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Detroit Police
Detective Lisa Madigan
Played by Yvette Nipar
The series's equivalent of Anne Lewis, Lisa Madigan is Murphy's partner and becomes a detective in the pilot.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: Madigan is implied to have been partners with pre-Robo Murphy somewhat longer than Lewis. Notably she's good friends with Nancy Murphy, his widow, although she didn't meet his son until the pilot episode.
- Adaptation Name Change: For the most part, she's basically the series version of Anne Lewis.
- Compressed Vice: She has a drug problem that only lasted one episode. Unbeknownst to her (and the head of OCP's drug division) the diet pills she'd started taking had a chemical in them which was both addictive and lowered inhibitions.
- Cosmic Plaything: Among other things, she had a drug problem in "Trouble in Delta City" while trying to lose weight, was knocked out and had her gun stolen to kill someone in "When Justice Fails", and was almost paralyzed for life in "Nano". The episode "Midnight Minus One" also implies she came from a broken home.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Several episodes suggested that she came from a broken home.
- Despair Event Horizon: She endures a lot of suffering in various episodes, but the prospect of being paralyzed for life in "Nano" completely breaks her and makes her think her life is over.
- Dysfunctional Family: In the episode, "Midnight Minus One", she implied that she came from one.
- Only Friend: As with Lewis in the movies, she serves by this to Murphy in the series.
- Secret-Keeper: For Alex's identity.
- Tomboyish Ponytail: Unlike Lewis in the first two movies, Madigan had long hair that she'd sometimes have in a ponytail.
Sgt. Stan Parks
Played by Blu Mankuma
The series's equivalent of Sgt. Reed, Stan Parks is Murphy and Madigan's superior officer. He adopts an orphan named Gadget in the pilot.
- Adaptation Name Change: As with Madigan and Lewis, he's Sgt. Reed in all but name.
- Being Good Sucks: When it looks like he might lose custody of Gadget, he wants to do everything possible to fight it, but he knows he can't circumvent a legal procedure or put a strain on a kid that wants to see her mother again.
- Da Chief: Of Metro South.
- Papa Wolf: Do not try to harm Gadget.
- Secret-Keeper: Outside of his knowledge of Murphy's identity, Sally Modesto swears him to secrecy when he learns that she is indeed Gadget's biological mother.
OCP
The OCP Chairman
Played by David Gardner
The head or OCP in the series and the series's equivalent of the Old Man for the first two movies.
- Adaptational Heroism: Even barring his Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome in RoboCop 2, the Old Man was apathetic to the people around him (most notably, his anger at ED-209 killing Kenny was at the malfunction itself, not the fact it killed someone). While still greedy, the Chairman is conversely more empathetic to the suffering of others and willing to help people out and make things right whenever Diana, Murphy, or anyone else points out something he or OCP did wrong. He also actually cares for Murphy.
- Composite Character: While he's more or less the series's equivalent of the Old Man (and some characters actually do call him "old man" from time to time), the opening implies he had Bob Morton's role as overseer of the RoboCop project.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: While much more moral than his employees and the other heads of OCP in the franchise, he is still greedy, willing to rush out products without fully testing them, and as revealed via blackmail in "When Justice Fails", willing to engage in insider trading. That said, he is genuinely horrified when he learns about the products' flaws or when he learns of the crimes his employees have done, and will pull the products off the market and will try to make things right and was willing to call off the space-tram launch in "When Justice Fails" when he learns of the cyrofuel's flaws.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": As is tradition with the boss of OCP, his real name is never revealed, but much like the CEO in RoboCop 3, he's referred to by his job title.
- Everyone Has Standards: He's not evil, but he lets his greed get the better of him, rushing out products and initiatives without proper testing and willing to engage in insider trading. That said, he can be horrified when he learns about these ideas and initiatives hurting or impairing people, and is willing to call off things or pull products—even if he isn't honest as to why they're being pulled.note
- Exact Words: Technically, he spoke accurately in that No-Gain had to be recalled because of product tampering...it's just that the tampering occurred long before the drug hit the shelves, thanks to Cray Z. Mallardo's role in designing it. If OCP had bothered to do the required testing it would've been detected right away.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Sometimes, despite being the boss. He had zero knowledge of the Heartbreaker weapon, which an underling says was on the order of the Defense Department.
- My God, What Have I Done?: His reaction to many things illegal and immoral OCP does.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Is willing to make up for mistakes OCP has caused.
- Secret-Keeper: Is this for Alex and Diana.
- Slave to PR: He's regularly performing appearances at assorted functions for the sake of good PR. His staff has even hired child actors so that he can appear as a kindly grandfather figure. OCP's bottom line being affected by a given scandal or misused piece of technology is frequently on his mind, although his disgust over others threatening people's lives is portrayed as genuine.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Diana and Murphy are more than willing to call him out on his bullshit.
Diana Powers/Neurobrain
Played by Andrea Roth
Diana Powers was Chip Chayken’s secretary at OCP. Murdered in the pilot by him and his partner, Dr. Cray Z. Mallardo, her brain is used as a key component to operate Nerobrain, a supercomputer designed to run the entire city of Detroit.
- Angst? What Angst?: Discussed in-universe. She admits in "Trouble in Delta City" that she doesn't struggle with her situation the way Murphy does, due to thinking she never had much of a life to begin with.
- Brain in a Jar: In episode one Diana is murdered to provide the brain needed for OCP's city managing supercomputer. Diana, unlike Murphy, doesn't keep any of her original body, instead becoming somehow a Projected Man Or since in this case it is a gender flipped example a projected woman.
- Death by Irony: As she notes, she always figured she was too smart to be someone else's secretary. Demonstrating that is what ultimately gets her brain harvested by her old boss.
- The Dog Bites Back: She gives Mallardo the elevator ride of a lifetime to pay him back for her death, only releasing him to be arrested by the nearby cops. She later lashes out at Chayken when given the opportunity, denouncing his various flaws while hitting him with energy blasts.
- Dumb Blonde: Averted, as it was her cracking a suit that OCP was dealing with that ended up inspiring Mallardo and Chayken to use her brain after using those of elderly homeless people failed.
- First-Name Basis: She's the only one in the present before Alex's father, Russell, learns the truth who addresses Alex by his first name as opposed to "Murphy" or "Robo".
- Foil: To Robo.
- She's arguably less human than he is, due to not having any of her original body left.
- The lack of extra programming means she can behave like she used to and be more personable.
- She also acknowledges how she didn't have much in the way of friends and family like Murphy did, so it much's easier for her to cope with all this.
- Robo was a dying man who was mainly mechanically enhanced, and mostly works physically. Diana was a perfectly healthy woman who only exists as a digital consciousness and a brain, with no real physical contact with the world.
- Robo was cyborg'd just because Murphy was conveniently "dead", and was supposed to have his old identity wiped. Diana was virtualized because of her intelligence, and retains almost all of her old identity.
- Alexander and Diana are both ancient Greek names. The former means "defender", and the latter means "heavenly/divine", which are both appropriate. The most famous Alex is a conqueror king with delusions of godhood, but Robo is a humble public servant. Diana was a goddess (of the hunt), which Diana effectively is for the city, even though she started out as a humble secretary. She also helps Robo's investigations.
- Girliness Upgrade: Having her brain transplanted into a computer seems to have agreed with Diana, as she went from a frumpy, bespectacled, ponytailed secretary to a loose-haired cybernetic siren in a lamé dress after losing her body. She does claim she "loved to dance", though.
- Hidden Depths: Dancing was a favorite hobby of hers when she was alive.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Finch's nanomachine scheme in "Nano" is meant to hijack control of assorted technology in the city, but it also unknowingly damages Diana's mind. She begins acting like a drunken flirt towards Robo and exerts control over machines just because she can. When she's restored to normal, she's mortified over how she behaved.
- Secret-Keeper: Diana is on the very short list that knows that Robocop and Alex Murphy are one and the same person.
- Virtual Ghost: Thanks to the nature of Neurobrain, she's this. She uses holograms to talk to Murphy and the Chairman.
- Wetware CPU: Metronet, the computer system that runs the whole city, is run by Neurobrain, but it turns out Neurobrain needs an actual human brain to run it. After the brains of a few elderly boozed-up homelesss guys failed to withstand the system, Mallardo and Diana's boss, Chip Chayken get the bright idea of using Diana's brain instead and it works- better than they anticipated.
Charlie Lippencott
Played by Ed Sahely
The technician who maintains Murphy.
- Brainy Brunette: He's a scientist, after all.
- Composite Character: Fills the same role as the duo from RoboCop 2 and Marie Lazarus, yet the opening shows him present when Murphy is finished, implying a second in command role similar to Donald Johnson.
- Hidden Depths: He's quite the dancer. He says his mother made him take lessons when he was a kid.
- My Country, Right or Wrong: He tried to invoke a version of this to Madigan in "Sisters in Crime" when OCP is facing sexual discrimination lawsuits and was cleaning graffiti off of Murphy, before realizing he put his foot in his mouth.
Criminals
Dr. Cray Z. Mallardo
Played by Cliff DeYoung
A scientist at OCP, he murdered several homeless men for his Neurobrain project before settling on Chip Chayken's secretary Diana Powers.
- Big Bad Ensemble: The Pilot and "Trouble in Delta City" feature him, "Pudface" Morgan and Chip Chayken working together.
- Evil Vegetarian: Dr. Cray Z. Mallardo, although being a vegetarian has little to do with him being a villain.
- Mad Scientist: He's the one who created Neurobrain.
- Punny Name: His first name and middle initial are "Cray Z," and his last name references a species of duck.
- The Paranoiac: Shown to be paranoid.
- Revenge: In "Trouble in Delta City" he taints No-Gain (OCP's new diet pill brand) with an addictive drug that reduces inhibitions in order to get revenge on them for putting him in jail. This soon leads to a rise in crime all over the city and even small riots in the streets, with at least one truck being tipped over.
- Serial Killer: He killed a bunch of homeless people for the Neurobrain project until he settled on Diana.
Chip Chayken
Played by John Rubinstein
An executive at OCP, he employed the Dogtown Gang to do the kidnapping for Mallardo's Neurobrain, before becoming an accessory to his secretary's murder.
- The Alcoholic: He spends a good bit of time in "Sisters in Crime" with bottles of wine in sight. His host is rather peeved since he keeps pilfering the expensive stuff from the cellar.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: One of the more ruthless people in OCP, he was even involved in the murder of Diana, his secretary, for the Neurobrain project.
- Creepy Crossdresser: His disguise in "Sisters in Crime" involves him in drag.
- Dragged into Drag: His initial expression in "Sisters in Crime" suggests this was not his idea.
- Master of Disguise: In "Sisters in Crime" and the finale.
- Nothing Personal: Whereas Diana deeply hates him for what was done to her, he's quite casual with her. He even feels he did her a favor by using her brain for the Neurobrain project, saying it gave her access to unlimited power.
- Smug Snake: For the most part.
William Ray "Pudface" Morgan
Played by James Kidnie
RoboCop's arch enemy, he was disfigured in an accident of his own making during an encounter with Robo. Blaming Robo for it, he has decided to seek revenge.
- Adaptation Name Change: As given in the pilot, Morgan's backstory is essentially that of Emil Antonowsky, the thug who got doused with toxic waste in RoboCop (1987) movie—except that, unlike Emil, Pudface didn't die of it (and getting run over by a car).
- Arch-Enemy: Robo's.
- Bad Boss: He's often screaming at and threatening his goons, particularly Shorty for repeated screw-ups.
- Big Bad Ensemble: The Pilot and "Trouble in Delta City" feature him and Cray Z. Mallardo working together.
- Cop Killer: Wants to be, considering all the times he's tried to kill Murphy and in the opening MediaBreak segment in the pilot, it's stated that a cop was killed in the police response to the hostage situation he instigated at the retirement home.
- The Dragon: To Mallardo and Chayken in the pilot and finale.
- Facial Horror: He was disfigured in an accident he caused.
- Hero Killer: Tries to be. The closest he came to this was the pilot where he took Robo out for a good chunk of the second act.
- Never My Fault: According to Parks, the accident that disfigured him was his own fault, though Pudface chooses to blame Murphy for it.
- Not in the Face!: Yells at Murphy to not punch him in the face. Murphy is more than willing to ignore this.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Often feels this way about Leo and Shorty (particularly the latter), and they are indeed quite dimwitted. Even Molotov acknowledged it the one time he hired them for a job.
- Taught by Experience: In the Pilot Movie, he very nearly succeeds in killing Robo. Though the effort to restore him is touch and go, it would never have happened if Pudface hadn't left him for dead on the sidewalk. A later encounter in "Faces of Eve" sees Pudface manage to deal severe damage to Robo, but this time, he won't take the chance that repairs can't be made later. His plan entails sneaking into OCP and accessing a secret code that would allow him to permanently shut Robo down.
Reggie Braga
Played by Daniel Kash
A cartel boss in Old Detroit.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When Molotov confronts him in "Tin Man" after he tried to horn in on his turf. Only the titular vigilante stops Motolov from killing Braga.
- The Cartel: He's a South American crime boss.
- Enemy Mine: With Molotov to stop the Tin Man.
Vlad "Stitch" Molotov
Played by Hrant Alianak
A crime boss is Old Detroit. His debut appearance, "Prime Suspect", shows that the mayor is in his pocket.
- Berserk Button: Calling him "Stitch" is a good way to shorten your life.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He's initially introduced as a Red Herring for the murder of a televangelist and occasionally reappears to help demonstrate the criminal underworld's status quo. He and his operation turn out to be rather important to the backstory of Gadget. Gadget's mother is one of his underlings and gave the kid up for adoption to spare her the lifestyle that came with that.
- Enemy Mine: With Braga to stop the Tin Man.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: He had a scar on the side of his face that is the source of his Berserk Button nickname.
- I Have Your Wife: Tries to kidnap Gadget in "Mother's Day" to stop Parks from testifying against him, even going as far as to employ two of Pudface's goons and Gadget's real mother.
- The Mafiya: He's a Russian crime boss.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He refuses to have Parks killed before the Sarge can testify in court, as being charged with the death of a cop would lead to even bigger legal headaches than what he's already on the hook for.
- Surrounded by Idiots: His response to one of his mooks suggesting they kill Parks before he can testify. Molotov has to point out who the authorities are most likely to suspect in such an event. It's demonstrated throughout the episode that Nadia is the only intelligent underling on hand.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After Gadget was successfully detained, he told Nadia in Russian to take Pudface's goons out back and shoot them. They're unknowingly saved by Robo's sudden arrival.
Detroit Citizens
Gadget Parks
Played by Sarah Campbell
An orphan who witnesses Chip Chayken kidnapping a homeless man, she's adopted in the pilot by Sgt. Parks.
- Embarrassing First Name: She isn't fond of the fact that her real first name is Gertude.
- Happily Adopted: She's Parks's adopted daughter.
- Lampshade Hanging: Late in the season, it's mentioned that "Gadget" was the name assigned to her when she was entered into family services. She personally thinks it was the result of a computer glitch. She continues to use it after being disappointed by her birth name.
- Orphan's Ordeal: She's quite happy with Parks, but she gets depressed around Mother's Day since it was her mother that dropped her off at family services. Her desire to reunite with her mother is used against her, which devastates her.
- Strong Family Resemblance: When her mother appears at the station, Parks comments on the similar eyes, hair, and the like. Double subverted. The woman was working for Molotov all along and apologetically says she's just an underling who looks reasonably like Gadget with no choice in this. However, Parks has DNA evidence proving she really is Gadget's mother; she lied to the kid so that Parks would regain custody since he can give her the kind of life that she can't.
- Tagalong Kid: She frequently hung out at Metro South.
Russell Murphy
Played by Martin Milner
Alex Murphy's father and a retired police captain, he helps out his son when two cases from his past come back to haunt him and OCP.
- Fantastic Racism: Underestimates Robo in the early part of "The Human Factor", he comes around by the end. Then comes "Corporate Raiders"...
- Happily Married: To Dorothy for several decades by the time we're introduced to them.
- Hero of Another Story: Back in his day, he racked up a number of accomplishments that caused Alex to admire him and want to follow in his footsteps. He put Felix Webber in prison for his bombing campaign. Though Tessa Stark avoided prison (see below), his actions put her on defense and forced her to go into obscurity for years.
- Outliving One's Offspring: He's unaware his son was resurrected as RoboCop until the end of "Corporate Raiders".
- So Proud of You: At the end of "Corporate Raiders" Robo declares that he's still a cop, to which Russell proudly agrees.
- Secret-Keeper: He learns that Robo is in fact Alex, who swears him to secrecy.
- Spotting the Thread: Being retired for a number of years didn't dull his police instincts, as both of his appearances see him pick up on details that don't quite add up and wanting to look deeper. Tessa Stark planned to bait him into a trap by using Jimmy as a hostage, but he ended getting to the location before any demand was made because of little things he observed throughout the story. It's also how he deduces that Alex and Robo are the same person.
- That One Case: While both of his appearances deal with cases from his past, "Corporate Raiders" is this trope as Tessa Stark didn't have enough evidence on her to be convicted before she returned years later.note
