It's Judgement Day. That is, time to judge which characters from media would survive being tracked down by a T-800; the classic iteration of the character. There won't be any liquid Terminators this time around.
Terminators are notoriously diligent in their duties and will hunt down their target until they are terminated or if the Terminator itself is destroyed. With that in mind, here are the contenders, and their status update for how they'd fare.
SURVIVE: Indiana Jones
Indy doesn't have the best equipment to take on a Terminator, but his mind is his best weapon. If Kyle Reese and Sarah Conner could fend off a T-800 with modest weapons such as pipe bombs and a shotgun, Indy could scrounge together some decent tools to fight as well.
Frankly, after surviving a nuclear explosion in cat and mouse situation, but not hopeless.
TERMINATED: Maximus Decimus Meridius
Maximus is a decent hand to hand fighter, but using a sword on a metallic murderous robot with guns is pretty hopeless. And while Maximus might be pretty crafty and versatile in a fight, he does better in groups.
His fights generally involve multiple people, whether he was commanding Roman garrisons or fighting alongside fellow enslaved gladiators. On his own, he doesn't have people to lead and inspire or protect him, so that also runs against him pretty harshly to survive.
SURVIVE: Han Solo
Yes, it seems Harrison Ford is destined to survive a Terminator, as two Ford characters have now appeared on this list. Han Solo is a talented shooter and has the perfect weapon to take out a T-800 quickly: a laser pistol.
In the flashforwards of the Terminator-ruled future, it's shown that humans can go toe-to-toe with Terminators (or at least stand a better chance) when they are armed with laser weaponry, ranging from rifles to Gatling guns. Though a pistol isn't ideal, it would get the job done, and that's not taking into any other weapons Han could have at him at any given moment.
TERMINATED: Patrick Bateman
Patrick Bateman is very physically fit, but a complete mental disaster. Bateman suffers from a plethora of possible disorders; narcissism, sexual sadism, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and likely many more. The title of the film he is from, American Psycho, is a perfectly suitable way to narrow it all down.
Taking down a Terminator requires precision and caution, and the unstable and insane Bateman just wouldn't be able to keep it together to survive long enough. At least he'd have fun trying to kill a Terminator.
SURVIVE: Jason Bourne
If the malnourished and barely armed Kyle Reese could survive for as long as he did in the first Terminator film, then there's no doubt that the fit and "deadly with anything in the room" Bourne could outwit a Terminator.
Oddly enough, just like Kyle Reese, Jason Bourne also had a gal pal by his side, though granted, with no one to need to protect, Bourne only gains an advantage.
TERMINATED: HAL 9000
Robot vs. Robot. Or rather, AI vs. AI. In a fight, HAL 9000 wouldn't necessarily fight a Terminator so much as the creators of the Terminators: Skynet, the superintelligence system that was networked around the world.
It's doubtful that HAL would be capable of fighting of Skynet's AI, but it's certain that HAL (Heuristically Programmed Algorithmic Computer) wouldn't be able to do much with a Terminator rushing to unplug him. Even if it was on his home turf, and HAL managed to blast a Terminator into the void of space, a Terminator wouldn't need air to survive. It would take a long time, but the ejected Terminator would eventually make its way back.
SURVIVE: Robocop
Geeks from all backgrounds have often debated about whether or not Robocop doesn't have the best mobility and isn't quite as intelligent as the others on this list, but that doesn't matter too much. He could take quite a beating and still survive the Terminator, which is better durability than any human that has come up against a Terminator.
Of course, he'd need to avoid any shots to the face, but at least the other 90% of his body is safe. That's not the only luxury of being a cyborg; he'd also have impeccable aim and super strength.
TERMINATED: Marge Gunderson
Cops probably have the worst track record when it comes to fighting Terminators. In virtually every installment of the Terminator franchise, massive amounts of cops or any armed people in uniform are slaughtered by Terminators. They're essentially thrown into a meat grinder to showcase how terrifyingly deadly and effective a Terminator can be.
If an entire armed police station in the first Terminator couldn't take down a T-800, a single pregnant cop would not stand the smallest inkling of a chance.
SURVIVE: Douglas Quaid
It's Schwarzenegger vs. Schwarzenegger. Who would win? This time around, it wouldn't be Schwarzenegger's most iconic role, but instead, his most chaotic one: Douglas Quaid, the protagonist of Total Recall.
Quaid is one of the most adaptable "just roll with the punches" action heroes in science fiction, and would not be too phased by a Terminator. He would have a decent enough loadout of weaponry and is brilliant in escaping and surviving danger, and would no doubt have a good one-liner upon defeating his metal doppelgänger.
TERMINATED: Bill & Ted
It's not too bogus to imagine that Bill and Ted, loveable and goofy as they are, wouldn't survive a Terminator. Whether they were together in their journey of survival or not, they wouldn't be able to charm an emotionless murdering machine.
That being said, upon dying, they would be able to squirm their way out of it, as they have one-upped the personification of Death before (in games of Twister and Battleship, of course). And upon revival, the Terminator wouldn't be hostile, as it would have fulfilled its programming of terminating its targets. So yes, technically, Bill and Ted would be terminated, but long term, they'd be OK.
