Terminator’s Ultimate Weapon Was Only Unlocked by Alien DNA

Terminators are some of the most formidable and deadly Sci-Fi villains in the history of the genre, but they didn’t reach their peak until they merged with another science fiction monster, Alien’s Xenomorph. The hybridization of the two creatures unlocked the Terminators’ ultimate weapon, one that it could never have wielded without Xenomorph DNA.

Despite the fact that these respective franchises originally had nothing to do with each other upon their films’ initial releases, their crossover comic series Aliens vs Predator vs The Terminator asserts that Alien and The Terminator have been a part of the same continuity all along. Apparently, Alien takes place in the future after Skynet’s attack on Planet Earth and the AI’s subsequent defeat to the Human Resistance led by John Connor. It seems Skynet’s reign was pretty short-lived, though remnants of the evil artificial intelligence remained scattered across the galaxy. As humanity rebuilt from the ashes of Skynet’s assault on the planet and became the space-faring race of humans introduced in 1979’s Alien, a rogue squadron of surviving Terminators is plotting the return of Skynet. By the time of this crossover – which takes place after Alien Resurrection – those rogue Terminators finally figured out how they were going to pull it off.

Terminators Fused With Xenomorphs To Bring Back Skynet, & Got Major Power-Ups

In Aliens vs Predator vs The Terminator by Mark Schultz and Mel Rubi, the remaining Terminators are able to successfully create Terminator/Xenomorph hybrids. These creatures have the biological weapons inherent in every Xenomorph, along with the ferocity and hive-mind-like coordination of the ‘perfect organism’, but that’s not all. This hybridization also gave the Terminators an entirely new ability, one that isn’t derived from either the Xenomorph or the Terminators entirely, but is rather a unique result of their merging: the Absorption Matrix. This ability allows the hybrids to literally absorb their physical surroundings, which both makes themselves more durable in any given situation with the added benefit of absolutely demolishing their surroundings, which is an aspect to the ability that can be weaponized in and of itself given the right circumstances (like inside a spaceship or within a highly volatile laboratory, for instance).

This ability manifested through the sheer malleability of Xenomorph DNA, and the Terminators’ ability to manipulate it to suit their needs. It is well established in Alien canon that Xenomorphs adapt gradually to their surroundings with each generation, as their hosts allow them to evolve through genetic imprint, which naturally makes them better suited for their environment. The Terminators know this, but since they can’t impart pieces of themselves with every new generation of Xenomorph in the more natural way (if one considers Facehugger impregnation ‘natural’), they opted to speed up that process through experimentation.

These experiments conducted by the Terminators to create the best versions of themselves for the resurgence of Skynet results in perhaps the most ferocious Terminator in the history of the franchise, one with an ultimate attack it could never have had without the DNA of Alien’s Xenomorph.