Robocopis as close to a perfect sci-fi action movie as anyone could get — with a decent sequel to follow and a rather disappointing third movie to finish off the trilogy. It is a bloody action movie with some great satire and social commentary. TheRobocopfranchisehas a little bit of everything, including some all-time great villains. When thinking of the first movie alone, it’s near impossible to pick a favorite, but that’s what this list is for.
To set things clear before going into the list,Robocophas a surprisingly long list of primary and secondary villains that play major roles in their respective movies. The focus will be on the most prolific antagonists of each movie. With one exception, which means there will be more than one villain per movie listed. That means the likes of the first movie’s Bob Morton, who is much more like an anti-hero, and Hob from the sequel, will not be included. They still deserve an honorable mention as they are great villains, but just don’t have the same presence in their movies as these villains do.
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6Paul McDagget
Much likeRobocop 3itself, McDagget is a massive let-down. He is the commander of the REHAB Mercenaries, hired by OCP to physically displace people from their homes for the building of Delta City. On paper, that seems like a great antagonist foraRobocopmovie, with him being the driving force of corporate greed that has been on display through the trilogy. But on screen, he is one-dimensional and boring, which is upsetting because theRobocoptrilogy has some entertaining villains. But much like his own movie, it’s just too plain and boring to work for aRobocopmovie.
5Cain/Robocop 2.0
Although he is better than McDagget and has a couple of cool aspects, Cain is still quite mediocre compared to the rest of this list. Cain is a drug lord involved in the creation of Nuke who also becomes the basis for OCP’s newRobocop2.0. Cain has some cool aspects as a character. For one, he’s portrayed by the mega talented Tom Noonan. Without his portrayal, the character wouldn’t have even close to the charisma that he does. But Cain also has the benefit of beingRobocop2.0 which is very cool. However, is pretty much were the character ends. It’s a bit disappointing, and while some may disagree, compared to the rest of this list, he just isn’t up to their level.
4The Old Man
The Old Man is the overarching villain ofRobocop1 and 2. He doesn’t have that much screen time compared to the rest of the villains, but he is the perfect conductor for the rest of the villain orchestra. He pulls the strings, and as thecold-blooded Chairman of OCP, he couldn’t fit any better. Maybe some more screen time would have benefited him, but when he has to share the screen with the rest of these villains, it’s understandable why he didn’t get it.
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3Dick Jones
In any other franchise, Dick Jones would have been at the top of the list. Jones is the primary antagonist of the firstRobocopmovie as the senior president of OCP. He is one of the most conniving, wickedly smart, and cold-blooded villains in cinematic history. Compared to many villains today, Jones is completely unredeemable, and it works very well for the type of corrupt corporate head that he is. By the end, most of the audience is just waiting for Robocop to get to him. It’s the sign of a great villain.
2Ed-209
Here is the one exception as mentioned before. Ed-209 only shows up in a couple scenes, and is definitely not a primary antagonist. But when thinking of this franchise, there is no way that Ed-209 doesn’t immediately come to mind. Ed-209 is a robot built by Dick Jones for policing and potential military use — as long as there are no stairs involved. It can’t be understated howimportant ED-209 isto the franchise with an appearance in all threeRobocopmovies. So no, this robot isn’t a primary villain, but he has the same lasting impression as the other villains do, if not even bigger.
1Clarence Boddicker
Clarence Boddicker is perhaps the only character in this franchise that could rival Dick Jones' irredeemable actions. But at the same time, it’s impossible to deny how cool he is. He is charismatic, smart, and terrifying. He is hired by Dick Jones to take care of his Robocop problem, and is the one responsible for Murphy’s death that led him to be Robocop. He is close to being a secondary antagonist, but because of how great of a character he is, Boddicker puts himself at the top of the list as the bestRobocopvillain.
