Plot

In a dystopian, crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan, young police officer Alex Murphy is brutally murdered by a ruthless gang, only to be resurrected by a powerful corporation as the cyborg RoboCop, who soon seeks revenge on his killers.

In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.—Jwelch5742

Detroit, Michigan, 2043. Having declared war against the outnumbered and outgunned Detroit Police Department, vicious criminal Clarence is now running the show in the crime-ridden city. However, many good people in Detroit are working hard to make a difference and take back their city. But when newly transferred officer Alex Murphy is killed in the line of duty by a brutal gang, the powerful OCP mega-corporation comes up with an ambitious project to combat corruption and crime. And as flesh and state-of-the-art technology merge into one another, a question arises. Does crime stand a chance against RoboCop, the future of law enforcement?—Nick Riganas

In the near future, the world looks very different. South Africa has a 3 Megaton French made neutron bomb and the government is willing to use it to save the city of Pretoria, as its last line of defense. The US has a Stars Wars Orbiting Peace Platform in space. Medical engineering has progressed tremendously with artificial hearts being marketed on TV.

Detroit, Michigan is on the verge of collapse due to financial ruin and unchecked crime. The mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) enters into a contract with the city to run the police force. The police officers blame the death of fellow officers on under-staffing and under investment by OCP. Clarence Boddicker is the unofficial crime boss of Detroit and operates with impunity. Boddicker is connected to the death of 31 police officers. The police officers want to go on strike but are kept in check by Sergeant Warren Reed (Robert DoQui) who reminds them of their duty to serve the city and to keep it safe and on the right side of the law.

OCP plans to destroy "Old Detroit" to replace it with the utopia of "Delta City". OCP needs to bring crime under control before deploying the 2 million workers required to build the new city. Recognizing that human law enforcers are insufficient to stop the crime spree, OCP runs several programs to find robotic replacements. The vision is a cop who does not eat or sleep, is on duty 24 * 7, has superior firepower and the reflexes to use it.

One program, the ED-209 Enforcement Droid (a heavily armed, but clumsy robot), headed by senior president Dick Jones (Ronny Cox), malfunctions and kills a junior executive during its demonstration. The executive threatened ED-209 with a gun and ED-209 gave it 20 seconds to put the gun down. The executive complied, but ED-209 could not recognize that the executive had surrendered the gun and proceeded to shoot him dead at the end of the 20 seconds deadline.

ED-209 was already beset by delays and disastrous cost overruns. The OCP Chairman had already anticipated this and had ordered back-up plans to be in place. As a result, the OCP Chairman "the Old Man" (Dan O'Herlihy) opts for a cyborg program headed by middle-ranking executive Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer), named "RoboCop".

Veteran police officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) transfers to a new precinct in Old Detroit and is partnered with Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen). On their first patrol, they chase down a team of criminals led by crime boss Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) to an abandoned steel mill. The gang includes Emil Antonowsky (Paul McCrane), Leon Nash (Ray Wise), Joe Cox (Jesse D. Goins), and Steve Minh (Calvin Jung).

Lewis is later rendered unconscious by one of the gangs, while the rest of Boddicker's men corner Murphy and murder him. Murphy is pronounced dead at the hospital, but OCP takes his body and uses it to create the first RoboCop, a heavily armored Cyborg with no memory of his former life. RoboCop is programmed with three prime directives: serve the public trust, protect the innocent, and uphold the law. A fourth prime directive, Directive 4, is classified.

Assigned to Metro West, RoboCop is hailed by the media for his brutally efficient campaign against crime. RoboCop is able to deal with much of the violent crime in the city all by himself, causing the rest of the police force to become worried they may be replaced. Unknown to his human monitors, RoboCop still retains memories of his life as Murphy, including brief glimpses of his wife and son, and the action of spinning his gun before holstering it, a trick Murphy had done for his son. Lewis recognizes these elements from Murphy's mannerisms, and tries to learn more from RoboCop, but he remains silent on the issues. Because of RoboCop's success, Morton is promoted to become one of OCP's Vice Presidents.

After experiencing a nightmare of Murphy's death during maintenance, RoboCop encounters Lewis, who addresses him as Murphy. While on patrol, RoboCop arrests Emil, who recognizes Murphy's mannerisms, which furthers RoboCop's recall. RoboCop then uses the police database to identify Emil's associates and review Murphy's police record. He recalls further memories while exploring Murphy's former home, his wife and son having moved away after his death.

Morton's success and arrogance leads Jones to have Boddicker, secretly in his employ, kill the young executive. Meanwhile, an armed gas station holdup by one of Boddicker's men allows RoboCop to track down Boddicker to a cocaine bunker. After a shootout, RoboCop brutally interrogates Boddicker until he admits to working for Jones. He cannot kill Boddicker as that would violate his prime directives. Boddicker is arrested. RoboCop attempts to arrest Jones at the OCP Tower, but Directive 4 is activated: a fail-safe measure to neutralize RoboCop when he acts against an OCP executive. Directive 4 prevents him from arresting or harming any senior executive of OCP.

Jones sends an ED-209 against RoboCop. The ED-209 proves incapable of descending a stairway, enabling RoboCop to escape. When RoboCop enters the parking complex of the building, a police SWAT team led by Lt. Hedgecock (Michael Gregory) is waiting for him with orders to destroy him. The hail of bullets severely damages RoboCop's armor, but he is saved by Lewis, his former partner. Lewis brings him to an abandoned steel mill to repair himself.

Meanwhile, the police launch their long-threatened strike angered by OCP's under-funding and short-staffing. Detroit descends into chaos as riots break out throughout the city. Jones arranges for Boddicker and his men to be released from prison and provides them with weaponry capable of puncturing RoboCop's heavy armor. Using a tracking device which is also provided by Jones, Boddicker's team converges on the steel mill where RoboCop was recovering from his injuries. RoboCop and Lewis defend themselves and kill the entire gang. Lewis is badly injured by Clarence, who RoboCop kills in turn by stabbing him in the throat.

RoboCop returns to OCP headquarters and presents evidence of Jones's role in Morton's death to the OCP chairman. Jones quickly grabs a gun and takes the chairman hostage. The chairman, after being told about the Fourth Directive by RoboCop, fires Jones, allowing RoboCop to shoot him. Jones then crashes through the window and falls to his death. The chairman commends RoboCop for his skill and asks for his name, to which he replies, "Murphy".