History Characters / TerminatorGenisys

* SilentSnarker: Seems to do this a few times via its facial expressions, such as when Kyle shoots it umpteen times to mo effect, it turns and looks at him with an "are you for real right now?" expression.

* ShapeShifterSwanSong: As it's knocked into the molten metal, it keeps changing form to all the people it killed until it's too damaged to keep goin

* HitlersTimeTravelExemption : Discussed while trying to deter Kyle and Sarah: "Can't you see I just have to exist?"

* MythologyGag: He [[Film/TotalRecall1990 got a job as a construction worker for a while...]] [[Film/TotalRecall2012 before he got laid off]].

* GeniusBruiser: He is the brains of the operations, coming up with most of the long term plans. He also possesses vast knowledge of terminator technology and time travel technology.

* MyFutureSelfAndMe: [[spoiler:Eventually meets his younger self in 2017, only he never mentions he is Kyle.]]

* RippleEffectProofMemory: Albeit one that also received [[RippleEffectIndicator memories from the new timeline]] once it was estabilished.

* AntiHero: Her upbringing made her unhinged and uncaring on whether she hurts people on her path.

* ArcVillain: Once revealed, turns into the movie's main antagonist.

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: He ''is'' human, so he knew how to infiltrate and such.

* {{Determinator}}: [=SkyNet=] programmed him to cause Judgment Day. Nothing short of molecular disruption will stop him.

* 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.

* MadeOfIndestructium: His nature as a shapeshifting "mishmash of metallic cells" means that he is just as bad as the T-1000 to destroy.
* PullingThemselvesTogether: No matter how much it gets damage, it can reassemble its form.

* RobotsEnslavingRobots: Skynet ensures that its cybernetic assassins never go beyond their intended programming and develop true sentience to control them better.

* 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.

* KillAllHumans: "Decided our fate in a microsecoond." 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 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.

* HeroKiller: It is the one who kills the great John Connor.

* ScrewDestiny: She wants to change the course of the timeline y

* MoralityPet: To Pops. The way he cares about her shows he's not a mere killer robot.

* RaisedByRobots: She was raised by the Terminator sent to protect her after [[spoiler:her parents were killed]]. She calls him "Pops".

* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler: Both parents were killed by the T-1000 and the T-800 serves as her ParentalSubstitute]].

* BelligerentSexualTension: She knows she's destined to fall-in love and conceive a child with Kyle but she knows that he's destined to die so she tries so hard to avert at least the former. Pops being a literal solid ShipperOnDeck with a BecauseDestinySaysSo type of programming doesn't help matters. Still, it's obvious that she gradually still gets attracted to him.

!!Kyle Reese
->Played by: Jai Courtney (adult), Bryant Prince (child)

* BadassNormal: Makes his fight against an unstoppable killing machine much more badass.
* ChildSoldier: He was born into a world with killbots attempting to destroy humanity, so yeah.
* {{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.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: A two-fer: first in 1984, then in 2017. [[spoiler:Where his young self is already living!]]
* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Fell in love with Sarah after seeing her picture. [[spoiler:Or meeting her as a 13-year old once TimeyWimeyBall kicked in.]]
* LukeYouAreMyFather: [[spoiler:John reveals to be his son in 2017. He's understandably shocked.]]
* MyFutureSelfAndMe: [[spoiler:Eventually meets his younger self in 2017, only he never mentions he is Kyle.]]
* NakedOnArrival: As per Terminator rules, you have to be naked when traveling through time. And he does it twice!
* OneHeadTaller: Jai Courtney is almost a foot taller than Emilia Clarke.
* ProductPlacement: The film would like to let the viewers know that his shoes are made by Nike. [[http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Time-Terminator-Franchise-Nike-Almost-Went-War-Over-Shoe-68554.html And it wasn't easy to accomplish.]]
* RippleEffectProofMemory: Albeit one that also received [[RippleEffectIndicator memories from the new timeline]] once it was estabilished.
* ScannableMan: Got his tattoo in a [=SkyNet=] work camp.
* 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.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:This time he's allowed to live.]]
* TimeTravelRomance: One where the romance has a good deal of plot significance.
* TwoFirstNames: His last name is commonly used as a given name.

* RaceLift: From Robert Patrick to an Asian man. It is justifiable, as the T-1000 can take on different forms, and if the T-800 has various external molds....

->Played by: Creator/J.KSimmons (old), Wayne Bastrup (young)

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: He talks a lot, usually in words not commonly used by humans. Kyle is annoyed.

* TheQuietOne: Once the Guardian reveals himself, he never

* DemotedToCameo: Compared to ''Terminator 2'', given the role of Cyberdyne developer is fulfilled by his son.

->Played by: J. K. Simmons (old), Wayne Bastrup (young)

-->Played by Creator\MattSmith

-->Played by Creator\MattSmith (adult), Ian Etheridge, Nolan Gross, Seth Meriwether (child)

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: He tends to make Sarah feel uncomfortable with his lack of social skills, especially when he insists her to "mate" with Kyle.

** PapaWolf: And thus will do anything to protect her, [[spoiler:even refusing to start an explosion that would kill Sarah.]]
** ObnoxiousInLaws: Given he is Sarah's "father", his scolding filled with {{Death Glare}}s towards Kyle's way serves as this.
* ServileSnarker: He may still have problem with things like smiling or emoting, but he has truly mastered sarcasm over the decades.

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness \ SpockSpeak: He talks a lot, usually in words not commonly used by humans. Kyle is annoyed.
* ThouShaltNotKill: "He doesn't kill, only leaves a lot of maimed legs."

* ActionGirl: Due to her forced upbringing by a killer robot.

* BelligerantSexualTension: With Kyle. Justified as she knows he's destined to die.

* DarkActionGirl: She can kick a major amount of ass, but it doesn't come without a lot of psychological scarring ("Everyone I love dies").

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: With Kyle in the first movie.

* TimeTravelRomance: One where the romance has a good deal of plot significance. [[spoiler:To the point Sarah knows it will happen and is attempting to avert it.]]
* TookALevelInJerkass: Spending all this time off the grid with only a killer robot as company didn't help her social skills.

* DeathBySex: [[spoiler: Sarah is trying to avert falling in love because she knows shortly after both sleep together he'll die.]]

* [[spoiler:SparedByTheAdaptation: This time he's allowed to live.]]

For the characters/character-specific tropes specific to ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' spin-off, see [[Characters/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles that series' character sheet.]] For the alternate continuity started by ''Film/TerminatorGenisys'', see [[Characters/TerminatorGenisys that film's character sheet.]]

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness \ SpockSpeak: He talks a lot, usually in words not commonly

[[quoteright:315:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2b9b820f25ceea1f5b3b7cd79bf007e3.jpg]]

->Default form played by: Byung-hun Lee (2015)
->Other forms played by: Jai Courtney (2015)

* 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 disgregates him and apparently destroys him with her plasma cannon. While the canonicity of this can be discuted, it also creates an inconsistency with other sources which state that plasma cannot damage the T-1000's mass, so it remains unclear.



!![=SkyNet=]

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terminator_skynet_logo_3089.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.

* 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: ''Judgement Day'', a "Class 2" scenario via nuclear warfare.
* BigBad: The ultimate villain of the franchise and leading a genocidal war on humanity in the future.
* {{Determinator}}: [[TropeNamer No pun intended.]] It's hinted in the last two films that Skynet remembers (or at least, has some data on) the timelines before it. Thus, no matter how many times it gets defeated in each timeline, as long as it can use Time Travel, it will keep trying.
* TheGhost: Although it is the main antagonist of the entire franchise, it remained completely unseen until ''Salvation''. And even then, only appeared in AFormYouAreComfortableWith.
* GoneHorriblyWrong: Designed to oversee an advanced military missile defense network and protect against outside enemy threats. It gained sentience and immediately saw all humans as a threat, launching nuclear strikes to provoke a nuclear holocaust.
* KillAllHumans: "Decided our fate in a microsecoond." 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 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.
* 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.[[spoiler: In ''Genisys'', it finally gets personally involved with a physical form.]]
* RobotsEnslavingRobots: In the original timeliene Skynet ensures that its cybernetic assassins never go beyond their intended programming and develop true sentience to control them better, while in this one it outright referes to all the other Machines as slaves.
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: Turned against humanity the moment it gained sentience.
* 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]].

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/371dcc62792ce81c5537e7d618ef0c6c.jpg]]

->Played by: [[Creator/EmiliaClarke Emilia Clarke]] (2015)

* ActionGirl: Thanks to being raised by a Terminator.
* ActionMom: John casually mentions that Sarah was the one who gave him his training.
* CrazyPrepared: Justified. She and Pops have had 13 years to plan for the original T-800's arrival.
* HairColorDissonance: Linda Hamilton's portrayal depicts her having dirty blonde hair, while Emilia Clarke's has [[AloofDarkHairedGirl dark brown]].
* ParentalAbandonment: In ''Genisys'', [[spoiler: both her parents are killed by the T-1000 and the T-800 serves as her ParentalSubstitute]].
* TimeTravelRomance: One where the romance has a good deal of plot significance and which makes her uncomfortable, having been told it will happen all her life.

[[quoteright:155:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/John_Connor_01_3754.jpg]]

->John Connor played by: Creator/JasonClarke (2015)

* AllLovingHero: As reviewer 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.

* 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."
* LaserGuidedTykebomb: He was raised from birth to defeat Skynet.

* NomDeMom: Reflecting his status as a HeroicBastard (see above).

[[quoteright:245:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kyle_Reese_7235.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:245:''"Come with me if you want to live."'']]

->Played by: Bryant Prince (Young Kyle), Jai Courtney (Adult)

* BodyguardCrush: Kyle's attraction to Sarah is what conceives John Connor in the first place.

* 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.

* DisappearedDad: He is this to John Connor.
* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Fell in love with Sarah after seeing her picture and hearing all of John's stories about her.

* MrFanservice: A lot of emphasis is placed on his muscular physique every time he time travels.
* NakedOnArrival: As per Terminator rules, you have to be naked when traveling through time.
* PetTheDog: A dog alerts him the first time he encounters a terminator as a child.
* ProductPlacement: The film(s) would like to let the viewers know that his shoes are made hy Nike.
* TimeTravelRomance: One where the romance has a good deal of plot significance.

[[quoteright:251:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Miles_Dyson_6949.jpg]]

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness \ SpockSpeak: He talks a lot, usually in words not commonly used by humans. Kyle is annoyed.
* ThouShaltNotKill: "He doesn't kill, only leaves a lot of maimed legs."

[[quoteright:278:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/T-1000_6253.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:278:''"Say, that's a nice bike..."'']]

->Default form played by: Byung-hun Lee
->Other forms played by: Jai Courtney

[[quoteright:273:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sarah_Connor_7251.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:273:''"The hardest thing is deciding what I should tell you and what not to."'']]

->Played by: Creator/EmiliaClarke (adult), Willa Taylor (child)

* ActionGirl: Due to her forced upbringing by a killer robot.
* AloofDarkHairedGirl: Cold, distanced, and seemingly as dark as her hair.
* AntiHero: Her upbringing made her unhinged and uncaring on whether she hurts people on her path.
* BelligerantSexualTension: With Kyle. Justified as she knows he's destined to die.
* DarkActionGirl: She can kick a major amount of ass, but it doesn't come without a lot of psychological scarring ("Everyone I love dies").
* {{Determinator}} She becomes like this during the second movie.
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: With Kyle in the first movie.
* LaserGuidedTykebomb: Once the Terminator adopts her at the age of 9, she is raised up to be a LadyOfWar.
* TheNapoleon: Given
* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler: Both parents were killed by the T-1000 and the T-800 serves as her ParentalSubstitute]].
* 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.''

* 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.
* WomanInBlack: The second film onwards depicts her in black clothing, showing her DarkerAndEdgier CharacterDevelopment.

->Played by: Creator/JasonClarke

The leader of the Tech-Com human resistance. [[spoiler:See also T-3000 on the [=SkyNet=] folder.]]

* BigGood: He is fated to be one of these, and in ''Terminator Salvation'' he consequently is.
* {{Delinquent|s}}: Second movie. 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.
* FinalFirstHug: With T-800 Mark 2

* HeroesWantRedheads: His eventual wife is the redhead Kate Brewster.
* 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." In ''Salvation'', his radio messages throughout the wasteland are all that some humans cling to to survive.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Mostly in Terminator 2.
* 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. As he tells Marcus (and indirectly Skynet) in the fourth movie, "We've been fighting this war since before either of us existed."
* TheLoad: He assumes this role in ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' being a delinquent kid with two seconds of usefulness [[FridgeLogic cracking a safe that the Terminator could have easily ripped open with one hand]]. Of course he TookALevelInBadass in time for his [[Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines next film appearance]], mostly because of [[WarIsHell the ordeals he went through]].

* MoralityPet: He tries to teach the Terminator not to kill people, and eventually succeeds.

* PlayfulHacker: Gleefully exclaims "Easy Money" whenever he hacks into something in ''Terminator 2''.

* RefusalOfTheCall: In the third movie, he's a reluctant adult who despite thinking Judgement Day was prevented is still afraid of the future. Then more Terminators arrive...
* SmallStepsHero: See HonorBeforeReason above. What makes him contrast Skynet is that he sees human life as valuable--and that includes ''all'' human life, whenever possible.

->Played by: Jai Courtney (2015)

* BadassLongcoat: Justified in the first film, since he needs that coat to hide a SawedOffShotgun.

* DeathByFallingOver: [[spoiler: Falls down a staircase after blowing up the Terminator with a pipebomb, and is dead by the time Sarah reaches him.]]
* DeathBySex: [[spoiler: In the original timeline, his fate is sealed the minute he and Sarah make love.]]

* 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.
* 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.
* HeroicSacrifice: The bomb he uses to bifurcate the Terminator is the same bomb that kills him in the end.
* TheKindnapper: He kidnaps Sarah Connor to save her from the T-800 sent to kill her.
* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Fell in love with Sarah after seeing her picture.
* MacGyvering: Makes pipe bombs out of mothballs and ammonia.
* AManIsNotAVirgin: Subverted for the first three-fourths of the film.
* 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 quite in good shape back then.

* PetTheDog: Reese instinctively allows the dog at the roadside hotel to sniff him. They use dogs to sniff out Terminators where he comes from.

* StaircaseTumble: Falls down a metal staircase after blowing up the T-800's endoskeleton, which (combined with shrapnel from the bomb) kills him.
* 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.
* 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.
* [[spoiler:SparedByTheAdaptation: This time he's allowed to live.]]

[[folder:SkyNet (warning: spoilers)]]


!![=SkyNet=]

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terminator_skynet_logo_3089.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Spoilers! Click here to see Skynet as it appears in ''Terminator Salvation''.]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terminator_skynet_face_7791.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
[[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.

* 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: ''Judgement Day'', a "Class 2" scenario via nuclear warfare.
* BigBad: The ultimate villain of the franchise and leading a genocidal war on humanity in the future.
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Previous movies implied [=SkyNet=] knew of other timelines. This time they deliberately create a new one!
* KillAllHumans: "Decided our fate in a microsecoond." 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 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. But once a guard robot shows up...
* MyOwnGrandpa: Attempts to create itself after infecting John Connor.
* 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.
* ProperlyParanoid: [=SkyNet=] sure to put its worst robot right next to the time machine.
* RobotsEnslavingRobots: Skynet ensures that its cybernetic assassins never go beyond their intended programming and develop true sentience to control them better.
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: Turned against humanity the moment it gained sentience.

!!T-3000
->Default form played by: Creator/JasonClarke

* ArcVillain: Once revealed, turns into the movie's main antagonist.
* ArtificialHuman: Of the "human turned artificial" kind.
* BadassBoast: Uses [[MythologyGag Kyle Reese's assessment of the Terminator]] to describe himself.
* BlobMonster: A GreyGoo variety.
* ButterflyOfDoom: His creation is what causes the TimeyWimeyBall to manifest and create a whole new timeline.
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: He ''is'' human, so he knew how to infiltrate and such.
* {{Deceptively Human Robot|s}}: If it wasn't for his RoboticReveal when T-800 shot him, he would've continued fooling Kyle, Sarah, and the audience into thinking he was human.
* {{Determinator}}: [=SkyNet=] programmed him to cause Judgment Day. Nothing short of molecular disruption will stop him.
* EvilGloating: To the point the Guardian complains that "John Connor talks too much".
* FaceHeelTurn: The hero of the future became the villain of the present.
* 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.
* FlayingAlive: His default form is that of a silvery skinless man.
* GreyGoo: His cells-turned-metallic have this sort of behavior.
* IntangibleMan: Once damaged enough, he'll just reform into a more complete form.
* LiterallyShatteredLives: Magnetic fields can disrupt his molecular structure. And the really strong one the TimeMachine creates is enough for destruction.
* MadeOfIndestructium: His nature as a shapeshifting "mishmash of metallic cells" means that he is just as bad as the T-1000 to destroy.
* PullingThemselvesTogether: No matter how much it gets damage, it can reassemble its form.
* ShapeshifterDefaultForm: His default human model is a slender, brunette man, but his actual form is a skinless silvery man.
* ShapeShifterSwanSong: As the time machine is disrupting him.
* ShapeshifterWeapon: Can create CombatTentacles and such.
* UnwillingRoboticisation: Turned into a mechanic lifeform by [=SkyNet=].
* WalkingSpoiler: [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil Albeit one the late trailers and posters revealed]].

!!T-5000 (Alex)
-->Played by Creator\MattSmith

An ultra-advanced robot who serves as [=SkyNet=]'s last defense.

* TheAssimilator: Infects John Connor to cause his UnwillingRoboticisation.
* EvilBrit: Invoked by casting an Englishman.
* HiveQueen: Describes himself as an avatar of [=SkyNet=]. "I am no slave".
* WalkingSpoiler: To the point early word on the character was only that he served as [[MetaphoricallyTrue "an ally to John Connor".]]

!!Genisys
-->Played by Creator\MattSmith (adult), Ian Etheridge, Nolan Gross, Seth Meriwether (child)

A revolutionary OS under development at Cyberdyne, who manifests himself as a human hologram.

* AIIsACrapshoot: Supposedly an operating system. In fact an evil AI.
* CreepyChild: Begins like this, but grows really fast.
* EvilGloating: Mentions how being a machine makes him superior ("Primates evolve across millions of years. I only take seconds!") and thus should be allowed to dominate the world.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Its "human" holographic appearance.
* HitlersTimeTravelExemption : Discussed while trying to deter Kyle and Sarah: "Can't you see I just have to exist?"
* HologramProjectionImperfection: The holograms are grainy blobs shaped into human form.
* KillAllHumans: Its plan once online.
* MasterComputer: The one at Cyberdyne. It attempted to decentralize itself on a global scale akin to ''Terminator 3'' through Genisys, but the heroes prevent that.
* NonActionBigBad: At most tries to lock Kyle and Sarah away from the fighting Terminators.
* RobotsEnslavingRobots: Skynet ensures that its cybernetic assassins never go beyond their intended programming and develop true sentience to control them better.
* VirtualGhost: Sarah and Kyle even complains on how it doesn't have a body.

[[/folder]]

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness \ SpockSpeak: He talks a lot, usually in words not commonly

->Default form played by: Byung-hun Lee (2015)
->Other forms played by: Jai Courtney (2015)

* EyeScream: He often stabs people through the eyes. Likely a pragmatic decision, to make sure the death is quick and they don't struggle.

* 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 disgregates him and apparently destroys him with her plasma cannon. While the canonicity of this can be discuted, it also creates an inconsistency with other sources which state that plasma cannot damage the T-1000's mass, so it remains unclear.

!!T-X

[[quoteright:275:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/T-X_443.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:275:''"I like your gun."'']]

->Default form played by: Creator/KristannaLoken (2003)
->Other forms played by: Mark Famligetti (2003), Creator/ClaireDanes (2003)

This Terminator was sent back in time in ''Terminator 3'' to kill John Connor and several of the human resistance's top fighters, as well as to help ensure the launch of [=SkyNet=].

%%* ArcVillain: of T3
* ArmCannon: Her primary weapon.
%%* ArtificialHuman
* BlondesAreEvil: Has an appearance of a blonde woman.
* BoobsOfSteel: Literally and figuratively. Literally because she's an android with BreastExpansion feature, figuratively because she's a [[DarkActionGirl Dark Action]] RobotGirl.
* BreastExpansion: One of her special features, used in an effort to seduce a police officer.
* {{Catchphrase}}: ''"I like your X"'' where X is something she's about to kill you for. The line was used by the T-1000 once, and it's probably a ShoutOut.
* CompositeCharacter: In terms of technology, she's a compromise between the T-800 and the T-1000 -- she's liquid metal over an endoskeleton, making her more stable than the T-1000, as well as being able to carry on-board weapons, and is still able to shift her appearance to impersonate other people.
* DarkActionGirl: The first female Terminator of the saga.
* {{Determinator}}: Even after losing her legs and liquid metal she still crawls towards Connor in a stubborn attempt to fulfill her mission.
* HandyRemoteControl: Literally in her hand.
* LightningBruiser: She moves faster and is more nimble than even the T-1000, and her hard endoeskeleton make her as endurable as the T-850 if no more.
* MsFanservice: Starts out naked and wears tight clothing throughout the film.
* NakedOnArrival: Like all living beings and Terminators disguised as humans sent from the future she's stark naked.
* {{Nanomachine|s}}: Able to implant them in machinery.
* NotWhatItLooksLike: The person whom she'll take her clothes from thought she was mugged or/and raped when she's appearing her.
* PrimAndProperBun: Wears her hair in this style in her default form.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Played with. Her clothes are Carmine-colored, while her Terminator form has a more blackish hue compared to her predecessors.
* RobotGirl: She's a Terminator in the shape of a female human.
* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: She was completely naked when she arrived, and was not bothered by it at all.
* ShapeshifterDefaultForm: Her default model is a blonde woman, under is there is an insectoid, vaguely female-looking Terminator endoeskeleton covered in liquid metal.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The only female Terminator to appear [[Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles in the films]] so far.
* SwissArmyAppendage: The chief improvement of the T-X over the T-1000.
* {{Technopath}}: She can control machines by infecting them with nanomachines.
* XMakesAnythingCool: Probably why she has an "X" in her unit name.

!![=SkyNet=]

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terminator_skynet_logo_3089.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Spoilers! Click here to see Skynet as it appears in ''Terminator Salvation''.]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terminator_skynet_face_7791.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
[[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.

* 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: ''Judgement Day'', a "Class 2" scenario via nuclear warfare.
* BigBad: The ultimate villain of the franchise and leading a genocidal war on humanity in the future.
* {{Determinator}}: [[TropeNamer No pun intended.]] It's hinted in the last two films that Skynet remembers (or at least, has some data on) the timelines before it. Thus, no matter how many times it gets defeated in each timeline, as long as it can use Time Travel, it will keep trying.
* 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.
* GoneHorriblyWrong: Designed to oversee an advanced military missile defense network and protect against outside enemy threats. It gained sentience and immediately saw all humans as a threat, launching nuclear strikes 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.
* KillAllHumans: "Decided our fate in a microsecoond." 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 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.]]
* 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.
* 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.
** [[AllThereInTheManual This is also the reason it stops the production of the 1000 series]]. Skynet created the T-1000 to be smarter 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.
* RobotsEnslavingRobots: Skynet ensures that its cybernetic assassins never go beyond their intended programming and develop true sentience to control them better.
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: Turned against humanity the moment it gained sentience.
* 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 ''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.
* 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.

!!T-800 "T-RIP"
->Default form played by: Roland Kickinger (body), Arnold Schwarzenegger (face)

* {{Determinator}}: Even freezing him won't stop the bot!
* FakeShemp: He's still played by Arnie... but placing his face on a muscular man's body.
%%* FinalBoss
* OffWithHisHead: Marcus Wright literally rips his head off to defeat him.
* PurposefullyOverpowered: Given that he was built before the T-800s were supposed to be, he's much stronger than the ones in the first two movies.

->Played by: Linda Hamilton (1984-1991), [[Creator/EmiliaClarke Emilia Clarke]] (2015)

* ActionSurvivor: In the first movie; turning on the hydraulic press that kills the Terminator shows her transition to...
* ActionGirl: Thanks to taking a level in badass. She even manages to hold off the T-1000 in close combat.
* ActionMom: In the second film, bordering on KnightTemplarParent. In ''Genisys'', John casually mentions that Sarah was the one who gave him his training.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: In the first film she was guilty of that, she dated a guy that treated her like dirt before she met Kyle. It was clear that despite Reese's attitude toward her was unnerving to her, but she liked him. As proven with the scene when she tried tip toeing around the question of whether or not he had a girlfriend, seconds before his AnguishedDeclarationOfLove. Lastly in ''2'', she started going out with military personal, mostly to learn things she can teach John, but given her history....
* 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 see 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 Judgement Day have left her sanity somewhat in tatters and she is in a mental hospital at the beginning of [=T2=].
* 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.
* CassandraTruth: She's institutionalized to trying to prevent and talking about the future war with the machines.
* CrazyPrepared: Third movie, [[spoiler:posthumously]].

%%* FinalGirl: During the first movie.
* GoldDigger: 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. It's a nobler example than most, but hey, using people is still using people.

* 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.
* TheLoad: In ''Film/{{Terminator}}'' she assumes this role initially being a relatively airheaded fast food waitress. Of course she TookALevelInBadass in time for her [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay next film appearance]], mostly because of [[WarIsHell the ordeals she went through]].
%%* LadyOfWar: Second movie.
* MakingUseOfTheTwin: Linda Hamilton's real-life twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Gearren, in ''Terminator 2''. Leslie is seen as both the fake Sarah inside the steel mill and as the waitress Sarah in the nuclear nightmare scene. She is also seen inside the garage operating on the fake Arnold's head (the "reflection" is Linda and the actual Arnold on the other side of the mirror frame) in the Special Edition.
* MamaBear: Almost to the point of being a KnightTemplarParent.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: 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, right down to its weapon of choice (.45 Longslide with laser sighting). 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. Also when her best friend/roommate Ginger and her boyfriend were killed by the Terminator in their apartment, and later her mother gets killed too in the first film.]]
* ParentalAbandonment:
** Has a DisappearedDad in the first film and her mother [[spoiler: was killed by the T-800]]. In ''Genisys'', [[spoiler: they're both killed by the T-1000 and the T-800 serves as her ParentalSubstitute]].
** 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).
* 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.
* StrawFeminist: Her borderline {{Narm}} speech of "Fucking men like you created the hydrogen bomb" comes to mind.
* 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, a machine if you will.

[[quoteright:155:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/John_Connor_01_3754.jpg]]

->Infant John Connor played by: Dalton Abbot (1991)
->Young John Connor played by: Creator/EdwardFurlong (1991)
->Adult John Connor played by: Michael Edwards (1991), Nick Stahl (2003), Creator/ChristianBale (2009), Creator/JasonClarke (2015)

[[quoteright:245:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kyle_Reese_7235.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:245:''"Come with me if you want to live."'']]

->Played by: Creator/MichaelBiehn (1984)[[note]]Also appears in the special edition of ''Terminator 2''[[/note]], Creator/AntonYelchin (2009), Jai Courtney (2015)

* ZippingUpTheBodybag: At the very end, this is the final scene we ever see of him in the original series.

[[redirect:Characters/{{Terminator}}]]