Terminator through the times The sixth instalment of the Terminator franchise, Terminator: Dark Fate, is now in cinemas. The apocalyptic time-travel story of man versus machines picks up where Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) left off, effectively ditching events that took place in Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003), Terminator Salvation (2009) and Terminator Genisys (2015). The Straits Times takes a look at the story so far.

TIMELINE PRIME (T1) The Terminator (1984) (T2) Terminator 2: Judgment Day (T3) Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (TS) Terminator Salvation (TG) Terminator Genisys Everything begins here. Note that the identity of John Connor’s father is not established here. By altering events in TIMELINE 1 TIMELINE 2 TIMELINE 3 TIMELINE 4 this timeline, a new timeline is created and so forth. This is evident from the 1973 (TG) Time travel ever-evolving Skynet technology At some point, Skynet from and its new Terminator models. the future sends a new MACHINES T-1000 to eliminate Sarah Some memorable killing machines Connor, aged nine. Another that appeared in the instalments. 1984 (T1) 1995 (T2) T-800 is sent from the 04 Kyle Reese rescues Sarah 08 The T-1000 is sent back future to rescue her. She T-1 Connor from the T-800, to kill John Connor, aged 1964 (T1) names him “Pops”. Appearances: T3, TS sacrificing himself in the 10, who is protected by The Series 1 was built to 01 Sarah Connor process. The T-800 is the reprogrammed T-800. is born. clear battle elds of enemy destroyed, leaving behind Together, they destroy troops with its two a computer chip and a Miles Dyson’s research .50-calibre mini guns. severed arm, which is in Cyberdyne Systems. Features recovered by Cyberdyne T-1000 is destroyed and • Tank treads provide Systems. Sarah is pregnant T-800 self-terminates superior grip and 1970 with Kyle’s child, whom she to stop the misuse of manoeuvrability names John Connor. any future technology. • Laser beam targeting 1984 (TG) 15 system with auditory, heat 1985 (T2) The T-800 and motion sensors 05 John Connor, arrives in 1984 and is child of Sarah immediately taken down Connor and by Pops. When Kyle Reese T-600 Kyle Reese arrives, he is attacked by Appearance: TS 1980 is born. another T-1000 sent to The rst In ltrator featuring 1997 (T3) kill him, but is rescued combat endoskeletons made 09 Judgment Day of titanium alloy. Precursor by Sarah Connor and does not to the T-800 series. Pops. Using a makeshift happen. time-displacement Features Sarah Connor machine they put • Basic disguise with latex succumbs to together with the rubber skin leukaemia and T-800’s parts, Sarah • Able to lift ve times its dies. John own weight and punch 1990 wants to travel forward Connor goes through concrete and metal to 1997 to end off the grid. Judgment Day, but Kyle convinces her T-800/850 1997 (T1, T2) that Judgment Day Appearances: T1, T2, T3, TS, TG 02 Skynet goes 06 is now in 2017 instead. Skynet’s rst successful online. In ltrator unit, capable of Judgment Day in ltrating the Resistance. 2000 happens after The T-800 has a functional Skynet launches period of 120 years on one Rev-9 power cell. all the world’s 2004 (T3) nukes, wiping out 10 The United States Features most of human- military brings • Basic disguise with kind. Skynet online. latex rubber skin • Able to lift ve times its Skynet launches own weight and punch 2010 all the world’s through concrete and metal nukes, almost wiping out 2003 (TS) humankind. Dr Serena Kogan T-1000 convinces death- Appearances: T2, TG row inmate A Terminator made entirely 2020 Marcus Wright to of liquid metal with molecular memory called 2020 Terminator: donate his body "mimetic polyalloy". Dark Fate takes to Cyberdyne Features place 25 years Systems after his execution. • Able to morph into later after the anything it touches and events impersonate humans 2030 of T2 • Can resist physical attack and regenerate almost 03 2004 (T3) immediately 12 The T-X is sent back to kill • Able to fashion solid Katherine Brewster and the weapons from its limbs 2029 (T1) rest of the Resistance as John Connor leads the Resistance John Connor is off the grid. Together with a T-850, they T-X against Skynet and seemingly defeats Appearance: T3 it. On the eve of its defeat, Skynet try to stop Skynet from 07 Skynet continued to develop sends a T-800 back to 1984 to kill Sarah going online. The T-850 its liquid-metal technology, Connor, John’s mother, before she could defeats T-X, but they fail to this time layering it over an conceive him. John sends Kyle Reese to stop Judgment Day. John advanced endoskeleton. the past to protect his mother. and Katherine hide in a Features nuclear bunker, surviving • Able to recon gure an arm 2029 (T2) the nuclear fallout. to access in-built weapons Again on the eve of its defeat, a more such as the Plasma Cannon advanced Skynet sends a T-1000 back and amethrower to 1997 to kill young John Connor. John 11 • Capable of sustaining counters by sending a reprogrammed extreme damage T-800 to the past to ensure his own 2018 (TS) safety. 13 John Connor leads T-3000 the Resistance against 2017 (TG) Appearance: TG 2029 (T3) Skynet. He saves Kyle Reese 16 Arriving in 2017, Kyle and Created by infecting humans Before its destruction, Skynet sends 2029 (TG) with the help of Marcus Sarah are greeted by John with nanobots, completely a T-X back to 2004. A T-850 infiltrates John Connor sees Skynet sending Wright, a Skynet cyborg sent Connor, who has been rewriting their genetic the Resistance base and kills John the original T-800 into the past, 14 to infiltrate the Resistance. In converted into a T-3000 coding. Leader of the so he sends Kyle Reese back to 1984 terminator by the T-5000 in Resistance, John Connor, Connor. It is then captured by an assault on a Skynet base, became a T-3000. Katherine Brewster, John’s wife and to rescue Sarah Connor. While in the John is fatally wounded and the future and sent back to deputy of the Resistance. The T-850 time machine, Kyle sees John being Marcus, who has now turned eliminate them. Pops defeats Features is reprogrammed and sent back to attacked by a T-5000, the physical on Skynet, donates his the T-3000 and stops Skynet • Invulnerable to physical attacks, bullets, explosions 2004 — to protect John and herself. embodiment of Skynet. human heart to save John. from going online. • Able to “dissipate” into a mist-like swarm and TERMINATOR’S CATCHPHRASES reassemble itself almost immediately

‘I’ll be back’ ‘Come with me if ‘Hasta la ‘You are Rev-9 From various movies in the franchise you want to live’ vista, baby’ terminated’ Appearance: Terminator: Dark Fate When told to wait at the police station in The From various movies in the franchise Terminator 2: Judgment Day Terminator 3: Rise Of Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator An advanced modi ed The Machines liquid-metal Terminator sent character utters the iconic line and leaves the In the original franchise, it is Kyle Reese’s pickup Another phrase synonymous from the future to terminate station, only to return in a car, ploughing into the line to a confused Sarah Connor as she stares down with the Terminator brand. It is a line Schwarzenegger the protagonist in Dark Fate. station. Other instances include in Terminator 2 when the barrel of a gun pointed at her by Schwarzenegger’s T-800 picks uses after he finishes off T-X Features canisters of gas are thrown at him and Sarah and Schwarzenegger’s T-800. In Terminator 2, up street lingo from a young in Terminator 3. One thing that • Solid endoskeleton covered John Connor; and in Terminator 3 when Schwarzenegger’s T-800 (now reformed) repeats John Connor. Later, he says the has not been terminated, with a liquid-metal Schwarzenegger shoots the T-X and she falls down the same line to Sarah. In Terminator Salvation, line before shooting T-1000. however, is the Terminator exoskeleton, with the ability the shaft of the lift, with him uttering: “She’ll be a young Reese utters the same line to Sam franchise. to split into two autonomous back.” In Terminator Salvation, John Worthington’s character Marcus Wright as he terminators (Christian Bale) utters the line as well. battles the machines. • Able to create weapons from all its body parts STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS: BILLY KER, BRYANDT LYN AND SIMON ANG