"Terrible Twos"

Typically, if you're a hero lucky enough to have a sequel, then you're sure to take ten times the punishment you suffered in your first film. It happens to the Rebels in The Empire Strikes Back. It happens to Marty and Doc in Back To The Future 2. And so on, and so forth.

But no crime-stomping protagonist takes a second movie pounding quite like that lovable cyborg civil servant, Robocop. Sure, in the first movie he gets whooped from start to finish. But in Robocop 2, Murphy is downright brutalized. Fifteen minutes in, he's forced to deny his human side, thus freaking out his grieving widow. Then there's that whole cyborg vivisection bit, that leaves his life hanging in the balance. Once they put him back together, he has to go toe-to-toe with his would-be replacement -- a killer cyborg that's three times his size, and powered by the brain of a ruthless drug czar. Yeesh!

Of course, Robocop handles this like a pro. And unlike Han Solo (frozen) or Marty McFly (stranded), Robo ends his sophomore adventure by seeing his enemy's ultra-violence, and raising him with a Mortal Kombat-style fatality -- ripping out his opponent's brain and smashing it into broken glass-flavored jam.

* It's no wonder Robocop 2 follows this formula so well. After all, it was directed by the late Irvin Kershner, who also directed The Empire Strikes Back.

9 x 12" / mixed media on recycled bristol board
$200 (plus $5 for shipping in the US, or $15 for international)
To purchase, email hiredmeat@gmail.com