Terminator Answered the T-X vs T-1000 Fan Debate Years Ago
Ever since the third film in the Terminator franchise, fans have been debating whether the T-X was superior to the T-1000 from the previous movie. However, this debate was settled years ago, and the answer is more awesome than anyone could have imagined.
The T-X was introduced in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines as the latest and greatest in Terminator technology. It had a classic robotic endoskeleton coated in liquid metal, which allowed it to change its shape and appearance. The T-X was essentially a combination of the first two Terminators, with the T-800 being the classic robot wrapped in artificial skin to look human, and the T-1000 being made of a substance referred to as ‘liquid metal’ that could change its appearance and mold its limbs into melee weapons like swords and hooks. However, fans argued that the T-1000 was the peak of Terminator technology, so why would Skynet introduce an endoskeleton in the T-X? The answer was finally revealed in a brutally epic way.
T-X Beats T-1000 in a Fight, Proving Its Terminator Superiority
In Terminator 3: Before The Rise #3 by Miles Gunter and Mike Hawthorne, the T-X is seen training before its mission to the past to kill John Connor and Katherine Brewster. Skynet pits the T-X against an even more advanced model of T-1000, the T-1002. Despite the T-1002’s supposed advantages, the T-X defeats it in short order. The T-X could defend itself against any spikes or blades created by the T-1002 and deliver even stronger attacks with its own shape-shifting capabilities. Moreover, the T-X could turn its limbs into firearms, not just melee weapons, which the T-1000 and T-1002 could not. This added ability made the T-X superior as it cut the T-1002 into pieces and obliterated it entirely while it was trying to pull itself back together.
Fans were initially frustrated with the T-X’s design because it felt like a combination of the first two Terminators for its own sake. However, the comic shows that this was not the case. The reintroduction of the endoskeleton along with the liquid metal pushed the T-X over the edge to victory, as that’s the only reason it could contort its limbs into a deadly firearm, and not just blades. While the T-X is essentially a combination of the first two Terminators, it’s the perfect blend of them, resulting in the ultimate Terminator.
Not only was the T-X able to beat a better version of the Terminator from T2, but it was also going up against the classic T-800 simultaneously and still came out on top. This only further proves that the T-X was a suitable upgrade in-canon and not just an attempt by the filmmakers to come up with something new. If the villainous Terminators from the first two movies were dropped in a cage with the one from the third, they would be terminated. This Terminator comic answered the T-X vs T-1000 fan debate once and for all.
Since the release of the Terminator franchise’s third film installment, fans have questioned how exactly the T-X was supposed to be better than the T-1000 from the previous film. However, that debate was secretly squashed years ago, and that burning question was answered in the most brutally awesome way imaginable.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines introduced fans to the latest and greatest in Terminator technology: the T-X. The T-X had a semi-classic robotic endoskeleton that was coated in liquid metal, allowing it to change its shape and appearance. In essence, the T-X was a combination of the first two Terminators fans had seen. In the first movie, the evil Terminator was the classic T-800 who was simply a seemingly unstoppable robot wrapped in artificial skin to appear human. In Terminator 2: Judgment Daythe villainous Terminator was the T-1000, which was made from a substance referred to as ‘liquid metal’. The T-1000 could change its appearance, mold its limbs into melee weapons like swords and hooks, and didn’t have any sort of endoskeleton like the T-800 or T-X. What fans have said since T3 came out is that the Terminators seemed to have peaked with the T-1000. So, why would Skynet even develop a Terminator that reintroduced an endoskeleton, as opposed to simply keeping the malleable and virtually unkillable T-1000? Well, Terminator finally gave fans an answer.
T-X Beat the T-1000 in a Fight, Proving Its Terminator Superiority
In Terminator 3: Before The Rise #3 by Miles Gunter and Mike Hawthorne, readers see the T-X training before its mission to the past to kill John Connor and Katherine Brewster. To test its mettle, Skynet pitted the T-X against an even more advanced model of T-1000: the T-1002. In short order, the T-X defeats the T-1002 despite the T-1002’s supposed advantages. No matter how many spikes and blades it created from its malleable body, the T-X could defend itself and then deliver an even stronger attack with its own shape-shifting capabilities. Plus, the T-X can do something the T-1000 (and T-1002) cannot: it can turn its limbs into firearms, not just melee weapons. In the end, it was this added ability that made the T-X superior, as it was able to cut the T-1002 into pieces and then obliterate it entirely while it was trying to pull itself back together.
Many fans were frustrated with the design of the T-X upon Terminator 3’s release, mostly because it just felt like a combination of the first and second villainous Terminators for its own sake. It was as if the filmmakers just wanted to bring something new to the table, even if it was a downgrade that didn’t make sense in the story. But, this issue shows clearly that that’s not the case. In fact, it’s the reintroduction of the endoskeleton along with the liquid metal that pushed the T-X over the edge to victory, as that’s the only reason it could contort its limbs into a deadly firearm, and not just blades. So, while the T-X is basically a combination of the first two Terminators, it’s the perfect blend of them, resulting in the ultimate Terminator.
Not only was the T-X able to beat a better version of the Terminator fans saw in T2but it was also going up against the classic T-800 simultaneously, and still came out on top. This only further proves that the T-X was a suitable upgrade in-canon, and wasn’t just an attempt by the filmmakers to come up with something new. Because the truth is, if the villainous Terminators from the first two movies were dropped in a cage with the one from the third, they would be terminated. And this claim can be asserted with confidence because this Terminator comic did just that, and in doing so, answered the T-X vs T-1000 fan debate once and for all.
