Throughout the Terminator franchise, the titular android assassin has had numerous disguises and camouflage capabilities. From vocal changes to taking on the physical attributes of others to impersonate them, it can be hard to tell apart a Terminator from a real person. Yet one of the most disturbing human impersonations came in The Terminator #1, a comic from 1988.
There have been numerous comics set within the universe of The Terminator, as well as crossovers into other universes. This includes crossovers with the Alien and Predator franchises that have created some rather horrific merged hybrids. However, even a Xenomorph/Terminator can't compare to the most disturbing form Skynet chose for its soldiers in NOW Comics.
The Terminator #1 has the creative team of Fred Schiller, Tony Akins, Jim Brozman, Ken Holewczynski, Rich Powers, and Mitch O'Connell. This comic follows the events of the first film. It focuses on the future of the universe, when Skynet takes over and humans are rebelling against the machines. The first issue follows Sarah's Slammers, a group of soldiers named after Sarah Connor. They come across an older woman who is carrying a baby and being chased by a Terminator. While they are able to tell that the woman is a Terminator herself, some of them let their guard down when attending to the child, which is also revealed to be a Terminator.
The films and the spin-off television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles have shown numerous models of the titular killing machine. From the iconic T-800 to the adaptable T-1000 and various Hunter Killer models, Skynet has no shortage of cyborgs and murderous machinery. Yet none of these media have ever explored the potential of Skynet when it comes to children. While it isn't far-fetched for the machines to target a child, they have not been seen impersonating children despite the obvious advantage it would grant them. It's hard enough to tell apart some of the models from real humans, but being forced to attack a child would take things to a much more disturbing level.
A baby or toddler body may seem like a weird or even silly choice for a Terminator to use, but it comes with advantages. First, the usual instinct to open fire is entirely absent, despite the Terminator being no less equipped for combat. No-one would hesitate to fire with Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 barreling towards them, but the same isn't true for this infant horror. Perceived as innocent and generally non-threatening, the baby Terminator would also be perfect at infiltrating unexpected places that appear safe, and ambush its enemies from almost anywhere. Since they are machines, strength, intelligence, and performance would not be major issues. They'd have the intelligence and physical capabilities of standard Terminators, but would likely be better at stealth and taking opponents by surprise.
Sarah's Slammers are lucky to escape with their lives and take out the baby with relative ease using futuristic weaponry. The weaponry Kyle Reese complains about in the original film would definitely pose a problem against this foe, especially if its size allowed it greater speed and mobility. The classic T-800s from The Terminator and their future variations may appear to be the most deadly machines, but baby Terminators are the franchise's freakiest killer machine
