The T-800 promised he'd be back.

And it did indeed return, time and again, in one form or another, retooled over time as a more benevolent machine.

But 41 years ago in The Terminator , the cyborg sent from the apocalyptic future of 2029 to wipe out the hope of resistance by killing Linda Hamilton 's Sarah Connor—because she's destined to be the mother of freedom fighter John Connor—was all about laying waste to everything in its wake in service of the mission.

The iconic part cemented then-37-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger 's status as an action superstar, well on his way to becoming " Ah-nuld ," let alone "the Governator," no last name necessary.

To think, the fate of humanity, let alone Jack and Rose , may have been different if 29-year-old James Cameron hadn't ha

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