Robocop vs. Terminator vs. Hollywood

Back in the 90s, crossovers were kind of a big thing, at least in comic books(though games were not immune, Battletoads/Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team, anyone?).

Recently, movies have started to cash in on the trend. One of the earlier projects was going to be a World’s Finest movie, teaming up both Batman and Superman. Last I heard, that one was in “development hell,” though I’ve also heard that maybe after the new Batman and Superman movies make some headway…

That hasn’t stopped others, however. First was Freddy vs. Jason. I’ve never been big into horror movies, so that one didn’t really get my blood pumping. I’m not adverse to seeing it, but even if I never do, I don’t think I’ll be bothered. Rumors persist of a sequel, though Sam Raimi has said that Ash won’t play a part as many had hoped.

Next came a revival of a conflict from the 90s which spawned some games, comics, and such. Alien vs. Predator. And even though fans have complained that it mucked with the continuity of both franchises, it did well enough that a sequel is on the way next year.

My interest is raised a bit. Alien movies were never quite my thing, but I did like Predator and its sequel.

I’m still holding out hope for the crossover that would round things out nicely, and fill the niche I want: Robocop Versus Terminator.

No small secret that even though I’ve never seen Robocop, I’ve been into the Terminator movies, and still thought that what I’ve seen(and played) of Robocop has been pretty cool.

As it happens, Frank Miller(who wrote the latter two Robocop movies, but had otherwise limited involvement. Oh, and something you might have heard of called Sin City, as well as Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) used to do writing for Robocop comics way back in the day, and among those was the killer team-up of Robocop Vs. Terminator:

In the machine-dominated future of 2029, a human rebel gains access to the Skynet computer’s Time Displacement Equipment and sends herself into the past on a desperate mission to kill officer Alex Murphy, a.k.a. RoboCop. But Skynet is onto her plan and dispatches a trio of Terminators to the past as well. The Terminators’ mission: protect RoboCop at all costs.

Due to finances and other factors of the time(I was a kid with a meager allowance), I was never able to actually read the crossover, nor play the video game.

That is, until now.

Just like the source material, this isn’t really meant to be kiddy-fare, though what I’ve read so far isn’t overly gruesome, either. All the same, what I’ve read so far has me rather hopeful for a big-screen crossover. The art isn’t the greatest, but the mechanical stuff comes out looking pretty good.

Of course, as is my understanding, Alien vs. Predator didn’t adhere to the original comic book story at all, and was created from the ground up, to the chagrin of some. So it would come as no surprise if a movie were to disregard the Robocop vs. Terminator story in much the same way.

But on the other hand, since Frank Miller seems to have a bit of Hollywood experience behind him(in addition to writing the original story), perhaps they would bring him on board to adapt his story for the big screen, or at the very least create a new one.

I’m not the only one who would like to see this crossover happen on the silver screen, as this fanmade video shows.

…and just think, if such a movie were made and succeeded, maybe someday we could have Alien vs. Predator vs. Robocop vs. Terminator. Perhaps the tagline could be something like “This Battle Will Tear The World APaRT.”

One person has already shown how they may all be connected, and another story has already put the Terminator into the Alien/Predator conflict.

So who knows what may happen? Here’s just hoping that Hollywood doesn’t miss this oh-so obvious opportunity to cash-in.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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