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Watching Terminator 2 Judgement Day on the Syfy channel, I had come to think about what exactly the T-1000 would look like. We know Arnold's physical characteristics were made to mask the terminator, infilitration endoskeleton. What in the world would the T-1000 look like, if not masked by Robert Patrick's attributes?

When I was younger, I tried to make sense of this, going by the last part. This was where the T-1000 was boiling down in the molten metal and kind of re-living all its forms. It gets to a part where there is a blob of multiple heads. Was the T-1000's default form a blob mass if it never touched anything?

Things to think about to arrive at an answer, should you need it: In Universal studios, there were tons of these liquid like Terminators that crawled like spiders. I am not sure if all the fans here had seen that promotional tribute. Is there any evidence that the T-1000, at ever a time, was a spider looking thing, crawling on all fours?

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    Before this question gets deleted as primarily opinion based, I will answer you with a question: what is water's actual form?
    – Lexible
    Dec 12, 2014 at 2:52
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    If it's liquid metal, I suspect the default form is a liquid. Otherwise, this seems like asking about the colour of a mirror; does it even make sense to ask about the natural state of a shapeshifter? Dec 12, 2014 at 2:52
  • To add: You've titled this "What do you think..." which is the literal definition of "Primarily Opinion-Based". A bit of tidy up can see this question saved before it gets closed (or to re-open it if it does).
    – Möoz
    Dec 12, 2014 at 2:56
  • I edited it; however, it should be a good thought provoking question. Just throwing it out as "well what would water's form be?" would be too easy. Think about it. The T-101 has a defined form because of its endoskeleton. What would this be, going by what we know about the entire franchise, up until now? Dec 12, 2014 at 3:04
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    My guess would be a blank, generic humanoid shape. Not because there's any inherent superiority to the humanoid form, but simply because almost all technology is made to be used by people-sized and shaped beings.
    – Joe L.
    Dec 12, 2014 at 4:35

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According to the T2 shooting script, the shiny gray liquid form of the polyalloy is its neutral form.

John watches, in awe, as the "crowbar hand", stuck into the trunk right in front of him, reverts to the neutral polyalloy... a kind of think [sic] mercury. The gray metal slides off the trunk of the car and falls onto the road to lie there in a quivering blob.

So when the T-1000 isn't mimicking something else, its default form is shiny gray metal.

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  • Definitely could be. I would have resorted to my comment if this other answer did not pop up. Good take. The only other question I ask though is that it never mimicked anyone to get that Robert Patrick shape right? So I am thinking, if it came through the time machine like that and always has to revert to that as a default, that IS its actual shape, given to it by Skynet. Dec 12, 2014 at 4:55
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    The original blob had to mimic something living in order to trick the time displacement unit into sending it back through time. I assume there's some poor sack downtime with a big hole in his chest who happens to look a lot like Robert Patrick.
    – Kyle Jones
    Dec 12, 2014 at 5:00
  • How so? I thought there was a debate that it only had to have living tissue to get through? Well, it technically would be able to "mimic" a figure, right from Skynet's database; while it was being manufactured. Dec 12, 2014 at 5:06
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    When the truck exploded and the T-1000 walked out, for several seconds it looked like a blank humanoid form composed of the shiny liquid metal. Afterwards it reverted back to the Robert Patrick appearance. I always assumed that blank humanoid template was the original form.
    – Omegacron
    Dec 12, 2014 at 15:42
  • Omegacron: Could definitely be the "endoskeleton", under the pixel like appearance. Dec 12, 2014 at 17:26

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