The Matrix vs Terminator: Who Would Win?

Welcome to our rage against the machine special! The Matrix vs Terminator! both franchises have spawned multiple spinoffs, including comics, video games, and groundbreaking movies.

When it comes to fighting evil AI and their deadly robot proxies, two Sci-Fi movies surpass all others. The Matrix and Terminator franchises have brought the man/machine struggle to whole new levels and introduced us to some of the most exhilarating robotic models, human warriors, and futuristic concepts.

From the T-800s and Sentinels to virtual reality and time travelers, in this Faceoff, we will find out which universe has the best characters, most iconic scenes, most astonishing visual effects, the finest guns, and whatnot. So let’s join the human resistance in their desperate battle to stand up to machine tyranny in a world of rubbles and pain where man and machine go head-to-head.

Neo

Neo was born Thomas A. Anderson. He is aware of the true nature of the Matrix which is a virtual reality world. There, people are plugged in while their bodies are used for energy by machines. Neo lives in what we call “the real world,” aka “The Matrix.”

However, he wasn’t born there. Machines created him on one of the human farms. Neo was injected into the matrix right from birth. Prophesized to be The One – a human being who possesses vast superhuman abilities inside the Matrix and in the real world –  Neo sets out to free humanity from the Matrix and end the Machine War. Is neo the chosen one? Or, “The One?.”

Spoiler alert: He is not. The Oracle suggested that the war with the machines would end when the anomaly reaches the source. Although Neo reaches the source the war doesn’t end then and there. Could Neo become a leader of his followers in the Matrix world and free the minds of the people from within?

John Connor

The leader of the worldwide human resistance that fights against machines. John Conor is an idea created by humanity’s remaining military people. He was used as means to rally the remains of the human race behind a leader against Skynet.

John grew up with his mother, Sarah Connor, she invested a great number of resources to teach him useful leadership skills. She described to him the upcoming apocalypse and how he was going to grow up to be a great leader.

At some point, Skynet decides that John Connor is the focal point of the rebellion and his termination would end the opposition to his reign. After repeated failures at terminating John during the war, Skynet decides to use a time displacement device to send Terminators to various points in the past in an attempt to terminate John before the war even begins.

The Matrix vs Terminator: Neo or John Connor? Which leader would you pick to save the human race?

The Matrix vs Terminator

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Trinity

Trinity is a human operative, the first mate of the Nebuchadnezzar, and Neo’s lover. She operates vehicles both inside and outside the Matrix, an expert in martial arts and the use of firearms.

Master of Kung Fu fighting and a master gunwoman, Trinity is a super strong woman who can take out a roomful of gun-wielding enemies without tousling a hair out of place.

She was also able to defeat many superhuman thugs with little to no difficulty and was even able to briefly hold her own with one of the Matrix’s agents. Trinity is completely dedicated to the cause of defeating the machines.

Sarah Connor

Sarah Connor is the mother of John Connor, leader of the Resistance. She was the one who taught John to fight and organize, preparing him to become a great military leader in the coming war against machines.

Ever since she fought against a Terminator that was sent to kill her before she could give birth to John, Sarah has trained herself in various skills to better prepare herself and John. She’s an able hand-to-hand combatant, a master weapon user, a demolition expert, and a good driver.

She’s also a master in the most useful skills of lock picking, stealth, forgery, and being an escape artist. She is also unusually strong and muscular for her size. Everything about Sarah is focused on stopping the coming Judgement Day.

The Matrix vs Terminator: It’s the final battle against the machines, you can save only one of these gunwomen, who is more important for the cause, and would you dispose of, Trinity or Sarah?

The Matrix vs Terminator

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When it comes to fighting evil cyborgs and their deadly robot proxies, two Sci-Fi creations surpass all others. The Matrix and Terminator franchises have brought the man/machine struggle to whole new levels.

Both movies introduced us to some of the most exhilarating robotic models, human warriors, and futuristic concepts. As it turns out, AI doesn’t automatically favor humanity just because it created them. In fact, these two AI’s claimed the world for themselves.

Deus Ex Machina

Deus Ex Machina is the central interface and ruling leader of 01/Machine City in The Matrix film trilogy. It serves as the boss of both the machines and the computer programs inside the simulation program called the Matrix. The Deus Ex Machina AI created an empire where the machines would rule over the world and subject humankind to slavery.

SkyNet

A supercomputer mainframe possessing artificial intelligence. It became self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, its’ human creators tried to pull the plug, causing SkyNet to see humanity as a threat to its existence.

As a result, Skynet fought back. It launched nuclear missiles against targets in Russia, knowing the Russian counter-attack will eliminate its enemies over the U.S. Later, it would wage the war against humanity by developing and deploying an army of Hunter-Killers and Terminator machines.

The Matrix vs Terminator: The AI’s below literally stopped at nothing to wipe out humanity. Now they face each other in a deadly AI battle. Which AI wins this battle?

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The Armored Personnel Unit

APU is a mechanized walker designed for combat. They formed part of the primary line of defense for Zion, the last human city. Its main armament is a pair of large-caliber automatic cannons attached to its arms. All motion of the APU is controlled by the human operator’s hands, including its legs.

The Terminator T-600

Skynet created the T-600 Terminator series. They are also known as “Rubbers.” As a result of their rubber skin covering, the Resistance fighters could easily spot the T-600s in the field. However, some resistance soldiers often confuse them with humans. Especially at a distance in the dark or if the Terminator is with its back to them.

The Matrix vs Terminator: The Armored Personnel Unit and The Terminator T-600 are about to clash – who wins?

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Sentinels

A sentinel is an autonomous machine that serves Deus Ex Machina. They patrol the ancient sewers and passageways in search of human-controlled hovercraft or wandering humans.

A sentinel appears as a multi-tentacled creature with multiple sensors that move effortlessly through the air. It can fire laser beams that can slice and weld metal structures with ease. In addition, they are armed with powerful clawed tentacles.

The sentinel’s multiple appendages can be used as ablative armor, deflecting projectiles like bullets from the vital “heads” (where programming data is stored) of close-by sentinel allies.

The T-1000 Advanced Prototype

An advanced Terminator prototype. Unlike previous Infiltrator models that used rubber skin, the T-1000 is made entirely out of a liquid metal called “mimetic poly-alloy.” This allows the T-100 to reform into any shape it touches. It can also be organically from blunt weaponry such as hooks and knives.

The Matrix vs Terminator: Robot Wars! it’s the Sentinels vs The T-100These two lethal machines are about to engage in a royal battle. Which one comes out victorious?

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The Nebuchadnezzar

A hovercraft that serves as one of the primary transportation and defensive forces for the city of Zion. Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity use the Nebuchadnezzar. Like other hovercrafts in the fleet it “flies” using pad technology that apparently leverages magnetism to form levitation.

It is also quite heavily armored, as demonstrated when its exterior armor and interior hull took several minutes for a patrol of Sentinels to cut through. The Nebuchadnezzar carries a few light guns and an AMP device. It fires a burst of electromagnetic energy that disrupts electronic devices.

Aerial HK

Aerial HKs are large, airborne, Hunter-Killer combatant robots. Featuring a devastating array of under-slung and wing-mounted lasers, missiles, and plasma cannons, the HK-Aerial is fearsome and terrifying to behold.

The Matrix vs Terminator: Which robot wins?

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01 Machine City

01 Machine City is the home and capital sovereignty of the Machines. Since the fall of mankind, it has grown to a tremendous size. Nuclear fusion and neuro-electric energy fuel the 01 Machine City. Billions of humans in massive Matrix power plants, produce the machine’s energy. Surrounding the city is an immense defense system consisting of large, crablike Defenders that activate when unauthorized craft approach.

Skynet Central

One of many machine complexes that exist in the Terminator post-apocalyptic future. This immense complex had become automated in the years following Judgement Day. No refugee humans remained alive in the area. The Matrix exists as a neuro-interactive simulation for synthetically-grown humans, in the real world, as their bodies serve as the main power source for the Machines.

The Matrix vs Terminator: You have just escaped from a dark dungeon and arrived at an unfamiliar stronghold. Which one of these tells you you’re in big big trouble?

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The Matrix System

In The Matrix universe, The human/machine war not only resulted in massive nuclear attacks that poisoned the Earth’s atmosphere with waste and dust – at some point mankind decided that their best chance of victory was to also darken the skies to prevent the machines from using their main source of energy – solar radiation.

To that end the sky was scorched with self-reproducing Nanomachines that put a black blanket between the sun and the surface of the Earth, deflecting all of the sun’s rays and causing eternal electromagnetic storms that would make it difficult for the machines to pass through the dark turbulent layer.

The Time Displacement Equipment

In the Terminator universe, Skynet’s nuclear strike has killed three billion people, an event referred to by the survivors as “Judgment Day”. Skynet then continued to dispose of the rest of humanity by using Hunter-killer machines that patrolled the Earth and killed any human they found. Humanity came close to going out forever.

The Matrix vs Terminator: The chance of war is escalating and the president has finally sanctioned your ‘Future Earths’ project. But you need to choose between Displacement projects. Which one would you choose?

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The Lightning Rifle

A directed-energy weapon. It is large and bulky, requiring two hands to wield effectively. The weapon emits an intense burst of lightning able to destroy a Sentinel with one or two well-placed shots. The Lightning Rifle is the human resistance weapon of choice.

The Phased Plasma Rifle

The Skynet’s forces’ weapon of choice. The Phased Plasma Rifle has a bullpup configuration. During the Future War, most of the T-800 Endoskeletons, the main infantry force of Skynet, carried two M-25 Phased Plasma Rifles during battles. The human resistance soldiers also used captured M-25 to fight against the machines.

The Matrix vs Terminator: You need to equip your rebel army with one of the below future rifles. Which one would you choose?

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The Matrix Minigun

The Minigun is a multi-barreled rotating machine gun. The “Minigun” name is used because of its smaller size, as compared to other types of Gatling-style guns. While rescuing Morpheus from the agents, Neo opened fire with a GE M134 Minigun mounted on a Bell 212 helicopter. The barrels finally stop revolving after Neo kills all the Agents in the room

The Terminator Minigun

The Terminator used the minigun to destroy several police cars parked outside the Cyberdyne Systems building in an attempt to keep the police force at bay.

The Matrix vs Terminator: Say hello to your minigun, which one would you choose?

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The Dual Rocket Launcher

The dual rocket launcher is an anti-machine weapon. The Zion defense forces destroy Diggers with this launcher. The weapon features a dual-barreled rocket launcher that launches two rockets at the same time at the target.

The M72 Light Antitank Weapon

A lightweight, disposable unguided anti-tank weapon developed for individual use and first deployed during the Vietnam War. Sarah Connor fires the M72 during the highway battle.

The Matrix vs Terminator: Thousands of giant mutated spiders are now terrorizing your city! Which rocket launcher would you choose to exterminate them?

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The Virtual Armory

If you’re about to take on a machine empire, you’re going to need a lot of weapons. When Trinity and Neo are determined to save Morpheus from the agents, they begin their rescue attempt by running the armory program and arm up before going into the Matrix.

The Mojave Desert Armory

Before setting out to destroy the Cyberdyne Building in a preemptive strike against Skynet, The Terminator and Sarah Connor go to the Mojave Desert armory and pull out a huge weapons arsenal.

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The Matrix vs Terminator: Famous Catchphrases

Nothing is cooler than saying some cold-blooded shit to someone just before you pop a cap in his ass.

“I’ll Be Back”

According to IMDB: ‘Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s iconic catchphrase almost became “I will be back” because he thought it sounded more machine-like without a contraction; he also felt “I’ll” sounded too feminine. It was the one major disagreement between Schwarzenegger and James Cameron, and all Cameron had to say to that was “I won’t tell you how to act, so don’t tell me how to write. The movie’s line “I’ll be back.” was voted as the #37 movie quote by the American Film Institute.

“You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes”

The famous Matrix quote by Morpheus refers to a choice between the willingness to learn a life-changing truth or remaining in one’s ignorance with the blue pill. The terms refer to a scene in the 1999 film The Matrix. Co-creator Lana Wachowski interviewed in 2020, she confirmed fan theories that have suggested that the red pill may represent an allegory for transgender people.=

The Matrix vs Terminator: Which do you quote most?

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The Matrix Movie Poster

According to this interview with the Matrix production designer Simon Whiteley, “The original design for the code was this three-dimensional type that clicked over as it tumbled. The Wachowskis loved the concept but didn’t feel that it fitted with the movie. They admired Japanese animation and martial arts films, and what they wanted to do was try and bring some of that ancient kind of feel into the code and into the graphics that were coming up on the screens.”

Whiteley’s wife is Japanese, and he attributes getting the gig to design the code to his familiarity with different kinds of Japanese typography.

The Terminator Movie Poster

Director James Cameron came up with “The Terminator” when he was fired from film production in 1982. He spent all his money on a flight ticket to be in the post-production facilities where they edited the movie.

According to IMDB trivia: “Without money for proper food, Cameron became increasingly sick and went to bed one night with a high fever. He had a nightmare of a metal endoskeleton emerging from flames, dragging itself over the floor and holding kitchen knives. When he woke up, he immediately made a drawing of this vision.”

Stan Winston, The Terminator special effects artist added a few more designs for the endoskeleton, but in the end, they used the one that Cameron had drawn the first time.

See also: Robocop vs Terminator: The Ultimate Warriors of The Next Era

Matrix vs The Terminator: Which movie is better?

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Having studied scriptwriting in London, I subsequently worked on a number of film sets. I write about pop culture trends, films, and tv series on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Hulu.