T-1000

The T-1000 is a fictional character in the Terminator franchise, first appearing as the main antagonist in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Originally portrayed by Robert Patrick in his breakout role, the character became one of the series' most iconic villains.

Designed by the rogue artificial intelligence Skynet, the T-1000 is an advanced Terminator model created to eliminate humanity's resistance leader, John Connor. In Terminator 2, Skynet sends the T-1000 back in time to assassinate John while he is still a child.

Unlike earlier Terminator models, the T-1000 is composed of mimetic polyalloy, a liquid metal that enables it to shapeshift into other people or objects it touches. The character's groundbreaking visual effects, a combination of CGI by Industrial Light & Magic and practical effects by Stan Winston, were widely praised.

Patrick’s performance, along with the revolutionary effects, received critical acclaim. The T-1000 has since been referenced and parodied in various media, while its shapeshifting concept has influenced later Terminator models, such as the T-X, T-1001, and Rev-9.

Patrick reprised the role for T2-3D: Battle Across Time, a 1996 theme park attraction. The T-1000 later reappeared in Terminator Genisys (2015), portrayed by Lee Byung-hun in a rebooted timeline.

Names	T-1000 Advanced Prototype, Mr. X ,Officer X (T2 Script), Officer Austin
Gender	Genderless
Race	Terminator
Occupation	Assassin, Infiltratior
Origin	Terminator 2: Judgement Day (July 3, 1991)
Alignment	Neutral (Is a Programmed Machine) Evil
Age	Varies
Created By	James Cameron, William Wisher Jr.
Height	Varies
Weight	Varies
Personality Type	ISTP, 6w7 (Enneagram)
Portrayed By	Robert Patrick (T2), Jenette Goldstein, Don and Dan Stanton, and Leslie Hamilton Gearren (performing its various impersonations) Lee Byung-hun (Genisys)

Appearance

The T-1000 is composed entirely of mimetic polyalloy, a liquid metal substance that allows it to shapeshift at will. In its default state, it typically assumes a humanoid appearance with a featureless, silvery metallic form when not mimicking a specific individual.

In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, its primary disguise is that of an LAPD police officer, portrayed by Robert Patrick. This form features short-cropped brown hair, an athletic build, and a cold, calculating expression that enhances its unnervingly human yet subtly inhuman demeanor. Its police uniform consists of a standard dark blue LAPD outfit, complete with a badge and utility belt.

The T-1000’s transformations are fluid and precise, allowing it to replicate clothing, wounds, and even intricate facial expressions to blend in with its surroundings. However, when damaged or destabilized, its body momentarily reverts to a silvery, liquid-like state, revealing its true nature.

In Terminator Genisys, a different T-1000 appears, first seen in 1973 with an unknown default form before later taking the guise of an Asian American LAPD officer, played by Lee Byung-hun. Like its predecessor, this version seamlessly shifts between forms to deceive and eliminate its targets.

Throughout its appearances, the T-1000 demonstrates a uniquely unsettling physicality—its movements are unnaturally smooth and efficient, often lacking the mechanical rigidity of earlier Terminators. This, combined with its uncanny ability to mimic human behavior, makes it one of the most terrifying and advanced models in Skynet’s arsenal.

Personality

Like most Terminators, the T-1000 exhibits a limited emotional range, primarily using expressions and gestures as part of its infiltration tactics. However, subtle displays of emotion emerge in certain moments. It shows visible shock when its arm shatters from liquid nitrogen exposure and again just before its final destruction in the steel factory. It also exhibits a sense of condescension, wagging a finger in a "tsk-tsk" gesture at an attacker who fails to stop it. Additionally, it performs a brief double-take upon noticing a mannequin resembling its liquid metal form, hinting at a level of curiosity or self-awareness. When its interrogation of Sarah Connor is thwarted by the T-800, it reacts with frustration, brutally attacking its opponent with heavy machinery and steel ingots before impaling him. A deleted scene further highlights its confusion when it begins malfunctioning in the steel mill, accidentally fusing its hand to a metal bar.

Among its defining traits is a subtle but distinct sadism, setting it apart from other Terminators, even those with limited emotions like the T-X. This is especially evident during the film’s climax, where it deliberately prolongs Sarah's suffering instead of killing her outright, despite having multiple opportunities to do so. This behavior contradicts its otherwise pragmatic programming, suggesting it takes pleasure in psychological torment.

Although generally more calculating and methodical than the T-800, the T-1000 exhibits moments of unnecessary aggression. A prime example is when it stabs the nitrogen truck driver who merely inquired about its well-being, despite the man posing no threat or obstacle. This act appears to stem from frustration—a flaw absent in the original Terminator, which only engaged targets that served a purpose. In contrast, the T-800 demonstrated restraint, incapacitating a truck driver without lethal force and simply ordering a passenger to exit rather than attacking him.

Biography

Background

The T-1000 was created deep within Skynet's main complex using advanced manufacturing technology. Inside a heavily guarded facility, mimetic polyalloy was poured into a massive machine press spanning from floor to ceiling. Feeder pipes extending from the walls channeled the liquid metal into the press, where it was injected between two massive 20-ton plates. These plates were then hydraulically compressed, forming the impression of a humanoid figure. As the polyalloy filled the mold and solidified, it established the T-1000’s default molecular structure.

Skynet developed a groundbreaking process for the T-1000’s construction, making each molecule a self-contained, miniaturized version of the entire machine. Every molecule carried encoded blueprints containing the structural and functional data needed to assemble the complete T-1000, allowing for its fluid adaptability and self-repair capabilities.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

The T-1000 arrived beneath an overpass, its electrical displacement attracting the attention of patrol officer Joe Austin. It ambushed and killed the officer, assuming his appearance and taking his firearm. Using the police car’s onboard database, it accessed John Connor’s criminal records, learning his address and the names of his foster parents, Todd and Janelle Voight. Upon visiting their home, it obtained a photo of John and discovered he had already left with a friend to the local shopping mall.

As it continued its search, the T-1000 learned of a reprogrammed T-800 (Model 101) and began canvassing the area, questioning pedestrians about John’s whereabouts. Two girls directed it to the Galleria, where they claimed he had gone. Inside the mall, the T-1000 systematically searched the area, eventually investigating a video game arcade. Spotting John, it moved to apprehend him just as he fled. John's friend, mistaking the T-1000 for an ordinary police officer, attempted to intervene but was shoved aside.

The T-1000 chased John through the maintenance corridors, catching up with him at the same moment as the T-800. Before it could fire, the T-800 blasted it with a shotgun, momentarily stunning it. The T-1000 retaliated by unloading an entire magazine into the T-800’s back, inadvertently killing a bystander in the process.

While reloading, it was repeatedly shot by the T-800 and briefly incapacitated. However, it quickly recovered, seized the T-800’s shotgun, and engaged in a struggle. The T-800 slammed it into a brick wall, but the T-1000 countered by hurling the T-800 through a plaster wall and then sending it crashing through a window, shocking nearby shoppers.

The pursuit of John continued as he escaped on his dirt bike. The T-1000, running at superhuman speed, nearly caught him before John reached the main road, gaining some distance. Undeterred, the T-1000 hijacked a tow truck, forcefully removing the driver, and resumed the chase.

As John fled down a levee, the T-1000 drove the truck off a bridge, crashing into the embankment but continuing its pursuit despite the vehicle taking severe damage. John managed to stay ahead, with the T-800 now in pursuit on a motorcycle. The T-1000 narrowly avoided decapitation under a low bridge, then shattered the windshield to regain visibility and closed in on John, ramming the back of his bike.

By this time, the T-800 had caught up and maneuvered alongside the truck. The T-1000 attempted to force it away, but the T-800 persisted, pulling John from his motorcycle just before it was crushed under the truck's wheels. The T-800 then shot out the truck’s front-left tire, severely impairing the T-1000’s control.

Up ahead, a low bridge with a divider blocked the truck’s path. While John and the T-800 easily passed through on the bike, the truck, unable to stop or steer properly, lost control. It ramped the divider and crashed into the bridge, shedding debris. A combination of leaking gasoline, heat from the concrete, and a swinging battery cable triggered an explosion, temporarily delaying the T-1000 and allowing John to escape. Emerging from the wreckage, the T-1000 commandeered a police car and continued its pursuit.

Losing track of John, it calculated his next move and returned to the Voight residence, killing and impersonating Janelle. It remained in disguise until John called to check in. Attempting to lure him back home, it spoke kindly to him—an immediate red flag, as John knew his foster mother was rarely so pleasant. The barking of their dog, Max, further heightened his suspicion. When the T-1000 mistakenly used the wrong name for the dog, the T-800, now on the line impersonating John, confirmed that the Voights were dead. The T-1000 then coldly dispatched Todd by stabbing him through the mouth as he drank milk and, now irritated, also killed Max.

Searching John’s room, it meticulously examined his belongings before discovering a hidden cache of letters from his mother, Sarah Connor. The return address led it to Pescadero State Hospital. Gaining access to the facility, the T-1000 opted for a stealthy approach, flattening itself against the floor and mimicking the appearance of a police officer.

The T-1000 assumed the form of a security guard, killing him with a precise lobotomy. Disguised as the officer, it bypassed additional security and made its way to the cells, reverting to its default police form. As it searched the facility, it nearly missed Sarah Connor, who was in the midst of an escape attempt after incapacitating a staff member. The T-1000 caught up with her, but John and the T-800 arrived just in time. It phased effortlessly through a barred security door and pursued them as they fled into an elevator, taking a shotgun blast to the face at point-blank range.

Recovering quickly, it pried open the empty elevator shaft doors and leapt onto the roof of the descending elevator, morphing its arms into blades to stab through the ceiling. One strike wounded Sarah’s shoulder. She and the T-800 fired upward in an attempt to deter it, but her continued gunfire inadvertently gave away her position. The T-1000 managed another strike, though Sarah barely flinched from the injury. As the trio reached the underground parking lot, Sarah forced a police officer out of his car, which they promptly stole.

Meanwhile, the T-1000 poured itself into the elevator, reforming and giving chase once more. Despite being slowed by repeated gunfire from the T-800 and Sarah, it managed to latch onto the trunk, smashing the rear window with its bladed hook to reach for John. However, the T-800 blasted off its left arm, sending the T-1000 tumbling onto the road. It quickly recovered and gave chase, but the stolen car was already too far ahead. Its severed hook remained lodged in the trunk before John discarded it.

Regrouping, the T-1000 reclaimed its detached limb and hijacked a police motorcycle, using it as its primary means of transportation. Calculating the Connors’ likely next targets, it investigated the Dyson residence, finding evidence of a gunfight and the destruction of all Miles Dyson’s files. Moments later, a police radio alert reported a break-in at Cyberdyne Systems. The T-1000 immediately responded, arriving just in time to see the Connors escaping in a SWAT van.

Seizing a helicopter, it resumed the chase along the freeway, firing upon the van and wounding Sarah. The pursuit ended when the helicopter crashed into the back of the SWAT vehicle, flipping it onto its side. Emerging from the wreckage, the T-1000 wasted no time, impaling a nearby truck driver and commandeering his vehicle, which was hauling a tank of liquid nitrogen.

As it pursued the Connors, the T-1000 repeatedly attempted to force them off the road, inadvertently directing them toward a steel mill. The T-800 climbed across the van onto the truck, unloading an M4 carbine into the T-1000’s face before seizing the wheel. Swerving sharply, the T-800 caused the truck to tip onto its side, sending it careening into the mill. The impact ruptured the nitrogen tank, releasing its freezing contents.

Staggering from the wreckage, the T-1000 was doused in liquid nitrogen. As it pressed forward, its liquid-metal body rapidly froze, causing its limbs to crack and shatter. Attempting to take another step, its right arm snapped off, and it examined the damage in stunned disbelief before freezing completely. The T-800 delivered a final shotgun blast, shattering the frozen T-1000 into countless metallic shards.

Had it not been for an overflowing vat of molten steel nearby, this would have been its end. The intense heat melted the scattered fragments, allowing them to reform into a puddle of liquid metal, reminiscent of mercury. The T-1000 swiftly reconstituted itself, but the exposure to extreme temperatures had caused malfunctions, resulting in its limbs momentarily taking the shape of objects they touched.

Unfazed, it resumed the hunt, quickly locating the Connors. It soon engaged in another brutal confrontation with the T-800. Though evenly matched at first, the T-1000 exploited its morphing ability, trapping the T-800’s hand in a massive cog.

With the T-800 temporarily subdued, it turned its attention to Sarah, cornering her in the mill. As she fired a shotgun blast straight through its right eye, it remained unfazed, impaling her with a bladed finger. Demanding that she call out for John, the T-1000 grew frustrated as she stubbornly refused, spitting out a defiant "Fuck you."

Before it could finish her off, the T-800, having freed itself, drove a metal pipe straight through the T-1000’s torso.

Frustrated and visibly irritated by the T-800’s relentless interference, the T-1000 launched a merciless assault, striking the machine repeatedly with the metal pipe. It then used the surrounding heavy machinery to inflict further damage, slamming the T-800’s head against solid steel and crushing it beneath a massive ingot suspended from an overhead crane. Severely weakened, the T-800 attempted to crawl toward its M-79 grenade launcher, but before it could reach the weapon, the T-1000 drove the pipe into its spine, twisting it with brutal precision. The forceful motion bent the Terminator backward, severing its primary power source and seemingly rendering it inoperative.

With the T-800 out of commission, the T-1000 shifted its focus to John. It assumed the form of a battered, wounded Sarah and called out to him in a desperate voice. As John hesitated, the real Sarah arrived and fired her shotgun, exposing the deception. The T-1000 instantly reverted to its default police form and turned to confront her. Sarah fired relentlessly, driving the T-1000 backward toward the edge of a platform overlooking a vat of molten steel. With each shot, it teetered closer to the edge—until her shotgun clicked empty.

Recovering swiftly, the T-1000 advanced once more, its wounds sealing effortlessly. Just as it was about to strike, the T-800 reappeared, having rerouted power from its backup cell. Now free from the metallic rebar, it leveled its grenade launcher and fired a round directly into the T-1000’s chest. The projectile detonated inside its body, twisting its liquid-metal form in grotesque, unnatural contortions.

Staggering in shock, its mouth stretched open in silent agony as its structure failed to recover in time. Off-balance and unable to stabilize itself, the T-1000 toppled backward into the molten steel below.

The extreme heat rapidly corrupted its molecular integrity, causing its body to shift chaotically between forms in a futile attempt to adapt. It cycled uncontrollably through previous disguises—security guards, Janelle Voight, Lewis the officer—each form melting away as it writhed in silent horror. Its final act was a grotesque, involuntary convulsion as it turned itself inside out, its own face emerging from within in a final expression of mindless terror.

Its body liquefied completely, disintegrating into nothing. Its mission had failed. Its existence was over.

Terminator: Genisys

A T-1000 with a different default human appearance appears briefly in Terminator Genisys (2015), a reboot of the film series. It is revealed that Skynet dispatched this T-1000 to assassinate a nine-year-old Sarah Connor (played by Willa Taylor) in 1973. Although it successfully killed her parents, Sarah managed to escape and was rescued by a reprogrammed T-800 (Schwarzenegger), referred to as the "Guardian," who had been sent by an unknown party to protect her.

The same T-1000 later appears in 1984, now disguised as an LAPD officer of Asian descent (portrayed by Lee Byung-hun). It intercepts Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) upon his arrival from 2029. Lacking experience against a T-1000, Reese is unable to fight it effectively and retreats into a closed department store, where he is soon arrested by two police officers. The T-1000 attacks all three, but Kyle is saved when Sarah (Emilia Clarke) and the Guardian arrive in an armored truck. However, the T-1000 secretly attaches a fragment of itself to the truck, allowing it to track them to the Guardian’s warehouse hideout. It later disguises itself as Reese in an attempt to deceive Sarah before launching an attack. The group ultimately destroys it by luring it into hydrochloric acid.

After Sarah and Reese travel to 2017, they are recognized by O'Brien, one of the police officers from 1984. Having survived the earlier encounter with the T-1000, O'Brien believes their story about Skynet and releases them so they can prevent Judgment Day. Near the film’s conclusion, the Guardian is exposed to liquid metal at Cyberdyne Systems, granting it the T-1000’s shapeshifting abilities.

Other Appearances

Robert Patrick reprised his role as the T-1000 in T2-3D: Battle Across Time (1996), a theme park attraction at Universal Studios. In this short film, the T-800 (Schwarzenegger) takes John Connor (Edward Furlong) to the year 2029 to help destroy Skynet. During their journey, the T-1000 pursues them on a motorcycle but is ultimately repelled after the T-800 fires multiple shotgun rounds at it.

The T-1000 also appears in various Terminator comics. Two T-1000s feature in Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Nuclear Twilight (1996), where they infiltrate the Resistance, taking the form of a soldier. One is sent back in time to kill John Connor, as depicted in the film. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Cybernetic Dawn, set immediately after the events of T2, a female T-1000 and two T-800s arrive in the present to ensure Skynet's creation. The character also appears in Terminator/RoboCop: Kill Human (2011), where it once again targets John Connor but must also contend with RoboCop.

Patrick’s likeness was used in the Terminator 2 arcade game (1991), and the T-1000 has appeared in various video games, including Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021), the original version of Call of Duty: Warzone (2020), where it is featured as a playable operator and Mortal Kombat 1 as a playable guest character as part of the Kombat Pack 2 within the Khaos Reigns Story Mode DLC.

Powers and Statistics

Tier: 9-B

Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Expert Marksman (should be comparable to the T-800), Self-Sustenance (Type 3), Inorganic Physiology (Type 2), Shapeshifting, Weapon Creation and Voice Mimicry (Can transform its body to take the physique of bodies with a similar volume as itself, typically other humans after physical touch, or even the floor, as well as mimic their voice, Can grow extra limbs and shape weapons from its body), Regeneration (Low-High), Can use its metal as a tracking device]], Can revive terminators, Phasing through grates, bars, small holes, and helicopter windshields (able to use this in combat as Intangibility), Limited Resistance to Fire Manipulation (As shown here), Electricity Manipulation Immunity

Attack Potency: Wall level (Overpowered the T-800 several times and at the end of the film, nearly destroyed it)

Speed: At least Superhuman (Kept pace with a dirtbike and a reversing car) with possibly Supersonic reactions (Scaling from the T-800)

Lifting Strength: Class K (Comparable to the T-800)

Striking Strength: Wall level

Durability: Wall level (Bullets don't do much damage to its endoskeleton. One was rammed by a truck and it didn't take any lasting damage. Took a large explosion and the endoskeleton was fine. Took punches from the T-800). Its regeneration makes it hard to destroy (It was frozen, then shattered, and managed to heal in a minute or so)

Stamina: Virtually Infinite (The T-1000 can operate continuously on a single power cell for 120 years)

Range: Standard Melee Range, higher with various firearms.

Standard Equipment: Any weapon it can think of that it can create with its own body. Being a police officer in most of its appearances, will carry a pistol.

Intelligence: Normally, a T-1000's learning aptitude is restricted, but when set to "write" instead of "read" mode, they can adapt to and develop almost human personalities. They are also able to quickly adapt to and use technology/weapons/vehicles, especially those within Skynet's database on modern technology. Terminators are made to perfectly blend into and interact with society, as well as understand its norms to better integrate or even ascend to a higher position in it, such as impersonating a police officer. They use detective skills to find their targets multiple times over the course of their films, using all types of resources such as police records, a target's family or guardians to influence their targets actions or predict their next course of action to intercept them.

Standard Tactics: To find a target, uses various means, such as accessing police records, talking to relatives of a target, and interacting with society, mimicking other organisms to achieve this goal and/or to get closer to their target. In combat, often abuses its liquid body to allow nothing to impede it as it continues its attack, such as passing through gates, growing limbs to operate a helicopter, or inhibit the movements of its foes to gain the upper hand

Weaknesses: Can affected or killed by extreme heat (while resistant to fires, it's ability to mimic other things will be hampered and it must be in a suitable temperature to reestablish a human appearance, when dipped into liquid substances that are at or over 1535 degrees Celsius, such as liquid iron, the T-1000 effectively dies beyond possible reconstitution due to mixing with the molten metal). Concentrated corrosive materials such as acid can also damage it. Extremely low temperatures will slow it down by freezing it but it will not kill it, although shattering it will cause numerous glitches to occur afterwards that impair its shapeshifting abilities to look less than perfect.

Trivia

• The novel series Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles is the only Terminator fiction to mention that a T-1000 can be reprogrammed.
• In Terminator: Resistance, a visual Easter egg shows a dead Resistance operative strapped to a gurney inside a Skynet facility. The operative's facial features closely resemble Robert Patrick’s version of the T-1000, possibly hinting that he was the model for that particular line of Terminators.
• The T-1000 is cool to the touch, as noted in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles episode "Desert Cantos" and The T2 RPG Sourcebook. Interestingly, this remains true even when it is active, suggesting that its power source is either highly heat-resistant or does not generate heat at all. Due to this, The T2 RPG Sourcebook states that T-1000s typically avoid physical contact with humans unless they are impersonating or killing them.
• According to the novelization of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the text commentary from the T2: Judgment Day DVD Extreme Edition, the T-1000 is encased in a living tissue cocoon, allowing it to travel through Time Displacement Equipment despite being entirely composed of mimetic polyalloy. However, this contradicts the events seen in The Sarah Connor Chronicles episode "Born to Run."
• Van Ling, the creative supervisor of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, proposed an alternative theory: rather than requiring a living tissue cocoon, the T-1000 might be capable of mimicking the bioelectric field generated by living organisms to pass through time displacement.
• In T2: Cybernetic Dawn and T2: Nuclear Twilight, it is suggested that some T-1000s have a predetermined gender appearance when in their default state. T2: Nuclear Twilight further implies that, unlike other Terminators such as the T-X, T-1000s do not have a fixed appearance when first created. Instead, their default form is determined by the first person they impersonate.
• In T2: Infiltrator, it is stated that the helicopter pilot the T-1000 mimicked died from the fall, whereas Dark Futures claims the driver of the liquid nitrogen truck survived.
• In Terminator: Resistance, the default appearance of the T-1000 is identified as Resistance soldier R826457, who was captured by Skynet and perished during human experimentation.
• The police car the T-1000 steals from Officer Austin is a 1987 Chevy Caprice. In a deleted scene, after setting the tow truck on fire, it spots emergency responders arriving and seizes the opportunity to steal an unattended 1988 Chevy Caprice from an officer.
• The T-1000 was portrayed by Robert Patrick, with Jenette Goldstein (Janelle Voight), Don and Dan Stanton (Lewis), and Leslie Hamilton Gearren (Fake Sarah at the steel mill) performing its various impersonations. Surprisingly, of the 15 minutes showcasing its unsettling transformations in T2, only six were achieved using CGI. The remaining nine minutes utilized intricately detailed puppets and prosthetics created by Stan Winston Studios, the same team behind the T-800's endoskeleton effects.

• The T-1000's handgun is a Beretta 92FS 9mm, a firearm widely used by law enforcement in 1995.