The RoboCop statue is a bronze statue of RoboCop, a fictional cybernetically enhanced Detroit Police Department officer from the 1987 film RoboCop. The idea for the statue originated with a 2011 exchange between Detroit mayor Dave Bing and a pseudonymous user on Twitter. In response to the suggestion that Detroit have a statue of RoboCop to rival Philadelphia's statue of Rocky, Bing replied that there were no plans to erect such a statue in the city. The exchange went viral and a subsequent Kickstarter campaign raised $67,436 to fund the construction of the statue.
The completion and public display of the RoboCop statue have been delayed due to several setbacks, including difficulties in securing a site, legal issues with MGM, and artist Giorgio Gikas battling cancer. The statue was completed in 2021 and as of 2023 is in storage at an undisclosed location. It is planned to be displayed in Detroit's Eastern Market. In addition to Giorgio Gikas sand casting the pieces the statue was welded by Nick Phlegar and Mike Birtles.
@mayordavebing Philadelphia has a statue of Rocky & Robocop would kick Rocky's butt. He's a GREAT ambassador for Detroit.
February 7, 2011
@MT There are not any plans to erect a statue to Robocop. Thank you for the suggestion.
February 7, 2011
In early 2011, Detroit mayor Dave Bing and his communications team solicited suggestions on Twitter for improvements to the city. On February 7, 2011, User @MT responded "Philadelphia has a statue of Rocky & Robocop would kick Rocky's butt. He's a GREAT ambassador for Detroit."[a] Bing replied to the tweet, writing "There are not any plans to erect a statue to Robocop. Thank you for the suggestion."[1][2]
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The exchange between the mayor and the user, who was identified as a "random dude in Massachusetts", quickly went viral on Twitter.[3] Within a day, RoboCop was on the front page of Reddit, a 'Build a Robocop Statue in Detroit' Facebook group had been started,[4][5] and a Kickstarter campaign was launched to fund the creation of the statue. Articles about the RoboCop statue were written up in Reuters, Gizmodo, TMZ, and Jalopnik.[6]
Starting with a goal of $50,000, the crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter raised $67,436 from 2,718 people in six days. A $25,000 donation came from graphic designer Pete Hottelet of Omni Consumer Products, an entertainment licensing firm named after the fictional corporation that constructs RoboCop in the film.[5][7] Within the week, "RoboCop" became one of the most-searched terms on Yahoo![1]
Actor Peter Weller, who portrayed RoboCop in RoboCop and RoboCop 2, recorded a video for Funny or Die that was released on March 14, 2011. In the video, Weller jokingly calls out Mayor Bing for deeming the RoboCop statue "silly". Weller also appeared in a video for RoboCharity, which was established by the Detroit foodbank Forgotten Harvest.[8]
The prospect of a statue of RoboCop in Detroit was mildly controversial.[9] Critics pointed to Detroit's portrayal in the RoboCop films as a "lawless hellscape"[2] run by an evil corporation, reinforcing the city's image as "Hollywood's default example of urban decay".[10] Others saw the statue as a waste of money, memorializing a fictional character while important projects in the city go unfunded.[8] A Crain's Detroit Business headline declared "This is what happens when irony runs amok".[10] Later in 2020, the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing protests called into question the symbolism of erecting a statue dedicated to a police officer (albeit a fictional Cyborg (half-Human, half-Robot) one).[3]
Having secured funding for the RoboCop statue, the organizers of the Kickstarter campaign, Jerry Paffendorf and Brandon Walley, began determining the material that would be used for the statue, selecting a foundry, beginning discussions about licensing rights, and determining where the statue would eventually be located. The original post on Kickstarter envisioned a seven-foot-tall iron statue based on a 3D scan of a RoboCop action figure.[11]
A life-sized RoboCop model based on the original production designs was supplied by Fred Barton Productions for 3D scanning. The design was approved by MGM. It was 3D scanned at Across the Board Creations and digitally scaled. Foam forms were produced for the final casting following remilling at a west coast facility.[3][12]
The Detroit-based sculptural restoration firm Venus Bronze Works was selected to create the RoboCop statue. Owner and sculpture conservator Giorgio Gikas has restored numerous monuments in Detroit, including The Spirit of Detroit, The Fist, and the Victory and Progress chariot at the Wayne County Building. Gikas was born in Greece and worked at Roman Bronze Works before moving to Detroit.[13]
Foam forms for the statue arrived in Detroit in September 2013. In order to melt the bronze for the statue, a furnace had to be purchased. The last major molds were poured and completed in October 2016.[3][14] In the summer of 2020, as the Venus Bronze Works crew was placing the pelvis of the statue onto its legs, the statue was found to be leaning back. In order to correct the tilt, a slice of RoboCop's groin was shaved off and a plate was welded in.[3]
The 11 ft (3.4 m) tall, 2.5-short-ton (2.3 t) bronze statue is welded to a stainless steel base that weighs half a ton.[15] According to an employee at Venus Bronze Works, the legs and pelvis of the statue are tied to metal shafts which go into phalanges in the bottom. The base connects to lead pipes which can be dropped into holes on the base and filled with epoxy to keep the statue from moving when the ground freezes.[16] The statue's kneecaps alone each weigh about 25 lb (11 kg).[3] A dark gray patina was used in the finishing of the statue.[17]
The RoboCop statue does not depict RoboCop's gun—a Beretta M93R Auto 9, which could plausibly be hidden in his internal leg holster.[3] Instead the statue portrays RoboCop in "an inviting and approachable gesture" with his left hand extending outwards, "as opposed to being armed and threatening."[16]
There have been multiple setbacks during the construction and site location of the RoboCop statue. The projected completion and public unveiling of the RoboCop statue have repeatedly been announced or predicted in the years since the project's conception. During the construction of the statue, Venus Bronze Works owner Gikas was diagnosed with colon cancer. He was sick for one and a half years before recovering.[18]
A planned unveiling of the sculpture was expected to occur on June 3, 2014, which was declared "RoboCop Day" in Detroit. While the unveiling and an event at the Detroit Public Safety Headquarters were cancelled, an actor dressed as RoboCop did throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Detroit Tigers game at Comerica Park.[4][19] In March 2017, the Chicago firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill included RoboCop in a rendering of a plan for the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy. Speculation that the statue would be placed on the east riverfront was dashed when the firm said that it was a joke.[18] The statue was predicted to be finished in 2018 and placed somewhere downtown.[18] An article in Popular Mechanics announced the statue would be finished in March 2020.[17]
Multiple locations have been suggested for the placement of the RoboCop statue. Initially, the statue was planned to be located at Roosevelt Park, near Michigan Central Station.[15] Belle Isle was mentioned as a possible site for the statue,[3] as was Wayne State University's TechTown campus.[5] In May 2018 it was announced that the Michigan Science Center would be the site of the RoboCop statue.[13] Later in 2021, the science center bowed out, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] An offer from the mayor of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, to have that city as a home for the statue was rejected by Brandon Walley. The mayor vowed to make an even larger RoboCop statue, possibly through 3D printing and funded through an initiative by a local Commodore 64 club.[21]
The likeness of RoboCop is owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Legal issues with the film studio have held up the public display of the statue.[22] According to Dan Carmody of Eastern Market Corp., a definitive legal agreement had not been reached as of November 2022.[23] The RoboCop statue is stored at an undisclosed location in the Eastern Market. Constructing a foundation for the statue and moving it into place were estimated to cost tens of thousands of dollars.[23] The most recent prediction for the unveiling of the statue is sometime in 2024. There are plans to invite actor Peter Weller to the unveiling, along with a screening of RoboCop.[22]