Two Cyborg Law Enforcement Offficers

[Zor]

Of these two cyborg police officers which one would you rather have working in your local Police Service?

Zor

[Jub]

Robocop is cool and all, but the Major is just the better cyborg and the officer who has dealt with the harder cases.

[Batman]

Neither. But if I have to pick one, I'm going with Murphy, cause I at least know how he ticks. Never heard of the jap gal.

[Dass.Kapital]

As a 'Beat cop' one would choose Murphy.

Major Kusenagi is a S.W.A.T. Officer. Not the sort of skill set one want simply walking streets.

[The Romulan Republic]

Neither. But if I have to pick one, I'm going with Murphy, cause I at least know how he ticks. Never heard of the jap gal.

I could be mistaken, but I believe that the slang abbreviation you used for Japanese is considered a racial slur. You might want to reconsider using it.

As to the question in the OP, I know little about either character, but my intense dislike of anime predisposes me toward Robocop. However, my ultimate answer is "Whichever one is the least likely to violate the law/ethics/rights of citizens", because that's the standard, first and foremost, by which I would judge a real cop.

[Eternal_Freedom]

In that case you'd want RoboCop/Murphy, provided this is his standard "uphold the law" mode and not the "OCP corrupted version."

[The Romulan Republic]

Out of curiosity, what's Kusenagi done that's so bad?

[Broomstick]

Neither. But if I have to pick one, I'm going with Murphy, cause I at least know how he ticks. Never heard of the jap gal.

^ This.

Robocop is awesome and uncorruptible.

[FaxModem1]

Robocop, because I don't need the public image problem of an officer who does lesbian porn on the side to get more money.

[RogueIce]

Since I give zero shits about anime, this was a pretty easy win for Officer Murphy.

[Jub]

The reason I picked Major Kusenagi over Alex Murphy is that she can simply do things that he cannot. Given that either character is going to be one-of-a-kind and special use only I want the more capable officer.

Major Kusenagi can do a lot of things. She and her squad regularly communicate to one another over long distances without speaking. This is less useful in a squad of normal officers, but if she can give orders straight into an ear piece without moving her lips that helps her to stay undiscovered. Staying undiscovered is made much easier by her ability to cloak herself, skip to 57 seconds at the below video to see this. At 1:04 and again at 1:22 we see that she herself is able to, with some difficulty, see through this same technique when used by others. At 1:59 we see her make a leap from aprox. 10-12 ft. up that carries her a good 15-20 ft. with a pretty effortless landing. Later at 2:39 we see her survive shots from a 20mm cannon, though she takes some serious damage from this level of firepower. At 3:05 we see that her skull is significantly tougher than pavement. At 3:48 we see her fire and reload an anti-material weapon one handed, we also see that her emotions do get the better of her at times when she doesn't just arrest the arm suit's pilot.

The clip itself is from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, episode 21.



In another clip we once again see how tough she is as she jumps from a Helicopter and lands with enough force to break concrete without injuring herself. We can also see that she's strong enough to destroy her own durable body when she attempts to rip the hatch from a tank.



In the end it comes down to the choice of the more capable Major Kusenagi versus the more dependable Alex Murphy.

[SpottedKitty]

Out of curiosity, what's Kusenagi done that's so bad?

Not so much "bad" as "very different job, skills and people she's likely to face". From what I remember (it's been a while since I last read any GitS) she's almost more Special Forces/anti-terrorism/spook than ordinary police. Definitely not the sort of officer suitable for an ordinary police position.

Unless the scenario makes her a perfectly ordinary police officer, in which case you have more problems than that...

[Borgholio]

From a PR perspective, having a cyborg who doesn't even look like a cyborg is probably going to be easier for the public to be comfortable with than one who is practically a walking tank. So if the Japanese cyborgs are just as bound as Robocop to uphold the law fairly, I would go with one of them.

[Joun_Lord]

I vote Robo. Murphy is a beat cop to the core, would be perfect for taking on hoodlums and methheads in my area without going overboard.

The Major is like a spec ops SWAT type deal that usually is sent to deal with cybernetic threats and works best with a team of other cyborgs. I don't know how well she'd do arresting petty criminals and drunk drivers. We don't really have enough major crime to warrant having her full time super badass stuff.

Murphy can deal with big threats too while still scaling down to dealing with minor crime. I'd like if he was a bit less trigger happy but I'm sure the PD can figure out a way to mount a taser to him so he doesn't have to put holes in everyone.

[Lord Revan]

Out of curiosity, what's Kusenagi done that's so bad?

Not so much "bad" as "very different job, skills and people she's likely to face". From what I remember (it's been a while since I last read any GitS) she's almost more Special Forces/anti-terrorism/spook than ordinary police. Definitely not the sort of officer suitable for an ordinary police position.

section 9 (the department the Major works in) is kind of a legal gray area in all versions, while an official part of the goverment alot of the things they do are in a legal gray area like "removal" of criminal individuals who couldn't be convicted normally.

That said the Tha Major (her official name is pretty obvious alias) would make alot better officer for undercover work as unlike Robocop, she looks more or less normal with only few easily concealble spots that give away her cyborg nature (IIRC only plugs in the back of her neck are normally visible even though she's even more artificial then Murphy, as in there's only the brain left of the orginal person).

[Jub]

Out of curiosity, what's Kusenagi done that's so bad?

Not so much "bad" as "very different job, skills and people she's likely to face". From what I remember (it's been a while since I last read any GitS) she's almost more Special Forces/anti-terrorism/spook than ordinary police. Definitely not the sort of officer suitable for an ordinary police position.

section 9 (the department the Major works in) is kind of a legal gray area in all versions, while an official part of the goverment alot of the things they do are in a legal gray area like "removal" of criminal individuals who couldn't be convicted normally.

That said the Tha Major (her official name is pretty obvious alias) would make alot better officer for undercover work as unlike Robocop, she looks more or less normal with only few easily concealble spots that give away her cyborg nature (IIRC only plugs in the back of her neck are normally visible even though she's even more artificial then Murphy, as in there's only the brain left of the orginal person).

I'm not even sure if the brain is still there in some cases given the threat of brain hacking in that exists in the GitS universe.

[The Romulan Republic]

Out of curiosity, what's Kusenagi done that's so bad?

Not so much "bad" as "very different job, skills and people she's likely to face". From what I remember (it's been a while since I last read any GitS) she's almost more Special Forces/anti-terrorism/spook than ordinary police. Definitely not the sort of officer suitable for an ordinary police position.

section 9 (the department the Major works in) is kind of a legal gray area in all versions, while an official part of the goverment alot of the things they do are in a legal gray area like "removal" of criminal individuals who couldn't be convicted normally.

That said the Tha Major (her official name is pretty obvious alias) would make alot better officer for undercover work as unlike Robocop, she looks more or less normal with only few easily concealble spots that give away her cyborg nature (IIRC only plugs in the back of her neck are normally visible even though she's even more artificial then Murphy, as in there's only the brain left of the orginal person).

FaxModem1 mentioned earlier that she works in lesbian porn on the side. Wouldn't the potential notoriety of that profession not be terribly conducive to undercover work?

[Zixinus]

In particular person? Murphy is probably more suited for the everyday police work around here, although my city is fairy OK (except in a particular region where it's pretty bad). Murphy would be able to handle everyday stuff like that, as much as his mobility allows. I would imagine that the Major would quickly get bored here or get caught up nastily in local politics, making her just quit and look for a place where she's more appreciated.

But in general? The second kind. They have replaceable bodies (mostly) that is heavily augmented, thus they would not have the adrenaline-problem of being mortally terrified of a gangster pulling a gun at you at any moment. Yet the bodies look and mostly function as normal, allowing them to better blend in and have a human face to talk to rather than chromed Judge Dread.

The main problem with Robocop-kind of bodies is that they are awkward and clunky (the Major could just jump over chain-link fences that Murphy would have no choice but to tear trough or just shoot the perp), tied to a high-tech support system (they need special cars for their stuff and lots more at the station) and not to mention a bit intimidating.

[Lord Revan]

section 9 (the department the Major works in) is kind of a legal gray area in all versions, while an official part of the goverment alot of the things they do are in a legal gray area like "removal" of criminal individuals who couldn't be convicted normally.

That said the Tha Major (her official name is pretty obvious alias) would make alot better officer for undercover work as unlike Robocop, she looks more or less normal with only few easily concealble spots that give away her cyborg nature (IIRC only plugs in the back of her neck are normally visible even though she's even more artificial then Murphy, as in there's only the brain left of the orginal person).

FaxModem1 mentioned earlier that she works in lesbian porn on the side. Wouldn't the potential notoriety of that profession not be terribly conducive to undercover work?

IIRC the apparence of her cyborg body is pretty common in ghost of the shell world, so she wouldn't stand out that much.

besides that's assume that said scene which is only in the manga version IIRC is present and also IIRC different versions of Ghost in the Shell are considered seperate so things that apply to the anime might not apply to the manga and the other way around.

[SpottedKitty]

The Major (her official name is pretty obvious alias)

Heh, I wonder how many people reading the comics or watching the episodes actually realise this...

[Mr Bean]

If you want a beat cop then Robocop is where its at. His IFF, targeting systems and general tank nature mean he's a great first responder to violent situations. Murphy was a good cop, and he makes a great Robocop. But if your putting together a SWAT team then the Mayor simply can not be beat. She's fast, her technical knowledge is unmatched and her entry skills are the thing twenty year veterans can learn from... mostly because she like Robocop is about as armored as the average APC and faster.

But I'd suggest a substitution, swap the Major out for Tachikomas and I'd pick them over Robocop instantly. Hey my police form could use AI learning machines accurate enough to put beanbag rounds into six perps in four seconds and can climb buildings with ease, response time would shrink dramatically if my police force had Tachikoma as their mode of transport.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Robocop is less mobile than a tachikoma, so in many cases the Major would beat him out in sheer ability. I'm not sure about relative strength levels, but the Major is easily able to one-hand a goddamn .50 cal anti-tank rifle. Maybe strength goes to her, but I'd need to see enough about Robocop's strength. Robocop is probably more durable to gunfire, but the Major tends to use cover and stealth enough that she rarely has to get shot at directly. The Major can sit and hold a conversation with you while hacking anything with a wifi connection, so suddenly your cellphone is no longer safe. Or your laptop.


Even with her overall physical superiority, though... I'd go with Robocop over the Major. He's exceedingly less likely to engage in gross violations of civil rights. The Major isn't suited to apprehending petty criminals or general patrols, she's basically special forces. And as far as looking human... Her hair and eye color aren't artistic license, they really are those colors. People would probably think she dyes her hair, but her eye color would be a dead give-away.

So, Robocop for a normal police force. If I were putting together a force that specifically dealt with extremely dangerous people, like drug cartels or legit terrorist organizations, I'd go with the Major. She's just too used to being able to do any shady thing she feels is necessary to be trusted to normal police work.

[Sea Skimmer]

Robocop held up to .50cal rifles covered in plastic claimed by movie canon to be 20mm Cobra assault cannons which produced rather large explosions and able to shatter a fire hydrant. He also withstood hundreds of assault rifle rounds on more then one occasion, having tons of scrap metal dropped on him and proved impossible to kill even when pinned down and attacked with heavy power tools for a protracted period, though they were able to take off his limbs. Not to mention the time he fell +30 stories off a sky scraper and crashed through a concrete road into a basement where he then induced a major gas explosion, and all of that while already damaged by caliber gunfire. For shear strength and toughness he undoubtedly wins.

For actual police use the basic problem with the Major is she would not be a credible, accountable and publicly acceptable member of a modern day beat police force. Section 9 has no real accountability and is more then slightly shady methods in the anime and manga and is basically constantly on the edge of being declared a public enemy for good reason, which actually happens in the animie. I never finished the manga but they were if anything even more iffy in that format. Some of her abilities simply aren't useful in a real life context either, at least not if she's on her own and not working with a fully team of cyber agents.

Robocop has limitations, but he has no deception and his shear strength provides an advantage in simply being able to take a hit in a rough situation when a real cop would do something bad, like shoot the kid with the realistic looking fake gun. Kusenagi can withstand some hits, but I highly doubt she'd do so on purpose, and more then once relies simply on entertainment typical 'dodge between the bullets' moves that are highly unlikely to work without character shields. The FBI or similar group might want the major a lot more, but for a city police force anywhere I'd take Robocop and spare the force the unending lawsuits and unsolveable mistrust the major would create in real life.

[Borgholio]

What about the visibility aspect though? Wouldn't it be better to have a cyborg like the Terminator (encased in flesh and looking identical to humans) than a walking tank on the street? I would think having a human-looking cyborg cop would make it easier to work with civilians (who may not even know a specific individual is a cyborg to begin with)...

[Batman]

This could go both ways. A point could be made people would be happier with an easily identified cyborg than with one that looks like an ordinary human if they know there are cyborgs amongst the police.