News: 0180289013

  ARM Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

RoboCop Statue Rises In Detroit (theguardian.com)

(Thursday December 04, 2025 @10:33PM (BeauHD) from the embracing-its-cult-film-past dept.)


[1]alternative_right quotes a report from the Guardian:

> The statue looms and glints at more than 11 feet tall and weighing 3,500 pounds, looking out at the city with, how to put it ... a characteristically stern expression? Despite its daunting appearance and history as a crimefighter of last resort, the [2]giant new bronze figure of the movie character RoboCop is being seen as a symbol of hope, drawing fans and eliciting selfie mania since it began standing guard over Detroit on Wednesday afternoon. It has been 15 years in the making. Even in a snowstorm in the dark, people were driving by to see it, said Jim Toscano, co-owner of the Free Age film production company, where the statue now stands firmly bolted down near the sidewalk. RoboCop hit theaters in 1987, portraying a near-future Detroit as crime-ridden and poorly protected by a beleaguered and outgunned police force, until actor Peter Weller appeared as a nearly invincible cyborg, apparently created by a nefarious corporation bent on privatizing policing.

A grassroots campaign to build a RoboCop statue in Detroit began in 2010, eventually raising over $67,000 on Kickstarter and resulting in a completed sculpture in 2017. However, hosting setbacks caused it to get stuck, "stored away from public view," reports the Guardian. The project finally found a home after business owner Mike Toscano agreed to display it in their new open-air product market, calling it "too unique and too cool not to do."



[1] https://slashdot.org/~alternative_right

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/04/robocop-statute-detroit



Nooooo! (Score:2)

by Locke2005 ( 849178 )

Don't give Trump and Musk any ideas!!!

Re: (Score:1)

by Anonymous Coward

I'm surprised he hasn't defaced Mount Rushmore National Memorial with his ugly mug yet.

Re: (Score:2)

by procrastinatos ( 1004262 )

Why? You think they'll send unmarked cars to remove this one [1]too [wikipedia.org]?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Friends_Forever_(sculpture)

Ugly (Score:2)

by backslashdot ( 95548 )

Why'd they make it out of bronze? It looks way uglier than Robocop.

Re:Ugly (Score:4, Informative)

by newcastlejon ( 1483695 )

Looks grey to me. A bit dark perhaps but not what I'd call ugly.

As for using bronze, it's easier to cast than steel and it's naturally resistant to corrosion. It might start looking a bit green if you leave it outside for a century or two.

Should include a 6000 SUX (Score:2)

by schwit1 ( 797399 )

I'll buy that for a dollar!

Re: (Score:2)

by Locke2005 ( 849178 )

The scrap metal deal would pay about $10,000 for it. Scrap bronze currently sells for $3.05/pound.

Death Robot (Score:1)

by darkain ( 749283 )

ahhh yes, the statue of the guy that represents "even if you die, we'll find a way to still make you come to work on monday"

Re: (Score:2)

by Locke2005 ( 849178 )

Trump would use those to go after jaywalkers...

I buy that for an dollar! (Score:2)

by Joe_Dragon ( 2206452 )

I buy that for an dollar!

Re: (Score:1)

by odigon ( 1457023 )

They forgot "Any attempt to arrest a senior officer of OCP results in shutdown"

If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward,
then we are a sorry lot indeed.
-- Albert Einstein