RoboCop refers to a number of comic book series spun off from the feature film of the same name.
The main character is a fictional cyborg -Detroit police officer who begins as a human police officer Alex J. Murphy, who is killed in the line of duty by a vicious crime gang. Subsequently, Murphy is transformed into the cyborg entity by the mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products. Since his 1987 film debut, the RoboCop character and franchise have been exercised through numerous entertainment media, including multiple comic book mini-series and ongoing series.
Contents |
| RoboCop | |
|---|---|
 Cover of first issue. |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Genre | Crime, science fiction |
| Publication date | May 1990 – January 1992 |
| Number of issues | 23 |
| Main character(s) | RoboCop |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Alan Grant |
| Artist(s) | Lee Sullivan |
| Creator(s) | Alan
Grant (writer) Lee Sullivan (illustrator) |
In May of 1990, Marvel Comics released the first issue of an ongoing RoboCop comic book series based on the movie. The series ran for 23 issues, ending in January of 1992. In addition, a one-shot was released in August of 1990, reprinting in color the 1987 black and white magazine adaptation of the movie. That same month also saw a black and white magazine adaptation of the movie sequel RoboCop 2, as well as a three issue mini-series, printing in color the same contents as the RoboCop 2 magazine.
The stories told within these issues take place between the second and third Robocop movies. Entering the Marvel universe, Robocop’s futuristic setting is expanded beyond the restrictions of a Hollywood budget. Most likely to give the “future of law enforcement” a more science fiction based reality, gangs now ride on hover bikes, urban droids carry out public services like waste disposal, and almost anyone with the know-how or money can create a giant killer robot.
The consistent theme throughout the 23 issues is Robocop’s continuing struggle to balance his humanity with the machine Omni Consumer Products made him into after his brutal death. In the meantime, he’s fighting killer robots, cyborg animals, OCP’s rival companies, foreign nations, mercenaries, and OCP’s attempts to mass produce RoboCops.
RoboCop Vol 1 (23 issues)
No 1 'Kombat Zone' (March 1990)
Continuing his duty as a police officer, Robocop maintains peace and order the best he can in a still dark and violent Detroit while OCP enters the next phases for building its CEO’s prophesized Delta City. A competing company called Nixco tries to muscle in on the Delta City contract, however, and steals specs from Robocop’s design to release their own version of law enforcement. Manufacturing a small army of robotic Nixcops, their first mission is to destroy Robocop along with an apprehended criminal who can tie a Nixco executive to a murder.
No 2 'Murphy's Law' (April 1990)
Robocop escapes the Nixcops but is severely damaged and his witness is taken into Nixco custody where he is subjected to experimental surgery. After being rebuilt, Robocop remains immobile, reflecting upon a civilian who was fatally wounded in his battle with the Nixcops. Not until his partner, Anne Lewis, is reported kidnapped by a criminal named Scarface does he find the motivation needed to jump back into action. Arriving at the scene, he find Nixcops and ED-209 droids fighting it out for Anne’s rescue; each one’s creator seeing her kidnapping as an opportunity for positive publicity. Robocop defeats both sides and rescues Anne from Scarface.
No 3 'Dreamerama' (May 1990)
The Dreamerama is a place where people can pay to live out their fantasies through controlled dreaming. A small group of rocket pack thieves rob certain business men’s recorded dreams from the Dreamerama’s files and plan to use them as blackmail. The Old Man informs Robocop of his suspicions involving a man named Cybex. Cybex worked for OCP and was the sole man who initially came up with the ideas for Delta City, the ED-209’s, and even Robocop. But due to a lack of attention to the fine print in his contract, Cybex’s ideas were already owned by OCP which left him penniless for his propositions. A small fight ensued, ending with Cybex becoming crippled from a fall out of a skyscraper window. After checking the facts, Robocop heads for Cybex.
No 4 'Dead Man's Dreams' (June 1990)
Robocop infiltrates Cybex’s base of operation but is ambushed by his own cyborg creations in the form of a mechanized gorilla and a smaller monkey. Cybex studies the captured Robocop, learning what he can to build his own loyal army of cyborgs. With Nixco’s president being one of the men whose dreams were stolen from the Dreamerama, Nixco sends an assassin (the kidnapped criminal witness from issue two, now under mind control) to take out Cybex. During the commotion of this assassination, Robocop follows the dueling criminals to a construction site where he manages to arrests them all.
No 5 'War (Part 1: War Monger)' (July 1990)
OCP is presented with the chance to finally test RoboCop in a war scenario. The Spanish military is at war with North Africa and pays for the services of RoboCop to assassinate their enemy’s leader, General Abu Dara aka the Desert Hawk. Dropped into Algeria with heavy artillery, RoboCop makes his way across the desert fighting robotic tentacles and motor cycle troops without his prime directives holding him back.
No 6 'War (Part 2: War Crimes)' (August 1990)
RoboCop reaches the Desert Hawk but is persuaded to see his side of the war as a leader trying to save his people from famine. Convinced of Desert Hawk’s noble intentions, Robocop leaves to intercept an advancing Spanish military force on Desert Hawk’s fortress. After a brief battle with this small army and an unexpected ED-209 unit also being tested for warfare, Robocop contacts the Old Man via satellite uplink. The war started because Desert Hawk was sending his people to Spain to survive the famine they were experiencing. Robocop shares how Desert Hawk had found a viable means of underground irrigation that would save his people but would take time to be fully realized. Impressed with the promise of this technology, the Old Man buys the end of the war by supporting Desert Hawk’s people in return for half the shares in his novel irrigation system, hydroponics.
No 7 'Robosaur' (September 1990)
Detroit opens up its newest park, the Detroit Dino Park. Here families can enjoy the site of genetically recreated dinosaurs brought back to life from prehistoric times. Problem is the cages are constantly being sabotaged, leaving Robocop to face down these towering monsters threatening the public. Robocop interrogates the neighboring and nearly debunked robotic dino theme park, Robosaur World, but discovers the saboteur is actually a Dino Park employee secretly working for Nixco. The dinosaur rampages are meant to disgrace OCP since Dino Park is the first major lease holder in their “crime free” Delta City.
No 8 'Gangbuster' (October 1990)
In order to obtain more land for the expansion of Delta City, OCP instigates a war between two rival gangs, the Urban Kurs and the Psykoids, to decrease property values. Thanks to Anne having an inside man in the Urban Kurs, she’s always updated as to where the gang wars are taking place, leading to a mass arrest of both gangs by her and Robocop.
No 9 'Vigilante (Part 1: Power Play)' (November 1990)
To help further reduce the rate of crime through concerned citizen participation, OCP broadcasts a new reality TV show called the Detroit Vigilante. Taking from this super hero’s example, people take to the streets as vigilantes against crime which the police force react with nothing less than frustration. After several arrests for acts of vigilantism, Robocop confronts the Detroit Vigilante about his responsibility as a TV persona but to no avail. A subplot involves a man whose son is taken from him by gang violence and becomes one of the vigilantes he argued were more helpful than the police force.
No 10 'Vigilante (Part 2: Rough Justice)' (December 1990)
The father become vigilante from the previous issue now seeks out the gang who murdered his son. While Robocop deals with this particular quest for vengeance, some are taking advantage of the vigilante scene for more criminal purposes. Two particular crooks posing as heroes to commit crimes come face to face with the Detroit Vigilante himself which escalates into an all out war involving every vigilante in the city. It all comes to a head when the father’s personal vendetta with the gangs collides with the vigilante war, ending with an explosion that kills everyone but Robocop.
No 11 'Unfinished Business'
An ex-OCP employee named Daniel O’Hara is brought back to life in an experimental robot utilizing a concept called engraming which is surviving death through the conservation of captured brain wave patterns. Through flashbacks, the reader learns that Robocop had killed O’Hara for some reason in an untold story. Once reborn in his machine built by unsuspecting privately licensed scientists, O’Hara seeks revenge on Robocop. Their battle is intense but falls in favor of Robocop. He defeats O’Hara by interfacing with his machine and overloading its system with his own nightmares as a murdered cop reborn as a cyborg. (This issue features guest art by Herb Trimpe.)
No 12 'Purgatory'
Men are being abducted off the streets of Old Detroit and supposedly cut up for their organs on the black market. The problem facing the Detroit Police Department is the criminals involved with the abductions are in an area of Old Detroit known as Purgatory; a section of the city that’s off limits to the cops by strict order of OCP. Defying this order, Robocop obeys his prime directives and duty as a cop to walk the crime infested streets of Purgatory in search of the perpetrators.
No 13 'Past Sins'
Robocop’s journey through Purgatory leads him to a factory secretly creating an army of new Robocops under the direction of OCP. To his horror, he sees the men who have been abducted off the streets are lobotomized before undergoing extensive surgery to becoming cyborgs of OCP’s idea of law enforcement. Lobotomy is their answer to the problems they’ve encountered with Robocop’s humanistic qualities that had surprisingly survived his death and caused them problems. It allows them to start fresh with a brain rather than try and reprogram it. Enraged and horrified, Robocop attacks the factory, battling guards and ED-209s. Along the way he meets a guilt stricken scientist named Thyle who was involved with his own creation back with Bob Morton.
No 14 'Dreams'
It’s revealed that the OCP executive behind the Robocop factory is Johnson, the Old Man’s newest right hand man after the second movie. Hoping to speed up the Old Man’s plans for Delta City, he wanted to quickly manufacture an armada of Robocops in the hopes to eliminate crime faster. To keep the factory a secret, he enlists the services of Colonel Flak and his strike team to take out Robocop. Colonel Flak is an older mercenary who uses a powerful exoskeleton to remain an active and dangerous agent for hire. He proves a worthy adversary for Robocop after his team is defeated but succumbs after his suit is overloaded in battle. Johnson plays his final card with a remote to Robocop’s self destruct program.
No 15 'Ashes'
With Robocop’s self destruct activated, Thyle quickly rushes to his aid and disarms the explosive. Once Robocop’s termination is avoided, he and Thyle both return inside the factory to destroy the nearly completed Robocops. Out of desperation, Johnson orders the activation of the Robocops as his last resort but with disastrous results. He learns that with the lobotomy, these new Robocops lacked the human balance needed to keep their programming in check, causing them to lash out with instant violent justice. One particular Robocop sets off an explosion in an attempt to kill him self and brings the factory burning down with Robocop, Thyle, and Johnson surviving the fire. The Old Man shows up after learning about the factory and is threatened by Anne (who came to aid Robocop in Purgatory) that the truth will be told. The Old Man points out the evidence was burnt up in the factory, but Robocop reminds him of his own video surveillance that recorded the macabre scene. Rather than reveal it to the public, however, Robocop uses this as leverage to free himself from OCP control which the Old Man grants. Before leaving, the Old Man takes interest in the fallen Flak from last issue.
No 16 'TV Crimes'
People can now watch TV directly in their brain with a device called Implant TV. Problem is the owners of the device are beaming mind altering television scenarios directly into people’s heads that make them unknowingly commit crimes. With his free will returned to him, Robocop relies on his cop instincts to lead him to the source of the trouble and apprehend the suspects responsible.
No 17 'Private Lives'
A criminal known as Lot’s Wife is gunning for the demise of Robocop, but begins by attacking him through Anne. Turns out Anne had a husband who was presumed dead for some time but is very much alive and hostage of a mysterious criminal calling him self the Wraith. Wraith had faked her husband’s death after he owed him a considerable amount of money, waiting to take advantage of her as a cop. In exchange for his life, Wraith wants classified information of future police operations. Robocop caught sight of her on route to meeting Wraith and followed with uneasy suspicion. After showing the Wraith the authenticity of the documents he requested, Anne was upset to learn she was going to have to keep doing these exchanges to keep her husband alive. Observing from a distance, Robocop’s programming commands him to take Anne down for treachery, but his human side is able to hold off the action in time to see Anne turn the transaction into a rescue mission. Robocop saves Anne at the last minute, but the Wraith had already escaped with her husband.
No 18 'Mind Bomb (Part 1)'
Lot’s Wife makes her next move against Robocop with an attack on Metro West itself. Using a catatonic man with an unnatural gift, she sets him up to be arrested and taken into the station where he emits a wave of influential psychic vibrations. These vibrations cause everyone around him to have freak episodes or disconcern for others and their safety with aggressive behaviors.
No 19 'Mind Bomb (Part 2)'
Facing the psychic backlash of the stranger in the precinct, Robocop battles an internal conflict with his humanity at ends with the machine half of him. With the humanity half proving more dominant, Robocop discovers the stranger behind the insanity at Metro West and kills him to save the precinct.
No 20 'The Cutting Edge'
After the attack on the precinct, the cops are at a little less than half strength and the criminals of Detroit go on a rampage. With his humanity winning over his programming last issue, Robocop is now in total control of him self without directives dictating his actions. His free will restored, Robocop strives to be a regular cop again without the use of his robotic aids. He fears his program he spent so long fighting could take him back over if utilized for help and risk further loss of his humanity. In the meantime, news reaches Robocop that his wife and son have been kidnapped which he suspects OCP is behind for his recent separation from them. A number of copy cat crimes become a possible lead for Robocop to find his family, but turns out to be unrelated; rich men competing for publicity out of boredom, reenacting murders by Detroit’s most notorious serial killers. During the case, Robocop decides the only way to help his family is by coinciding with his programming once more despite the personal consequences.
No 21 'Beyond The Law (Part 1)'
Robocop shakes down the criminals in Detroit for leads to the whereabouts of his kidnapped family but with no results. Answers are finally provided when Robocop is visited by the Old Man. Using his resources for intel, the Old Man informs Robocop his family has been taken hostage by a rebel leader named Aza in San Arica. In 22 hours, Aza will contact Robocop to assassinate San Arica’s president when he arrives at the airport or his wife and son will be killed. An OCP jet is offered to fly Robocop to San Arica to save his family which Robocop reluctantly takes. He knows OCP has some personal stake in his going to San Arica but knows he has no better choice for his wife and son’s rescue.
No 22 'Beyond The Law (Part 2)'
Robocop arrives in San Arica and is discovered by a band of rebels under Aza’s command. Quickly taking them out to ensure his family’s safety, Robocop notices their special weapons resembling one’s from OCP. Meeting up with an anti-rebel guide, Robocop learns there’s been rumor of a powerful business funding Aza and his rebellion with specialized weapons which only furthers suspicions of OCP’s involvement. As they draw closer to Aza’s base, Robocop is ambushed by Aza him self and captured while his wife watches from nearby.
No 23 'Beyond The Law (Part 3)'
With Robocop’s capture, Aza’s plans for political assassination are ruined. Angered, he decides to sacrifice Robocop and his family to the sun gods he worships. Summoning what power he has left, Robocop breaks from his captivity and battles Aza and his men to the death. During the battle, Robocop decides to mislead his wife into believing he truly is a machine and not Alex Murphy to keep her and his son safe from any future harm. After Aza and his men are killed, Robocop finds him self under a surprise attack by Colonel Flak. Since his last appearance, Colonel Flak took up an offer to work as a special agent for OCP in exchange for a Robocop body. With their involvement in San Arica’s civil unrest, OCP sent Flak to kill any and all witnesses during Robocop’s rescue mission. Outfitted with more lethal weapons, Flak proves to be a difficult opponent for the already battle damaged Robocop. For the winning blow, Robocop brings a helicopter down on top of Flak and destroys him. Robocop stands victoriously among the wreckage and fully accepts what he has become after death. “No longer a man” but “more than a machine.”
The comic book license for RoboCop was then acquired by Dark Horse Comics. In September of 1992, Dark Horse release a four issue mini-series RoboCop vs. The Terminator, written by Frank Miller, with artwork by Walt Simonson. This led to several new RoboCop stories by Dark Horse, including RoboCop: Prime Suspect, RoboCop: Mortal Coils, RoboCop: Roulette, and a three issue limited series in 1993 adapting the third movie. Two mini-stories were also published in Dark Horse Presents. Dark Horse Presents# 1-3 provided the events that led up to the story presented in RoboCop: Prime Suspect. Dark Horse Presents# 6-9 provided the events that led up to the story presented in RoboCop: Mortal Coils
| RoboCop | |
|---|---|
 Cover of first issue. Cover art by Frank Miller |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Avatar Press |
| Schedule | Irregular |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | Crime, science fiction |
| Publication date | August 2003 – February 2006 |
| Number of issues | 9 |
| Main character(s) | RoboCop |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Steven Grant |
| Artist(s) | Juan Jose Ryp |
| Creator(s) | Frank Miller (original
screenplay, concept supervisor) Steven Grant (writer) Juan Jose Ryp (illustrator) |
Almost a decade later, the comic rights to RoboCop were acquired by Avatar Press. Upon announcing the acquisition, the company's publisher, William Christensen, received several offers from artists and writers hoping to contribute to the project (which eventually lead to the Avatar comic RoboCop: Killing Machine). Christensen himself was interested in producing a comic adaptation of Miller’s “lost” screenplay, of which he possessed a copy. Christensen soon got in contact with Miller, who was enthusiastic to the idea of his story finally being told uncensored.
The series was personally overseen by Miller, based on his own unused screenplay for the film RoboCop 2 and notes of unused ideas for RoboCop 3, however scheduling prohibited him from personally writing the comic adaptation or illustrating. It was written by Steven Grant, a long-time acquaintance of Miller’s who had written the comic adaptation of RoboCop 3 for Dark Horse Comics. Juan Jose Ryp, best known for illustrating the Avatar comic Another Suburban Romance (written by Alan Moore), became the title’s illustrator while Miller drew covers.
The series was composed of nine issues that were published from August 2003 through February 2006 under Avatar’s Pulsar Press line, which specializes in licensed comic properties from movies. Issues featured covers by Miller and alternate covers by Ryp.
The machine that was born as Alex Murphy continues his war against the criminals of Old Detroit. But his human soul still haunts him with a sympathetic conscience and memories of his past life.
When his creators and benefactors at the Omni Consumer Products (OCP) corporation get wind of this, they deem RoboCop obsolete. Now our hero and his resilient partner, Officer Anne Lewis, are pitted not only against the scum of the streets, but the new OCP model that shows no mercy.
Critical reaction to Frank Miller's RoboCop comic has been mixed. Randy Lander of comic review site The Fourth Rail gave the first issue a score of 7 out of 10, saying that "there's not a lot of personality to the book" but added that it's "certainly interesting to read and full of potential."[1]
Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the
comic a "D" score, criticizing the "tired story" and lack of
"interesting action." [2] A recap written for the pop
culture humor website I-Mockery said, "Having spent quite a lot of
time with these comics over the past several days researching and
writing this article, I can honestly say that it makes me want to
watch the movie version of RoboCop 2 again just so I can get the
bad taste out of my mouth. Or prove to myself that the movie
couldn't be worse than this."[3]
Dynamite Entertainment announced they would be producing the next RoboCop[4] with writer Rob Williams[5] and artist Fabiano Neves.[6]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | "Frank Miller's Roboflop" - I-Mockery.com - Tales from the Longbox #24: "Frank Miller's Roboflop"! |
| | Review by Ken Tucker - Frank Miller's Robocop | Book Review | Entertainment Weekly |
| | The official website for the mini-series by Avatar Press - Frank Miller's Robocop -- Avatar Press |
|
|
Wikis
Quiz
Search
