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Spectrum Scarlet

Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:43 am


Would Murphy as Robo swear?

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by the end of the first film, he of course retained his humanistic voice, tones and patterns. as a human being, Murphy would definitely of used foul language, in any situation. would he though, as RoboCop, do the same?

apologies if this has been discussed already. would appreciate a link to the topic if it has.


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Stan The Man

Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:50 am



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No, I don't think this has come up really. If it has come up I don't remember it. 

It's actually a decent point, though a minor one. In any case I think that Robo could curse, but I just don't think he actually would. Murphy didn't let out one cuss word in the short amount of time he was around. To me, Murphy just never seemed like the type that would need to curse out much, if at all, and I think the need would be far less so as RoboCop.

So yeah - I think he can do it, but just wouldn't.


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KidGoesWild

Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:55 am



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Murphy's morals, witty personality and humor and sayings remained with him for R1 and R2, so it was all Murphy from a certain point. Even in R1 when he wasnt, he still had traces of his personality, so hed surely use a foul language if hed want to


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RoboDemise

Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:59 am



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To me, Murphy just never seemed like the type that would need to curse out much, if at all, and I also think the need would be far less so as RoboCop.


Well... We have a whole 10 minutes of actual Murphy so I don't think that we really know how he was at all. For all we know he was a dick who swore left and right. He was pretty cocky with Lewis afterall. I really don't have an answer to this... I know what I want the answer to be...


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Stan The Man

Tue Jun 22, 2010 1:15 am



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Well, there were several instances when he could have gone sailor-speak and didn't, so that's just the conclusion I came to. Murphy just doesn't seem like the cursing type really. Just my take though. Indeed we don't really know given the short amount of time he's on there, I'll give ya that.

But, as RoboCop, I'm sure he certainly can curse, but again, just never has the need for it.


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Deus Ex Robo

Tue Jun 22, 2010 2:48 am



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Wait, didn't Murphy say "shit" when he and Lewis were denied back up for the second time in R1? I can't remember and I was drunk the last time I saw it.


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Stan The Man

Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:09 am



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He just said, Oh, man! in a harsh this-is-bullshit tone. That's all.

The guy's practically a fucking choir boy! :b


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Deus Ex Robo

Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:21 am



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Yeah true. I think he'd curse over a baseball game before he'd ever say something explicit in anger.

Robo on the other hand. Most of my brain says there is even further evidence that he wouldn't curse, but my gut says that if he were given the right moment, he would use one "bad word" appropriately.


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Officer Harvey

Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:30 am



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Murphy didn't come off as the one to utilize harsh language. The brief time we saw him as ALEX Murphy spoke volumes of him: high devotion to duty and family, somewhat naive, otherwise a wholesome individual.


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Swedish Robot

Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:54 am



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Buddy, I think you're slime.

I think he kinda gets a kick out of being an asshole without having to outright be vulgar. Kind of the old badass with manners. 

So.. Murphy swearing? I dun think so. Unless he just stubbed his toe.. but now his toe stubs everything else so..


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Deus Ex Robo

Wed Jun 23, 2010 6:54 am



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Good point Dral, good point.

Actual evidence (sorta) to support a claim.


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MurphysGal

Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:59 am



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I don't think he would swear or at least not any of the really bad words, even though we only saw a little of him before he was killed, i just don't see Alex Murphy saying those kinds of words


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Philip17

Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:19 am



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Well, as Murphy, we can understand he doesnīt talk mutch, just the necessary.
And as Robocop, he even has less reason to talk, and since he only says what is necessary, and keeps it short, I donīt see the point of he swearing with bad words or similar stuff.

That is almost as asking if he can point us his midle finger, he could do it, but he doesnt need to.


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Deus Ex Robo

Wed Jun 30, 2010 12:46 pm



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That is almost as asking if he can point us his midle finger, he could do it, but he doesnt need to.
And that whole scene in R1 where Robo bypasses Cecil and plugs into the "computer" with his "jack", isn't a metaphor for anything?

Robo, not Murph, has some attitude. No doubt about that.


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Robowreck

Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:14 pm



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murphy had a real opportunity to swear a bit in R1 when he was on his back just before his death, boddy asked him.. You probably dont think i'm a very nice guy, do ya?  

Boddy, I think you're slime....

right there, he coulda said something foul mouthed, but pretty tame, then he got nailed, while being shot im sure he wanted to cuss his brains out just before they got shot out tho....

poor murphy, you are a cybernetic saint =)


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Swedish Robot

Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:21 pm



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murphy had a real opportunity to swear a bit in R1 when he was on his back just before his death, boddy asked him.. You probably dont think i'm a very nice guy, do ya?  

Boddy, I think you're slime....

right there, he coulda said something foul mouthed, but pretty tame, then he got nailed, while being shot im sure he wanted to cuss his brains out just before they got shot out tho....

poor murphy, you are a cybernetic saint =)

Read moar harder.


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robomark

Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:23 pm



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if MURPHY was ever going to swear then maybe it would have been when he and Lewis was 'denied' back-up after the van chase and he losses his temper a bit and throws the phone through the window.


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Archive

Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:30 pm



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if MURPHY was ever going to swear then maybe it would have been when he and Lewis was 'denied' back-up after the van chase and he losses his temper a bit and throws the phone through the window.

I agree, that would have been a good spot if any. 

 ( Of course instead of a nasty F-bomb he just says: "oh man..." )


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robomark

Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:42 pm



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that's what i thought, anyone that swore would have thrown out a FFS at the point.


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vegasrobo

Thu Aug 12, 2010 8:51 pm



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Don't think Alex Murphy was much of a swear artist before he was killed so no I think Robo won't either.


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thechief01

Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:49 am



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I agree with robowreck. I think the fact that he wont swear makes him an even better character and why you like him so much, the good guy that falls foul of the bad guys. Robocop represents everything good, swearing would ruin him   I think anyway


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Rick

Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:37 pm



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Well, he was shot to death and not once did he shout 'fuck' or 'shit' to convey his pain, he just screamed. I'm pretty sure if he was a natural potty mouth he would have said something vulgar whilst being killed!


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Neoranger

Sun Aug 15, 2010 9:27 am



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^ Not necessarily. I have a hell of a potty-mouth and I'm pretty sure I couldn't bring myself to utter a single curse-word, after my day had started with my hand having been blown off. 

Excruciating pain trumps potty mouth.

Not that I know if Murphy would curse under other circumstances. It's beside the point too. I can't see RoboCop swearing. He talks very little and his speech pattern is kind of proper and technical. I can't imagine him adding swear words to that.

Plus, it gives him style. "I can blow your head off with a single punch, but I don't even have to talk to you." And it's kind of the whole good cop mentality that's ironically displayed in him; no swearing kids!


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Philip17

Fri Aug 20, 2010 4:28 pm



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murphy had a real opportunity to swear a bit in R1 when he was on his back just before his death, boddy asked him.. You probably dont think i'm a very nice guy, do ya?  

Boddy, I think you're slime....

right there, he coulda said something foul mouthed, but pretty tame, then he got nailed, while being shot im sure he wanted to cuss his brains out just before they got shot out tho....

poor murphy, you are a cybernetic saint =)

When he said that, I am sure he was thinking, "I'm f*cked" and probably he anser to bodicker to try to buy time for Lewis to rescue him.

When he gets his hand blow away, of course he couldnīt talk, the pain is to mutch, usualy when we are in a lot of pain, we can only scream, or sometimes we canīt even talk when in pain, it is horrible.....

I just donīt know how he was stil alive after being blow to hell with all those shotguns shots, even Clearance had put a bullet in his brain.

But as robo he doesnīt need to swear, he as style cause he doesnīt need to talk to blow an entire drug factory. Besides that fact enhance his good character  :D


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RoboDemise

Fri Aug 20, 2010 7:47 pm



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Dynamite sure thinks he would. I got a couple more issues and Murphy is cussing up a storm. Don't know that I fully agree or disagree with it. The "RoboBitches" or whatever is said like that,  is over the top Sylvester Stallone style. The rest of his cussing... Meh.


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Snoopy

Sun Aug 22, 2010 10:32 pm



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I don't know if this matters or not,but in the adaption and the script,I could be wrong he said the B word and the F word.


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Robo79

Mon Apr 25, 2011 12:27 am



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It's interesting to note that Peter Weller has sworn in some of his other movies, but then again, he didn't have to play a robot in them.  :wink: 

He said quite a few f-words in Shakedown (aka Blue Jean Cop) and also swore in Leviathan.  I think he even let out some naughty words in Naked Lunch.


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WeKilledYou

Wed Jun 15, 2011 11:37 am



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I agree with the various people that have said he wouldn't. Whether it be that he is still able to, but chooses not to. Or he simply doesn't have the capacity or urge to do it at all, I just think he wouldn't under and circumstances. Even when he was still alive and human, he really didn't strike me as someone who would curse very often if not at all. So once he becomes Robocop, while It's true he is still some what human and retains elements of his former self. I think that just solidifies that he wouldn't.


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Steve Freeling

Thu Apr 27, 2017 7:18 am



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In one of the later comics, he calls a Terminator a "motherfucker" but that immediately struck me as being out of character for him.


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Edd 209

Thu Apr 27, 2017 11:29 pm



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Maybe he is the only character in R1 that doesn't swear?  

I can't remember off the top of my head - does Lewis even swear?


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RoboPimp

Fri Apr 28, 2017 12:51 am



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In one of the later comics, he calls a Terminator a "motherfucker" but that iimmediately struck me as being out of character for him.

Yes, in Robocop Terminator: Kill Human, Robo does curse and say a lot of other goofy stuff that it out of character. You could theorize this one of two ways: either its terrible writing, or represents a Robocop that has aged to a point where the original brain has degraded and his personality is simply a computer simulation. I tend to go with the latter theory.


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Steve Freeling

Fri Apr 28, 2017 4:07 am



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Maybe he is the only character in R1 that doesn't swear?  

I can't remember off the top of my head - does Lewis even swear?
Once in RoboCop, she says, "Sorry, Sarge. I fucked up." Another time in RoboCop 2, she says, "The son of a bitch is getting away with it. We can't even touch him." I think that's about all the swearing she does, though.


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NukeLord

Wed May 17, 2017 7:45 pm



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The RoboCop character "does" swear in RoboCop 2. When he and RoboCain come crashing out the top of the building and Robo is left hanging on to RoboCain on the edge of the building...during that precise first distance shot you can clearly hear "shit!".

I've always wondered that was supposed to be. Why is it in there? :)


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Steve Freeling

Thu May 18, 2017 4:19 am



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The RoboCop character "does" swear in RoboCop 2. When he and RoboCain come crashing out the top of the building and Robo is left hanging on to RoboCain on the edge of the building...during that precise first distance shot you can clearly hear "shit!".

I've always wondered that was supposed to be. Why is it in there? :)Good ears there.


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Stan The Man

Thu May 18, 2017 6:03 am



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The RoboCop character "does" swear in RoboCop 2. When he and RoboCain come crashing out the top of the building and Robo is left hanging on to RoboCain on the edge of the building...during that precise first distance shot you can clearly hear "shit!".

I've always wondered that was supposed to be. Why is it in there? :)

Actually you just hear someone saying 'shit' - I'm not sure that's actually Weller saying it though.


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Steve Freeling

Thu May 18, 2017 6:08 am



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The RoboCop character "does" swear in RoboCop 2. When he and RoboCain come crashing out the top of the building and Robo is left hanging on to RoboCain on the edge of the building...during that precise first distance shot you can clearly hear "shit!".

I've always wondered that was supposed to be. Why is it in there? :)

Actually you just hear someone saying 'shit' - I'm not sure that's actually Weller saying it though.I might have to check that scene out to see if it's Murphy or not.


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NukeLord

Thu May 18, 2017 1:20 pm



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The RoboCop character "does" swear in RoboCop 2. When he and RoboCain come crashing out the top of the building and Robo is left hanging on to RoboCain on the edge of the building...during that precise first distance shot you can clearly hear "shit!".

I've always wondered that was supposed to be. Why is it in there? :)

Actually you just hear someone saying 'shit' - I'm not sure that's actually Weller saying it though.

Yeah I know. :) It's why I quoted the "does" in my first sentence. :)

Often wondered how it got in there? Is it supposed to be the RoboCop character? (I doubt it!) Is a post-production staff member having a joke/winking at the audience? (Probably!) Why is it in there? How did it make it in there?  Lol. 

At 1.12 in this clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goAKO2YEGnI


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Steve Freeling

Thu May 18, 2017 1:27 pm



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I don't think it's Weller.


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RoboFan_93

Wed May 24, 2017 9:04 pm



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Well, not that we should care about that, but in one of the Game Over cutscenes (on the final level, I think) for the Titus game he does clearly say "Oh, shit!".


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RoboJOF

Sat Aug 03, 2019 2:00 pm



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This is a really interesting point, not only from the perspective of a cyborg using human vernacular, but from the perspective of Murphy being somewhat of a boy scout personality when he was alive, AND the notion that once Murphy's humanity returns, that he is still pretty emotionally reserved in the movies (whether that is a result of his cyborg brain giving him limited emotionality or not). We know he gets upset and responds emotionally (elevated or reduced tone of voice, volume, facial expressions that express a range of emotion)), and he claims to feel things (memories of his family, life before his murder) and unlike the Robocop 2 reprogramming scenes where he was being manipulated by too many directives, his emotional responses are real not simulated. This is a credit to Weller's acting and the direction; he walks the fine line from being machine and man.
Anyway, I imagine that Murphy (alive), Robocop (machine) and Robocop with Murphy's humanity restored would be unlikely to curse. It just doesn't seem to be in the nature of any of those identities. I imagine that if he did, it would be akin to Ultra Magnus saying "damn it" in Transformers: The Movie, at a time of true desperation. You would think that he would have cursed when Cain's gang chopped him apart, but he didn't. That's badass!


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RoboPimp

Sun Aug 04, 2019 9:27 pm



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I'm glad you brought this up now RoboJOF, because there is a recent example that reminds me of this situation immensely. In the trailer for the new Star Trek Picard series, 7 of 9 appears at the end and asks "where the hell have you been?" This is significant since she never would have said that on Voyager, the show that 7 is from. She, like Robocop, is technically a cyborg and she was a member of the Borg before the Voyager cast rescued her and helped her regain her humanity. But back then it was never a complete return to humanity, she still spoke in a very stiff and machine-like way and only regained was starting to speak more casually... kind of like Robocop in Robocop 2 and 3. So for her to say "where the hell have you been?" is a way of showing how much she has grown and become 'more' human over the past couple decades. 

I could totally see all of that applying to Robocop. Part of the problem in discussing this is the main Robocop properties never get nearly deep enough into his character development to reach that point. We see Robo who now goes by Murphy, but he is still more machine than man in many ways. Some might argue his growth is complete, once he starts going by Murphy he's crossed the threshold back to humanity but his personality will always be dominated by the machine. I, however, never doubted that Robocop would continue to develop more and more of his humanity, personality, and old self over time as long as nothing (like a hard reset of his program) stopped that. A few of the comics, and arguably Alpha Commando, have gone that direction, to mixed results, while other shows and comics have shown him years later and still the same old stiff robotic Murphy. So the jury's out on exactly how Robocop's mind and personality would progress.

Imagine if, in the new Robocop Returns film, there is a scene where some OCP executive is trying to tell Robocop to do. He says,"get back here, we own you!" and then Robo replies "fuck off" Would that be out of character for him? Yes. But would it make sense for his character? Also yes! Because it would, like the 7 of 9 example from before, show how much more of his humanity he has regained since we last saw him. And the reason the curse words specifically are so good at showing this is because that is the language that was forbidden to them. 7 and Robo were not programmed to curse, so cursing for them could be an empowering way of defying their programming and expressing themselves.

