ED-209

The Enforcement Droid Series 209 (or ED-209) is a fictional character featured as one of the design and special effect highlights of the 1987 movie "RoboCop", and its two sequels. ED-209 serves as a heavily-armed obstacle and foil to RoboCop’s title character and others throughout the series, as well as a source of comic relief due to its tendency to malfunction. It remains an often referenced and lampooned fixture of American popular culture.

The ED-209 was designed by Craig Hayes, who also built the full size models, and animated by Phil Tippett, a veteran stop-motion animator. Davies and Tippett would go on to collaborate on many more projects. As one of the setpieces of the movie, the ED-209’s look and animated sequences were under the close supervision of director Paul Verhoeven.

Design

Director Paul Verhoeven made it clear very early on that ED-209 should not look “cute.” He wanted the robot to look hard and mean. For this reason, various common robot features were left out. There are no eyes on the ED-209, for instance, since Craig Davies believed they conveyed too much emotion as well as being clichéd. Fact|date=February 2007

Craig Davies also incorporated his ideas about modern 1980s American design, especially car design, into the robot. He envisioned futuristic designers making the robot look good in order to make it marketable before they made it work well, “just like an American car.” The crew commentary audio track on the Criterion Collection DVD release confirms the obvious commentary on ridiculous corporate design policies, with such features as an obviously over-designed hydraulic system, over-attention paid to cosmetics and the placement of obviously vulnerable features such as the radiator grill on the very front of the robot.

The audio for the ED-209 was composed by Stephen Flick and John Pospisil of audio effects company Screaming Lizard. The hydraulic heavy machinery feel of the robot was composed of various motor and piston noises. An intimidating growl produced by ED-209 in the first movie was created by playing a jaguar growl backwards. Its distorted human voice was recorded by the film’s executive producer Jon Davison. It was never intended to be in "RoboCop"’s theatrical release and was only recorded for an initial screening. However, it was kept as the voice of ED-209 all the way to the theaters.

Appearances

The ED-209 is featured in every "RoboCop" major motion picture, while it is missing from the series’ direct-to-video releases and the television series.

"RoboCop"

ED-209 is primarily featured in the first film, where it appears three times. The 209 series was an attempt to create a series of law enforcement robots, the brain child of the movie’s main villain, OCP Senior President Dick Jones. During its unveiling to the OCP board, it malfunctions and brutally kills an OCP executive, Kinney, even though he had complied with the robot’s orders to “surrender” and put down his gun. In light of this disastrous malfunction, the RoboCop program is given the green light.

The ED-209 appears again when RoboCop confronts and attempts to arrest Dick Jones. The robot seriously damages RoboCop. ED-209’s faulty nature is again highlighted when it trips and becomes disabled while attempting to traverse an ordinary flight of stairs. It also loses an arm during the battle when RoboCop forces the other arm into it while it fires.

The robot makes his final appearance stationed in front of OCP Plaza, protecting the building during a police strike. When it attempts to interfere with RoboCop, he destroys it with a Cobra assault cannon taken from Dick Jones and Clarence Boddicker’s minions. RoboCop fires the weapon twice, but one shot is sufficient to disable ED-209.

"RoboCop 2"

"RoboCop 2" features only quick cameos of the robot, where it is featured as a security bot for an OCP building on a television news report. The robot promptly trips on an open manhole and flails about uselessly while trying to disperse demonstrators.

A full-scale model (or out of commission) ED-209 also appears in the background as the executives are discussing their problems with the RoboCop 2 program.

In the widescreen version of the film, just before the Mayor enters the OCP CEO’s office, an ED-209 unit is spotted standing on the right side of the screen outside the building.

"RoboCop 3"

"RoboCop 3" has one scene of ED-209 once again used as a security bot for an OCP building, this time an armory. Resistance fighters are able to easily hack the ED-209 via a dataport in its leg with a portable computer (“I am authorized to...be loyal as a puppy”). The ED-209 is promptly turned against its owners, and opens fire upon OCP security personnel.

Animated Series

ED-260, the upgradable version of the Enforcement Droid Series 209 has made numerous appearances in ', but did not appear in '.

Video Games

The ED-209 is also used as a boss in RoboCop computer and video games, and the video game "RoboCop vs. the Terminator".

Comics

There were two ED-209s in the comic "Robocop vs. Terminator" (though it is mentioned that there are 200 of them deployed), assisting RoboCop in shooting down Terminators bent on killing Flo. However, their limited intelligence remained a problem. In one instance, when ordered by RoboCop to “scan for cybernetic activity,” the ED-209s immediately registered RoboCop as a target and opened fire, hitting each other by accident.

In Marvel’s 1990 "Robocop" comic, OCP Vice President Donald Johnson orders the creation of the ED-"309".

Armaments

The ED-209’s primary weapon in all films are three machine guns, two on the left arm and one on the right arm. It also featured a three-round rocket launcher on its right arm and twin launchers for mortar rounds or gas grenades behind its head. The grenade launchers are never used on film, but are shown on models and schematics of the ED-209. It is also discussed in the first film that once it's proven itself in Delta City it would be marketed to the military, explaining the extremely powerful weaponry for a police droid.

ED 209 in popular culture

* In the "DuckTales" Super DuckTales storyline, Gyro Gearloose builds an electronic bodyguard called GGU to protect Scrooge McDuck's Money Bin, which is clearly based on ED-209, as it also malfunctions and tries to kill the ones he was supposed to work for. This leads to creation of GizmoDuck, who, in turn, was partially based on RoboCop.
* In an episode of "The Simpsons" (“I, D’oh-Bot”), Homer fights an ED-209 look-a-like built by Professor Frink and his son in a robot-fighting television show called "Robot Rumble".
* In an episode of "South Park" (“Korn’s Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery”), Kenny wears a life-sized ED-209 Halloween costume. Coincidentally, in the "RoboCop" film, the ED-209 malfunctions and kills a man named “Kinney.”
* Another "South Park" episode, “A Ladder to Heaven,” featured an ED-209; in this episode the ED-209 is depicted as guarding a house.
* In another "South Park" episode, “The Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer,” the television transforms into a ED-209 because of the confusion with the TV remote.
* In "Aladdin and the King of Thieves", the Genie turns into a parody version of ED-209 armed with laser beams to secure the “Aladdin and Jasmine wedding perimeter.”
* The ED-209 makes a cameo appearance in the show "Family Guy" (“Running Mates”) as the “XL-K” hall pass enforcement robot. The scene in which an OCP executive is killed after complying with orders is also parodied when a young girl is confronted by the XL-K and requested to present a hall pass. It attacks her even after she complies.
* In the comic book "", the character Wallace hallucinates that his buddy, the Captain, looks like ED-209. "Sin City" is written and drawn by Frank Miller, who wrote the original screenplays to "RoboCop 2" and "RoboCop 3".
* The computer adventure/action game "Deus Ex" features military and security robots similar to the ED-209.
* In an episode of 60 Minutes, Andy Rooney remarked that the assaulting police officers in the now-infamous 1991 Rodney King footage, behaved like "ED-209s on methamphetamine". He was later forced to publicly apologize for the statement.
* ED-209 appears in the final sequences of "Space Quest II", before the player escapes from Vohaul’s asteroid.
* In "Transformers Animated", Isaac Sumdac demonstrates a Police droid (looking similar to the ED-209 but on tank tracks with other minor changes) to the mayor and police officials. Isaac Sumdac even mentions a slight malfunction with one of the robots harming the Police Captain’s wife previously. However even the new robot droid is seen malfunctioning one way or another through out the series.

Toys and Models

* Kenner toys in 1990 featured an ED-209 figure in their RoboCop and the Ultra Police line. It had a rotating waist and articulated legs. The figure was not to scale and did not have any automatic actions or accessories. It was renamed “ED-260” for the line.
* Mez-Itz RoboCop line contained an SD (Super Deformed) ED-209 figure in its RoboCop figure pack, which also contained RoboCop and Officer Anne Lewis.
* Kotobukiya toys featured a figure line in Japan based on the "RoboCop" movies. ED-209 came in a singular pack which had to be assembled. Also, in a two-pack, RoboCop came with the damaged legs of the ED-209 from the first "RoboCop" film.
* JAM Japan has produced a 2.36 inch ED-209 figure.
* An unknown manufacturer in Thailand is producing a vinyl 1/9th scale ED-209 model.
* The same Thai manufactorer has a 1/12th scale ED-209 model as well.
* Hot Toys produced a 1/6 scale 15" ED-209 model as part of their Movie Masterpiece series - the popularity of this model later prompted the release of a battle-damaged version. This model was distributed by Sideshow Toys in America and Europe.

Behind the scenes

* According to "RoboCop" writer Ed Neumeier, the ED-209 robot was designed to resemble a bipedal Vietnam War-era Huey helicopter.

Reviews

ED-209 was listed as #5 in "Wizard Magazine" on the “10 Villains We’d Like to Forget.” The text reads: “Cool looking? Sure. Functional? Hell no. Forget about the fact it killed an innocent man and blew off its own arm; the dumb thing couldn’t even master stairs.”

References

External links

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* [http://www.robocoparchive.com/info/making1-ed209.htm Behind the scenes look at making ED-209]
* [http://www.samsungtechwin.com/product/features/dep/SSsystem_e/SSsystem.html The first "Robocop" in reality (2006)]