At the 2025 Mullica Hill Toy Show in New Jersey, I bought Robert Cop 2. I picked up the figure and IMMEDIATELY had to have this for the name alone. Toy history is pretty loose at times, and it’s even more loose when it comes to bootlegs and knockoffs that originated overseas. That being said, here’s everything I’ve been able to find about Robert Cop 2!
There’s not a lot about the original Robert Cop 2 online except for people that have found him and fallen in love, as I did. The general understanding is that sometime close to 1990, around when RoboCop 2 was released, Robert Cop 2 made its way to the United States from China. I’ve seen a rumor that it was mentioned in an issue of Hero Illustrated in the 90s, but I’ve checked every page of Hero Illustrated in the 90s looking for Robert Cop 2, only to come up both empty handed and questioning the people who made those magazines.
I can’t be sure if this was an original sculpt or if it was based on an existing toy. It’s close to the 1989 unproduced Kenner Robocop with Robo-Voice, but the sculpt doesn’t look perfectly 1:1. The 12″ figure was never available to the public, but it seems like it may have been given to Kenner employees. The unproduced figure had a removable helmet, unlike Robert Cop 2.
There’s a less weird RoboCop bootleg that also exists that uses a package that’s close to Robert Cop 2, but doesn’t match exactly. The figures appear to match, including having the gun sculpted into the hand. I guess in order to complete the set, I need to find one of these too.
Turns out, there’s more than one famous Robert Cop 2 bootleg. The toy I found at the Mullica Hill Toy Show is the original. A tribute was released by Brad McGinty sometime around 2012 (archive link). If you see a comment mentioning “The Furniture of Law Enforcement” regarding Robert Cop 2, that’s thanks to the Brad McGinty version. McGinty’s infamous t-shirt is still available.
Skullmark released two different Robert Cop toys. One from their Muscle of the Galaxy line and another from their Galaxy Commander line. Both are probably higher quality than any bootleg the world had seen up until their releases.
Just when you thought we were safe , here comes an official Robert Cop 2. In 2021, Hiya Toys released 2,000 Robert Cop 2 figures for San Diego Comic Con 2021. It was the exact same figure as their die-cast RoboCop with different packaging. After someone else making a quick buck off some re-labeled RoboCop toys, the official licensor of RoboCop is made a few bucks off some re-labeled RoboCop toys. If it’s made, acknowledged, and released alongside RoboCop toys, is it even a bootleg anymore? I guess the joke’s on us now.
Never question someone’s commitment to a bit. April Fools Day 2022 saw Laudelino Nemezes post to Twitter “Here it is, it is #RobertCop 2 day” with a PNG that was also a secret ZIP file for a Robert Cop 2 Genesis game. It’s a side-scrolling shooter that appropriately uses sprites, sounds, and music from other games mashed up into a bit of a mess that’s still playable.
This is, by no means, a complete Robert Cop 2 history, but I don’t think we’re meant to have that knowledge. While there’s a lot included, there are plenty of one-off jokes and shirts that have been available. You can still occasionally find the original Robert Cop 2 figures online. I came across mine at a toy show for $30. The window box was damaged, but that hardly impacts how I feel about it as a part of the Action Figure Library. I tried to haggle the seller down, but I don’t think I was able to hold back my excitement while it was in my hand. He wasn’t really moving on pricing for anything on his table, let alone the greatest bootleg figure of all time.