But as he faces down Jones, RoboCop discovers his classified fourth Prime Directive, “Any attempt to arrest a senior officer of OCP results in shutdown.” So he can do nothing until the OCP President (known only as “the Old Man” and played by Dan O’Herlihy) fires Dick, allowing RoboCop to gun the baddie down, in a glorious bit of 1980s violence.
As RoboCop walks out the door, the Old Man asks the robot to say his name. “Murphy,” RoboCop answers, and the movie cuts to black.
For many fans, Murphy’s declaration gives RoboCop a triumphant ending. OCP stole Alex Murphy’s life when Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer) arranged to have him transferred to a more dangerous precinct, leading to Murphy’s execution at the hands of Boddiker. Throughout the film, RoboCop starts recovering Murphy’s memories. In fact, his investigation into Murphy’s murder, which he conducts against the wishes of Detroit PD and OCP, lead to the revelations about the connection between Omni and Boddiker.
So when RoboCop refers to himself as “Murphy,” some fans believe that his quest is complete. Murphy has solved the crime and reclaimed his identity.
That’s a completely reasonable reading. But it does seem a bit optimistic, especially for a film as acidic as RoboCop. Written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner and directed by the Dutch provocateur Paul Verhoeven, RoboCop exists to provoke, from the director’s claims that he’s telling the story of the American Jesus to the movie’s combination of extreme violence and broad humor. None of the creators seem too interested in giving the hero a happy ending.
A more tonally consistent interpretation would read the final exchange as a victory for OCP and the Old Man, not for Alex Murphy. Although Dick Jones preferred the more imposing ED-209, the Old Man knows the importance of appearances. Just look at the advertising for clean and shiny Delta City, or his folksy “Old Man” persona. The success of the RoboCop program isn’t just about OCP getting its own police force, thereby gaining a cop’s latitude to punish and kill where the cop sees fit. OCP also needs the public to go along with it, to be willing participants in their own subjection.
