Officer Alex James Murphy (designation number: OCP Crime Prevention Unit 001), commonly known as RoboCop, is a fictional cybernetically enhanced officer of the Detroit Police Department and the titular protagonist of the Robocop franchise. Murphy is killed in the line of duty, and is resurrected and transformed into the cyborg law enforcement unit RoboCop by the megacorporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP). In the original screenplay, he is referred to as Robo by creators Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner.
Concept and creation Edward Neumeier's script and idea were rejected by many studios, and the name was thought as an "unsuitable" movie. The character was inspired by sources including Iron Man and Judge Dredd.
1987 costume Rob Bottin was tasked with designing the RoboCop outfit. He had not previously designed a robot and struggled to think of films where a robot portrayed a main character throughout. He looked at the Star Wars film series, particularly the C-3PO character. The C-3PO costume consisted of stiff costumed extremities with a cloth midsection, which made movement and action scenes difficult. Bottin was also influenced by robots in the science fiction films Metropolis (1927) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).
Bottin's first concept was described as like a Marvel Comics superhero, based on his own appreciation for comic books. He developed around 50 different designs based on feedback from Verhoeven who pushed for a more machine-like character. Bottin said the designs inevitably returned to more human because the actor had to move while wearing it. Bottin briefly fell out with Verhoeven over the latter's criticism of his designs. Verhoeven said the outfit design was one of the project's most difficult aspects because he had unrealistic expectations about what he wanted after reading Japanese science fiction manga. He admitted that he was wrong and that it took him too long to realize it, contributing to the outfit's delayed completion. Bottin's final design features lines that imply a constant forward momentum and speed. Bottin spent ten months designing the suit.
The RoboCop outfit development was unprecedented, and both design and construction were more expensive and took longer than anticipated. Bottin and a 6-person team spent six months constructing the outfit. The outfit is effectively two suits: a flexible one made from foam latex (including the jaw, neck, gloves, abdomen, pelvis, and posterior) and painted black like cast iron; and semi- or completely rigid pieces placed over the former and made from Polyurethane (chest, limbs, and feet). Moving sections like limbs were joined with aluminum and ball bearings. The entirety of the suit is supported by an internal harness of hooks, allowing for more action-heavy movements. Bottin was unfamiliar with polyurethane and unaware that it had a terrible smell and had to be primed with toxic chemicals before painting. Bottin used fiberglass to construct the helmet to spare Weller the polyurethane smell. Seven suits were made, including a fireproof version for the gas station explosion, and damaged suits to reflect the aftermath of assaults on RoboCop. The suits weighed ; reports vary.
Once completed, Weller tried on the costume. It took around 1.5 hours to put the outfit on. Weller was immediately frustrated because the costume was too cumbersome for him to move as he had practiced. Bottin spent 10 hours adjusting the outfit to help alleviate Weller's concerns. Weller's training with Mona Yakim had developed a liquid-movement style with a stiff staccato end but this was no longer possible. He also struggled to see through the thin helmet visor and interact or grab while wearing the gloves. After several days of struggle, Yakim was called to the set and helped Weller develop a slower, more deliberate movement style. Weller's experience in the outfit was made worse by warm weather, causing him to lose up to in sweat per day. The lower body of the outfit could not be worn in vehicles because it could not fit.
When RoboCop removes his helmet, a trick drill with a hollow shaft makes it appear that lengthy screws are emerging from his head. Dupuis and Mixon applied Weller's prosthetics once RoboCop's face is revealed. A fiberglass skull was fitted to the back of his head and blended with rubber prosthetics into Weller's skin. The process took between 6 and 8 hours and lasted 5 hours before the rubber began to fail. The pair found the process difficult because Weller's smooth skin could not conceal seams between real and false skin. Stuntman Russell Towery served as Weller's stunt double; he walked through the flames of the exploded gas station and was injured by an explosive during the first fight between RoboCop and ED-209 in OCP that threw him across the hallway. A stop motion RoboCop figure was used once during the same scene, to show RoboCop making ED-209 shoot its own arm.
A Beretta 93R, modified by Randy Moore, was used for RoboCop's Auto-9 gun. The gun was adjusted to allow it to fire blanks, the barrel was extended, and the grips made larger, and vents were cut into the side to create a multi-directional burst of fire with every three-shot burst. RoboCop's leg holster was made using a leg mold and cable-controlled by three operators, and three separate arms were made for different functions: an articulated, cable-controlled arm shown moving during RoboCop's creation; one with a spring-loaded spike attached to a metal frame and held near Weller when RoboCop accesses the police database; and one built like a battering-ram to smash a television screen in Murphy's home.
Appearances RoboCop
The megacorporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) holds a contract to fund and run the Detroit Police Department, with OCP's Security Concepts division providing oversight for the police. In order to supplement the overwhelmed police force, Security Concepts begins developing robotic law enforcement units. Originally, OCP Senior President Dick Jones develops a fully robotic unit called ED (Enforcement Droid)-209, with plans to secure a profitable long-term contract with the military. However, ED-209 severely malfunctions during the simulation of a disarm-and-arrest procedure and kills the test subject, even though he dropped his weapon. Ambitious junior executive Bob Morton takes this as a justified reason to go over Jones's head and pitch his "RoboCop" program directly to OCP's CEO, the "Old Man".
Morton and his team restructure the police force to deliberately place prime candidates with high aptitude and experience in law enforcement into high crime areas where death in the line of duty is much higher. Once a death occurs, the deceased officer's body will be used in the construction of a cyborg law enforcement unit (full body cybernetic/bionic prosthetic chassis), since the officers have already signed waivers allowing OCP to do whatever they please with their corpses. This unit will build upon the deceased's lifetime of on-the-street law enforcement experience by adding the fastest reflexes modern technology can offer and a memory assisted by an on-board computer.
Officer Alex Murphy is one of these candidates. He is partnered with Officer Anne Lewis, a veteran of Old Detroit, which is plagued by crime boss Clarence Boddicker and his gang. One day, Murphy and Lewis pursue Boddicker's gang in a rolling shootout following an armed robbery, chasing them to an abandoned steel mill. After they split up to search for the gang, Boddicker's henchman Joe Cox incapacitates Lewis while Murphy is captured by three of Boddicker's lieutenants: Emil Antonowsky, Leon Nash, and Steve Minh. When Boddicker shows up, he asks Murphy for his opinion of him, to which Murphy defiantly and honestly tells him, "Buddy, I think you're slime." Boddicker nonchalantly shoots off Murphy's right hand with a shotgun, then the gang members take turns blasting Murphy with shotguns, shearing off Murphy's right arm and blowing holes in every part of his body. Amazingly, Murphy survives (perhaps due to the protective body armor covering his torso), but Boddicker then executes him with a gunshot to the head. Murphy is rushed to a trauma center, where the doctors try in vain to keep him alive.
After having him legally declared dead, OCP seizes possession of Murphy, citing the release forms he signed when he joined the police force. The technicians of the RoboCop Program, led by Morton, take what is left of Murphy's face and portions of his still-living cerebrum and cerebellum and install them in a cybernetic body, in effect resurrecting him as RoboCop.RoboCop 3 (1993)
RoboCop quickly proves to be an effective weapon against crime, but he eventually begins to remember his past life as Murphy, starting with his traumatic death at the hands of Boddicker and his gang. Enraged at having had his life stolen from him, RoboCop embarks on a personal quest for vengeance as he hunts down Boddicker, resulting in the arrest or death of his entire gang. When Boddicker confesses to being in Dick Jones' employ, RoboCop attempts to arrest Jones as well. However, RoboCop's classified 'Directive 4' comes into effect, preventing him from arresting Jones. Jones admits ordering Morton's murder to RoboCop, who is subsequently damaged by an ED-209, though he manages to evade the robot. After enduring a massed attack by the technophobic Lieutenant Hedgecock and his SWAT team, RoboCop is rescued by Lewis. The two hide in an abandoned steel mill after they escape, during which RoboCop confides to Lewis about his memories of his past life. He also uses a drill brought by Lewis to remove his headpiece, showing how his "Alex Murphy" face is stretched over it. The two are attacked by Boddicker's gang, commissioned by Jones to destroy the cyborg after he realizes that his entire confession of ordering Morton's murder has been recorded. The final confrontation with Boddicker himself ends with RoboCop violently stabbing him in the throat with the computer data spike installed in his fist, finally fulfilling his revenge. RoboCop confronts Jones in the middle of an OCP board meeting, during which Jones takes the "Old Man" hostage. After admitting that he can take no action due to Directive 4, the "Old Man" fires Jones, allowing RoboCop to shoot him, since he is no longer an OCP employee. Complimenting RoboCop on his shooting skills, The Old Man asks him his name. Robocop smiles before answering, "Murphy", embracing his humanity.
RoboCop 2
A year later, OCP is attempting to replicate the success they had with Murphy with a new "RoboCop 2" program; however, all selected candidates go insane upon activation and commit suicide or harm others, due to the severe mental strain of their new situations. RoboCop is captured and torn apart by the drug lord Cain and his gang, and his pieces are dumped in front of the police station as a message. He is reconstructed and then programmed with numerous other conflicting directives that render him virtually unable to perform his duties, as a public relations group thinks he should be more 'people-friendly'. However, his human will persevered and he shocks himself with high voltage that resets his programming and erases his new directives, leaving him free to lead a counter-attack against Cain.