Summary

• Declan Shalvey's favorite Terminator model is the T-1000 for being easier to draw, not because it's the strongest in the franchise.
• Shalvey's Terminator comic series will be an anthology with unique Terminators hunting new targets in a hellish world.
• The T-Infinity from previous comic books may be the most powerful Terminator model, but the T-1000 is still Shalvey's favorite.

Terminator fans are about to get an all-new crop of stories published by Dynamite Entertainment from writer Declan Shalvey and artist Luke Sparrow. Unlike The Terminator stories of the past, this comic series will be more akin to an anthology, with unique Terminators popping up every issue to hunt down and terminate new targets. And out of all the Terminators that are being teased to make an appearance, one of them stands above the rest as Shalvey’s favorite model (and it’s not the classic T-800).

In an interview conducted by Declan Shalvey tells fans exactly what they can expect from the Terminator comic book series. At the start of the interview, the writer outlines the basic plot (without giving away any spoilers), which is how fans know that this will be something of an anthology as opposed to yet another chapter in the Sarah Connor chronicles. Shalvey then reveals that the comic will focus on elements of horror, while also holding onto the “heart of the franchise”, which is the human connections that are made in spite of their hellish world.

At the end of the interview (around the 7:10 timestamp in the above video), Shalvey reveals his favorite Terminator model: the T-1000. On the surface, that makes sense, as it is the ‘Liquid Terminator’, and proved far deadlier than the earlier models. However, Shalvey then explains that the reason the T-1000 is his favorite is, “it’s so much easier to draw”, which is a hilariously perfect response for a comic creator to give, especially one like Shalvey, who’s an artist as well as a comic book writer (indeed, Shalvey drew one of the variant covers for The Terminator #1).

Terminator’s T-1000 May Be “Easier to Draw”, but It’s Certainly Not the Best Model

The T-1000 may be Declan Shalvey’s favorite Terminator model because it’s easier to draw, but that shouldn’t imply that it’s the best one. Sure, it’s more powerful than the T-800 (though its weaknesses were clearly exploited in Terminator 2: Judgment Day), but there have been a great number of Terminators introduced in other comic book series that make the T-1000 look absolutely pathetic by comparison.

One such Terminator that definitely stands out from the rest is the T-Infinity from the comic book Terminator 2: Infinity. As shown in that comic book story arc, the T-Infinity is combined with time travel technology itself, allowing it to slide through time at will, making ‘corrections’ to the timeline that allow Skynet to continue operating in the future. Not only that, but the T-Infinity also has energy blades, plasma cannons, and force fields. In other words, the T-1000 might be the easiest to draw, but the T-Infinity is arguably the best Terminator model in the franchise.

Terminator’s T-1000 Isn’t Even the Strongest Model in the Main Franchise Canon

Terminator 3: Before the Rise by Miles Gunter and Mike Hawthorne

While the T-Infinity is arguably the most powerful Terminator model in the franchise, it also exists on the outskirts of Terminator continuity, and isn’t as firmly set in canon as the Terminators that appear in the films. But, even if fans only look at movie-Terminators, the T-1000 still doesn’t come out on top. In the comic Terminator 3: Before the Rise, it’s revealed that the T-X (aka the Terminatrix) defeated the T-1000 in one-on-one combat before going back in time, confirming that the T-X is a better model than the ‘Liquid Terminator’.

Of course, Declan Shalvey wasn’t asked which Terminator he thought was the most powerful, he was asked which model was his favorite, making the T-1000 as valid a choice as any other. And the reason he gave for making it is absolutely perfect for a comic creator, as Declan Shalvey reveals, his favorite Terminator model is the T-1000 because it’s “easier to draw”.

Source: Dynamite Entertainment/YouTube