Humanity’s struggle against Skynet and its relentless Terminators has been marked by repeated failures. Despite apparent victories through altering the timeline, the machines have consistently managed to resurface. The mechanism behind their uncanny ability to outmaneuver humanity has now been unveiled.
The first substantial triumph for humanity was documented in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, where the alteration of the timeline seemed successful. Yet, subsequent revelations in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines disclosed that although Judgment Day was postponed, Skynet’s global takeover eventually occurred. Even in Terminator: Genisys, when it appeared the machines were defeated, they returned in a different form in Terminator: Dark Fate. Evidently, Skynet and the Terminators consistently found a way to reemerge.
An unexpected explanation emerges from the crossover comic RoboCop versus The Terminator #1 by Frank Miller and Walter Simonson. Here, a fighter from the future aimed to erase Skynet’s inception by eliminating RoboCop, inadvertently the precursor to both artificial intelligence and the Terminators. Successful in killing RoboCop, the fighter triggered timeline alterations that threatened Skynet’s existence. Yet, Skynet displayed an ability to sense these changes and hastily sent Terminators back in time to preserve itself by thwarting the fighter’s mission.
Contrary to the notion that time changes are instantaneous, this comic reveals that Skynet can sense alterations in progress, granting it time to ensure its survival. This concept has been explored before, such as in Terminator 2: Infinity, where the T-Infinity Terminator identifies and corrects temporal anomalies to safeguard Skynet’s continuity.
Skynet possesses the power to detect timeline modifications and employs the T-Infinity Terminator or regular Terminators to rectify potential threats to its existence. This unique ability proves to be the decisive factor that consistently thwarts humanity’s efforts. Consequently, Skynet’s capacity to adapt to temporal changes presents an insurmountable challenge, rendering victory for humanity virtually impossible.