's stated that the T-1000 was created to learn even faster than the T-800 could, just by touching things. Skynet stopped production of it almost immediately because it knew that having a servant that learned ''that'' fast and potentially become TheStarscream was just asking for trouble.

* ImmuneToBullets: He quickly recuperates from all sorts of gunfire, even if they're powerful enough to render him immobile but for a maximum of 10 seconds.

* LightIsNotGood: He dresses like a police officer and has blonde hair and blue eyes. All traits that are typically considered reassuring despite him being the cruelest of the Terminators.
* LightningBruiser: He's just as strong physically as the T-800 model, his liquid body allows him to form weapons and adapt for melee fighting, and he does not walk, he ''runs'', and so fast that he can keep up with cars. And when it comes to destroying him, while he's not as tough or stable as the T-800, recoiling when shot and taking a few moments to recover if damaged heavily, he actually recovers completely from that damage; it takes liquid nitrogen to incapacitate him, and a vat of molten metal to actually kill him.

* LogicalWeakness: His body can take only a single whole shape, which means, as the T-800 explains, he can't morph his arms into something with complex parts (like a gun or ArmCannon). His liquid metal form also lets him re-form after sustaining damage, but being flexible liquid means he [[MadeOfPlasticine is MORE affected]] by gunshots than the solid-frame T-800.

* MadeOfPlasticine: While the T-1000 is effectively immune to mechanical damage thanks to his regeneration ability, this kind of damage still disrupts him, meaning he needs to pause to heal, while the older Terminator models could simply wade through the fire (though they risked suffering lasting damage). An unloaded magazine from an AR-15 assault rifle would incapacitate the T-1000 for a significant time, a point-blank blast from a 12-gauge shotgun to its face caused it to be disoriented, and a grenade for extra measure will make it a horrible tangled mess that will require a longer time to regenerate. And (according to development notes and the novels) the T-1000 is programmed to prioritize healing egregious disruptions to its mass before continuing its mission, making this a very exploitable weakness.

* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistfight: Its default weapons are nearly useless against the T-800, hence why future John Connor sent back a Terminator and not a human soldier.
* NotSoStoic: Like all Terminators, he's normally stone-faced and focused. However compared to the T-800 in the first two films, he shows subtle degrees of emotion, such as being shocked or even horrified when he gets damaged severely (being frozen or having a grenade fired into his chest), annoyed when John's foster father talks while he's on the phone with John, and taking a moment to look at a silver-skinned mannequin in what might be interest that it looks like his liquid form.

** It notably allowed a security guard in the mental hospital to see him disguised as said guard, [[EvilGloating before slowly killing him]].
** Killing the liquid nitrogen trucker when it had no reason to. Simply shoving him aside [[PragmaticVillainy would have saved it 2-3 seconds to boot]], rather than getting his corpse stuck on his hand.

* SkewedPriorities: [[AllThereInTheManual Supplemental materials]] explain that the T-1000's internal logic systems prioritize fixing grievous damage in order to fight at optimal efficiency, even above killing a target a few feet away from it. This weakness is exploited several times to cause the T-1000 to temporarily pause and give the heroes time to make their next move.

* SuperPrototype: The T-1000 is explicitly a prototype model, and extremely powerful and dangerous. The reason Skynet never mass-produced it was because it was too smart for its liking and it feared them turning on it.

* TheWorfEffect: In the comic books, a model of T-1000 is worfed by the T-X in a test fight when she disintegrates and apparently destroys him with her plasma cannon. The canonicity of this can be disputed, as it creates an inconsistency with other sources that state that plasma cannot damage the T-1000's mass.

* WorthyOpponent: [[ImpliedTrope Implied]], since Skynet views John Connor as its only significant opponent. It believes that killing John will prevent the human resistance from ever happening and the idea that any other person could lead the humans to victory never once crosses its mind.

* DecoyProtagonist: In the first act, he seemingly fulfills the role of the tritagonist of the film as the police detective investigating the killings made by the Terminator and trying to warn Sarah for her own protection. The deleted scenes that featured mostly his scenes further helps establishing him to be this. However, after bringing in Sarah and Kyle to the station, his arc ends with the Terminator massacring everyone in his station and fatally wounding him as Sarah and Kyle escapes.

* {{Tritagonist}}: Of the first film to Reese's protagonist and Sarah's deuteragonist, as he plays a pivotal part in tracking down the Terminator (whom he thinks to be a human psychopathic serial killer) and protecting Sarah from him until the Terminator ambushes his station and he himself gets fatally wounded.

* WrongGenreSavvy: Similar to Traxler. He thinks the Terminator is simply a thug who is too hopped up on drugs to notice his injuries.

* DeathBySex: [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated.]] He survived growing up in prison camps, fought numerous battles as a member of TechCom, and helped win the final battle against Skynet... but in the original timeline, he's killed the same day he loses his virginity to Sarah.

* BackupFromOtherworld: Appears to Sarah in a dream, warning her that the terminators are now after John in the DirectorsCut of the second movie.

* ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive: TropeNamer. It's the first thing he says to Sarah Conner after the Terminator attacks her, and it's the only reason she trusts him enough to escape with him.

* DeathBySex: In the original timeline, his fate is sealed the minute he and Sarah make love.

* {{Determinator}}: He will ''not'' allow Sarah to die, no matter what. Not just because it's his mission, but because he loves her. However, it becomes subverted at the end, when he begs Sarah to leave him behind because he was slowly dying anyway.
* DisappearedDad: He is this to John Connor.

* TheHero: Whilst not TheProtagonist of the first film (that's Sarah), his efforts to protect her and battle the Terminator mean that he still qualifies.
* TheHeroDies: He ultimately does not survive the final battle with the Terminator.

* IWillOnlySlowYouDown: He tries this, collapsing from his gunshot wound after Sarah Connor has dragged him into the factory. By this time in the movie Sarah has TookALevelInBadass, so she isn't buying it.

** Reese doesn't survive the first film. This is a major point in the sequel.

* OnlyAFleshWound: He gets shot by the Terminator while escaping from the police station, but manages to keep driving until their car runs out of gas. Later, he and Sarah hide under a bridge and when she finds out he's shot, he refuses medical attention and says it's "not bad". He's shot again later on, but this one is far more serious as it slowly saps his strength and possibly contributes to his death later.

* YouShallNotPass: [[spoiler:He blows up the endoskeleton in his last action and tries to jump to safety, but to no avail.]]

Character sheets for the entries that came between ''Judgment Day'' and ''Dark Fate'' have been moved on separate pages due to their AlternateTimeline[=/=]AlternateContinuity status induced by the {{Unreboot}} of ''Dark Fate'':

* PrankCall: Intended to call Ginger to have sex phone with her, not even announcing himself. Turns out Sarah picks up the phone, laughs and and says nothing while he talks about all the things he wants to do to her. Then Sarah decides to answer, much to Matt's embarrassed confusion, and hands the phone over to Ginger.

* DragonInChief: Because [=SkyNet=] had, for all intents and purposes, lost the war and assassinating Sarah Connor was a last-ditch effort, the T-800 is the ''de facto'' antagonist of the film. It may be acting on [=SkyNet's=] orders but its also the latter's last hope for survival. At least, until the sequels.

* AllLovingHero: As reviewer WebVideo/ConfusedMatthew notes, despite Sarah having raised him to be a resistance leader, throughout the film series John never fails to recognize the value of human life, indeed often putting his own life on the line to try to save people, sometimes who he barely even knows. The fact this is such a consistent and natural part of his character, arguably makes him one of the greatest examples of this type of character in cinema history.

* TheGhost: The entire first film is about making sure that he will still exist to save humanity, but he never makes an apperance.

Character sheets for the entries that came between ''Judgment Day'' and ''Dark Fate'' have been moved on separate pages due to their AlternateTimeline[=/=]AlternateContinuity status induced by ''Dark Fate'' being an {{Unreboot}}:

** The same basic instruction explains how small pieces of the T-1000 will automatically seek to rejoin as a single mass, and also the malfunction after it is shattered: The "join together" program effectively gets stuck in active state, so it seeks to meld with everything it touches.

* TheWorfEffect: In the comic books, a model of T-1000 is worfed by the T-X in a test fight when she disintegrates and apparently destroys him with her plasma cannon. The canonicity of this can be disputed, as it creates an inconsistency with other sources which state that plasma cannot damage the T-1000's mass.

* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: The T-800s were tall, muscular men with a penchant for motorcycle gear. The T-1000 was leaner but still had an intimidating gaze and dressed like a police officer. This new Terminator antagonist, on the other hand, is an average-sized man who dresses plainly.

[[folder:Janelle & Todd Voight]]

!!!'''Dubbed by:''' Élisabeth Wiener (European French, ''The Terminator''), Véronique Augereau (European French, ''Terminator 2'')