11 Classic 80s Movies With Awesome Animated TV Shows You Forgot Existed

Just one year after Paul Verhoeven unveiled his satirically violent vision of the future with RoboCop, the titular cyborg was back in action, albeit in animated form. RoboCop was one of several cartoons created as part of the Marvel Action Universe hour of animated programming in the US by AKOM Productions, the animation company behind the X-Men cartoon and Batman: The Animated Series.

This was a watered-down version of the character from Verhoeven’s movie though; RoboCop’s violent origins were glossed over in an intro simply explaining that he was gunned down by Clarence Boddicker and his gang. Detroit was also transformed from a crime-ridden violent hell hole into a futuristic city full of robots and laser guns, while RoboCop even developed a romantic relationship with his partner Officer Anne Lewis.

Another notable twist came with the fact Boddicker and his cronies remained very much alive in the cartoon and even popped up in one episode. That meant the cartoon was set either in an alternative universe or actually during the events of the film. Whatever the case, Dr McNamara, creator of the rival system ED-260, served as the main villain. Each week, RoboCop went up against a different robot foe developed by McNamara, all while questioning his own existence and loss of humanity.

A surprisingly inventive animated outing, the RoboCop cartoon saw the titular hero tackling timeless themes like racism, prejudice and even the Middle East peace process. It was thought provoking. Alas, it ended after just 12 episodes.