Robocop's History
In 2028, multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is a leader in military robot technology, supplying the U.S. military with several mechanized models that are deployed overseas. OmniCorp wants to sell their products for use in civilian law enforcement in the United States, their largest potential market, but the technology is banned by the Dreyfus Act, which is supported by public opinion. In an attempt to sway the public, OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars tasks his marketing team, in conjunction with scientist Dr. Dennett Norton, with the creation of a product which combines man and machine. They begin the search for a permanently injured policeman to recruit for their prototype.
Detroit Police detective Alex Murphy and his partner, Jack Lewis, attempt to arrest crime boss Antoine Vallon, unaware that he has contacts inside the Police Department. The two pose as arms buyers and meet with Vallon, but Vallon is tipped off, and Lewis is shot in the ensuing gunfight and hospitalized. Vallon and the dirty cops plan to kill Murphy, and when he is critically injured by a car bomb they plant, Norton approaches Murphy's wife Clara, and convinces her to give her consent to use him in the program, outfitting him with a cybernetic body and software. Murphy at first rejects his modifications when Norton reveals to him that only his heart, lungs, throat, head and right hand are left of his original body, but Norton convinces him to continue for the sake of his family. Rick Mattox, OmniCorp's military tactician, is skeptical of Murphy's abilities, claiming he will never be as efficient as a fully automated robot. Mattox's concerns are borne out in simulation when Murphy responds more slowly than a drone due to his natural hesitation when making judgments in the field. In order to improve his performance, Norton tampers with his brain, putting the software fully in control in the field but making Murphy believe the decisions are his own. With these changes, Murphy defeats Mattox and his drones in a live test.
Just before his first public appearance, Murphy is emotionally overwhelmed and has a seizure as Norton uploads the police database into his memory, including footage of the attempt on his life. Pressed for time, Norton alters Murphy's brain chemistry, lowering his dopamine levels until he no longer displays any emotions. Under control, Murphy attends the press conference, where he ignores his waiting wife and son, and efficiently apprehends a criminal in the crowd. The press conference is a public-relations success, with influential news pundit Pat Novak dubbing Murphy "RoboCop". As Murphy drastically reduces the crime rate in Detroit, public opinion on the Dreyfus Act begins to turn. Sellars pressures Norton to prevent Murphy from seeing his wife and son.
Clara manages to confront her husband as he is leaving the station, telling him about his son, David, having nightmares. Murphy leaves, but then overrides his programming by prioritizing solving his own case and detours from the current case to go to his house. He reviews the CCTV video of his accident and realizes that David was traumatized by it. Murphy begins to show dopamine levels returning to normal, overriding his programming, reviving his emotions. Murphy tracks down Vallon and kills him but is damaged in the process. At the station, he confronts the two corrupt detectives, shooting one and forcing the other to confess that the Chief of Police was corrupt as well, but Mattox shuts his system down by remote control before he can make the arrest, and has him taken back to OmniCorp.
Sellars decides to spin this turn of events to his advantage via Novak's show, with Novak thanking Murphy for revealing the fallibility of the police, and pointing out that drones are incorruptible. An effort to repeal the Dreyfus Act is initiated, with overwhelming support. Meanwhile, Clara goes to the press and lashes out at OmniCorp, demanding to know why she and her child are being kept away from her husband.
As Sellars' team discusses how to handle Clara, they also decide that in order to avoid alienating politicians, some of whom might be potential targets of Murphy's self-imposed effort to weed out corruption, OmniCorp cannot risk robots with human components that might override their programming. Sellars decides that RoboCop should be eliminated and orders Mattox to kill him. Norton, betraying Sellars and Mattox, reaches the lab first and revives Murphy, explaining the situation, and Murphy, feeling betrayed, attempts to find Sellars.
Sellars has the OmniCorp building locked down and posts drones as sentries. Murphy gains entry with the help of his former partner Lewis and other police officers. He confronts Mattox, but cannot act against him, due to a feature hidden in Murphy's programming which prevents him from acting against individuals wearing a bracelet that identifies them as "Red Assets". Lewis appears and shoots and kills Mattox, allowing Murphy to proceed to the roof, where Sellars is waiting for a helicopter, with Clara and David as unwitting hostages. Murphy's programming prevents him from apprehending Sellars, as he is also wearing a Red Asset bracelet, but Murphy manages to overcome his programming and shoots, killing Sellars as well as avenging his serious condition.
Murphy's body is rebuilt in Norton's laboratory, where he is reunited with Clara and David.
