Geek Out - Movie Monsters: a Terminator VS a Predator

Cafe Society
1

Basing this off of the first two Terminator and Predator movies, and the fact that I don’t have a geeky friend close by with whom to debate this. To the comic book store!

Battleground: present day Manhattan - hot summer

Terminator T-800 Model (The one Schwarzenegger played) Pros

  • infiltrates human crowds (while it still has flesh covering)
  • crazy strong
  • crazy durable
  • never stops or rests
  • computer mind programmed for proficiency with all present day vehicles and firearms, capable of logic deductions and strategy, flawless memory
  • can activate alternate power source, like having two lives in a video game

Terminator Cons

  • no futuristic weaponry
  • bulky, moderately slow
  • loses infiltrating capability with massive flesh wounds
  • details files of human anatomy (for healing and killing) may prove useless
  • thick Austrian accent

Predator (a mix of first and second movie’s monster) Pros

  • near invisible stealth field
  • natural infrared vision, plus other w/ helmet
  • vast array of super-high-tech weaponry made of unknown metal, shoulder cannon w/ laser sight, wrist blade, razor disc, collapsible spear, dart gun, etc.
  • crazy strong
  • crazy durable
  • super agile (Tarzan-style tree hopping)
  • skilled and trained hunter
  • competent field medic
  • detonates I’m-takin’-you-with-me nuclear wrist bomb when thoroughly defeated

Predator Cons

  • injuries require medical attention
  • bleeds glow-in-the-dark blood
  • requires periodic inhalation of different atmospheric gas mixture if helmet is destroyed (think space inhaler)
  • needs to eat, sleep, rest
  • penchant for taking trophies

“Analysis”

I think this is an interesting match up when it comes to how their strengths and weaknesses mesh. Assuming the T-800 outwardly functions at normal human temperatures (a fair assumption, given that in the future only dogs could tell the difference), the predator’s heat vision would initial do a poor job of locating it’s prey, as the terminator could blend in with humans.

While the predator brings weapons to the hunt that could conceivably dismantle the T-800’s inner workings, he’s more vulnerable to the crushing injuries the terminator could inflict hand-to-hand or with the modern-day arsenal he’d doubtlessly arm himself with (shotguns, police guns, etc.). We’ve also witnessed both predators being killed with these same weapons in the first two flicks.

Strength and durability-wise they seem close, with the edge in both going towards the terminator. The movies have shown greater feats of strength for the terminator, and while both monsters have walked away from barrages of gunfire, the predator has to perform surgery on itself after-the-fact. But then the advantages in these two categories are balanced out by the predator’s advantage in weaponry. It seems to me that its bladed weaponry could cut through the terminator’s metal skeleton.

I see this being an very tense two-way city-wide hunt culminating in the inevitable blow-for-blow close combat battle. I’d almost call it a draw, except for the 24 hour non-stop nature of the T-800. The predator is prone to self-destruct when bested, while the terminator will continue to kill when it’s just a torso. Would the terminator, like both human protagonists, recognize the bomb’s countdown for what it is? If so, I don’t imagine the terminator would attempt to outrun the blast like a human. Could it crush the device? Could it survive the blast anyhow? Beats me, but it sounds like a hell of a fight. Thoughts?

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I’d have to vote for the Terminator to win. Predator was beaten by a dude with mud and a knife out in the middle of the jungle. Terminator had to be crushed/melted by some serious factory equipment to cease functioning.

Of course the wild card is whether the Predator would take out and use his futuretech, and how impressive that stuff is.

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The predator wins this one hands down if he knows what he’s up against. If he assumes he’s up against a normal human then yeah, he’ll going to get caught off guard and he’ll lose.

But a Predator that was deliberately out to hunt the T800? The predators going to go with Stealth (at least for the first shot), and he’s got the laser cannon and melee weapons to attempt to break apart the circuits of the cyborg. The Predator gets the edge for me.

The T800 can’t really do anything- he’s just bullet proof and keeps on ticking. The Predator has plenty of stuff though that’s WAY better at penetrating than just simple bullets. Also, the Predator can use a bit more force, as the trophies he needs are the Head and all from the cyborg most likely- he can lop off a limb or two and not worry about the prey bleeding to death in this situation (a cowardly death), so he can def. be a bit more aggressive in trying to take down the T800.

Now a T1000? I’d have to say that’s a MUCH harder fight… probably give that one to the t1000.

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But…if you assume that the Predator knows about his opponent, you have to assume that the T-800 also knows. The Terminator could just go break into a military base and launch a few nukes at town. He doesn’t care about his own survival.

Of course, the reason he didn’t do that in the Terminator movies is because he needed to keep his existence secret,* so we have to decide whether that’s the case here or not.

  • Ignoring the plot hole where he breaks into a police station that had surveillance cameras up.