Issue seven continues on the main story and this time Robocop is filled with a slew in improvements. The issues starts off with Killian’s thugs attacking a van in which they were told had OCP inventory that they could steal for their group. The thugs successfully take down the van, but when they open up the van out comes Robocop kicking one of the thugs and his head popping up like a football being punted in the air. The thugs open fire and quickly Robocop runs out of the way from all the gun fire. The thugs are confused by Robo’s new found speed and are quickly taken down by Robocop and one of the hooligans is taken into custody to get information on the whereabouts of Killian. Meanwhile, Officer Lewis is informed by Reed that there undercover cop has been exposed and killed by Killian. Lewis is upset that nothing was done to save Mason and she is out to solve his murder who she knows somehow Killian was involved. Back in the station the detectives are having a hard time making the captured crook spill the information on the stolen inventory. Since nothing is working to convince the thug. Robocop uses physical force to scare the thug into telling him where the warehouse is located. Once the cops and OCP get the information both work together to kick some butt.
Robocop issue 7 was like most Robocop ideas... very mediocre. My biggest gripe about this issue is the improvements. I am not saying that Robcop shouldn’t be improved, but if they are going to be improvements make improvements that make sense and that also make the character cool. Having him kicking and running from bullets really defeats the purpose of Robocop. What makes Robocop cool in his design is that he can take a licking and keep on ticking. It really made the character very cheesy and very different from the traditional design of Robocop. I also didn’t feel Murphy in any of this book. The book only feels like a robot that is just kicking ass but it doesn’t show the charm of Murphy. It felt very empty.
The story in this issue moves along but nothing of significance happens. The issues is mostly action scences along with the reveal that Killian is behind the murder of Mason. The art by Carlos Mango looked good in spots. When Robocop kicks the thugs head out and you see it flying through the panel the art looked great with a lot of detail, but then you hit the talking panels and the art looked off. Reed and many other characters looked very rushed and choppy.
Overall, I wanted to like this Robocop series but unfortunately there isn’t much to like about this comic. The story is very ordinary and the upgrades given to Robo make him look cheesy rather than cool. A cool character that continues to be underutilized.
Score: 2/5
Writer: Joshua Williamson Artist: Carlos Mango Colorist: Marissa Louise Publisher: BOOM! Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date:1/7/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital