More than a decade after Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 cyberpunk hit introduced him to the world, the 21st Century hero arrived in the real 21st Century in a 4-part television miniseries collectively entitled RoboCop: Prime Directives.

In 1:DARK JUSTICE, we return to Delta City (now dubbed "The Safest Place On Earth!"), the futuristic megalopolis wholly owned and operated by Omni Consumer Products. Ten years after his death and resurrection as RoboCop, Alex Murphy (PAGE FLETCHER, The Hitchhiker) has begun to feel his age. On the verge of obsolescence, Murphy must also contend with the fact that his now-grown son James (ANTHONY LEMKE. American Psycho) is an OCP executive, unaware that his father is still alive. In addition to this, Murphy’s former partner, John T. Cable (MAURICE DEAN WINT, Cube) has returned to Delta City as its new Security Commander.

But there is a new threat to Delta City: a mysterious vigilante called Bone Machine is cutting a swath through the criminal element in Delta City with the help of an experimental armored combat suit. Through their joint investigation into Bone Machine, we learn about Murphy and Cable’s past, their years on the force together, and the falling out between them that ultimately led to Murphy’s fateful transfer to Metro West Precinct, his subsequent murder at the hands of Clarence Boddicker’s gang, and his rebirth as RoboCop.

At OCP, Security Concepts’ chief Sara Cable (MARIA DEL MAR, Blue Murder), John Cable’s ex-wife, has brought James Murphy under her wing, inducting him into a secret group of executives known as The Trust. The Trust is attempting to overthrow the current executive board, and both Murphy and Cable’s investigation into Bone Machine is coming dangerously close to exposing them.

Murphy is programmed by The Trust with a new directive, instructing him to terminate John Cable. Cable’s only chance is to try and reach through to Murphy’s human side, an action that causes severe system conflicts within Murphy, conflicts that, if left unchecked, will kill him...

The action continues in 2:MELTDOWN. Things get off to a furious start when a group of cybernetically-enhanced mercenaries, led by the enigmatic Ann R. Key (LESLIE HOPE, 24), break into OCP in an attempt to steal top secret technology. They’re mission is thwarted by the appearance of RoboCop... but a very changed RoboCop. Still tormented by Cable’s murder at the hands of The Trust (a tragedy he was unable to prevent), Murphy has become more mechanical, colder, more violent than ever before... It seems his humanity may have died along with his best friend.

What Murphy doesn’t know is that The Trust, under Sara Cable’s leadership, have resurrected Cable as a new and improved crime prevention unit - one they will use to discredit the increasingly dangerous and unpredictable RoboCop...

Meanwhile James Murphy opens up a line of investigation into the death of his father a decade ago, and begins to uncover a mysterious series of classified files...

Branded a rogue, Murphy squares off first with DC Security... and then his replacement model - ROBOCABLE. Murphy recognizes his old friend, but Cable is now a mindless machine, a puppet of The Trust, unaware of his previous life (not unlike the amnesia Murphy suffered when he was first "reborn").

Unwilling to endanger either innocent bystanders or Cable, Murphy retreats, escaping into the ruins of Old Detroit. Now a fugitive from justice, Murphy’s only chance lies in an uneasy alliance with the mercenary Ann R. Key and the hope that he can somehow reach through to John Cable’s buried humanity.

But even now Cable and a specially-trained squad of anti-cyborg ROBOHUNTERS are marching into Old Detroit with one mission: terminate RoboCop once and for all.

3:RESURRECTION finds Murphy and Cable in the wastelands of Old Detroit. Murphy, near death, is rescued and repaired, by Ann and her mercenary associates Lexx (FRANCOISE YIP, Blade:Trinity) and Abby (MARNI THOMPSON, Paradise Falls).

At the same time Cable falls into the hands of the renegade Dr. David Kaydick (GERAINT WYN DAVIES, Forever Knight), a genius who plans to unleash a doomsday weapon upon Delta City and the entire world.

Back at OCP, James Murphy, on orders from Sara Cable, takes charge of the cyborg cleanup operation. Backed up by a new squad of RoboHunters and armed with an EMP disruptor that will shut RoboCop down once and for all, he heads into Old Detroit for a final confrontation...

It all comes to shattering climax in 4:CRASH & BURN as Murphy heads back into Delta City in a desperate attempt to stop Kaydick before he can unleash his doomsday device.

Still an outlaw, Murphy battles both his own colleagues on the police force and the lethal, computer-controlled security system in the OCP Tower to reach Kaydick and shut him down for good.

But Kaydick’s got an ace up his sleeve: John T. Cable, fully-operational, stands ready to confront his former partner for the last time.

Duty versus friendship.

Honour versus vengeance.

Machine versus man.

To save Delta City and all of humanity, one of them must sacrifice everything... and the other must die.

RELATED ARTICLES

• "Robocop Returns" by David Bassom, Starburst, Issue 256
  Prime Directives is a new mini-series aiming to recapture the quality of the original RoboCop. Starburst talks to writers Brad Abraham and Joseph O'Brien about their quartet of stories.